Wafflick threw the truck door open and raced up toward the door.
Valerie watched him, then looked at me, her lips twisted to the side. “Do you think he has to pee again?”
I shrugged.
I expected her to get out of the truck, to walk away and disappear into her room. She didn’t.
“Want to go for a walk?” she asked.
“Sure.”
I climbed out of the truck and met her around front.
“This way.” She smiled softly, and headed toward the tree line across the expansive yard.
I walked beside her, and admired the way her dark hair fluttered in the gentle breeze, the way the midday sun cast a soft glow over her fair skin. She held her head high and her shoulders square as she moved, making her seem taller than she was. I wondered if the way she held herself had anything to do with being human amongst shifters, a subconscious way to claim her place. But she wasn’t just one of the pack, she was more.
“I used to hang out with my mom while the pack ran together. We were the only two who couldn’t shift,” Valerie said. “We always took the same walk, to the same place.”
Learning more about her was a privilege, one I cherished. It must have been difficult growing up in a shifter pack without being a shifter herself. Only harder after she became the only one.
There was a path worn into the earth. It began in the grass, but grew deeper and wider as we breached the edge of the forest. Thick trunks reached for the sky, their dense blanket of broad leaves filtering light and casting the ground beneath in shadow.
“How long ago did she pass?” Why did I ask that? She’d made it clear before that she hadn’t wanted me to know that her mother was gone. I should have left it up to her to tell me what she wanted to, and nothing more. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry.”
“No, it’s okay. It’s been eleven years.”
“Time doesn’t make it easier to lose the ones you care about,” I said.
“The hurt dulls,” she said. “But it’s still there—a legacy of who she was and what she meant to me.”
I nodded.
“How about you?” Valerie asked. “Do you have any family? I’ve always heard that Tribunal agents were orphans.”
“I’ve lost friends along the way,” I said. “But as you say, I’ve never had a family.”
“That sucks.”
“Life is hard.” It always had been.
“Not always.” Valerie took my hand. She laced her fingers between mine, and her warmth radiated through me. No, not always. Life wasn’t so bad when I was with her.
The path opened into a small clearing, where a stone bench stood surrounded by a bed of tulips.
“The halls are so quiet with everyone away, and so is the forest,” Valerie said. “Usually there are wolves racing by, day and night.”
“Do you like the quiet?” I asked as she led me to the bench.
We sat and the cold of the stone soaked through my jeans.
“Kind of. It’s strange, and nice. But also, it’s lonely. Except not since you arrived.”
I smiled.
There was something about being near Valerie, a warmth I hadn’t realized I was missing until I’d felt it. And like anything else that belonged in the dark, I was drawn to her light.
Her shoulder brushed my arm.
“Deck?”
“Yes?”
“What happens if we find the dream witch?” Her fingers moved in the pocket of her jacket. If I had to guess, I’d say she was touching the orbs.
“We’ll be ready.” My words sounded sure, and I was. I would be there to defend her, and she would utilize the tools she had acquired, and she’d learn to wield the blossoming power within her. It had to be enough. We would be ready.
“I’m not so sure,” she said.
“We’ll practice. You have the power to use the orbs.”
“I’ve barely begun to understand how to bring you with me from one dream to the next. You’re way overestimating my abilities.”
“Remember how everyone was staring at you at the coffee shop?” I asked.
“Yeah…”
“They could sense it. They could sense your power.”
“That’s crazy.” She looked down at the flowers that swayed in the breeze. Blooms of orange and yellow and red.
“Is it?”
Valerie looked up and met my gaze.
“I’ll be there,” I said. “We can do this—together.”
She smiled. It was a good look on her, one that lit up her whole face. She was so beautiful, from the pale freckles on her cheeks to the way she tried to hide her curves in her oversized sweater. It was her pink lips, her determination. It was everything about her that I loved. And deep down I knew she was it for me. Even if nothing happened between us, Valerie was my mate.
“You know, I didn’t mean tonight,” she said.
“What?”
“I meant, what happens when your case is over? What if we find this witch and your boss says it’s time to move on? Do we visit each other in dreams but never see each other in the flesh again?”
“I hope not,” I said. “I’d like to see you in the flesh.”
Her cheeks went pink and she bumped her shoulder into my arm.
I couldn’t stand a moment longer restraining myself. I leaned in and stole a kiss. She tasted as sweet as her scent, like cherry pie and true joy. Her lips were soft, and she didn’t pull away.
And then she did. Her eyes widened.
“What is it?” I asked.
Not answering me, she rose from her seat.
“Are you okay?” I asked. Had I offended her? Should I not have kissed her?
She took a few steps away and crouched down. When she stood back up, there was a little red book in her hands.
“It’s my mother’s journal.”
I stood and stepped over to her.
She looked around as if whoever had left it here could be out in the woods right now. They weren’t. I’d know if someone else was here.
