Ebony Slumbers

by Nova Blake

  Rafe chuckled, then grabbed probably eight bags of groceries, those arm muscles I'd mentioned before on full display. I looked away, not needing anything to fuel my thoughts, and once he'd passed me I grabbed a couple more bags from the boot of the car and followed him inside.

  It took us an hour to sort through everything, but we got there, just in time for Zephyr to come inside with a stack of hot pizza. The smell made me drool and my stomach rumble. All the handling of food without being able to eat it had gotten to me. I snatched the first box and ran with it to the lounge.

  "Hey! That's for sharing," he called after me.

  "You guys can share with each other," I yelled back. I sank into the beanbag, ensuring that no one could cozy up next to me.

  I had to stay focused. Which meant switching on the TV and watching whatever was on while eating this delicious pizza. Arien, Felix, Rafe and Zephyr filed in and when Felix reached out towards my pizza box I snatched it away and glared at him. "I've been worked out until I theoretically bled to death, and then forced to handle food for an hour without being able to eat any of it. You steal my pizza I will bite your hand."

  "Easy, Princess. I'm a gentleman, I'd never steal your pizza."

  I snorted so hard I sounded like a little piggy, entirely unintentional, but resulting in laughter from the rest of them. I turned my back and bit into a slice, letting the beach scene on the TV take me away to another place. One where there was nothing more concerning than convincing a man he was in love with you in order to survive to the next round and win the prize.

  If only real life were so easy.

  CHAPTER TEN

  My leg vibrated, jolting me out of my relaxed state. I sat up in the beanbag, or tried, and grabbed my phone. That was going to take some getting used to.

  My phone.

  And I had a text message. The first one ever.

  It's Sheehan. Do you want me to tie you up tonight?

  I moved the screen, making sure no one could see it. They might know that we'd slept together but I did not need them knowing the details.

  Yes, I do. But just that. Is that okay? I feel like I need to stay focused.

  Totally fine.

  I glanced over my shoulder to see him smiling at me. I smiled back, sagging back into the beanbag with relief. And then my phone buzzed again.

  I'm going to my room just text me when you're ready.

  Okay.

  I heard Sheehan get up and leave the room, my phone pinged again, but it wasn't a message, just one of my games.

  It was weird to communicate like this. Normally everything I did was spoken, but this gave me a little insight into what life must be like for Sheehan. Considering the delay in responses, the time it took to physically write out what he wanted to say, it was amazing he was so patient - and probably just as well. I would go mad with it.

  "Who’s sending you messages?" Zephyr asked.

  "Oh, just game notifications. I downloaded a bunch... I guess when you've been denied something for so long you tend to go a little overboard." I threw a pointed look over my shoulder at Rafe, but in my head I was thinking it wasn't just games I'd been denied, but a bunch of things. Everything could have been so different if they'd just let me in.

  Hell, if I'd just let me in too.

  But if I was in on this whole thing from the beginning, then I must have thought it was for the best. It certainly didn't feel that way in reality though.

  "Are the others coming home tonight?" I asked.

  "At some point, someone has to keep watch though. They'll take it in shifts." Rafe nudged Felix, who was sitting on the couch next to him. "You should get back to watching too."

  Felix sighed, but got up anyway. "But first, more coffee. It's going to be a long night." He headed for the kitchen. "Sleep well, Princess," he called over this shoulder.

  "You should get some sleep too, Ebony. We don't know what tomorrow will hold. Make sure you charge your phone."

  I managed to get out of the beanbag with all the grace of a drunken footballer, then stretched my back out, eyes on Rafe. It was just him and Zephyr left in the lounge. Of the two, Rafe seemed like he'd aged a decade in a day.

  "You're going to get some sleep too right?" I asked him.

  "Soon. I just want to check in with the guys. You should get to bed as well though Zeph. Grab it while you can." Rafe shoved the younger man roughly off the couch and then kicked his legs up so Zephyr couldn't sit back down

  "Whatever, man." Zephyr shrugged it off, then offered me his arm. "I'll escort Ebony upstairs then. The pleasure would be mine." He raised an eyebrow and I couldn't help but laugh.

