by Kian Rhodes
“Are you okay, love?” That deep baritone was breathless in my ear, and the hot puffs of air hitting my skin as he spoke made me shiver beneath him. I was gasping for breath when he rolled off me and dragged me into his lap. Capable hands removed my shoes and socks, setting my feet flat on the forest floor. “Harley?” His voice was soothing as I fought to find something to concentrate on. "Focus on my voice, love. Count with me."
"One. Two. Three. Four. Five," I chanted obediently. As each number was named, a pebble was placed in my hand. As I started to come back to myself, I suddenly realized that my savior was trying to ground me. Pressing my bare feet to the earth. Listing numbers. Touching physical objects. He was leading me through some of the coping techniques that the doctors had taught me before releasing me to Zade's care.
I was propped up against a firm chest and, despite the concern I could hear in his voice, the hand rubbing circles on my chest was gentle. Finally able to breathe again, I managed a jerky nod. “I’m okay.”
I felt rather than heard the relieved sigh.
“What were you doing at the edge? That’s a long damned drop.”
That was an excellent question.
The last thing I remembered was walking into the woods to look for Scooter after Levi told me that the wolf had taken off after a rabbit. I wasn’t even sure how far I had traveled.
All I could do was shake my head. “I’m not sure. I was looking for my.. for a friend and I must have zoned out.” As the strong arms tight around me and soft lips brushed over the back of my neck, I suddenly realized that other than feeling that the voice was vaguely familiar, I had no idea who was holding me so intimately.
Twisting around, I looked up into the face of a man with high cheekbones, a strong chin, and a cap of close-cropped black curls. His oddly-colored turquoise eyes were framed by long, thick lashes and nearly glowed against his brown skin.
If I’d had to describe him, stunning would have been an understatement.
But with all of those amazing attributes, what really caught my attention was the expression of deep concern that he wore.
“Thank you for catching me.” I finally recovered myself enough to remember my manners. “That was incredibly careless of me.” I tried to struggle to my feet but gave up quickly when the man didn’t release his hold. I knew I should have been distressed to be captive, but for some reason I felt safe and protected.
“Harley,” his voice was back to the measured tone he’d used before my near fall. “Do you know who I am?”
“I..I don’t think so,” I admitted. A curious knot of dread built in my stomach at the thought that my answer might disappoint him. After all, he clearly knew who I was. “I’m sorry. My memory..”
“It’s okay,” he said softly. “I know you’re having a rough time. My name is Scott and I knew you well when we were younger.”
“You did?” I felt my eyes widen at the same time that something inside me twitched. The feeling was odd, but not unpleasant. Almost like my body was confirming that I was in good hands. “We were…were we friends?”
“Something like that,” Scott said with a smile. “We, ah, lost touch a while back and I’ve been looking for you ever since.” His lips brushed my cheek, making me wonder just how close we had been. “I’ve missed you, Harley.”
“Oh.” What was I supposed to say after the beautiful stranger had saved my life and told me that he’d missed me?
“Anyway,” Scott gave me one last squeeze and rose to his feet, pulling me up with him, “People are probably worried about you. You’re quite a distance from where you’re staying. Why don’t I give you a ride home?”
“You know where I’m staying?”
Scott nodded. “I was actually going over to talk to Zade, anyway.”
“Really?”
“Really,” Scott confirmed with a wink. “Come on. I left my van over here.”
Chapter
Ten
Scott
Even though I knew Zade was going to have it out for my ass after I told Harley that we had history, it was worth it to see the surprise and relief in his face when he realized someone knew who he was before. After all, as rough as it would be to forget yourself, I couldn’t imagine also being surrounded by others who couldn’t – or wouldn’t – fill in the blanks.
“This is so cool,” Harley breathed out, swiveling his seat around and taking in the tiny living space in the back of my van. “Do you actually live in here?”
“Sometimes,” I confirmed. “You can go check it out, if you want.”
