Page 51 of Dream Mates
Jett and Spencer cleared our dishes and brought out dessert–some sort of light, citrusy cake.
“Peaches. Babydoll.” Jett squeezed my bare leg lightly. “Could you please tell us what you remember? At least, can we know why they took you? I know you’ve been through a lot, but we have, too. It was scary as fuck to see you taken like that. Andwell, I have questions about you being Wes’ soulmate from another universe.”
I gulped. I didn’t want to. Though many memories were clear now, there were things I wrote down but didn’t actually remember. Still, they had a point, but…
“Grace.” Brennan’s voice was a low rumble. “We can’t have secrets in this family. I understand why you kept it–and why the others helped. But secrets hurt people, and you need to understand, and follow our rules just like everyone else in the house.”
My chest constricted. Wes wrapped his arms around me.
“He has a point, Peaches. We were terrified for you. You’re not in trouble with them, right? The secret world police or whatever they are?” Evan squeezed my hand.
I shook my head. “No. I wasn’t on trial. I did nothing wrong. They came and got me because I was a key witness.”
“Oh. Well, that makes sense. You weren’t arrested–and he was in a hurry. It would have been nice if Agent Asshole actuallytoldus that.” Jett’s look went thoughtful.
“Yeah. There’s a lot regarding me actually waking up on the bench in the park that I don’t remember. But I do know that someone tried to kill me, which was why Agent Weigmier stashed me here with my memories erased for my own safety until I could testify. I’m not supposed to remember things now. It’s Temporal Authority protocol for worlds where parallel travel is illegal,” I said. “Also, technically it’s Temporal Authority Enforcers not Temporal Police who bust you when you break their laws.”
Evan exhaled sharply. “Someone tried to kill you?”
“So that I couldn’t testify. The defense was killing witnesses, and I was almost a statistic. Those injuries I had on the bench were from that.” My professor’s betrayal made me wince. Evan gave me a kiss on my temple.
“While I’m so glad that you came to me, how did they even figure that out?” Wes asked, pulling me to him.
“I think Agent Weigmier got it from my head. He thought you telling me in my dreams to wait for you on the bench was some actual reunification plan. I think he’s psychic. There are all sorts of worlds out there. Some worlds are part of the Temporal Coalition, which means they know about parallel worlds. The Temporal Authority oversees everything, so it doesn’t go to shit. The enforcers, you know, enforce. I have no idea what agents do. Investigate maybe? This world and the one I came from, are not members of the Coalition but are subject to their rules,” I replied.
“There are other worlds? Are they all just a little different from each other? Yours isreallyclose to ours, right?” Jett asked. “Are we talking about the multiverse?”
“We donotexist in the multiverse.” Spencer shook his head.
“No, we do not. Think of it like a specific section of a bookstore. There are only so many unique ideas out there. Some books are really different from each other, othersverysimilar, but ultimately every book is their own story,” I explained. “In my understanding, the multiverse would be like fanfiction for a particular fandom–same characters with many, many variations.”
Fanfiction existed in this world. I checked. I just didn’t know any of the fandoms here.
“Got it.” Jett nodded.
“Anyway, let me start at the beginning.” I settled into Wes’ lap. Really, I wasn’t ready for this. But they were right. They deserved to know.
No secrets.
“When I thought people were after me for my research, I was wrong. That memory was of the night I saw too much…” In the safety of Wes’ arms, I told them everything I could. About theweapons smuggling. My professor setting me up. Me turning witness.
Her trying to kill me.
I buried my face in Wes’ shoulder. “That’s the hardest part. Professor Jaffey was like a second mother to me. She encouraged me, fed me, and knew a shit-ton about my past. For her to set me up like that, to isolate me, and manipulate me into being the perfect scapegoat is devastating.”
Wes squeezed me, purring. “Of course it is.”
“Weapons smuggling. Was it a ring?” Spencer asked.
“Just two worlds. Which meant two trials–one for each.” I continued, telling them about everything that I could recall.
“Most of the time I had no idea what was going on. Agent Weigmier was clear that while he wanted to get me back here, to all of you, he couldn’t make promises. In the end, I almost didn’t. Normal protocol for witnesses is to wipe their memories and plop them back into their world with little concern for the after-effects on their lives. The captain didn’t even think worlds like mine deserved trials.” For a moment I shook in Wes’ arms.
Spencer patted my hair and Evan squeezed my hand.
“Anyhow, I guess the judge took pity on me and authorized relocation. There’s literally nothing left for me in my world. Fortunately, Agent Weigmier got to me before I was sent someplace else.” Yeah, so glad I was not the pet of some otherworldly pack.
Jett nodded. “That makes sense. They have some sort of program in place to protect and relocate witnesses. But I’m happy they returned you to us.”