She opened the book and flipped through the pages.
“Whoever took it...they were here…”
There was hardly anyone in the pack house. The suspect pool was limited. More likely than not it was someone in the pack and I’d cleared all but one...
“How well do you know Roger?” I asked.
“Roger? I don’t know, a normal amount for a guy who has been in the same house as me my entire life. Why?”
“He has opportunity.”
“Opportunity for what? If he wanted the journal, he could have just taken it from the archives. There wasn’t any reason for him to kill Ms. Albright.”
“Hmmm.”
“Was that a grunt?” she asked. “Trust me, Roger isn’t our guy.”
“Whoever our guy is, he was here.”
“Yeah…”
After our kiss, Valerie grew more distant. Perhaps she was distracted with the journal, or maybe it was just me. Thankfully, Joey was nowhere to be seen, which allowed me to go unbothered while I watched Roger.
Unfortunately, I learned nothing new following him. And eventually it was time for bed.
I used to worry about the nightmares that waited for me while I slept.
But tonight when I lay down to rest and closed my eyes, I looked forward to falling asleep. In dreams, we’d find each other. In dreams, there was no hesitation, only our unfiltered connection.
And when my eyes opened, Valerie was there. We stood in a clearing in the center of a circle of trees. There was a field of tulips instead of just a garden, but I knew it was still meant to be the place she’d taken me earlier in the day, the place she used to visit with her mother.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” she said.
“Not long, I hope.”
“Nope, not long.”
“Is this your dream?” I asked.
“It is.”
“You brought me here right away. It’s not my nightmare, and it’s not yo
urs.”
“True.” Her brilliant smile beamed in the cloudy haze.
“Let’s see what else you can do,” I said.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out two orbs, the cracked black one and the blue one we had purchased earlier in the day.
“This one…” She picked up the black orb between thumb and forefinger. “I can feel something from it. I think if whoever it belongs to doesn’t come for us, I might be able to use this to find him.”
“Good,” I said, but the certainty I’d felt earlier in the day wavered.
“Let’s try this first.” Valerie slid the black orb back in her pocket and held onto the blue one.
“How does it work?” I asked.
“I’m not sure, but it feels warm. I think it’s going to show me if I let it.” She closed her eyes and the world shook. I spread my feet and braced for whatever was coming.
The bench—first there was one, and then there was another.
Valerie opened her eyes and clasped her hands together. “I did it.”
“How? What does it feel like?”
“I just willed there to be two, and there were. It’s like I just knew how. It’s amazing.”
“You’re amazing.”
Her lips crashed over mine and she threw her arms around my neck, catching me by surprise. I kissed her back without hesitation, claiming her mouth. More than anything I wanted to claim her. But this was just a dream. Even if she’d only have me here, I’d take it.
I pulled her close, and she giggled.
She tilted her head back and gave me a small peck. “I’m going to try something else.”
“Okay,” I said, still holding her tight.
She was the perfect fit in my arms, the perfect fit against my chest, perfect for me. We hardly knew each other, and I knew it was true. I knew she was my mate. I’d known since I’d first laid eyes on her.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head against my chest.
A second Valerie appeared from nowhere.
“Valerie.” I squeezed the real one, and she opened her eyes and looked at me.
“Did it work?”
The woman behind her was a spitting image. She had the same wavy brown hair, the same scent. The only thing off was the eyes. The copy’s green eyes weren’t full of delight, they were...vacant.
“You copied yourself?” I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t sure what to think.
Valerie stared at fake Valerie, took a step closer and poked her cheek. Fake Valerie flinched, then stood still as a statue, expressionless.
Valerie nodded like that was all she needed to do to, then she turned to me.
“Come on,” she said and pulled my hand.
“Where are we going?” I let her lead me, following wherever she wanted me to go.
We reached the tree line, and she touched the air. The dream rippled, like a pond, and Valerie stepped through the wall that wasn’t a wall. I followed.
On the other side was a bedroom, one with a bed, a nightstand, and a mirrored closet. I meant to ask more about the clone, but I got distracted by the new dream. In front of the mirrors was a shirtless man, flexing and cringing at his reflection. There was something familiar about him, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
Valerie leaned over and gave me a wicked grin. “It’s Joey.”
“No way.” This guy was at least a foot taller than Wafflick, with the physique of a steroid-ridden bodybuilder. I looked a little closer at his face, and then I saw it. His jaw was more square, his nose a little larger, but he had the same bowl cut hair, the same eyes. It was Wafflick.
Someone walked in front of us over to the distorted version of Wafflick that was peering into the mirror.
“Ready to go grab some ice cream?” the new person asked.
I stared at the man. No. No way.
Valerie started laughing.
“Sure, whatever,” Wafflick said.
“It’s so great being best friends with you, buddy.” The smaller man said.
