Page 19 of Bound By the Moon

“Every time I’ve had a dream about the white wolves,I’ve actually been standing at the portal? The gateway to the dead?The one my blood is needed to open?”

“Yes and no. You’ve been there in the dream realm,which is a close cousin to the realm of the dead where the whitewolves reside. There’s only a thin veil separating the two which iswhy you, and all the other white wolves before you, have been ableto do it. If you were to go in person though, I imagine it wouldlook much the same as it does in your dreams.”

“Well, that makes things a lot easier. How do youget there in your dreams, Jess?” My dad asked, finally speaking upin the midst of the madness.

“Um, I float through some fog and poof I am there.It’s a dream dad! It’s not like I pop out my handy dandy GPS tofind my way there every time.”

“Sorry, I just thought…”

“It’s fine, I know what you thought. I’m justcranky, and this is more craziness to cram into my head.”

Serena leaned forward and rubbed her hand across myback gently. “I’m sorry to put more on your already over-filledplate.” Her sympathy for the situation threw me until I rememberedone essential fact, this all boiled down to her. If she’d neverslept with a werewolf, the white wolf line wouldn’t have beencreated, and while I may or may not have been here in some way, Icertainly wouldn’t have all the craziness piling up around me.

“It’s not your fault, Serena. It just is what itis.”

She sighed her response, and my dad’s phoneinterrupted anything else she might have been about to say. He hadto go check out a possible attempted abduction, and as he left Iturned back to Serena with an idea in mind. “What if I tried to gosee the wolves in my dream now? Maybe they can tell us how to stopwhat’s happening or how to keep the portal from being opened.”

“You could try, although we already know how to keepthe portal from being opened. We don’t get your blood, or Willow’sfor that matter, anywhere near it.”

“I know that, but I have a sinking feeling that theywill keep taking women until they draw me out. They have to knowwe’ve figured out what they’re doing by now. Especially sinceAvery, Tessa, and Nicholi were able to capture a dark one.”

“Is it easy for you to meet with them in a dream? Idon’t know what you usually go through.”

“Usually, I go to sleep, and they show up when Ileast expect it. Once in a while I go to sleep with the intent totalk to them, and I find them. I’m hoping option B works out for methis time.”

Serena seemed skeptical, but smiled as she stood toleave anyway. “I have to go see to Layla’s travel arrangements andensure she gets here as soon as possible. I’ll leave you to thedream world. If you need any help though, just text me. Maybe I canmake you a tonic or something that will help.”

“Thanks, I won’t use any magic potions though. Justthe thought leaves a bad taste in my mouth after Sophia.” Serenalooked saddened by the mention of her dead sister, but she didn’tsay anything. “Besides, I could always call my mom in to help putme to sleep if this doesn’t work trying it on my own.”

“Okay, I was going to see your mother, so I will lether know that you may require her assistance.”

I went upstairs to let Ashley and Sierra know thatI’d need help with Willow while I attempted to commune with thewhite wolves.

“So, we’re supposed to babysit your brat while youget more beauty sleep?” Ashley looked thoughtful for a minute whileSierra was dumbstruck by Ashley’s comment. “Hmm, I need to starthaving some prophetic dreams so that I can put the nighttime babystuff off on Asi or a nanny.” Sierra laughed and threw a pillow ather.

“Yeah, well, this beauty sleep of mine is for a goodcause!”

“Uh-huh, so we don’t have to look at that cranky mugof yours any longer. Get thee gone to the land of pillow creases,Princess White Wolf.”

Sierra and I both laughed at Ashley’s antics. “Whatthe hell has gotten into you this morning, Ashley?” Sierraasked.

“I don’t know. I just feel really good, more like myold self than I have in a couple months.”

“Ahh, I see. Well, enjoy that while it lasts. It’llchange again when you start blowing up like there’s a watermelongrowing in your belly. According to my mom, you don’t go back tonormal again until that watermelon moves out.”

“Wow!” Ashley pouted for a minute, “way to rain onmy puppy and unicorn parade this morning. I hereby change your nameto Princess Doom and Gloom. Now go to bed, and try not to give theother white wolves nightmares while you’re there.” Ashley and Iboth laughed at that, and Sierra just looked at us like we both hadtwo heads.

“I will never understand the relationship you guyshave, and yet I’m oddly jealous of it.”

“No need to be jealous, sis. You can be a part ofthe madness all day, every day. When my nephew gets older, we’regoing to teach him to have a wicked sense of humor too!” Ashley wasreferencing baby Jack, which made Sierra glow with love instead ofenvy.

I closed the door to my bedroom before I had to faceSierra she got weepy again. She always got misty-eyed when Ashleyreferred to her as a sister or baby Jack as her nephew. If onlyJack could be here to see the two of them getting along so well. Itwould have made him the happiest man alive.

I put all of that out of my mind as I hopped intobed, and closed my eyes. Drifting off to sleep was never a problemanymore since I was always so tired. I had been practicing on howto keep my focus while falling asleep though. It was important forthose times when I sought someone out with remote viewing, which iswhat I did the night I saw Jack die, or when I needed to speak tothe white wolves.

I focused on the cave where I always saw the wolves,the dais they stood upon, and even the willow tree that had grownsince I first conceived my daughter. I wondered if the treeactually stood in the cave, or if it was just a shadow in the realmof the dead. I drifted deeper into sleep as I continued my musingsabout the wolves and the cave itself, eventually I did find myselfthere, but it was oddly dark, and the normal scent of lavender wasmissing. The flickering candle light that usually imbued the placewith a certain amount of ambiance was no longer present. “What’sgoing on here?”

“Child, you should not be here.” The white wolvesanswered.

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