Harley grinned and for the first time since I’d found him, he seemed to lose all his nervousness and some of the cockiness I was used to surfaced. He poked around in the back, lifting the mattress and testing out the slide that pulled the couch down into a queen bed and fell back on it, laughing as he bounced. “Have I been in this before? This all seems really familiar to me.”
I bit my tongue to keep from saying that it should. After all, when I’d begun retrofitting the van, I relied almost exclusively on the plans that Harley and I had spent hours upon hours designing together. Back then, we’d planned on owning a tiny caravan design company. After I’d lost him, I didn’t have the heart to continue it on my own.
Shaking off the funk of the past, I forced myself to smile. “If you slide that panel aside, there’s a bathroom. If you move the other side, I have a tiny kitchen.”
“Wow.” Harley took me at my word and began moving panels and opening cabinets, oohing over my multi-level table and hidden storage cubbies. “You have a shower,” he mused, “but where’s the water tank?”
“Where would you have put it?” I countered, enjoying the wonder on his face as he explored.
“Hmm,” he hummed, his bright eyes bouncing around the tiny space before settling on the throw rug in the center of the floor. He twitched his eyes down dramatically, making me laugh. “A clue!”
“Yup,” I agreed, tapping my toe against the spring-loaded release that was recessed into the molding.
When the trapdoor sprang up – rug still in place – and revealed the water tank below, Harley laughed delightedly. “I knew it!” He ran his fingers over the painted wood panel before looking up in surprise. “Seriously? It's not even a real rug? You painted it on? That’s amazing!”
I felt my cheeks getting hot and rubbed the back of my neck. “It’s not like it’s a work of art, or anything,” I disputed weakly.
“It’s pretty neat,” he argued, still running his fingers over the shellacked surface. “I never would have guessed that it was a painting.” He pressed in the catch and gently lowered the trapdoor door before stepping back to admire the floor. "You'd never know it was there."
"That was the idea." I cleared my throat. "We really should get you back, Harley." When his lips drooped into a familiar pout, I shook my head. "As soon as Zade knows you're safe, you can check the van out to your heart's content, okay?"
At that assurance, Harley grumbled under his breath, but returned to his seat and spun it around, locking the swivel base and snapping on his seatbelt. "Happy?"
I swallowed my laugh. While I knew most people – Alphas, especially – would be put off by the brattitude, it had always been one of Harley's most appealing quirks to me. "Ecstatic," I said dryly, smirking when he huffed and turned to look out the window.
The drive back to Blood Valley territory only took about twenty minutes, but, of course, Harley had been gone much longer than that and, as I expected, the troops were out in force looking for him when we arrived.
The glare that Zade pinned me with as Harley climbed out of my passenger seat made it clear there was going to be yet another discussion in the near future.
I forced back a groan.
"You okay?" Zade asked, his glare softening into a look of concern when his eyes met Harley's. "We weren't sure where you went."
"Sorry." Harley's shoulders drooped and all evidence of his ol
d fire fled. "I didn't really mean to go anywhere." He chewed his bottom lip, his eyes trained on the ground. "I was just going to look for the wolf and I must have gotten lost or something."
"It's okay, Harley." Zade's husband hurried to assure him, planting his elbow none-to-gently in Zade's side. "Did you find him?"
Harley shook his head. "I ran into Scott and he showed me his van and then brought me back." He perked up a little. "You should see the inside," he told Levi hesitantly. "It's like an entire little house in there!"
"Why don't you show him, Har?" I suggested. "I did say you could finish checking it out when we got here."
Once the two Omegas had climbed into the back of the van, I took a few steps away and gestured for Zade to come with me.
"Don't start," I warned under my breath. "I found him dazed and about to walk off a fucking cliff. There was no way I was leaving him out there alone."
Zade's anger turned to shock and melted into fear in front of my eyes. He inhaled sharply and held the breath for several long minutes. When he finally released it, he looked worried. "Doc called after you left. He agrees you were probably in the dream." Zade shook his head disbelievingly. "He suggested having Trevor try to get through to him." He hesitated for a minute. "Trevor's supposed to have some special gifts, I guess."
