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By the time I emerged through the whalebone arch, I had no energy left. Every single fibre in me felt like lead, I ached, my head hurt, and I wanted more than nothing to just collapse in bed and forget about all of this crazy.
How had this suddenly become my life?
“Hey,” Marcus said, appearing at my side from nowhere. “Are you ok? You look exhausted.”
I looked up at him, questions running through my mind as to whether I felt for him like I thought I did. “I feel absolutely drained. Can you take me home please?”
“Whatever the lady desires.”
“I don’t even care if you treat me like a sack of potatoes. Just get me to bed ASAP.”
He chuckled as he picked me up and flung me over his shoulder. I had nothing in me to even care. I closed my eyes and tried to make my mind blank as he ran back to my apartment but all I could think of was the final conversation with Keres. This man gave me everything I wanted; looked out for me, stood by my side, was insanely gorgeous, had manners to rival any gentleman, and yet I may not be in love with him like I thought. Why? Was there something wrong with me?
What felt like seconds later, Marcus laid me down on my bed. The instant I hit the mattress I groaned in relief.
“You’ve no idea how good that feels,” I said, pulling the duvet up to my chin.
He slid in next to me and settled an arm over me as I rolled onto my side. “Sleep well,” he said, pressing a kiss to my temple.
I let out a long breath and closed my eyes, instantly falling asleep.
I found myself standing on a cliff top, staring out over the sea. I glanced around me to see nothing but rolling hills behind me and ocean blue waters in front of me. This wasn’t Whitby. In fact, I had no idea where on earth I was.
“Hello again.”
I jumped and screamed. I thought I was alone up here.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Turning to the deep voice, I found an athletic man stood next to me. He towered over me, but I felt no threat. His warm smile and the sincerity in his green eyes eased my nerves. His brown hair harboured specks of grey, matching his goatee.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“No one you need to fear,” he said. He then made a point of putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans.
Jeans. That made me stop and think. I looked down at myself to see I was wearing my clothes from today—light coloured jeans and an emerald green vest top. Did this mean I was me here?
“Do you know who I am?” I asked him, meeting his jade green eyes.
“Of course I do. What supernatural folk don’t know who you are?”
My heart skipped a beat. “You’re...??”
He gave me a cheeky wink and then right before my eyes, in a matter of seconds, he turned into a huge black wolf. When he looked at me with bright yellow eyes, I screamed and ran backwards. This was the wolf from my dreams, the one that had terrorised me that night at the Abbey.
I tripped over and crumpled into a heap on the grass. Instinct took over and I curled up into a ball, screaming and crying, waiting for the inevitable savage bite that would end my life.
“Caitlyn.”
Trembling from head to toe, I dared to open an eye to find a hand in front of my face. I moved my head and opened my other eye. The man had returned to his human form, clothes intact, and offered me help to my feet. What?
“It’s ok, I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, wiggling his fingers. “Come on.”
Tentatively, I put my hand in his and allowed him to pull me up. “You...you’re the wolf from the Abbey...” I was still shaking, almost uncontrollably and couldn’t quite think straight. “You’ve scarred me for life.”
He chuckled and pointed to a wooden bench just behind him. “That certainly wasn’t my intention. I do apologise. Let’s sit and talk.”
I frowned. “That wasn’t there before.”
“You’re observant.”
We sat on the bench, or rather, I teetered on the edge as far away from him as I could be without sitting on the floor.
“Where are we?” I asked, gazing around trying to get my bearings.
“That’s not important. What’s important is the journey you’re about to undertake. Do not trust the witches. You must not trust them. Do you understand?”
I frowned. “Why? They seem to pose no risk.”
“There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”
A female voice as sweet as honey drifted through the air. I turned to my left to see none other than Mirabelle walking towards the wolf-man. She stood behind him, her delicate hands on his muscled shoulders.
I stood up and gasped. “Oh my. Mirabelle?”
She took one look at me and beamed a smile right back at me. “It’s so good to meet you, Caitlyn.”
I couldn’t get my head around this. Looking at Mirabelle was like looking into a mirror. Right down to the freckles. She carried an air of grace to her that just seemed so enticing, so gentle, so calm. I found myself not wanting to leave her presence.
“You’re very important to our son,” the man said. “You must not leave him behind, Caitlyn. It will break him.”
“He’s looking for you,” I said, making eye contact with Mirabelle. “He’s so desperate to find you.”
