Page 64 of Second Chance Mates

“Sorry,” he whispers. “Did I startle you?”

My throat tenses. “I thought I was going to hit the ground.”

“Never.” He drops his eye into a wink. “I’ve got you. Always.”

For a moment, I forget his arm is wrapped around my back and the other under my legs. My hands grip his T-shirt tightly, and I eventually start to peel them away when I realise I’m safe and not about to break my back.

“I’m going to put you down now,” he clarifies, and I manage a nod.

He lowers me to the floor with ease, and my knees wobble slightly. I pray he’s none the wiser. “Thanks,” I rasp and brush myself off.

“What were you looking for so early in the morning?”

I clear my throat, trying to ignore the tingles that flicker over my body like little fireflies. I’ve come to the conclusion that I enjoy touching Jax, but I also don’t want to get used to the feeling and rely on it when I’m down. I don’t want my own emotions to be masked.

“Do you have any pictures of the Moon Goddess?” I ask.

Jaxon’s brow quirks, a thousand questions passing his eyes. “Well, there are many different interpretations of the Moon Goddess. Us wolves don’t meet her personally; she’s more of a spiritual energy. The Goddess is our version of the human’s God.”

I nod. “Can you show me?”

“Yeah,” Jaxon hums and beckons to the other side of the room. “I believe there are drawings in here. Can I ask why?”

My lip finds its way between my teeth. “Just curious.”

Jaxon’s head moves upwards as he grabs a book I wouldn’t be able to reach without the ladder. “Let me have a look,” he says before removing a couple and laying them out on one of the wooden tables.

I follow him as he opens the pages to find what I’m after. At first, he shows me a picture of a woman with dark hair. She wears silver beads and charms in her hair with blue eyes. I hum softly, and he flicks to the next book.

“Wait,” I say, grabbing his wrist before he can turn the page.

He pauses. I take the edges of the book in my hands and bring it up to my face, shaking at the picture before my eyes. It’s not a spitting image of the woman I saw in my dream, but it’s very, very close.

“That’s what we picture her as,” Jaxon comments as he stands back and folds his arms over his chest. “White long hair and misty eyes, but no one knows. I don’t know anyone who has met her. It’s more of an idea, a feeling.”

My heart thumps in my throat. I know it was just a dream, but it felt incredibly real. It wasn’t like anything else I’ve ever experienced.

You’re exactly where you’re meant to be.

Her voice echoes around my head, and I take a shallow breath. No. No. I’m going crazy. My dream couldn’t have been real. I’m imagining things. It was just a dream—an overstimulating visual dream.

The thought of being visited by her makes my body vibrate. Those words she spoke into existence, I find myself wanting to believe them, as if I’ve been waiting for confirmation this entire time.

“Ava.” Jaxon’s voice snaps me back to reality. I look at him. “You okay?”

I flash him a weak smile. “Yeah.”

He quirks a brow, clearly not convinced. “Sure?”

“I just had a weird dream,” I admit. “It was nothing. Now, I’m just curious.”

I shut the book between my hands and lay it back down on the desk.

“Are you hungry?”

“Yes,” I answer far too quickly. Jaxon releases a laugh.

“Do you want to make breakfast together?”

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