Since staying at the shelter, something had changed. The sleep-inducing memories pulled at me even while awake. The pull had an edge to it. It wouldn’t be denied for long. I needed a power nap. Thirty minutes tops, I promised myself.
I checked for cars before I stepped off the road and made my way into the ravine that the bridge spanned. The wooden decking provided covering but didn’t make a good shelter due to the gaps. Crushed stone had once covered the embankment. Weeds and other growth concealed much of it now. The dry winter vegetation snapped in the quiet as I headed under the bridge and picked a spot where most of the rocks were still exposed.
Peeling off my hoodie, I lay down. The rocks and cold wouldn’t allow for a deep sleep. The waiting dream pulled me under before I lay my head on my arm.
I immediately merged with the past.
In this dream, I was myself, or at least a past version of myself, and remembered the man standing before me. He had been responsible for my death twice in the same cycle. He looked much older now.
“This time, we’re going to do things a little differently.” He motioned for two of his men to step forward. “Hold her, and open her mouth.”
One man stepped behind me, grasping my already bound arms. Another man gripped my jaw roughly and pressed his fingers inward until I opened my mouth.
My face ached. His fingers left bruises on my skin but I showed no fear, no pain. I had remembered him. I remembered everything. This, however, was new and I wondered what he had in mind.
He motioned for another to join our little group.
This man I’d never seen before. Something about him pulled me, and I felt certain it wasn’t good. His eyes roamed over me from head to feet, lingering in any place that caught his interest.
“Her scent is perfect.”
“Go then,” the leader motioned the man to step toward us.
I braced myself for a brutal Claiming, but the man surprised me by stopping a step away. He tilted his neck to the side. I didn’t have time to wonder what it meant. The man holding me shoved my face forward into the man’s neck. I pulled my bruised lips back just before the second man holding me moved his hands on my jaw. Instead of forcing it open, he forced it closed so fast and hard that I bit the man’s neck. He howled in excitement. I pulled back, stunned and not understanding what had just happened. Both men let go of me and stepped back leaving me with the man I’d just bitten.
He pulled me to him and kissed my mouth passionately. He bruised my lips further. Still, I felt a stirring within me and tentatively responded. His hands tugged at my clothing.
“Stop. You can’t mate with her. Not yet.”
The man kissing me lifted his head with a feral growl.
The leader didn’t back down. Instead, he partially shifted. “She’s weak. She’s died on us twice already. You need to be in control, not newly Claimed. Wait.”
My hands, still bound behind my back, prevented me from catching myself when the man I’d bitten abruptly let go. I fell backward, landing hard on sharp rocks that bite into my thighs and buttock.
Dream and reality blended in that moment. Rocks still bit into my butt, but they bit through my jeans. I needed to wake up but couldn’t open my eyes. The dream still lingered. I hadn’t died yet. I always died...except for those dreams with the Taupe Lady. Why hadn’t I died?
Something settled over me gently. The physical contact gave me what I needed to pull myself from the dream world. My eyes popped open.
The bronze-haired, hazel-eyed man from the mall swam into focus. He hovered over me. His hands were on my hoodie. We stared at each other for a heartbeat then he moved, straightening the hoodie over my shoulder.
I scrambled to my feet. My eyes never left his as he slowly stood from where he’d been crouched on the balls of his feet next to me. How could something so cruel still make my stomach flip in such a toe-tingling way?
We stared at each other for several long moments. His eyes swept over me with a tender look. Concern clouded them when I involuntarily shivered.
He lifted the hoodie still held in his fingertips. “My name is...”
That’s as far as he got before I tried to deliver a swift kick to his balls. He dodged smoothly, but his easygoing expression changed to one of wary shock.
I didn’t wait for him to recover but turned and scrambled up the embankment to reach the road. It was pointless. I knew he was much faster. Still, I pushed on. Stones slid under my feet. He caught me from behind while I was still scrambling over the loose stones and pinned my arms to my side.
“Easy, luv. Unlike you, I mean no harm,” he spoke softly near my ear, sending tingles along my spine. His grip, though firm, wasn’t rough. He turned and walked back under the bridge, carrying me easily.
My heart freaked out, going into a very painful overdrive.
He surprised me by letting me go. I spun to face him again with my knees bent and weight on the balls of my feet, ready to move. His expression seemed more concerned than wary. Probably concerned that someone would hear. We were fairly close to town, no doubt the reason why he pulled me back under the bridge.
“As I was saying, my name is Luke Taylor. And you are?”
