Dream of Me (3 page)

“Yes, there are ways to.” Narrowing her eyes at him, her lips pinched together. “Why are you asking all these questions about the human world, Kieran?”

Dropping his hand, he easily answered, “I think I may have done so unknowingly.”

Sera’s gray skin grew paler as she took several steps forward. “What do you mean?”

Carefully he relayed his account to her of the human named Elena and even saying it aloud made it sound unbelievable. Sera shook her head slowly with disbelief.

“Were you awake when this happened?” she asked after a lengthy pause.

“Are you saying I dreamed this up?” Shaking his head, he reluctantly answered, “I was awake.”

“Kieran,” she said softly, reaching out her hands covered his tightly clenched ones. “I believe what happened to you was real. I cannot fathom what you experienced. But I suspect it could only be one thing…
dream seeking
.”

“Dream Seeking?” He shook his head as he turned away from her. “No. You are mistaken. None of our kind has been able to do that for centuries, not since before the darker times.”

As Garmorians, his kind possessed several unique gifts. For instance they possessed a healing energy that enabled them to heal another, but the energy could only work on their mates or
sou’tali
as many referred. For Garmorians there was only one true mate created for each male. Some were lucky enough to find them and until now, Kieran had given up all hope that he even had one.

Any Garmorian male could court and claim a female. However the ability to dream seek their mates was more than that. Dream seeking allowed Garmorian males to create a link to the female meant only for them. It gave them the ability to find their true mate’s through their shared dreams and by doing so bound the male’s soul to his mate forever.

But it had been years since any Garmorians had experienced such a thing. Many believed that their war with the Kelithians had displeased the Goddess and she had stripped them of that gift. So that they may forever feel the loneliness of never experiencing their soul’s being bound to another. So how was this possible?

Rushing around to face him, Sera blocked his path to the temple entrance. “Listen to me. If you truly did dream seek, it must be the will of the Goddess. She is giving you a path to your
sou’tali
.”

“How do I find her again?”

“I don’t know.” For the first time since he’d known Sera, she was speechless. Since he touched the human female Elena, he could still feel her with him. With just the short time they’d met in her dreams, a bond had formed between them. He found himself intrigued by the strange human. He hungered to see her again.

He nodded, “Then I will find my own way.”

Before he could walk past her, she held up a staying hand, “Wait.” Lowering her voice, her eyes looked at him beseechingly. “There may be a way I can help you reach her. Come back two nights from now.”

Without a word, he strode down the temple steps. In the mist of the tragedy of this night, something had happened. It was a dangerous time for his world and wasn’t the time to be distracted by the lure of mates. However, Kieran would not turn his good fortune aside. Tonight the Goddess may have blessed him with a mate.

A smile curved along his lips as he recalled how the human had ordered him to leave her dream. Never had a female told a warrior such a thing. He had to see her again. Even if he had to tear down the veil between their worlds and search the entire human world, he would find her.

* ~ * ~ *

“Because; you are mine…”

Jerking awake, Elena’s eyes flew open as the last of her strange dream faded from her mind. At the memory of the strange man from her dream, she couldn’t help but smile at the weirdness of it all. Shaking off the lingering images, she pushed the thoughts aside. It was just a dream and nothing more.

Wasn’t it?

Raising her left arm to eye level, she ran a tentative hand over her wrist. She could still feel warmth and tingles along where he’d touched her. Was it all in her mind? Dropping her arm, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed. She chuckled at the thought. How pathetic was she that an imaginary touch stirred her interest like no live man ever did. She obviously had been alone for too long.

Rubbing a tired hand over her face, she groaned as she slowly stretched her tired muscles. Blinking against the sunlight that hit her through the living room window, she winced at the headache she could feel coming on.

Easing up from her position on the couch, she ignored the nagging pain that reminded her that she should have taken her rest in her bed. Rising to her feet, she took in the depressing sight of her living room. On every flat surface were vases of flowers of different colors and sizes. After weeks of sitting around her home, the once colorful blossoms now drooped and lost their splendor. Every arrangement held a card professing the givers condolences at her mother’s passing. It was enough to make her ill. She was so sick of hearing about how everyone was so sorry for her.

Unable to stand looking at them any longer she gathered up each vase and carried them into the connecting kitchen. After several trips, she set each vase on the kitchen counter beside the sink. Ripping the beautiful flowers from the vases she threw them angrily into the trash. The vases she quickly washed out in the sink and hid in the cabinets below.

Huffing out in annoyance she wiped her wet hands against her purple sweats. Her partner in business and close friend Angel was running their business today. However she couldn’t breathe in the confines of her home. She was tired of crying and answering concerned phone calls. She had grieved for her mother, but now it was time to rejoin the world.