I barely held back a laugh at the understatement, but managed to nod my head seriously. "I've heard."
Zade stared at me and I could see he had something to say. Finally, he inhaled and spit it out, "Trevor thinks you should come with us."
Ah. That explained why Zade hadn't wanted to tell me. "When do we leave?"
Zade sighed. "No time like the present."
Chapter
Eleven
Harley
Having to leave my wolf behind to go and meet with a so-called Empath had me seriously regretting the fact that I had told anyone about the damned nightmare. It wasn't like it was my first, so I couldn't quite figure out why it was such a big deal.
"Scooter will be fine," Zade's voice came from behind me as I stood at the edge of the woods, staring into the shadows cast by the setting sun. "But we need to hit the road. Are you ready?"
"Yeah, sure." I followed him toward the truck and stopped short when I saw Scott's van idling next to it. "Is Scott going, too?"
"Yeah, he is."
"Really?" Suddenly leaving the wolf wasn't quite as distressing. After all, in the forest I'd gotten the same safe, comfortable feeling from being around Scott that I did from burying my face in my four-legged friend's fur. "Can I ride with him?" I heard a chuckle from behind me and spun around, catching Scott watching us. "Can I ride with you?" Zade looked like he had just bitten into a lemon, so I hurried to make my case. "It would give you and Levi some time alone, yeah?"
Zade narrowed his eyes but nodded slowly. "I suppose, but you have to obey him."
"Yeah, sure," I agreed, hopping into the van and closing the door before Zade could change his mind. When Scott climbed in next to me, I lost a little bit of my bravado. "I guess I should have asked if you minded being saddled with me."
Scott snorted and shook his head. "You literally never have to worry about that, Har." He followed Zade's truck out onto the main road. "You're welcome to find something on the radio."
Everybody had been really nice to me – especially considering how much work my episodes caused them – but there was something about the way that Scott treated me that helped me to relax. Or maybe it was how he didn't treat me – specifically, like I was a bomb that could go off any minute – that made him so easy to be around.
I pressed the knob to turn the radio on and immediately cranked the volume when my lips began moving with the song that came on. I saw Scott glance at me from the corner of his eye, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he began to sing along with me, both of us belting it out at the top of our lungs.
The ride was shorter than I expected, and it wasn't long before we pulled into what looked like a tiny village. All of the houses and other buildings were brightly painted with white trim and radiated out from some sort of community building like spokes on an old-fashioned wagon wheel. It was adorable.
When the van rolled to a stop, Scott offered me a hand down and walked beside me to where Zade stood on the porch of the community building, huffing impatiently.
"Why don't you come with me?" Levi asked, throwing a narrow-eyed look at Zade. "I'll introduce you to Trevor."
Trevor ended up being a gentle soul with light brown hair streaked with red and gold and large caramel eyes. He was heavy set and wore a loose tunic over a pair of blue jeans. He greeted me quietly, smiling when I leaned down to speak to the three gangly puppies scrambling around his bare feet.
"Come in and have a seat, Harley." He waited for me to settle onto the sofa and sat down across from me. "I understand you need some help deciphering a dream?"
"Oh, um, not really," I stuttered, looking around for Levi.
"It's more that he can't seem to remember his dreams, Trevor," Levi spoke up. "But we're pretty sure that they are nightmares."
"And you think it might help if he can remember them?"
Levi nodded. "We hope so."
Trevor smiled at me and reached over to take a handful of animal crackers from the bowl in the center of the coffee table. "I'd be happy to try and help," he offered, popping a cookie into his mouth. "Assuming it's what you want, Harley?"
I blew out the breath I was holding and nodded slowly. "I think it is." I plucked at a loose thread on my jeans. "If I can't remember, the doctor says they'll have to put me on medication to control me." An involuntary shudder ripped through my body. "I really don't want that."
