With Everything I Am (The Three #2)(36)

And it wasn’t natural for dream men to come alive.

That didn’t happen. To anyone.

Ever.

Her gaze slid through the ensemble – all inordinately tall, all dark, all gorgeous, all with clear, intelligent eyes. Just like Waring last night.

Just like Callum.

Holy cow.

These people weren’t like her people.

These people were of a different culture. They belonged to a secret sect of society who lived alongside humans.

Her gaze moved to Callum who was watching her closely, the anger gone from his face replaced with something profoundly gentle.

“I know this is hard for you to take in but Callum and you have been linked through eternity, even before you both existed, even before you were cells in a womb,” Regan continued softly. “You’re destined for each other, connected to each other. It’s the way of our people. You’re lifemates and, Sonia, that’s a beautiful thing. Your mother and father were good friends to our people. They accepted us. They would have been so happy you were to be among us. So very happy. I promise you that, sweetheart.”

As Regan spoke, Sonia never took her eyes from Callum.

“I dreamed of you,” she whispered and watched as his body grew visibly taut. “Since I was a teenager, I dreamed of you.”

The others started moving away but neither she nor Callum moved a muscle.

Finally, he said softly, “You know me.”

“In my dreams, you’ve been coming to me for twenty years.”

“You know me,” he repeated.

Sonia nodded a jerky, frightened nod. “When I woke up the other day, I thought it was another dream.”

Vaguely she heard the backdoor close.

“Do you understand you’re mine?” he asked.

It was then that she did.

It sang through her soul. It made her feel whole again after being fragmented since a Christmas Eve thirty-one years ago.

No, it made her feel truly whole like she’d never felt in her life.

And, at the same exact time, it scared her senseless.

She swallowed.

Then she nodded again.

“You understand you’re my queen?”

“I’m scared,” she admitted freely. She had no idea why but she was scared. Of him, of the fact that his crazy stories were real, she was under threat, she belonged to him, his people were at war and she was their queen.

How did one even go about being a queen?

“I’ll take care of you,” he replied gently.

She gazed at him long moments before nodding again.

His body relaxed.

Then, his eyes golden and shimmering, he said quietly, “Come to your wolf, baby doll.”

On trembling limbs which were moving of their own accord, she scooted off the bed, rounded it and slowly walked to him.

When she was in reaching distance he snatched her roughly in his arms and held her close. She trembled in his embrace, terrified at the overwhelming uncertainty of her future.

He sensed it and promised again, “I’ll take care of you.”

She nodded, her cheek sliding against his chest.

He rubbed his temple against the top of her head then held her tight until the tremors slid away.

Finally, he asked, “Are you okay?”

She nodded again, not making her lie audible.

He tipped her face to his with a fist under her chin.

“I have to do something. I’ll be back in a short while. My family will take care of you while I’m gone.”

Sonia nodded again.

He bent his neck and placed his temple against hers.

“We’ll have a beautiful life, you and me. I’ll see to it.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

He squeezed her tight then he let her go.

Then he was gone.

She stared into the space he’d just occupied, her mind blank.

From afar, she heard his deep voice say, “Let’s run,” and then she heard the answering, amused, “Fuck, yeah.”

And she thought, because he was different maybe she could even tell him she was different. He above all would understand. He would never make her feel weird.

Then her mind filled with memories of hundreds of dreams of her handsome wolf.

Her “lifemate”.

Her destiny.

And those dreams…

Her dreams...

In some magical way, those dreams foretold her future of a beautiful, strong man who would hold her and tease her and accept her and make her feel loved.

She closed her eyes as gladness washed over her.

Then she realized in an unwelcome intrusion on her unbound joy that she had to use the bathroom.

She was finished and had a hand on the handle of the bathroom door when she heard the murmuring voices, voices that were talking outside.

She stilled at what she heard and listened.

“…Callum nuts?” an incredulous man asked.

“Caleb,” Regan replied.

“No, seriously, Regan, is he nuts?” Caleb repeated.

“You can never know who you’ll be attracted to.”

“A monk would be attracted to Sonia, she’s f**king seriously pretty,” Caleb returned and, understanding these words (and hoping she did not), Sonia’s body went solid. “Not to mention, she’s pretty freaking funny,” Caleb finished.