Gasping, I jolt out of bed covered in sweat and grab my neck. I rush into the bathroom and turn on the light, scared at what I’ll see. He’s never bitten me before, but it felt so real. And what’s worse is who it came from. There’s no mark on my skin when I look in the mirror, but it could’ve already healed. Biting and sharing blood between mates is sacred. It opens a link between them, allowing them to hear each other’s thoughts. With it being just a dream, does it mean he’ll be able to listen to my thoughts now? I didn’t take his blood which means it’ll be a one-way connection. My mind will be open to his. Please don’t let it be so.
“Kami, are you okay?” Amelie asks, gently tapping on the bedroom door.
I turn on the faucet and splash cold water on my face. “I’m fine. Just a nightmare.”
“Ah, I see. You’re probably just nervous about today.”
She couldn’t be more wrong. Yes, I’m nervous about my training, but I’m terrified about my dream. It can’t be real. I won’t let it.
“Yeah, that’s probably it,” I lie. Looking into the bedroom, I see the alarm clock says it’s five in the morning. There’s no going back to sleep for me.
Amelie’s footsteps echo down the hallway toward her room. I dry off my face and walk back into my bedroom to sit on the bed. There are so many emotions fighting inside of me. My heart and my wolf tell me one thing, but my mind screams another. I can’t give in.
I see my cell on the nightstand, and I snatch it up. It’s early, but I have to talk to Tia. Heart racing, I click her name and hit send. It rings and rings, but she picks up, her voice groggy with sleep.
“Kami? Is something wrong?”
“Everything’s wrong,” I hiss, keeping my voice low. “Please tell me you have a magical spell to make people forget things.”
She yawns. “I do. Is it for you?”
Groaning, I close my eyes and sit back down on the bed. All I can see is his face. “Yes. I had another dream.”
“Okay,” she replies, sounding confused. “I thought you liked your dreams?”
“Not this one. I’m almost scared to fall asleep again.” I know I’ll dream about him.
“What the hell? Was it a nightmare?”
I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “You could say that. Do you think you can help me? The last thing I want is to use your magic, but I really need you.”
“It’s fine, Kami. I know you’re not my friend because of my magic. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Tomorrow, I’ll gather up everything I need. I don’t have a spell to help with bad dreams, but there is a tonic I remember my mother giving me when I was little. It was an herbal tea I drank at night before going to bed. I’m sure I can find the herbs here.”
With a heavy sigh, I open my eyes and walk over to the window. “Thank you, Tia.”
The magic of the full moon isn’t as strong, but I can feel its pull. I don’t know what to do. My dreams all make sense now. There’s a reason why I could never see him. I don’t know why it took him biting me for the spell to break. Is it because there’s a full moon, and my magic is at its strongest? Either way, I’m screwed.
“What did you dream about, Kami?” Tia asks, her voice soft and full of concern. She knows I used to have nightmares about my time in captivity before I began having the mating dreams.
“My mate,” I say, barely getting the words out. “I finally got to see who he is.”
She gasps. “Seriously? Who is he?”
Looking out the window, it’s so dark I can see my reflection in the glass. “He’s the one wolf I loathe above all others. It figures he’d wind up being my mate.”
“Oh. My. God. What are you going to do?”
I look at my reflection and turn away from it. “I’m going to stay away from him.”
“Is that even possible? I thought once the mating signs started, it’s impossible to ignore them.”
Even now, my body still remembers my mate’s touch in my dreams. There’s no way Colin could be like that. I force the thoughts from my mind. “I refuse to give in to this, Tia. Colin and I don’t fit. We never will.” Colin Storm will not be my mate. I’ll fight against it with every fiber of my being.
“What if he realizes you’re his mate now too? It’s inevitable, Kami. He won’t let you go.”
Colin is relentless. I can’t even imagine what it’ll be like if he were to find out. The best thing is to stay away from him. “I’ll figure that out when the time comes.”
My world was decadent, if not lonely. Raised by an aging Blue Blooded sycophant, I couldn’t stomach the idea of a forced marriage.
