A New Beginning Ch. 01

Raven lowered the infant seat to the ground next to the marble headstone and sat down in front of the stone. "Hi Jimmy. I needed to come see you. I know it's been a while since I've been here, but things have been crazy. Our daughter is beautiful. I've named her Jenny. She's six months old today. I wish you were here with us, especially today." Raven sniffled and made no effort to wipe at the tears that poured down her cheeks. Jenny, sensing her mother's distress, let out a troubled cry. "Do you hear her Jimmy? She misses her daddy too. I'll take good care of her, I promise." Raven kissed the headstone, pushed herself up, lifted the car seat and walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"That isn't how we do things!" Mage exclaimed as she attempted to correct Beth's new chef's mistake.

"This is my kitchen bitch and you will step off!" the chef growled.

"Your name is Gary isn't it?" Mage asked.

"Yes, so what?" Gary asked. He watched as Mage pulled the new dishes off of the rack and set them on the counter.

"Well Gary, I happen to know that Beth would never authorize the purchase of dishes that color to be used in her restaurant," Mage said. She reached for a pasta bowl and winced when Gary's hand curled around her wrist.

"Touch that bowl and I'll break your arm," Gary threatened.

"What is going on in here?" Beth demanded to know as she stepped into the kitchen, Cole following right behind.

"This fucking cunt is trying to remove my dishes!" Gary snarled.

"Take your hand off of her," Cole warned, his voice low. When Gary hesitated, Cole let out a low, menacing growl. Gary quickly let go of Mage's arm and she pulled the pasta bowl from it's spot and handed it to Beth.

"Are you alright Mage?" Beth asked.

"I'll live, I've been injured worse," Mage said lightly, trying to hide her anger. Beth chuckled and shook her head as she watched Mage's eyes flash once before returning to their normal color. Beth took the pasta bowl from Mage and turned back to Gary.

"I like the shape and the size of the bowls, they would be perfect if not for the color," Beth told him.

"What's wrong with the color?" Gary demanded.

"Nobody wants to eat off of plates that are puke green," Beth informed him. She flipped the bowl over and studied the initials scratched into the bottom. "Did you make these?" Beth wanted to know. Gary nodded.

"I make a set for every restaurant I work at, I chose green because of how earthy Gambit looks," Gary answered.

"Can they be repainted?" Beth asked. Gary nodded. "I have no problem with the color green, just not puke green. Make it look a little brighter, maybe moss green, but a glossy moss green," Beth suggested. Gary nodded again. "And from now on, if Mage or Raven or any of my family tells you something, listen to them," Beth told him firmly, her tone left no room for argument.

"Yes Ma'am," Gary said.

"Now put all the white dishes back up until yours are repainted and dry," Beth instructed. Gary nodded and began pulling dishes down.

Beth, Cole and Mage walked back into the dining room and Beth waved at Xavier who was sitting at a table with his sisters Rogue and Sydney and his twin brother Charles. Xavier waved back and turned his attention back to his nephew Joey, who was demanding the teething bagel that Xavier was dangling in front of him.

"Don't tease him Xave," Cole warned as his infant son lunged forward and scratched at Xavier. Xavier dropped the bagel to the table and Joey picked up the bagel and began gumming at it.

"That child is always eating," Raven said from the doorway. Beth turned towards her cousin, walked over to and gave her a tight hug as Raven and Jenny joined the group.

"How are you?" Beth asked.

"I just came from the cemetery," Raven murmured. Beth and Mage exchanged worried glances. "Today was supposed to be our wedding day," Raven reminded them.

"I'm sorry Rave," Mage told her sister. She joined Beth and Raven and the three girls hugged each other.

"Mamamamama!" Beth looked up and grinned when she saw one of her girls reaching for her.

"Which one is that?" Raven asked.

"Marissa. Mel is still sleeping," Beth answered, taking the small girl from her father. The look Cole gave Beth could have melted the iceberg that sunk the Titanic and she blushed.

"Busy today," Raven commented.

"Yes. The whole mess with Joe seems to have finally blown over," Beth said softly. Tears of anger at what her cousin had done filled Raven's eyes and Beth gave her another sympathetic smile. Xavier handed Joey over to Cole, stood up and walked over to Raven.

"How are you?" Xavier asked Raven softly.

"I'm okay considering," Raven murmured. Before another word could be said, a cold and dark chill filled the dining room.

"Now what?" Mage snarled as she and Beth looked around.