Marching to her bedroom, Elena pulled on a V-neck t-shirt and jeans before shoving on her tennis shoes. Pulling her long, red hair back into a ponytail, she returned to the living room, stopping only long enough to grab her keys and purse. She cast one last look around her empty home before leaving.

Locking the door behind her, her eyes glanced over to her neighbor in her usual spot on the connecting porch. Sitting with a sketch pad in her lap and pencil clutched between her small fingers was her neighbor Luna. Luna was around her age and very kind. Like her, Luna lived by herself. Regardless of being born mute, Luna never let her lack of a voice stop her from inspiring friendship to others. Since meeting, they had formed a silent friendship. Raising her hand in greeting, Luna smiled back and signed
good morning
to her in passing.

Stepping off her porch, Elena began her short trek to her place of work. It was mid-morning and the main strip of San Francisco was buzzing with people. After walking two blocks she reached the welcoming sight of the aged red brick building. Looking at the display window, her lips curved into a soft smile as she saw Angel pulling a new dress on the mannequin in the window only to have it fall over. Since getting her business degree two years ago, her friend Angel and she had opened a clothing store. At
General Everyday
they sold everything from clothes, jewelry and shoes.

Stepping out onto the busy crosswalk, she made her way across the street to her store with her head held high. Pushing the door open, a bell announced her arrival as she walked across the lament floors. Swerving between clothing racks she made her way to the checkout counter. Angel had moved on to stocking new shoes on the wall lined shelves. After emptying her cart, Angel looked up to see Elena sorting credit card receipts.

Surprised, she made her way over to the counter. “What are you doing here, Elena?” Angel asked with a curious expression.

“I’m working,” she stated stubbornly, not lifting her eyes from the receipts in her hands.

Brushing her brown hair out of her face, Angel sighed heavily. “Elena. I can handle the shop for a few more days,” she said gently.

“I’d rather be here than at home.”

Glancing behind her, Elena noticed Angel’s toddler Lena. Sitting down on her pink kitty blanket within her playpen, Lena’s attention was on her stuffed animals around her, squealing happily. Turning back around, she noticed Angel was now leaning against the counter. Angel’s eyes focused on hers with concern.

“Are you sure?” At her silent nod, Angel flashed a soft smile. “Alright then; let’s get to work.”

Smiling as the last customer of the night left with their purchases, Elena waited impatiently for the door to close behind them. Elena groaned with exhaustion while her hand reached up to rub at the back of her neck. What a day! A wave of relief washed over her as Angel walked to the door and turned the bright “Open” sign above the door off.

“I’ll clean up tonight, if you want to take care of the deposit,” Angel said with Lena secured on her hip.

Nodding her head in agreement, Elena couldn’t help but smile as Lena shoved her fist into her mouth and began gnawing on it. Turning her attention back to the register, she began gathering up all the money and receipts to sort.

She couldn’t fight off a yawn that came over her half way through sorting her till. She was so tired. Her exhaustion wasn’t due to the long hours since she’d returned to work two days ago, but of her own making. Last night after returning home, Elena had found herself forgoing any and all sleep. Not because she was too wound up or couldn’t sleep.

Deep down, she feared that she’d dream again, not only of her mother’s funeral but of the strange man as well. Even though she kept telling herself it was just a dream, she couldn’t fight off the strange feelings of longing and sadness. Since her dream two nights ago, she couldn’t seem to think of anything else but him. Scoffing, she rolled her eyes at the silliness of it all. She must be feeling this way from the grief of losing her mother and not from some dream.

Shaking her head at the thought, she bundled up her receipts and cash before heading to the back office. Putting away the night’s deposit, she was in the process of locking the safe when Angel appeared in the doorway with Lena resting her tired face in the crook of her mother’s neck. After returning the cleaning supplies to the designated corner in the office, Angel lingered in the doorway in silence.

“You can go ahead if you’re done up front,” Elena offered with a friendly smile.

Covering a yawn, Angel shook her head in denial. “No, I can wait.” No sooner than the words left her mouth Lena began fussing within her mother’s arms. Looking down at her very tired daughter, Angel shot Elena a conflicting look.

Shaking her head at her friend’s stubbornness, she rose from her crouched position before the safe. “Go home, Angel. You’re both dead on your feet, I am almost done here.”

Pausing a second with indecision, Angel asked, “Are you sure?”

Nodding her head, Elena waved her hand dismissively at her friend. “Go on.”

Slowly spinning around on her heels, retrieving her purse and diaper bag, Angel returned to stand in the lit doorway of the office. “Be careful going home,” she said in her usual parting words. It amused Elena how her friend would act more like a mother to her than a friend when it came to matters of safety.