I stared at his reflection in the glass. It looked almost like…
“It’s you. He made himself big and grumbly, and you...you look like him.” Valerie laughed and laughed.
I shook my head. “I look nothing like that.”
“Not nothing,” she said.
The two men hugged. “You’re the best.”
“No, you’re the best.”
I was going to be sick.
Valerie looked down at her side, and her smile faded. Something was wrong.
“What is it?” I asked.
She looked at me, her green eyes conveying something I couldn’t comprehend.
“Valerie, what’s wrong?”
“When you wake up, watch me.”
“What?”
“Make sure I don’t seem to be...in distress.”
“What are you talking about? I’m not waking up first. We’re seeing this night through togeth—”
She closed her eyes and out of nowhere popped another me. It wasn’t like the distorted version that interacted with Wafflick. It was like the copy Valerie had made of herself—accurate, but with a dead stare.
“Valerie...what are you—”
She pulled the black orb from her pocket and touched my forehead with two fingers.
I jolted upright in bed, cold air filling my lungs. And I ran. I ran for her bedroom.
Chapter Nine
Valerie
So small, yet so powerful. I squeezed the onyx orb in my palm and looked at the man standing beside me.
Fake Deckard looked so real. I was counting on him being the same as the legit version I’d copied him from, namely his ability to shift. Maybe I should have checked that before forcing the real Deckard to wake. But it was too late for second guessing.
Real Deckard was going to be pissed as hell, but with a copy, he could be by my side to help me, and be safe at the same time. Even if he didn’t see it that way, I didn’t regret my decision.
“You can shift, right?” I looked up into his perpetually squinted hazel eyes.
He looked down at me, and it was clear something was missing, though I couldn’t quite put my finger on what. It was something about the way he looked at me, like there was just no one in there.
“I look nothing like that,” he said.
I stared at him. The voice was right, but maybe I’d made a mistake with the brain. Could I do that? Could it just be a botched copy?
The dream continued without us, with Joey and his version of Deckard leaving for their best pals ice cream date.
My Fake Deckard dropped his jacket to the floor, then his shirt. I stared, unable to peel my eyes away from the delicious sight of his ripped chest, those chiseled abs, the—
Then he unzipped his pants.
“Deckard—Fake Deckard, what are you doing?”
His pants fell to the floor, and lucky for me, he was going commando.
I stared at the massive cock hanging between his legs.
“You should put your clothes back on,” I said, though I didn’t mean it. It felt like an abuse of power, copying him and then staring at him naked while his mind wasn’t here with me.
“How does it work?” he asked.
Mother of fucking...grr...this was torture.
Fake Deckard dropped to his hands and knees and I debated how I was supposed to answer that and not take advantage. But then fur sprouted along his back, over his shoulders. And then I understood.
“I did ask if you could shift,” I said, more to myself than to the brainless copy of Deckard. He grew and grew, his back expanding upward and outward, until he was a giant—a grizzly. It was so unlike the shifts I was used to, the shifts of wolves. The only other time I’d seen a man shift into a bear was when we’d first met, and having watched it twice now, I was pretty sure I would never get used to it.
And then I remembered what else we had done that first night after he had shifted back, and was totally bare.
“I think it’
s best if you just stay like that, as a grizzly. It’ll be safer for both of us.” And I didn’t just mean in the battle we were about to face.
I focused on the heat in my palm, on the sensation of the orb—smooth glass, and the distinct magical signature of someone familiar yet unknown—my enemy. It was as if there was a piece of the witch’s soul in there, a hint of darkness, of anticipation. Did he know I was coming? No, he couldn’t.
I touched Fake Deckard’s fur and closed my eyes. I willed us to go, to follow the feeling of the orb, the imprint of the witch who had wielded it. The path became clear, and I followed, stepping through the mirrored wall to the dream of another.
The world was cast in a bluish green glow, not quite day, yet not dark. We were outside in a clearing surrounded by trees. Tombstones and plaques were scattered across the hillside, with stone structures grouped at the highest peak—mausoleums. I knew this place.
It was the pack graveyard, where my mother was buried.
How could this be the place the witch was dreaming about? Was it possible he was here for my mother? Was this why he had stolen her journal?
Being here felt right, like I’d found the bastard, yet as far as I could tell, Fake Bear Deckard and I were alone.
Maybe we’d just gotten here first.
“Come on,” I said, and started up the hill.
The closer we got to the top, the darker the dream world became.
There was something important for us to find here, I just knew it.
The doorway to my mom’s mausoleum was cast in a soft glow. This was it, this was where I was supposed to go. There was something here the witch was searching for.
Fake Bear Deckard growled.
I looked back, and saw him tear at the ground. Beneath his massive paws...were snakes.
Darkness closed in as serpents weaved through the grass toward us.
I Dream of Grizzly: A Werebear Shifter and Witch Romance (The Protectors Quick Bites Book 2) Page 6
