The corners of his lips tug downward. “I don’t know.”

“Me neither,” I say then start to leave, deciding to leave it at that.

“I don’t want you to have to put your feelings aside,” he repeats. “So don’t.”

I take a deep breath before turning toward him. “Then what? You have to be the one to do it.” I shake my head. “No way.”

He swallows hard, and I detect the slightest bit of fear in his eyes. “No … I’m just saying that neither of us should push our feelings aside.”

I stare at him, pulling my brows together. “I’m not sure what you’re saying.”

He exhales shakily as he steps toward me. “You know I believe in soul mates, right?” he asks, and I nod. “Well, if your soul belongs to her, and so does mine, then who am I to stop it?”

“Jax … you’re getting caught up too quickly in her,” I say with a heavy sigh. “And I think it’s because you’re already convinced she’s Willow.”

He carries my gaze in a surprisingly steady way. “In all the time you’ve known me, have you ever known me to get caught up in any girl too quickly?”

He’s right. Jax has never even gotten caught up in a girl. Except for Willow. But she was a part of us—all four of us were.

The Raven Four … Benton said it while we were getting the booze.

“Just think about it, okay?” He gives me a pat on the shoulder, suddenly becoming the calm, rational one.

And me? I don’t know what to think. Because part of me thinks his idea is completely insane. But the other part of me wants it more than I’ve wanted anything else in my life. And that in itself might be the most frightening part of this.

10

RAVEN

Zay stays fairly quiet as we collect candles from around the house and light them, one by one, until a faint glow dances around nearly the entire bottom floor of the house.

We’re currently gathering candles in the washroom, which has a door just before where the kitchen is located. Each candle he lights makes me feel a bit better about the darkness. However, nothing has helped me feel better about how much I upset Jax and Hunter. The longer they’re gone to—well, I’m guessing one of their rooms—the more I worry.

It’s starting to drive me crazy thinking about how I feel like I caused their fight. And the silence isn’t helping alleviate the guilt twisting inside my stomach.

“Dude, you guys have a lot of candles,” I try to joke to crack through the maddening silence.

The corners of his lips twitch as he almost smiles. Then he flicks the lighter and lights another candle. “What constitutes a lot of candles?”

I tap my finger against my lips. “More than ten.”

“And who decided that number?” he questions, setting the candle down on the table.

I shrug. “The most awesome person ever, which just so happens to be standing beside you.”