Trevor's eyes twitched, his lips pursing into a slight frown, but he nodded in agreement. "Okay. As long as you're sure it's what you want." He offered me the bowl of cookies.
"No, thanks," I said and then jerked my head up at the gasp from Levi. "Just on the cookies, Levi," I said, barely managing to hold back a laugh. "I'm accepting the help on the dreams, honest."
"Sorry," Levi mumbled, a flush coloring his cheeks as he stared down at his feet.
I wasn't really sure what to say – I mean, it wasn't as if he actually owed me an apology – so I turned back to Trevor instead. "What do I need to do? Take a nap?"
Trevor shook his head. "No. We just need to spend a few minutes meditating. Do you want to start now?"
I nodded. "The sooner, the better."
"Okay." Trevor struggled to his feet and waited for me to follow. "Levi, do you mind asking everyone to wait out here?"
Levi nodded, still looking oddly distressed and forced a smile in my direction. "Good luck, Harley."
"Thanks," I responded, hoping my voice sounded more confident than I felt. "I'm sure everything will be fine."
I'm not sure what I was expecting. A smoke-filled room full of stinky candles and crystal balls like the fortune teller tent at the county fair, maybe? Actually, if I was honest, that was exactly what I was expecting. So, when Trevor led me to a cozy kitchen and gestured for me to sit at the dining table while he filled a teapot at the sink, I was more than a little surprised. "We're going to do it here?"
"Sure," Trevor said agreeably. "Like I said, you won't really be sleeping and it usually only takes a few minutes, so.." He trailed off and settled into the chair across from me, stretching his arms out, palms up and waited until I cautiously placed my own on top of his, palms down. "Good. Now, Harley, we are going to close our eyes and then all you have to do is listen to my voice, okay?"
"Okay." I drew in a deep breath, grateful that the man hadn't commented on the nervous squeak that my voice was reduced to.
"Good. Now, close your eyes and match your breaths to mine."
Trevor inhaled slowly and held the breath. As crazy as it sounds, I swear I could hear him counting to three in my mind before he exhaled and then drew in another.
The darkness in front of my eyel
ids began to swirl.
Little flecks of light appeared and then burned out.
The darkness shimmered and then I was standing in the center of a forest. The moon was full and tinged red, but the thick canopy overhead filtered out the light, leaving me surrounded in shadows.
The air was thick with a mist that clung to my chilled skin, making me shudder with every faint breeze that drifted by.
There was a sharp, acrid scent wafting on the air and my nose wrinkled against it. In the distance, I could barely make out the outline of a small cottage hidden amongst the trees and I shivered, all but overwhelmed by a cloud of dread that made me want to drop to my knees and weep.
"Harley?" Trevor's calm voice wrapped around me, soothing me. "Are you okay?"
"I..think so," I managed to stutter, swinging around wildly as I tried to find him. "Where are you?"
"I'm right here." A firm hand rested on my shoulder, urging me to turn and meet his concerned gaze. "Can you see me now?"
I nodded, my breaths coming in pants.
"Good. Does any of this look familiar?"
"Yes," I confirmed, too scared to be concerned about the high pitch ofmy voice. "But I don't know why."
"That's okay," Trevor assured me. "You don't have to know anything right now, dear. Can you tell me what you're feeling?"
"Scared," I said immediately.
"Of what?"
"I..I'm not sure," I said slowly. I pointed to the outline of the cottage in the distance. "It's almost like there are waves of evil coming from over there." I drew in a breath, the weight of the soggy air heavy in my chest. "Stupid, right?"
"No, Harley, it's not," Trevor disagreed. "I can feel it, too." He studied the darkness around us curiously. "There is definitely a negative presence."
An angry screech came from the distance, making me think of a wounded animal. I began to shake and started to back away from the danger that I perceived heading my way.
"Harley? Where are you going?"
Words escaping me, I shook my head frantically as a large, hulking form stumbled toward me, its features hidden in the dark.