She nodded. “It’ll happen when the time is right but until then, you must be there for him. You two are very special. You’re meant to be. Now you have crossed paths, you have to stay together. When soulmates find each other, it’s an incredible thing.” She bent down and pressed a kiss to the man’s cheek. He closed his eyes in contentment. “My life makes so much sense now I’ve found mine.”
My heart wanted to cry for Marcus. “Does he know?”
As Mirabelle opened her mouth to answer, a gust of wind blew across the cliff top. However, it didn’t feel neither cold nor warm.
Mirabelle looked up at the sky and sighed. “It’s time to go.”
“Wait,” I said, reaching my hand out. “I’ve got so many questions.”
Mirabelle smiled as she and her man walked away from me. “All in good time.”
I startled awake to find myself sitting up in bed, hand outstretched.
“Hey, calm down,” Marcus said, rubbing my back. “It was just a dream.”
It took me a second to realise I was back in my bed, in reality. Then as all the details came rushing back to me, my heart cracked. This was going to break him. Did I tell him or did I not?
“It was just rather real,” I said, trying to push the covers off me.
“What do you need? I’ll get it.”
“Water, please.” Less than two seconds later, I had a glass of cold water in my hand. “Thank you.”
I drank slowly as I debated how to approach the situation. I had so many questions, some which Marcus might be able to answer but I couldn’t ask them without giving away the dream I’d just had.
As I set the glass down on my bedside table, I blurted out, “I saw your mum.”
“When?”
“In my dream.”
His eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. “Is that who you were shouting ‘wait’ to?”
I nodded. I reached out and took his hand. “She wasn’t alone, Marcus.”
He gave the biggest grin I’d ever seen. “That’s fantastic. I hated to think of her being alone somewhere. Was she happy? Did she say anything to you about me?”
Rather taken aback by his happiness at his mum not being alone, it took me a minute to gather my thoughts. “She looked...radiant. There really is something rather magical about her.”
He nodded. “She’s an incredible woman. My dad misses her so much.”
My heart stopped for a moment. How awful. Was his dad still counting on them being together? “Marcus, are werewolves a real thing?”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Why?”
“There was one there. He turned, right in front of me, but that’s not it—he was the wolf, the one from the Abbey.”
“You’re sure?”
I nodded. “Very sure.”
He sighed. “Yes, unfortunately, they are a real thing. We don’t get along particularly well. Conflict between species is no different in our world than it is in yo—for the humans, well between animals. You know what I mean.”
I grinned. “Forgot for a minute there, didn’t you?”
He chuckled. “Did this werewolf speak to you?”
I nodded. “He apologised for the night at the Abbey, said it wasn’t his intention to scare me.” I frowned as I recalled what happened next. “But before he could really explain anything, your mum appeared.”
His forehead creased into wrinkles. “My mother was around a werewolf and ok about that?”
I glanced away. “She was more than ok with it.”
“What are you trying to tell me, Caitlyn?”
I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes. “She was with him, Marcus.” I opened my eyes and squeezed his hand. “She said they were soulmates.”
In an instant, he dropped my hand and got off the bed. “That’s impossible,” he said, pacing up and down at the side of the bed. “She herself is the whole reason that relationships between species are banned. She hates werewolves with a passion.”
“I know. Keres explained everything to me about your mum. Even the witches don’t know where she is. I’m telling you though, she loves this guy.”
Marcus shook his head. “No. I knew it. I knew someone had taken her.” He turned to me, his eyes full of anger. “It’s Stockholm Syndrome, Caitlyn. Those rabid wolves have had her all this time...” He turned away from me, but I could see his whole body vibrating. He was beyond livid. “Where were they?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t recognise it.”
He turned back around, his eyes bloodshot and his handsome face creased into fury. “Describe it to me.”
One look at him sent fear coursing through my veins. “I...it...was just a cliff top.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know!”
“Think, Caitlyn, think!”
I burst into tears. His booming voice and terrifying looks made me want to run away and hide. Mirabelle’s words echoed in my ears. You must not leave him behind. You’re meant to be.
“I don’t know...it was just a cliff top. There was nothing there. Nothing. Just hills one side and the sea the other.”
Marcus let out a shout of frustration. “I’m going to kill that good for nothing beast you call a friend.” He took his phone from his back pocket and started scrolling over the screen. “I told you not to trust him, didn’t I? Didn’t I tell you not to trust him?”
“Who are you talking about?” I said, trembling from head to foot.
“Luke, of course.”
My fear evaporated and I felt nothing but anger. How dare he drag Luke into this mess? “What the hell has Luke got to do with this?”
“He’s a werewolf, Caitlyn.”