"Death to witches!" a deep, raspy voice shouted. Mage, Beth and Raven exchanged glances; Raven passed Jenny off to Xavier before joining Beth and Mage in a circle.

"Where dark spirits dwell, take us out of this hell. Light the way, shine bright and reveal to us, this spirit's sight!" Beth, Raven and Mage chanted together. Light shined from the center of the circle and shined outwards to the corners of the restaurant. Above the door, a mark in the shape of a skull wearing a pointed hat next to a scythe was revealed by the beams of light.

"Oh fuck!" Raven spat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What now?" Xavier asked, as he followed Raven out of Gambit.

"Not now Xavier, please," Raven murmured. She unlocked her car and dropped the infant seat into the base.

"What's going on Rave?" Xavier asked, eyes wide as a large, dark funnel cloud barreled towards them.

"I don't know," Raven said softly. Xavier quickly grabbed the car seat and pushed Raven out of the way of the sudden storm. The storm dissipated as quickly as it formed and Raven found herself pressed against Xavier's hard body. His erection was impossible to miss and her cheeks flushed, Raven pushed herself away from Xavier's embrace. "I should go," Raven murmured as she reached for Jenny's car seat with shaking hands.

"Let me take you home," Xavier said in a tone that left no room for argument. He carried the car seat back to Raven's Kia Sorento and slid it into the base before opening the passenger door.

"What about your car?" Raven asked.

