Luke's Dream (30 page)

Apology and passion flooded my mind as she
started to move beneath me.

“Mine,” she breathed, kissing my neck.

I couldn’t hold myself back. I moved with her
until we lay in a sweaty contented heap several minutes later.

She traced her fingers through the hair on my
chest, sending out waves of peace and small bits of worry.

“You lied,” I said quietly, turning to kiss
the top of her head.

“The last lie I’ll be able to get away with
now. Well, with you anyway.”

“Was there even a boyfriend?” I asked
gently.

“Not a serious one.” She paused for a moment.
“Still wish we would have waited for the magic eighteen?”

I turned to face her. “Yes. You are worth
waiting for.” I pushed my love at her, wrapping it around her. She
smiled and kissed me.

“You’re worth waiting for, too,” she said.
“But, I didn’t want to risk dying without feeling this.”

She trailed her fingers along my skin and the
connection between us grew, bursting with love and life. Her doubt
and fear were gone, and I felt the beauty of her ageless wisdom. I
wouldn’t have wanted to die without feeling this either.

Her stomach rumbled, and I felt guilty for
allowing her to skip lunch. I could still count her ribs.

“Let’s get dressed and eat,” I said, sitting
up.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, obviously feeling
something over our link.

“You never eat right.” I stood and went to
find my pants.

What I felt over the link had my teeth
lengthening and my pulse jumping. She wanted me. Now. Back in
bed.

I clenched my jaw and forced myself to keep
moving.

“If you don’t stop, we’ll never feed you,” I
said, walking to the bathroom.

* * * *

We met everyone downstairs for dinner.
Winifred’s assessing look missed nothing as her gaze swept over
Bethi.

Congratulations,
she sent me,
smiling.

“About time he pulled his head from his—”
Grey started to say. Carlos cut him off with a nudge.

Apparently I’d been the only one with an age
issue. But I couldn’t deny I felt better knowing we were Mated, and
I’d be able to find her anywhere now. My girl seemed overly fond of
trouble and running away.

Thomas and Charlene were talking to Winifred,
Mary, and Gregory. Before arriving at this hotel, Grey had
mentioned running wild in the woods before Thomas met Charlene. My
thoughts about our females and the Urbat hadn’t left my mind. I
wasn’t ready to talk to the Elders yet. Not because I didn’t trust
them, but because I wasn’t sure if I trusted my theory. I wanted
more information. Who better to ask than the man who’d run
wild?

Before Bethi moved off to talk to Gabby and
Michelle, I turned her and kissed her cheek.

“Don’t go too far,” I said.

She grinned. “I can’t get away from you
now.”

“No. You can’t. Behave, though.”

She laughed and joined the other women. I
caught Thomas’ eye and nodded to the side.

“Can we step outside for a moment?” I asked.
“I wanted to ask you a few things.”

“Sure.”

Thomas led the way out the doors. We didn’t
go far. I wanted to be able to watch Bethi through the glass.

“Congratulations,” Thomas said as soon as the
doors were closed.

I nodded, eyeing up the man. Over the past
few days, my opinion of him had changed slightly. I wasn’t ready to
join his pack or anything like that. But, I now knew I’d been wrong
to think Thomas and the Elders were trying to keep unmated women
away from the Forlorn.

“Something on your mind?” he asked, watching
me.

“Yeah. A few things actually. Grey mentioned
you and Gregory roamed quite a bit in your youth. In all your time
in the woods, did you come across many families?”

“Not many,” he said. “Men who had females
kept to themselves. Hidden, if they could manage it. There were a
few families we knew who welcomed us, but most did not.”

I nodded, having expected that answer. “And
how many males did you come across grieving the loss of a daughter
or a wife?”

Thomas frowned. “A few. Life was hard in the
woods. That’s why Charlene’s made such an impact in so many ways.
What this about?”

“A suspicion. My parents were killed when I
was still a cub, and something about that is bothering me with
everything that’s going on now.”

“Like what?”

“I found them after school. Da was on the
floor, his throat ripped out. Ma was in the corner, not far from
him. The police blamed it on a break in. But nothing had been
taken. Just their lives. Da’s throat told me it was one of our own.
Humans typically don’t kill like that.” I inhaled slowly, making
sure to stay calm so Bethi wouldn’t feel anything over our link.
“I’d always thought that Ma had tried to stop a fight for
territory. We had a good thing there, blending with the humans.
But, Bethi says these Urbat have been searching for them. What
if…while the Urbat were searching for them”—I nodded toward the
women inside—“they’ve been attacking families and any Mated pairs,
reducing our numbers just in case they couldn’t find what they were
looking for? It easier to take power when there’s no
opposition.”

Thomas frowned as he considered my words.

“There’s something else that’s really
bothering me.”

“More than that?”

I nodded. “You found Charlene a long time
ago. Joshua is proof that there have been traitors among you for a
while. So, why now? Why not attack when they first discovered
Charlene?”

Thomas tilted his head as he considered
me.

“Maybe,” he said slowly, “they did.”

“Tell me,” I said.

“It’s not a quick story.”

“That’s fine. If Bethi’s taught me anything,
it’s to take the time to listen. So, go ahead. I’m listening.”

Through the glass, Bethi’s gaze met mine. I
hoped whatever Thomas experienced with Charlene would give us a
clue as to what was happening now. We had so few answers and so
many lives to try to save. Our Wisdom was exhausted, and we needed
Strength to pull us through.

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Melissa

The Judgements:

• Hope— Gabby, Mate to Clay [
  Book 1:
  Hope(less)
  ]
  

• Prosperity — Michelle, Mate to Emmitt, son of
  Charlene [
  Book 2: (Mis)fortune
  ]
  

• Wisdom — Bethi, Mate to Luke [
  Book 3:
  (Un)wise
  ]
  

• Strength — Charlene, Emmitt’s mother, Mate to the
  werewolf leader Thomas [
  Book 4: (Un)bidden
  ]
  

• Peace — Isabelle [
  Book 5, (Dis)content
  ]
  

• Courage — Olivia [
  Book 6, anticipated release
  2017
  ]
  

The lights Gabby sees:

• Werewolf — Blue center with a green halo
  

• Urbat — Blue center with a grey halo
  

• Human — Yellow center with a green halo
  

• The Judgements:
  

  • Charlene — Yellow with a red halo
    

  • Gabby — Yellow with an orange halo
    

  • Michelle — Yellow with a blue halo
    

  • Bethi — Yellow with a purple halo
    

  • (Peace) — Yellow with a white halo
    

  • (Courage) — Yellow with a brown halo
    

Touch

By Melissa Haag

Tessa longs for freedom...

A touch. That's all it takes for Tessa to
know her future with a boy. Her mom tells her she needs to choose
her best option before she turns seventeen. Problem is, she sees
all her “options” dying before they turn thirty. That may have
worked for the last fourteen generations of women in her family
tree, but Tessa can't choose and condemn someone to an early
grave.

An unfortunate incident at Tessa's school
starts a chain of events that reveals Morik, a centuries old chaos
demon.

Morik won't stop looking for her...

Hidden from the world, he has waited for his
chance. Desperate for a purpose, he struck a deal. The time has
come to collect.

READ MORE