I haven't had the opportunity to witness many initiations in my lifetime. It was a very private, intimate ceremony that only consisted of the Don, Underboss, Consigliere, our Capo's and two people of the initiate's choosing. I had seen my brother be initiated, as well as Rafael. I first witnessed it when Alessio and I were 10, and then again at 13 for Rafael. To be invited into this room during this cherished ceremony was one of the highest honors anyone could have. Even more so if this person lived on to become a Don.

I hadn't known the kid for longer than a day, but I could tell that there was something special about him. There was something in his eyes, a kind of determination. It was refreshing. He sat in the common room with his spine as straight as a pole. His face held no expression and he didn't find interest in anything in the room, he just stared at the wall in front of him. "Is there anyone you would like to invite to your initiation, kid?" Rafael's voice came from behind me as he entered the room.

His hands brushed my waist so lightly I could barely feel it, but it lit me up like a Christmas tree with goosebumps erupting over my skin. He spared me no glance as he sat in front of the boy.

"No." Rafael nodded and took a sharp breath in through his nose. He looked the kid over for a few moments before looking over at me. "Well, they're ready for you piccolo." I spoke with a smile.

"Piccolo is not my name, my name is Mattia." The kid, Mattia spoke. It was nice to hear him speak more than one word at a time. I raised an eyebrow and him and gave a tight smile, "I prefer piccolo, I think it suits you more." After pivoting I made my way to one of the gathering areas in Alessio's home. It was where we all gathered to discuss the business casually. It was a grand room, there was a floor to ceiling bookcase and a beautiful fireplace. It was a cozy place to gather in the wintertime. Behind the bookcase was a room, the room where we hold the initiations. The only way to get in to this room was by the fingerprints of out immediate family, plus Rafael. I placed my thumb on the scanner and watched at the bookshelf split into two and reveal a cherry wood, door.

I turned to Mattia and watched as he analyzed the door before walking through the threshold. There was a dimly lit hallway that led to a small gathering room where Alessio, Antonio - our Consigliere - and our Capo's were sitting. Alessio sat at the head of the table, Rafael and I sat on the left and right side of him. Alessio sized Mattia up before standing, causing the entire room to follow suit. Antonio placed a gun and dagger before the boy, his initials were engraved in both.

"Today you will become new, you will be baptized. This is the beginning of your new life with your new family. You will dedicate your life to your family; if I bleed you bleed, if you bleed so do I." My brother spoke before walking over to the boy and handing him a small card with a picture of Saint Mary. In true mafia fashion, my brother grabbed Mattia's dagger and pricked both his and the boys finger before smearing the blood onto the card. Using one of the candles in the room, Alessio placed the tip of the card into the flame. "Repeat after me,"

We all spoke, "As burns this Saint, so will burn my soul. I enter alive and will leave in death." These words symbolized the new family Mattia entered, he was now one of us. He would never be able to go back to his family, not unless his father was initiated. I turned to Mattia with a smile, "It's time for us to go shopping, we have a party to attend." Rafael and my brother turned to each other with smirks on their faces. "Have fun, kid." Alessio spoke.

+++

Honestly, the kid was beginning to freak me out. He had not spoken or moved in quite some time. I was basically ordering him around, which wasn't unusual for me but he was so robotic. "Turn around." He currently wore a jet black suit with a white collared shirt and a black necktie. I couldn't choose between the bow tie and the regular tie. He turned towards me with his hands in the pants pocket as I've instructed him many times.

"Balls in our family are a pretty big deal, you know." He blinked. "I hope that you have a lot of fun tonight or at least become less tense." He stared at the blank wall behind my head. Footsteps approached and a voice spoke, "I haven't seen you try to force words out of someone this way." I turned to Rafael annoyed.

"I'm not doing this with you right now." Rafael approached Mattia and began to adjust his tie. "I know she's intimidating, and kind of an ass but she does have the best intentions for you." Finally, Mattia looked up at Rafael. The blank stare did not change but it was something, which I appreciated. Just not that it had to come at my expense.

The small action did pull at my heartstrings and for a moment I saw the future I wished for. The little boy that would kiss my cheek when he came home from school. The little girl that I would take shopping with me. They would play in the backyard with the dog and I would give them the world. "Well, you look handsome kid, I'll meet you guys there. I'm driving with mom and Elena."

I ordered a custom dress just for this event, the last time most of these people saw me I was on the arm of Valentin. I hate to admit it but my father was right, people would be gossiping as he just disappeared one day. I wanted to make an impression, to show that I was okay and that our family was okay. I know that if everyone saw Marco willingly make moves to ensure the allegiance of our families they would rest assured that everything was going smoothly. Which is where his beautiful wife Theresa comes in - in cases of men like Marco, their wives tend to be subtle decision makers. The kind that plant a seed of thought into their husbands minds to create action.

So when I saw her standing there I grabbed Elena's hand and dragged her with me on my mission. "Theresa, I would like to introduce you to my beautiful sister in law, Elena." Elena looked at me with a slight crease between her brows, confused before acknowledging Theresa. "I'm Elena, not quite an in law but Alessio and I have been together for some time." She spoke.

A smile appeared on Theresa's face and she gave a slight nod, "It's very nice to meet you. I've been looking for an opportunity to get to know more people. We should all go out sometime."

"Yes, hopefully sometime soon. Personally, I'm more of a shopping kind of girl but my brother has people watching us like hawks so that makes it a little difficult."

Theresa let out a loud sigh, shaking her head, "Marco was the same way for the longest time. It was very frustrating but I convinced him to let it go as long as I went to my self defense classes."

Both Theresa's and Elena's gaze turned behind me and I found a hand lightly on my waist. "Ladies, I hope you don't mind me stealing Alessandra away from you." They both gave a sly smile and shook their heads, as Rafael pulled me to the center of the floor.

"Rafael, what do you need? I was busy."

"We need to talk and I doubt you'll make a scene with everyone watching us." He pulled me close and we began to sway on the dancefloor. Clair de lune played in the background and when I closed my eyes, I was there again. "This is our song, do you remember?"

"Yes, I remember but I don't want to talk about it." We stayed there for a while and it felt like home. Like the time before Valentin, when it was just him and I and no one else. When I could just simply exist. It was equally scary though, the way the sky is just so beautiful when it rains. You know you shouldn't be so close to the window watching as the water falls from the sky and lightning strikes the sky, but you can't stay away.

A/N

Hello hello :)
I know it's been quite some time since I've updated but I wanted to drop this chapter for you guys. I've been working on it for almost a week but I finally finished! I see that many of you have added the story to your reading lists and have been voting so I wanted to say thank you! I appreciate you all!

Kisses!
-Shay