  "You sound like you're from a hundred years ago."

  "Chivalry is not dead, no matter what they say."

  I slid my hand over his arm and let him lead me upstairs. He smelled lovely and clean, like soap and apple shampoo, and his fingers were smooth, unlined and soft in a way that showed just how much younger he was than the others.

  "Do you want some company?" he asked when we stopped outside my door.

  I cocked my head and pursed my lips. His question seemed to have come from nowhere, and it made me feel a little uncomfortable. "Were you being a gentleman so I'd invite you in?"

  He shook his head. "No, not just that. I try and be one when I can. I just..."

  "You just thought that seeing as I'm exploring my options I might explore them with you tonight?" I slid my hand off his arm and placed it on the opposite door frame, creating a barrier to my room.

  His face tensed up and he crossed his arms. "Oh come on Ebony. You know I worship the ground you walk on. Why not?"

  I bit my lip. "I don't need to be worshiped, Zeph. I don't even want that. I don't know what I want." I flung my hands in the air, frustrated. "But what I don't want is for everyone to assume that just because I'm experimenting, I'm down to fuck anyone who looks vaguely interested in me."

  "Don't be like that-"

  "Like what?" I put a hand on his chest, pushing him back from my door. "A woman in charge of her life and her body? I will, and if you don't like that, then you can leave the whole damn house. I'm not messing around Zeph. I think you're cute, I like you, and I want you in my life, but this?" I circled my finger between him and me. "This is not how you start an intimate relationship. You need to learn to read the signs a bit better. I'm tired and I'm going to sleep. Alone."

  And with that I shut the door, locked it, and then leaned against it until I heard his footsteps retreat down the hallway and into his room.

  The room he shared with Sheehan.

  Crap. Now I had to try and think of a way to get Sheehan in here to tie me up without Zephyr getting all sad faced and pissed off about it. I went to the bathroom and sped through my evening routine, unlocked the door, and then I tied my own wrists, left, then right. He would just need to get me tied to the headboard and he could leave.

  Why did this have to be so complicated? And why the hell hadn't I been more careful about what I was doing? I should have known someone would be upset by my actions, but that had been the furthest thing from my mind when I was so caught in the moment.

  I could get caught in a moment with Zephyr, but it wasn't going to happen if he behaved like that. It needed to evolve naturally.

  Reaching for my phone, I sent a message to Sheehan, and just hoped it didn't go horribly wrong.

  I need you to come now, gotta be quick so Zephyr doesn't think we're messing around. Pretend you're getting a drink or something.

  I put the phone on charge and waited a couple minutes. He didn't knock on the door, just slid in and closed it behind him.

  "I've done as much as I can. Hurry though, I don't want him to be upset." He was already across the room though, grabbing one of the ties and swiftly attaching it to the bed head, then he did the second, just as efficiently before dropping a chaste kiss on my lips.

  And then he pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and held it in front of me, his eyes full of concern. You need t
o tell them.

  "Just one more night. Please?"

  He crumpled the note and shoved it back in his pocket, switching his weight from one foot to the other before he nodded.

  "Press the button so it locks behind you," I whispered loudly as he headed for the door. "And switch off the light." I could apologize for my bossiness in the morning, right now he needed to be gone. That was the only thing that mattered.

  And I needed to try and relax. Try not to think about the fact he was right and I should have told the guys about my nightmares and the sleepwalking. There was just so much on their minds already, knowing this would only make it worse.

  Relaxing would have been so much easier if Sheehan could have stayed to cuddle me. Dammit. How was this meant to work when some of what I wanted conflicted with other things that I wanted? How was I meant to be fair, but also true to myself? I just had to hope that we could all be grown up about this. Including me.

  I should have put some music on my phone, or turned on the radio, anything to swallow up the silence pervading my room. I twisted and turned, trying to get comfortable, even though it felt useless.

