I lowered my shoulders and fork so I could wipe my hand down my face. Bear had no clue what he did wrong at all. Bless his big teddy bear’s heart.
“It’s okay, I guess. I’m more upset that you were just so intense, and then you cut it off like a light switch.” I wiggled in my seat. “You had me, all hot and bothered, and then covered yourself up and then covered me up and led me to the table like nothing happened.” I moved the food on my plate shyly.
Bear raised an eyebrow and looked to Anaki for help.
“You gave her blue vagina,” Anaki deadpanned. “Males get blue balls, but you just gave your mate blue vagina. You got her all wound up showing off your man log that I’m guessing you haven’t shown her yet, and then you did the whole booktok lean and got her panties wet. You basically asked her if she was scared to take your dick, and she said no, inviting that anaconda into the snake cavern, and you just backed away! Goddess almighty.” He slapped his hand on his forehead.
My jaw dropped, and my face flushed. Bear was no better; he shoved a large piece of meatloaf into his mouth and looked everywhere but us.
I waited until he swallowed.
“I—thought you would be afraid seeing it. Most people are scared of it. I hadn’t prepared myself to go further with you after you saw it for the first time. You—took me by surprise.” Bear shoved another forkful of meatloaf into his mouth.
Awww, he thought I was scared of his one-eyed monster.
“Anyway, Nadia.” Anaki raked the kale salad onto my plate. It was bright green with beautiful ripe red tomatoes and peppers. It was the first time I’d seen fresh food in a long time, and my mouth instantly watered. “How have your dreams been?”
I stuck my fork into the salad, my body instantly seizing at the opportunity to stuff the fresh stuff into my mouth. Growing up, my family ate a lot of cooked vegetables. It was good, but I loved a fresh salad, anything green.
“I still have them, but they aren’t bad when Bear is nearby.”
As I eagerly plunged the fork into the vibrant green kale, a burst of colors danced before my eyes. The crispy leaves whispered as they entered my mouth, filling the air with a satisfying crunch. The tantalizing aroma of the iron-rich kale and the tangy sweetness of the tomatoes enveloped my senses, making my mouth water with anticipation. A pleasurable moan escaped my lips as I savored the harmonious blend of flavors, urging me to take another bite without delay, my taste buds reveling in the nourishing goodness.
“Have they eased up any? Any changes in scenery to the nightmares? Are they mostly your parents?” Anaki’s voice changed, obviously uncomfortable with my moaning, but I didn’t care. The salad was just absolutely delicious.
“Ah, I have a new dream that has popped up this past week. Not really much of anything, though. This salad is amazing by the way.” Which it was, but I was getting tired of talking about my dreams. I pointed at the large salad tin with my fork. “Are you going to eat any more of this?” Bear and Anaki both shook their heads, their eyes wide as I took the whole container and ate from it instead of pouring it on my plate.
Bear cleared his throat. “What does this new dream have, little bee. It’s important for us to know. Dreams are important in the shifter world. They can show glimpses of the past, a future that may be—”
I covered my mouth, finishing the mouthful of kale. “I certainly hope not. Because the last two years have been utter hell.”
I put my fork down, losing my appetite. I didn’t wake up tired, feeling mangled from the scratches of some monster ripping me to pieces in my dreams when Bear was with me, but I wouldn’t ever forget the memories of the last two years of my stay in that confinement.
It had been nice only seeing the nightmares, not feeling them. Bear not bringing it up was a wonderful break, but now that Anaki was here, I wondered if his friendliness was only to bring us to this moment.
Bear stood from his chair, his growl shaking the table as he rounded it and sat next to me. He pulled me into his lap, and immediately the loud motor purr took over. I leaned my cheek into his chest and felt the calming sensation that radiated from it.
Anaki frowned, tapping his finger on the table. “Nadia, I didn’t mean to—”
“Bear likes me how I am. I don’t want to talk about it,” I whispered.
Bear rubbed the side of my face, his head resting on top of mine. “Baby girl, Anaki is trying to help. He’s as worried for you as am I. I haven’t brought it up, and I should have. We need to break whatever spell or curse is laying on your mind. Don’t you want to get better?”
I sniffed and rubbed my nose.
It wasn’t like I was planning on staying away from Bear, and the nightmares would come back at full force, but I guess we would never know. I’d rather stay awake until he came back to me now that we found each other. There was always a chance we would get separated, wouldn’t there be?
I sighed and slouched in his arms.
“Most of the dreams are the same. My parents murder or me in the dark, and my parents are screaming for me to find them. This week, though, I’ve had a new dream.”
Bear and Anaki looked at each other and waited for me to continue.
“I’m a baby.” I scrunched my nose. “I’m being carried by a man, a tall man. But I can’t see his face or who he is. There is a plane, and my parents are there waiting at the bottom of the stairs, waiting to climb aboard. They reach out for me, and as my mother grabs me, the monster that invades my dreams, the one that claws at me each night, covers the scene, and I don’t get to finish it. I either wake up, or it goes back to my parents being murdered.”
I stared up at Bear, who was looking at Anaki thoughtfully.
“This black monster, this entity, it’s the curse that is laid on your mind,” Anaki said. “Duke Idris put it on you before he had Shane Cunningham put you in solitary confinement, didn’t he?