“Don’t worry,
Mom
,” she teased.

Shaking her head, Angel turned and headed for the door. The sound of the front door closing behind her reminded Elena that she was now alone. She never liked staying at the store alone after hours. The stillness and lurking shadows behind the windows and doors sent chills through her bones.. After double checking that she shut off all the lights and turned on the security system, she grabbed her purse and locked the front door behind her.

Stepping out onto the sidewalk she began making her way home. While she walked along the empty sidewalk, the bright lights of cars passed by in quick flashes. Raising her face up to the light of the full moon, she smiled. Lately the sight of the moon filled her with a warm comfort and drew her thoughts back to Kieran. Groaning in self-disgust, she jerked her face down. She refused to let her mind dwell on things that would only bring her more pain. It was a stupid dream! No matter how real it seemed, it wasn’t real at all.

As her attention was on her wayward thoughts she didn’t hear the sound of approaching footsteps until it was too late. Without warning she found herself shoved face first against a rough brick building. Cruel hands gripped the back of her neck, holding her pinned as she fought to free herself.

“Don’t move!” a deep voice hissed out before the feel of a cool barrel was pressed against her back. Icy fear invaded her mind as she fought to keep from screaming.

Another pair of hands struck out and ripped her purse off of her shoulder. She forced her body to remain still as her heart hammered in her ears. Fear had her hands clawing against the bricks while her attackers held her immobile. She’d never been mugged before and could only pray that they would take what few dollars lay in her wallet and leave her unharmed.

From behind, she could hear a second man cursing as he tossed her purse aside. “There’s just twenty bucks here, Bill! What a waste!” Cursing in anger, the one called Bill jerked Elena around to face the pair of them.

The both of them were simple looking street thugs dressed in dark, baggy clothes and had similar thin features. Not that she spent much time memorizing their appearance, her eyes quickly focused on the small revolver that was aimed at her face. Bill narrowed his eyes at her as he waved his gun at her with intent.

“Pat her down, Jon. Maybe she’s got something of worth in her pockets.”

Like a snake striking out, the second man stepped into Elena’s personal space with rough hands shoving into the pockets of her jeans with urgency, but he found nothing on her. Jerking his hard eyes up at her startled ones, Jon’s lips pinched together.

“Do you have anything else? And don’t lie to me or I’ll have my buddy Bill put a few holes in you,” he hissed out.

Trembling with fear, she shook her head in denial. With a shaking hand she pointed to her purse on the ground. “All I have is there. Take it and please let me go. I swear I won’t tell anyone.”

A dark shadow filled Jon’s eyes as he bent closer, causing Elena cringed back in fear. What would they do to her now that they knew there was nothing more for them to steal? Taking notice of her obvious fear, Jon stepped back with a wide grin painted across his thin lips. Turning to look over his shoulder at his companion, he laughed, “Let me do it this time.”

Shaking his head, Bill replied, “No, it’s my turn.” Flashing Jon a grin, Bill raised his revolver threateningly. “Sorry babe, I can’t risk you ratting on us.”

A lone tear escaped and trailed down her cheek. Closing her eyes, Elena waited for the inevitable that would come. Out of the stillness of the open street, the sound of something rushing before her had Elena jerking her eyes open. In the darkness she watched a towering shadow move between her attackers and her. The two men were thrown off their feet as a dark clawed hand slashed at them. When the gun suddenly fired off, flashing through the darkness, Elena covered her head with her hands and fell to her knees.

Gasping in fear as her ears began ringing, Elena slowly lowered her arms to her sides. Raising her head, she watched as her two attackers took off running down the street like demons were pursuing them. Once the ringing of her ears lessened, they were filled with startling, deep growl sounded too close to Elena’s for comfort. Stumbling onto her feet, she turned to see the dark silhouette of her savior — her growling savior. The darkness prevented her from discovering anything other than the dark outline of the figure in front of her. From the height and wide frame, she could conclude that her savior was a man. The real question was whether he was truly a savior.

Her eyes locked on the lethal looking claws that tipped each finger on the man before her. Pressing her back against the brick wall, she watched as he cautiously stepped closer. Looking up, her eyes took in the sight of a pair of dark eyes that delved into hers. A shiver of fear slithered up her arms, caused her heart to pound out of control.

As the dark figure closed the remaining distance, leaving barely an inch between their two bodies, she sucked in a started breath. Cutting through the darkness, a thin sliver of moonlight revealed the male’s features. It was the face of a monster. His forehead was thickly rippled and the nose and mouth were like the beastly muzzle of a lion. The glowing white eyes slowly dimmed as the vicious face slowly begun to fade to reveal a human one.