  I'd go to sleep.

  Eventually.

  Or maybe I wouldn’t. And maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.

  THERE WAS THAT SONG again. I could hear it so clearly now, though understanding of the words still eluded me. I was in a dream. I had to be. But the fact I knew that did nothing to still the bile in my throat or temper the fear in my chest.

  My feet moved, eating the ground between the stairs and the kitchen door. I willed myself to stop, to just turn around, to change directions - to wake up - but nothing worked. I had no control in this dream, just a watcher, inhabiting a vessel. Like a kid in a boat out on a wild sea.

  And then I was outside and I could hear footsteps on the path behind me. Slow steps, almost in sync with my own bare feet slapping the ground. But these feet were heavier, the tread of them vibrating through the concrete and into my own.

  I glanced over my shoulder to see the shape of a man, dressed in leather, a hood drawn over his head. His eyes glowed green from within and a guttural laugh ricocheted off the pavement.

  I had to move.

  I broke into a run. Trees loomed on either side of me, scratching at my face and arms, tearing at my hair. I could feel my fear struggling in my throat like a rabbit in a trap, a thin whine breaking free to pierce the night.

  They were going to get me. They were going to kill me. I didn't want to die, not here, not like this.

  I could hear him crashing through the brush behind me, gaining ground. He was taller than me, his legs longer, and I had nothing.

  It was just a dream, just a dream. I tried to make myself stop, to turn and face him. I wanted to pull his hood off and see who it was, but I kept running. I ducked around the trunk of a tree and spotted a hollow in the next one over and dove for it, pressing myself hard against the interior of the tree, hoping against all hope that the man didn't see me.

  My breath panted out in gasps, the hot air bouncing off the wood and back into my face. The air in the hollow was warming quickly, misting, getting thicker by the second.

  A faint smell curled up my nostrils and I inhaled.

  Wood smoke.

  The tree was on fire. I put my hand against the wood, could feel the heat traveling into my skin. Pressing my other hand to my face to cover my nose and mouth I pushed off from the internal wall, burst through the gap in the tree and back out into the woods where the chill in the air felt like it might grow nails and claw my skin off.

  If only I could wake up.

  If only I could control this dream.

  I took off again, not caring about the man in the woods hunting me, just needing to be away from the burning tree. Smoke clouded my vision and I looked up to see a glow in the distance. A bright light with a green shimmer to it that meant it couldn't be more flames. I headed toward it, drawing ragged breaths as I went. The smoke was gone now, or at least the smell of it, though the heavy white and grey blanket lay thickly in the air.

  I stumbled over a tree trunk or something, twisting my ankle and skinning my knees. I bit my lip to stop myself from crying out and clawed my way along the ground, trying to find a glimpse of where the light was coming from.

  An owl screeched overhead and I looked up to see it swooping low, tearing through the mist. It dropped something small and shiny on the ground in front of me and I reached out, my fingers closing over what felt like a stone. I turned it over, saw a red glow warming my hand, an emblem of some sort marked the stone and I held it high and heard a deep groan from behind me.

  It was too much. I just wanted to wake up in my bed, safe and cozy.

  A low growl sounded in front of me and I dropped the stone, my eyes falling to meet a cool canine gaze. Its head was slung low and it stalked towards me, its frame large, its fur a shock of white and grey.

  "No, please. Don't hurt me," I mumbled, scurrying backwards but catching my foot on something. Pain shot through my ankle and up my leg and this time I couldn't contain the scream. I let it out, howled it to the sky and the creature howled with me, wolfish tones filling my ears and then echoing through the forest.

  It stepped closer and then I realized it wasn't looking at me but something behind me. I glanced over my shoulder, catching a glimpse of the hooded man. The wolf growled again, this time it was more than just a threat. It was a promise.

  The man bolted, heading away from me faster than conceivable and I lost sight of him in the mist within seconds.