"I'll call Cole and ask him to take it back to the house," Xavier answered. Raven got into the car and Xavier closed the door behind her.

~~~~~~~~~

"Raven, you okay in there?" Xavier asked. When Raven didn't answer, Xavier cautiously opened the door and swallowed hard when he saw Raven sitting naked on the bed. "Rave?" Xavier asked again. He stepped inside the room and closed the door with a frown when Raven still didn't answer. "Raven?" Xavier placed his hand on her shoulder and Raven jumped. "You okay? You've been in here for over an hour," Xavier looked at her in concern; his frown deepened when he saw the large dark circles below Raven's brown eyes.

"I'm fine," Raven said softly.

"Bull shit," Xavier growled.

"What?" Raven asked, startled.

"You aren't fine. I've been watching you since Jimmy died. You're walking around like a zombie. The only thing keeping you going is Jenny! From the looks of things, you hardly sleep and according to Beth, you're hardly eating enough to keep a bird alive!" Xavier exclaimed.

"Is it so hard to believe that I miss Jimmy?" Raven snapped, standing up and walking over to the fire place.

"Of course not! We know you miss Jimmy, but you're forgetting everyone and everything else except for Jenny! Jimmy might be physically gone, but he's still here! He's here because of the love you shared, the love and relationship he shared with Mage and Beth and more importantly, Jimmy is in Jenny! You're withering away Rave! And for what? So you can leave your beautiful daughter to be with your fiancee?" Xavier exclaimed.

"Get out Xavier," Raven said, her voice low, angry.

"No," Xavier told her. Raven's eyes widened. "I'm not leaving you here to wallow in self pity," he added. Raven twirled her finger in the air before pointing it at Xavier; a large crystal vase flew off of the bookshelf and towards Xavier. He deflected it easily and the vase landed in this hands instead of on the wall behind him. "I only saved the vase because Jimmy made it for you and I know what it means to you," Xavier told her. Raven grabbed a large paper weight and threw it at him; Xavier let the weight hit the wall behind him with a loud thud. "You're lucky that Mage and Logan came and took Jenny for the night," Xavier said. Raven growled.

"Who gave you the right to let anyone take my daughter?!" Raven shouted.

"Mage told me you'd given her permission to take Jenny for the night," Xavier answered. He took the few steps needed to cross the space between them and pulled Raven into his arms. "You need some sleep Rave, you can't keep going like this," Xavier said gently, his eyes full of compassion. "I've been where you are babe, and it isn't a good place, I know. But you need to let go and allow yourself to live. Jimmy will understand," Xavier told her.

"What the fuck do you know about what I'm going through?" Raven shouted, pushed Xavier away from her.

"My mate died three years ago, giving birth to our first set of cubs," Xavier answered. Raven stared at Xavier, the pain in his eyes made it obvious that he was not lying. "If it weren't for the stubborn personalities of Cole and Charles, I wouldn't be here right now," he added, holding out both of his wrists. Raven could see the scars. "I took a bottle full of Vicodin and used a silver plated letter opener. Cole found me just in time," Xavier murmured.

"I'm sorry," Raven whispered.

"I thought it was my fault. She was human, and she didn't want to be turned. Her body couldn't handle giving birth to a half were and it killed her," Xavier added. Raven winced at the pain and regret she saw in Xavier's eyes.

"It wasn't your fault," Raven murmured.

"It was and yet, it wasn't," Xavier said. "I should have convinced her to turn, but I can't change the past any more than you can," Xavier added. Raven walked back over to Xavier and gave him a hug. Xavier wrapped his arms around Raven's petite frame and held her close, his eyes closed as he inhaled the smell of her body wash. "You smell like spring." Raven pulled back a little, a small smile on her face.

"That's because my body wash is called spring rain," she murmured. Xavier stared into Raven's eyes for several moments before he lowered his head and kissed her.

"God you're beautiful," Xavier groaned as he pulled away. Raven shook her head and gasped as Xavier got down on his knees and began suckling from her left breast while kneading the other one with his hand.

"Xavier," Raven whimpered. He looked up at her through mischievous eyes as he continued to suckle her breast. Xavier slid his free hand slowly down Raven's body until his fingers brushed the patch of hair between her legs. Raven gasped and tried to move away. Xavier removed the hand from Raven's breast to hold her in place while his fingers dipped up inside her. Raven closed her eyes and moaned. "We shouldn't do this," Raven protested.

"Why not?" Xavier asked, nibbling on her neck.

"It's too soon!" Raven exclaimed.

"It's been over a year Rave, let yourself go, just for tonight," Xavier reminded her. He kissed her neck again before kissing her lower and lower. He suckled her left breast then the right before working his way down her body while his fingers ignited a fire within her.

"Oh God!" Raven panted as she felt Xavier's lips against her belly button.

"Beautiful," he whispered, sliding a third finger up into her pussy.

"Xavier, please," Raven whimpered.

"Please what?" Xavier asked as he kissed the inside of her thigh.

"No," Raven moaned.

"No what?" Xavier asked. Raven sucked in a breath when she felt Xavier's lips connect with her pussy.

"Oh God!" Raven moaned as streaks of desire pulsed through her. Xavier chuckled, sending vibrations through her. Xavier slipped his hand back up her body and cupped her breast.

"Why ... are ... you ... doing ... this?" Raven asked with a groan.

"We need each other," Xavier answered before he assaulted her clit with his tongue. Raven grabbed Xavier's shoulders as sensations long forgotten rushed through her. Xavier, taking notice of the fact that Raven had gone almost completely limp, removed his hand from her breast and wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her. Without removing his fingers, Xavier inched Raven backwards until the back of her legs hit the bed. Once Xavier was satisfied that Raven wasn't going to fall over, he continued his attack on her clit, groaning at the noises coming from Raven's throat. The wolf in him was impatient; he wanted Raven and he wanted her now. Xavier jumped as he felt Raven's small hands on the clasp of his jeans and he groaned as his pants fell down past his knees and pooled at his ankles. The cool breeze blowing over his stiffening cock told him that Raven had managed to get his boxers down his legs as well.

"Take her now!" his wolf screamed. Xavier muttered a quiet apology to Raven as he pulled his fingers out of her and pressed his cock into her. Raven gasped in surprise, but her gasp quickly turned into a moan. She felt so full, more full than she'd ever been with Jimmy and Raven felt ashamed that she was comparing Jimmy and Xavier. Xavier began thrusting hard and fast within her and Raven met him thrust for thrust, whimpers tore from her throat as he drove her higher and higher. Xavier tried to get control of the wolf, but his wolf was having none of it. Xavier thrust once more, deeper than his previous thrusts had gone and Raven screamed as he drove her over the edge, her body was shaking with the force of her orgasm and Xavier, whose wolf was in control, bit Raven's shoulder, making the orgasm more intense. Raven's eyes snapped open as the orgasm faded as she recognized what was happening. Xavier's wolf was connecting with her, mating with her. Raven tried to push Xavier off of her, but it was too late; she winced as she felt his cock embed itself with in her as his cum spewed into her.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't control my wolf." Raven looked at Xavier in surprise, he hadn't spoken a word and he gave a crooked grin.

"We're mated Raven. The wolf equivalent to being married; you can hear my thoughts and I can hear yours," Xavier explained.

"Oh yeah?" Raven asked. Xavier nodded. "Then what the fuck am I thinking?" Raven wanted to know. The small smile on Xavier's face faded when he heard her thoughts: "I want a divorce."