Page 9 of Midnight Magic

Later, alone in the modest room I’d been given for the night, I lay on the single bed, staring at the night sky above. Most of the buildings in the stronghold didn’t seem to have roofs. I would question what they did when it rained, but I bet if I asked, I’d get some throwaway answer about pagu magic. It seemed to be something they heavily relied on in their day-to-day lives.

I’d taken a quick shower in their outdoor shower before retiring to my room, grateful to see a fresh plate of more delicious fruit waiting for me. I’d been here for one day, but I already liked their way of life. If I was another person, born to a different life, maybe this could be a place I would settle. Living free, flying around during the day, trying to stick it to the man. This was my kind of place. It didn’t take long for the peacefulness of the night sky to pull me under, lulling me into a gentle sleep.

* * *

I stoodin the bedroom of a dark cabin, silent except for the soft chirping of the crickets wafting in from the open window. The iridescent moonlight shone in the otherwise complete darkness outside, a clear indication that this wasn’t the Faerie realm. Where the fuck was I?

A form shifted in the wooden bed before me and then froze, before a low, menacing growl sounded that made me take a few steps back, the hair on the back of my neck rising towards the heavens.

“Get out before I rip your throat out.” My heart jumped as I recognized the voice. That sweltering Scottish lilt. Callan. This had to be a dream. Callan was off in the mortal realm, and I was at the Briar Stronghold, sleeping under the two-mooned sky. And yet, why was I so lucid?

“Rowan?” The complete shock and distrust in his voice put me on edge. Callan sat up in the bed, and my chest tightened at the sight of him. The blankets bunched around his hips, his toned chest on full display. He kept his eyes pinned on me, and my pulse skyrocketed as my attraction for him flared to life.

It’d only been a day since I’d seen him last, and yet it felt like it'd been forever. I’d learned so much about myself, so much about the world, and I wanted to share it with him. But this wasn’t him. I’d become dependent on our partnership while we’d worked together to hunt down the killer who had been terrorizing the packs. Lexi. Callan’s mate.

I took another step back, slamming the door shut on all the feelings I shouldn't have.

“This is a really weird dream I’m having,” I muttered to myself as my back hit the wall, realizing the door was on the other side of the room, the imaginary panther shifter standing between me and escape. “At least in the last one, you gave me some dick. This time I’m just getting threatened.” Maybe it was all the weird fruit I’d been eating?

His forehead wrinkled in surprise, casting a hooded shadow over his emerald eyes as he watched me. Slowly he slid from the bed, and a rivulet of disappointment coursed through me when I saw he was wearing a pair of loose sweatpants. This was definitely not shaping up to be a sex dream. He approached cautiously, his muscles tensed for action at a moment's notice, his eyes trailing torturously up and down my body, inspecting every inch. I looked down, flushing as I realized I was wearing exactly what I’d fallen asleep in, a slightly too-large shirt and a pair of the simple underwear Nia had given me.

“Where are you right now, Rowan?” He spoke low and controlled, coming to a stop a few feet away from me. He was so close I wanted to smell him, and I inhaled, frowning when I couldn’t smell anything at all. He pinned me with a suspicious stare, his question more of a test than anything else.

“I’m in the Faerie realm,” I replied, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms over my chest defensively. That was a mistake, my shirt riding dangerously high with the movement, and his eyes laser-focused on the newly exposed skin of my thighs before darting back up to my face. “Where is this?” If we were going to play twenty questions, I wanted to ask questions too.

“This is my house,” he told me absentmindedly, a deep concern etched on his face. “I can’t smell you. Why can’t I smell you?”

“Don’t quote me on this, but-” I leaned forward in a conspiratorial whisper, noticing the way he tensed as I got closer, “-I think this might be a dream.” I knew they said if you died in a dream, you died in real life, but I liked to push the limits. If he attacked me then maybe I’d wake up from this strangeness sooner. Not that I was entirely sure I wanted that. Violent dream where I got killed? No, thanks. Spicy sex dream with the hot panther shifter? Sign me up.

“That could be true,” he said, searching my eyes for any sign of deception. I held my breath at the intensity of his gaze. “Except I wasn’t asleep. And this isn’t a dream.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “That sounds exactly like something a dream-Callan would say.”

He lifted one hand, and I stayed completely still as he reached up next to my face, going for a strand of hair. I turned my head slightly and watched as his hand went completely through, slapping the wall behind me with a thud. Now that threw me off.

“If this was fake, I’d be able to touch you,” he murmured, more to himself than anything. He balled his hand into a fist, bringing it back down to his side. “I can’t smell you, but I do smell . . . something. Magic.”

“I swear I am not doing any kind of magic. My freaky talents end at lightning bolts from my hands. And maybe a portal or two, apparently.” If this truly wasn’t a dream, then what was this? I’d never been to Callan’s house before. If this was some sort of subconscious teleportation or spell, how had it taken me to a place I’d never been before? And who was responsible?

“Come back to us.”

“I can’t do that. The Faerie realm needs me. There’s so much you don’t know.” I shook my head with my denial, the truth of my statements resounding in my chest. I’d love nothing more than to go back and step back into pack life, learning to use my newfound abilities alongside my friends. But that wasn’t an option for me anymore. “The realm will die without my help. I need to get my memories back.”

“Then let me come with you. I can’t protect you if I’m not with you.” The pain in his voice was real, the only real thing I could believe tonight, but I didn’t let myself be deluded into thinking that it was out of care for me. Callan was a protector, that was who he was. Former alpha of the Clover pack. Lexi murdering his entire pack had left a mark on his soul that could never be scourged. He didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.

“I don’t need a big scary alpha asshole to fight my battles for me,” I retorted with more bravado than I possessed. I talked a big game, but I didn’t have the skills to back it up and we both knew it. “Besides, shouldn’t you be out there looking for your mate?” I cringed as soon as the immature words left my mouth. His mate bond was complicated, and I didn’t have any right to throw it back in his face, but I stopped the apology that threatened to escape me.

Emotions flared across his face in quick succession, so fast I almost didn’t catch them. Anger, then hurt, before he schooled his face into his signature indifference. I could feel his walls slamming back into place, and just like that, I was locked out again.

“You’re going to be the death of me.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but a sharp pain lanced through my chest, like a knife driven straight through my heart and I doubled over, gasping for air.

“ROWAN!” Echoes reverberated around the room as the bodiless voice shouted from every direction, the house beginning to shake. Callan looked around wildly, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from, poised to fight an enemy that he couldn’t see.

“ROWAN!” The pain in my chest heightened until I couldn’t breathe and it felt like I might burst. Callan grabbed for me, his hands going straight through me and knocking him off balance. My heartbeat thudded in my ears, rising until I could hear nothing else.

A sharp tug on my wrist pulled me downward, and I fell, expecting to hit the ground but I didn’t. I kept falling and falling and—

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