He didn’t respond, so I glanced around. I didn’t want to leave him on the floor, so I pushed the coffee table out of the way, then used every bit of strength I possessed to get him up on the couch. I tucked a pillow under his head and covered him with the throw blanket, then kneeled near his head and pushed my fingers through his hair.
“Alaric?”
He didn’t respond, and I took a moment to debate whether to call an ambulance or not, but ultimately, I decided on not. I didn’t think telling them he came out of my snow globe as a puff of smoke, then passed out would go over very well. Not to mention, there would be no record of him anywhere. We didn’t need that kind of attention. And I had no freaking clue if warlock blood would look the same as human blood or if human drugs would even work on him, so… that was a definite no-go since he was still breathing and didn’t feel too hot or clammy or anything. But why the hell wasn’t he waking up?
After several minutes of me freaking the fuck out, Alaric groaned and fluttered his eyelashes.
“Alaric,” I whispered with a smile.
He blinked up at me, his brow furrowing in confusion. “Grady?” He glanced around the room. “We’re… not in the cabin.”
I smiled and shook my head. “We’re in my living room.”
“But I’m talking to you.” His eyes tracked my hand as I pushed my fingers through his hair again, and he gasped. “You’re touching me… you’re… I’m… what’s going on?”
“I think you broke out of your prison.”
His eyes widened for a moment before he shook his head. “I… remember… you were wishing…” He turned his gaze on me. “I’m not the one that broke me out. You did.”
Now it was my turn for my eyes to widen in surprise.
“You freed me, Grady.”
Chapter 10
Alaric
A laugh bubbled out of me, unbidden, as I slowly sat up on the couch. “You freed me”—Tiberius squawked from the dining room, and I corrected myself—“You freed us, dove.”
Grady’s shocked expression might’ve made me laugh if I wasn’t already happier than I’d ever been in my life. He lifted his hand and slowly poked my shoulder, then lifted his other arm and pinched himself. “Ow.”
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to make sure I’m not dreaming.”
I smiled, then leaned forward and wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug, my skin prickling with energy everywhere we connected. “You’re not dreaming. You broke the curse. You saved me.” Tears filled my eyes, and I tried to hold them back. A few escaped, but I managed to hold the sobs of happiness inside. My hands were shaking with relief and shock, and as Grady held me tight to him, it really hit me that I was there, that I was free.
“You’re here,” he whispered into my hair. I nodded against him, and when he squeezed me and rubbed my back, a sob came unbidden and loud. “Shh… it’s okay, Alaric. I’ve got you.”
I nodded again and blew out a breath, although a few tears continued to fall. So many pent-up emotions were swirling around trying to break free.
Grady held me tight for a long time, rubbing my back and squeezing me tighter when a shudder would rack my body, and I finally began to relax into him.
Tiberius squawked again, so I released Grady with a smile aimed his way, rubbed the evidence of my emotions off my face, and said to my familiar, “Come on, then. You’ve been dying to meet him.”
Tib flew over and landed on my outstretched arm, the thick bracer under my sleeve keeping his talons from hurting me. He clucked and chittered in excitement as he rubbed his face over my hair, cheek, and neck. I gave him a bunch of scratches as I clucked back at him before I turned to Grady, who was watching us with wide eyes. “This is Tiberius, my familiar. Tib, meet Grady, the human that saved us.” Tib flapped his wings excitedly, and Grady leaned back. “He won’t hurt you. He’s excited to be free, and to finally get to meet you. He’s been in there watching you since you brought us home, and he’s heard me talk about you.” Tiberius stretched his neck out toward Grady, so I said, “He wants you to pet him.”
Grady hesitantly lifted his hand, tentatively pressing his finger to Tib, but after a few seconds, Grady seemed to relax and he started petting Tib with a small smile on his face. “He’s beautiful,” he murmured a minute later, and Tib preened.
“He is, isn’t he?” I gave Tib some belly scratches while Grady continued stroking his neck.