  A warm head bumped against my shoulder and I jolted, turning back to find the wolf standing over me, its growl reverberating through my body. I froze, holding my breath and wishing more than anything that I could just wake up. It was just me and the wolf and...

  Maybe I wasn’t asleep.

  Either way, there was a wolf straddling me.

  My brain struggled to be logical. It hadn't been after me, but the man. Tentatively I reached up, my fingers skimming its thick fur. When it didn't move I pressed harder, stroking the length of his body, all thoughts lost to the sensation of it. So soft. Such ferociousness coupled with this softness.

  It stopped growling, turning its face slightly and licking mine.

  "Eww," I said, surprised. Maybe I was still dreaming. This all made sense if I was. "Okay, no more of that. I'm not really a big fan of facial licks. At least not from animals."

  It butted me with its head, kind of like it was trying to get me to stand up. Which was a good idea. I gave up all thoughts of reality and just went with the dream thing. I wasn't insane. This was just some crazy fantasy because someone was trying to kill me and I wasn't getting enough sleep and nightmares. Nightmares all the time.

  "Okay, I'm getting," I told the wolf, moving onto my knees so could pull myself up. He leaned in, as if telling me to use him. So I did. Mystical dream wolves were awesome. Right up until he put his mouth around my hand. I froze again, then realized he wasn't hurting me, just... trying to lead me?

  "How about I just do this," I said, moving my hand to his neck. He was way taller than I thought he'd be, perfect height for leading me.

  I glanced around to find that the mist had lifted. And so had the smoke. What a messed up dream. An owl hooted overhead and I looked up, watching it swoop above me, pointing the same direction as the wolf.

  Well, alright then. We could do this. I patted its neck and we set off. The ground didn't seem so overloaded with branches now, but my ankle ached so badly from when I'd tripped that I had to limp. Actually, everything in my body ached. I wiped hair off my face and my fingers found cuts, came away red.

  Still a nightmare. Not a dream.

  It seemed like we'd been walking for hours and still hadn't breached the edge of the forest. I was just about ready to sit down and bury my face in the wolf's fur, and then I heard a familiar voice.

  "Ebony!"

  "Colton?" I whispered, then louder. "Colton!" What I wouldn't give to see him,
even if this wasn't real. It would make me feel better about everything. Maybe he could give me his hoodie, because now that I looked at myself I could see my clothing was torn and tattered. It would smell like him. It was such a good smell.

  My vision swam a little and I stopped to lean against a tree. The bark was rough against my skin; I couldn't get comfortable here. I slid to the ground and the wolf snarled at me, nudging me with its head.

  "No, I'm too tired. Can you be tired in a dream? Why am I even talking to you?" I pushed its muzzle away and leaned against the tree, only it wasn't there anymore and I toppled over onto the ground. The sky spun above me, stars moving in a loop, but the moon was there in the center, filling my sight.

  Colton's face blocked it out, he seemed to glow too, just a little, the moon's light somehow making his face shine. I reached a hand up, smiling. "How did you get inside my dream?"

  "Ebony. Get up. We need to get home." He reached down and shook me, but I didn't want to move. It was comfortable here. Cozy. I could smell the grass and a slight tang of car oil and asphalt.

  Hang on... I rolled my head to the side. A car passed, the noise roaring through my head.

  "What the-"

  Colton scooped me off the ground and I slipped an arm around his neck.

  "What's going on?" I asked.

  "I was about to ask you the same thing," he replied gruffly. "I'm not sure you're in any state to give me a coherent answer though." He started to walk, carrying me with ease.

  "I'm dreaming..." I frowned. "I'm dreaming right?" Over his shoulder I could see the wolf standing at the border between the woods and the street. Could Colton see it too? I pressed my head against his, smelling his warmth, his earthy tones, feeling the scratch of his thick beard against my cheek.

  "No, Ebony, you're not dreaming. This is real." His words were soft but firm, like his grip on me.

  I struggled, but it didn't make a difference. He had me locked in tight, like I was cocooned in his arms. I tried to relax but my brain just kept tripping over everything that had happened.