Chapter 1

"Hey, wait a second. Raven!" Shevon leaned outside of the window, gripping the seel hard until her knuckles turned white. She watched as the young teen dashed down the road and out of sight. She didn't even have time to make breakfast, and he was already out of the apartment.

Strange.

For weeks, he'd been leaving early in the morning without any explanation. She hadn't been able to ask him about his whereabouts because when he was home; he was always closed off in his room, and she wasn't the type to just barge in on a teenager like that. He could've be doing anything.

Sighing, she gently pushed her upper half back inside and landed on her feet with a low thud.

Like his father; Raven was so nonchalant and aloof with his ways, it was extremely difficult to tell what he was thinking. She couldn't help but be worried because of how some view people like him. Especially if he was to run into a Corsican. For his age, he had a high ranking, but his overall skills and accuracy in combat were severely lacking. That's one thing he didn't get from his father.

She felt a heavy hand brush against the top of her head, and she looked up to see a pair of dark eyes gazing down at her. His lips curved into a slight smirk as his fingers rustled through her thick, mahogany brown coils. She gave him a small smile; but before she could open her mouth to speak, he had her underneath her pits and hoisted her high up towards the ceiling.

A series of giggles escaped from her lips, and she held onto his shoulders for dear life. Knowing he wouldn't dare drop her.

"Nico! Put me down!" She cried in between giggles.

Giving her a sly smile, he brought her down just enough to plant a kiss fully on her plump lips. She loved how his smooth lips felt against her, but his kisses were anything but gentle. Even the simple pecks were filled with such raw emotion, it was... daunting.

The kiss lasted for a mere two minutes then he lowered her down to eye level and she wrapped her short legs around his torso. Wrapping her toned arms around his neck and running her dainty fingers through his jet black hair, she looked deep into his eyes and sighed as heat rushed to her cheeks. He couldn't say it with words, but his eyes told it all.

I love you.

She didn't want to mess up their moment because Nicolas had to be in an ecstatic mood to even show her this much affection. But he needed to know what was going on with Raven.

"Eh, bae. Raven, uh, left again. Without saying anything." She chose her words carefully. It was too early for him to be getting riled up, and she didn't want to spoil it with stories about their suspicious son.

He looked at her with expressionless eyes and loosened his grip on her tight waist. Nicolas had a very lenient way of parenting. The only lesson he instilled in him were the Three Laws; though he didn't care for them himself, he was sure he wasn't out there getting into too much trouble. Or at least he hoped.

He just shook his head lightly, letting her know not to worry too much about him. She trusted his judgement on everything except for when it came to their children. Besides, they didn't have the best father-son relationship.

"I dunno Nico. I'm still worried." She lowered her eyes a bit and spoke softly, "I mean, what if he has a run in with the Corsica family? You know how those people feel about Tags."

He let out a low gruff and cocked his left eyebrow. Of course he expected him to be able to defend himself if the need arises; and he couldn't keep an eye on him all the time, like she wanted. Not with his handyman work. He had to go out and make a living since she was house ridden.

She jerked a bit at the sound of a high pitched cry coming from downstairs. She jumped out of his arms and headed down the steps taking two at a time and slammed the door shut behind her.

He blinked a few times, rubbing the back of his neck, and went over to the desk to retrieve the book he had been reading. He went back over to the window and caught a glimpse of a dark haired woman in the back alleyway with a man with boyishly light hair. Though he couldn't hear the commotion; he knew she was being berated by him...again