Elena’s heart froze in her chest before racing once more at what her eyes took in. Before her in the flesh and blood was the one person that made her heart both seize with recollection and with renewed fear.

It wasn’t possible.

“Kieran?” she gasped out with wide, disbelieving eyes as she recognized him as the gray skinned man of her dreams.

Large gray hands reached toward her only to pull away as his eyes fell distastefully on the clawed tips of his fingers. Watching as he just watched her, she couldn’t stand her curiosity a second longer. She had to prove to herself that what she was seeing wasn’t real.

Not stopping to second guess her decision, Elena reached up as she went up on her tip toes. Her hands cupped the sides of his strong jaw as her eyes studied his face. He sighed with contentment with his eyes drifting closed at the touch of her hands. The warmth of his skin nearly burned against her hands. He was real. Shock shook her to her very bones. Everything about this man in front of her was the same as the dream she’d had of him. Could she be going crazy? Or was he actually real?

“Kieran, is it really you?”

His skin quivered beneath her finger tips as she traced down his face to his throat and down to his bare muscular chest. His clawed hand reached up to grasp her hand with a slow movement. A look of wonder took over his face as his warm fingers touched her skin. Sucking in a calming breath, he reached out toward her face. She jerked back slightly at the sight of his sharp claws causing him to freeze. Pausing a moment, his eyes captured hers with a beseeching look. Once again, he slowly reached out like he was trying to touch a bird that would take to the sky in an instant. As his warm fingers cupped gently at the side of her face, a gush of air escaped from her lungs.

“Elena,” his deep voice rumbled out in astonishment. Then, just like her dream, he began to fade.

“No, wait!” Shaking her head, she desperately reached to grab a hold of him as his body began to fade. Her fingers swept through his hands like they were comprised of smoke. His body became transparent as mist and disappeared bit by bit until Elena was standing alone on the dark sidewalk.

Gasping for air, she shoved a shaking hand against her forehead as her mind struggled to process what had just happened. Had she imagined it all? Was she going crazy?

* ~ * ~ *

Leaping off the raised alter, Kieran stumbled across the floor of the temple. Enormous waves of pain filled his very being and caused him to gasp in rough pants. Falling to his knees, his hand clutched at his aching chest. His chest felt shredded. Pain coursed through his entire being as if a part of him had been ripped away.

“What did you do?”
the accusing words hissed out from above him.

Rushing to his side Sera bent down to loop one of her arms around his larger one. Pulling on his arm she assisted him back onto his feet. Jerking from her grasp, Kieran stumbled back, turning to lean heavily against the stone alter. He didn’t need to look at Sera to know she was angry. Her anger was so tangible in the air he could practically taste it.

He’d come to Kalaya’s temple as Sera had suggested to reach for his mate through
dream seeking
. Using her endowed powers as priestess, Sera could connect with him and strengthen his bond with Elena. Within his dream state his soul should have instantly sought out Elena’s just as it had last time.

But something else had happened instead. Somehow when searching for his mate, his soul instead wondered through a dark void until he found a trail that pulled him to his mate and across a threshold of his world. The lure of his mate became too powerful to ignore.

Soon he found himself standing on a strange dark street with strange sounds and smells around him. His unclaimed soul instantly located Elena’s nearby. Never before had he felt such a powerful rage as when he watched two human males attacking her. He had been all too happy to indulge the primitive side of himself and let out the beast within. But it had cost him. The pain was nearly too much to bare. If Sera hadn’t withdrawn her power and pulled him back when she did, he may have been lost to Elena’s world.

“Kieran,” she scolded with a dark look. “What have you done?” her words were filled with horror.

“I was there…” he whispered dazed while ignoring her entirely. “I could smell her. Goddess, she smelled good. I have to go back.”

“Are you listening to me Kieran? This is not how it is suppose to be. You cannot use this gift to go to your mate while she is awake. You could have killed yourself and endangered everyone. If the Gu’an heard of this—”

“What would you have me do? She was in danger and the pull to her was too powerful to ignore.”

“You nearly killed yourself in the process! What good would you have been to her then?” she snapped out.

“I was in her world, Sera.” Turning around he faced Sera’s stern face. “I was within reach of her. I could practically touch her. I did touch her.”

“You’re lucky you came back at all.” Crossing her arms over her chest, her dark eyes glared back at him. “You could have banished yourself on her world and there would have been no way for you to return.”

“You don’t understand, Sera.” Moving away from the alter he approached his lifelong friend with a hard look. “You don’t know what it’s like to have a
sou’tali
— a soul mate. Someone meant only for you and meant to utterly complete you. Then to have that same person ripped away from you,” he said with a growl. He regretted the words the second they flowed from his lips. She flinched from his words as though they were strikes from his very hands.