Page 13 of Raw

I nodded.

Though, living with Papa was my reality.

No need for me to go back to society and follow all those stupid rules.

The forest was my home, and out there, we made our own rules.

We said goodbye to Jason and Sitka, who then barked at us as her owner held her back while we walked along the dirt road Fennec had come from.

He nudged my side with his elbow, grinning at me. “Congrats on graduating. I knew you’d make it. Mama must be proud of you,” he said.

“She isn’t happy about me being here,” I confessed, but he shrugged, letting me know that he didn’t care about that.

“Mama doesn’t know what she’s missing. She should’ve stayed with Papa and raised us both in the forest. It’s where we’re supposed to be.”

His opinion on Mama often changed.

One day he loved her unconditionally, the other he cursed her for not staying with Papa.

Though, Papa never urged her to live in the wilderness, which showed how much he cared about her.

They met when they were our age, but they couldn’t have been more different.

Despite their choices, they were still together, and no matter the distance or little communication, our parents would never split.

“I’m here now, and I’ve been waiting for this day ever since you left last year,” I told him with a smile.

He laughed softly, reaching out his hand to rub the back of my head the way Mama so often did.

“I’m happy to have you back, Ves. I love you, sweet girl.”

“I love you too,” I replied, thinking about how lucky I was to have a brother who cared about and protected me so much.

4

There were things people didn’t need to know about.

Things most people would be disgusted by, feeling their stomachs turn by just the thought of the things we did in the forest.

And I wasn’t just talking about the hunting.

It’s been one whole year since I left Fairbanks to live with Papa, to live by my own rules and live the way I was supposed to ever since I was old enough to think for myself.

No matter how well I fit into society, or how many friends I made in high school, that town was not where I was supposed to be.

Having Vespyr with us now brought back so many memories.

Sick and twisted memories.

Not sure if she remembered them, or if she ever felt as if certain things we did were wrong, but one thing was for sure: our love for each other and the strong bond between us would never break.

We’ve been close ever since we were babies, and no matter how hard other students made school for her, I was always there to protect her.

She wasn’t weak, not at all, but it was my duty to be right by her side at all times.

We’d been walking for almost an hour, following the river up to our camp.

When I looked back to make sure she was keeping up with me, I smiled and stopped to place my hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently.

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