Grady was quiet for a long time as the two of us focused on Tiberius, and I couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. My mind was racing, and I was pretty sure I was in shock, so I had no idea what to say to him.
“You’re really here, aren’t you?” Grady asked quietly.
I nodded. “I am.” I eyed him and licked my lips. “Is that… okay?”
“Jesus, Alaric. Yes. Of course, it’s okay. It’s better than okay. It’s all I’ve been wishing for since the first time you dream-walked with me.”
“Really?”
He shot me a tiny glare, but there was no heat behind it. “Yes.”
Blowing out a breath, I nodded. “It’s all I’ve wanted, too.”
“I can’t even imagine being stuck…” He sighed, then turned his attention to me. “Are you alright? You passed out.”
“I’m fine now. The magic overwhelmed me for a moment, but I’m unharmed.”
“Are you thirsty? I’ll grab you some water.”
“Thank you.” I hadn’t needed to eat or drink when I was inside the globe, but now that he’d mentioned it, I was awfully thirsty… and hungry. And beyond exhausted. I yawned three times while Grady was in the kitchen.
He came back with two glasses of water, passing me one.
“Thank you.” I took a sip.
He sat on the couch beside me, but started to stand again. “You must be starving. Let me go make you—”
“Please don’t go,” I said, putting my hand on his forearm to stop him.
He stared at me for a minute, then nodded. “Okay.”
Tib hopped onto the coffee table, and I glanced down at where my hand was touching Grady’s arm. Slowly, I slid my hand down to his until they were palm to palm, and when he laced our fingers together, the energy I always felt pulsing between us flared to life. Only now, instead of a small hum, it was a huge blaze.
Grady’s eyes widened. “I feel it here, too.”
I nodded. “It’s… more.”
“A lot more.”
I wanted to keep talking to him, but my body began to sag of its own accord and a yawn spilled over. I guess escaping my prison of two hundred years was exhausting. Even though it had been Grady’s willpower that pulled me out, it had used my magic to do it.
“What’s wrong?”
“I feel wrung out… that used a lot of my energy.” My eyelids blinked, and I was having trouble keeping them open.
Grady smiled softly at me. “It’s late. Why don’t you get some sleep? You can take the guest room.”
My brow furrowed. “Don’t leave me.” I was overwhelmed, my magic was zinging around inside of me, and I didn’t know how to handle it. But there was one thing I knew for sure, I needed Grady beside me. This pulsing between us was… something, and I was afraid to break that connection. It almost felt like his presence was tethering me to this world.
He hesitated. “Alright, we can… stay right here.”
I nodded as my body sagged against the back of the couch and eyes slipped closed.
Chapter 11
Grady
Slowly, I opened my eyes, confused by my surroundings and the weight leaning on my side. The living room came into view a moment before the memories of last night rushed into me.
Alaric.
Jerking my head around, a small gasp escaped my lips when I found a man leaning against my side on the couch with a sleeping giant owl on his lap. I took a deep breath to calm myself. He was real. Alaric was real… and he was sleeping on my couch. He was here. In the flesh.
And he’d come out of my fucking snow globe.
Holy shit.
Holy. Shit.
The owl—Tiberius—lifted his head and turned huge yellow eyes on me, blinking as he ruffled his feathers.
“Um… hi,” I said in a quiet and unsure voice. Was it weird to talk to an owl?
He stretched his head toward me and made a very quiet cooing sound, like he didn’t want to wake Alaric up. I remembered that when he’d done this yesterday, Alaric had said that Tiberius wanted me to pet him. Biting my lip, I slowly lifted my hand toward the bird, and he watched my every move. When my fingers brushed his feathers, Tiberius leaned into me, so I blew out the breath I’d been holding and pet him.
Staring at the man beside me was surreal. He looked exactly the same as he had in my dreams. Exactly. His soft brown hair, his all black clothing, his small lithe body, his pink kissable lips, even the scruff on his face. Okay, maybe he wasn’t exactly the same as my dream; he was even more adorable in real life.
