Ch-1: Raven's Old Life

Running down the alley was useless for Axel knew that it was again one of those days he had to endure the forceful beatings and despicable taunting of the bullying gang. Axel ran as if it was the end of his life, he was a silent sufferer but he knew his limits quite well. He knew that something even worse could happen to him, so he kept running and running...until it was a dead end.

"Got nowhere to hide now huh weirdo?" -said one hooded guy with a potato face.

"Oh just give up! You will enjoy our beatings so much today, that you'll probably forget your daddy's name"-said another with a sinister smirk.

"JUST WHAT DO YOU JERKS WANT FROM ME?! WHAT HAVE I DONE TO ALL OF YOU?!"- Axel panted as he knew that his words would hold no meaning. He tried to plead..."𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘰...𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦..." But to no avail.

Once again, his beautiful hazel eyes lost their shine, now filled with tears. His delicate honey toned face now covered in bruises and wounds. His clothes tarnished, pain pervaded in his body. He could do nothing, they were too many and he was alone. He had no one to wait for him at home, no one to look out for him and no one to be beside him. At these moments, the only things that came to his mind were the memories he had spent with his mother.

He was walking home as he passed by the bookstore. Remembering that the book he had bought the last week was finished, he decided to grab a fresh new book from the recent collection.

"Oh my, Axel! Son! How is it going? Here for a"- the bookseller stopped mid-sentence as he looked at the poor boy covered in scratches and wounds,unable to speak for a minute.

"I would like to purchase this one, Uncle Julian."- Axel said in a tranquil tone holding up a thick novel with the title 'The Duke's Betrayal'.

The old owner was very worried looking at his state, perhaps he was the only one who looked at him like that when something bad happened to him.

He said in a concerned tone-"Axel, this is the third time this month. Please, try to understand, you need to seek help from someone to resolve this issue. How long will you endure it? Last time I wanted to contact the helpline but you refused. You won't even talk to your father about this... C'mon son, for the love of god, ask for help."

"Thank you for your concern uncle but its alright! I can deal with it. I promise you won't have to see me like this...Now how much for this book?" completely ignoring the bookseller's words

Without paying any heed to the old bookseller, the boy went back to his apartment. After freshening up and bandaging his wounds, Axel went to his room to check the new book he had bought. After going through the book, he realized that this dark romance was not his genre at all. But, the words '𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?' kept him hooked on the book.

Two weeks passed by in a wink and the book, despite being a mystery novel made him laugh hysterically. Even in school, all he thought about was the next plot.

"What a ridiculous story! Why would you trust someone you know has bad intentions and give him your love? Why are you so stupid Odion?"- he went on to have an imaginary conversation with the main character of the novel. He enjoyed doing so.