After a few minutes, Alaric still hadn’t woken—although I could see his chest moving so I knew he was at least breathing—and my stomach grumbled. I was starving, so I could only imagine how hungry Alaric would be when he woke, so I decided to get up and make breakfast.
As I slid out from beside him, I remembered that it was Christmas morning which meant Laz might stop by and try to get me to come to his mom’s with him, so I shot off a text in the hopes of keeping him away.
I wanted to make Alaric something nice to eat, and I decided on French toast and bacon and eggs. It didn’t take long for me to have everything cooking, and I wanted to turn some Christmas music on, but I didn’t want to wake up my… guest.
God, how was I even going to explain him to everyone tomorrow at Laz’s parents’ house?
It wasn’t like I could leave Alaric home. I didn’t want to at all, and I didn’t think that would be very kind. And I couldn’t back out on going to Laz’s mom’s house. If I did, she’d think I was dying or something and she’d end up showing up here with buckets of food, wanting to nurse me back to health. His family had basically adopted me when I was a teenager, and I owed them a lot.
So the only option I had was to bring Alaric with me.
But… what would I tell them? That he was my friend? That he was my… boyfriend? That would make more sense as to why I’d be bringing him to a family holiday dinner, but… would Alaric be okay with that? I mean, we’d kissed, and we’d held hands multiple times, but… he wasn’t my boyfriend. Even if I want him to be.
“Grady?” A panicked voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “Grady!”
“I’m here,” I called back as I rushed to the living room. “I’m right here.” When I caught sight of Alaric’s panicked expression, I stopped in my tracks. He looked devastated and terrified. My heart got clogged in my throat as I rushed over to him, dropping to my knees in front of the couch. “It’s alright. I’m here. You’re safe, Alaric.”
He nodded as his eyes searched my face, but his expression didn’t calm.
Not knowing what else to do, I leaned up and wrapped my arms around him. He didn’t even hesitate to hug me back, and once he began relaxing in my arms, I realized he was trembling.
“Hey, it’s alright. You’re safe.”
He nodded and murmured, “I’m fine, I… was confused when I woke up, and I thought… I was worried you were gone or that I was dreaming, having a nightmare, and I never really escaped the globe.”
“I’m so sorry, Alaric. I was in the kitchen making breakfast because I thought you’d be hungry when you woke up—”
“Shh… you didn’t do anything wrong. I was confused from sleep. Please don’t worry yourself over me.”
I nodded, then cringed a little when a smell reached my nose. “I think something’s burning.”
He released me. “Oh no. I’m sorry.”
Waving him off, I stood and rushed into the kitchen. Luckily, it was only the French toast, and I had plenty of eggs and bread to make more. As I set about making a new batch, Alaric walked into the kitchen. From the corner of my eye, I watched him examining everything. How must this look to him? The appliances must be foreign to him if he was truly stuck in there for nearly two hundred years. But honestly, I believed everything he’d told me. After everything I’d seen, after I watched smoke pour out of the snow globe and turn into a person, I was inclined to believe anything.
He looked uncomfortable, so I pointed at a stool at the breakfast bar and said, “You can have a seat over there. The food will be done soon.”
He slowly made his way over, carefully sitting on the stool. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
Tiberius flew into the kitchen and settled on Alaric’s shoulder. It made me jump, but it was clear that Alaric was used to it because he didn’t even flinch.
I cleared my throat. “No, I’ve got it, but thank you.” Then, I added, “Merry Christmas.”
His eyes widened. “Merry Christmas, Grady. I’m sorry I didn’t realize what day it is.”
“Um, I think you’ve had enough on your mind.” I chuckled and concentrated on the food. I felt awkward, so I grabbed my cell and pulled up my favorite Christmas playlist and let the air fill with music.
“That’s amazing,” Alaric muttered, almost to himself.
I smiled over at him. “Did you celebrate Christmas growing up?”
He shook his head. “No. Father wasn’t much for celebrations, but the town celebrated Winter Solstice every year, so I would sneak into town to watch the townsfolk dance and feast. They always seemed so happy.”
“Oh, well…” I didn’t know what to say. It was as if Alaric had been forced to watch life from the outside even before he’d been trapped. Swallowing down the pity, since I knew he didn’t want that, I smiled and I brought a plate of food over, setting it in front of him before grabbing my own and joining him at the breakfast bar. “Usually every year for Christmas, I go to Laz’s mom’s house to celebrate with his parents. But the day after Christmas—tomorrow—I always go over there and celebrate with his whole family because his sister comes into town. They do a dinner, but we’re expected there around one in the afternoon tomorrow, and we typically stay late into the night.”
He fiddled with his fork, but didn’t start eating it. “Oh… would it be okay if… I stayed in your house while you’re with Laz… and… what I mean to say is, can I… stay with you for a few days until… until I can… find somewhere to live?”
I blinked at him and set my fork down. “I didn’t think… I assumed you would stay with me, yes. But you don’t have to find somewhere… Alaric, the world is a very different place to what you remember, and I would… like it if you stayed with me for as long as you like. You don’t have to rush, or go at all. I like having you here.” It had only been a matter of hours, but it was true. I didn’t want him to leave, ever; I just got him.
He smiled softly. “I don’t want to be an inconvenience for you, Grady.”
“Are you kidding me? I wished for you so you could be here… with me.”
He stared into my eyes, his browns filled with emotions I didn’t understand, and he reached over to place his hand over mine, making that pulsing feeling rush between us. “I wished for that to. I only didn’t want to assume—”
“I want you to stay here. Please.”
He smiled. “Alright. Thank you.” He glanced around, then asked, “Would it be alright if Tiberius flew around outside? He needs to hunt.”
“Of course. You can let him out the back door here.” I pointed at the door off the kitchen, and watched Alaric walk Tiberius over and release him outside. “Will he come back?”
Alaric smiled at me as he walked back over to sit. “Always.”
I cleared my throat. “About today, I’m going to text Laz to let him know that I’m not coming.”
“Are you sure? Do you want to go, and I’ll stay here?”
After everything, I decided I needed to be honest with him.
“No. I would rather spend the day with you.”
His smile was soft. “I would like that.”
I grinned at him. “And I was thinking that maybe tomorrow, you’d come with me to his mom’s? I mean, if you’re up to it. Unless it would be against your religion or you don’t want to be around other people or—”
“I would love to go wherever you go, as long as you’ll have me.”
My heart felt like it was in my throat from that, so I nodded at him.
He squeezed my hand before releasing it to scoop a bite of French toast with powdered sugar on top into his mouth. His eyes widened before they slammed shut as he moaned loudly. After he swallowed his bite, he turned to me with a huge smile and said, “This is the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted.”
A chuckle spilled from my lips. “Wait until you taste Mrs. Callanan’s chocolate chip cookies.” An idea formed, and I smiled at him. “Maybe this week, we can cook and bake a bunch of different things for you to try.”
He grinned back. “I would like that.”
Chapter 12
Alaric
After we finished eating the delicious food, I helped carry the plates to the sink, but Grady told me to sit back down while he cleaned up. Not knowing what I was doing anyway, I sat on the stool.
When he finished, he turned to me and asked, “Would you like me to show you around the house? I just realized you haven’t really seen it yet.”
“That would be nice,” I replied.
Grady hesitated, then glanced at the back door. “Should we leave it open for Tiberius?”
“He’ll let me know when he’s ready to come back inside. He’s enjoying his newfound freedom.”
He nodded, a little unsure, and walked out of the kitchen toward the staircase. “What do you mean he’ll let you know?”
“He’s my familiar, so we share a bond. I can sense his wants and needs, and after it being only the two of us for so many years, we’re quite good at picking up on each other’s emotions and thoughts.”
Wishing on a Dream Page 8
