CHAPTER TWO || HARRIS #2
“Human lives are far too short. I’ll talk sense into you, eventually.” Which was rich, coming from him. Then, too innocently, he added, “And if you wound up happily married at the same time, I wouldn’t complain.”
“I might have liked it better when you were a serial killer.”
He laughed at that. And then, out of nowhere, he added, “And why haven’t you been sleeping?”
I hesitated.
After all, I hadn’t told anyone—including Cole—about the dreams.
The dreams had started the same night I’d met Reed and they hadn’t stopped since.
They were almost always the same. I was in a town I didn’t recognize and somehow always knew Reed was nearby. I could sense his presence, even if I never saw him.
Until last night, of course.
The sound of his whimper had broken my heart.
Even in wolf form, it had carried a human note of despair. Of suffering.
And when I saw him in that alleyway, I would’ve done anything to comfort him. Then the dream ended so abruptly it left me gasping, bereft and cold in my bed.
Had Reed really left such an impression on me?
Yeah. Crazy as it was, he had.
It didn’t make sense. And it made me sound like a total psycho. Which is why I hadn’t talked about it. Maybe I was cracking up. Hell, maybe Davis was right to suspend me.
“Don’t make me hypnotize you, detective.”
“You’re a thousand miles away.”
But I couldn’t quite keep the accusatory note out of my voice. Weird, since there was a time when I would have been relieved for him to be gone.
“Easily remedied. You might as well save me the effort. Who knows what kind of trouble I could get into in Los Angeles if I came back. After all, it’s a very… delectable… city.”
“You’re reformed, remember?”
He huffed, giving up the schtick. “Harris, talk to me. You helped me when I needed it. Stop being difficult and let me do the same for you.”
“Fine,” I said gruffly. “But remember that you asked for it. And if you give me shit about it, I’ll make sure you get real close and personal with a wooden stake.”
“Come now, detective. I think our relationship has transcended the need for death threats, don’t you?”
I rolled my eyes at that. And then I told him everything.
When I was done, he was silent for a very long time. Then he said, “I need to call you back. There’s someone I must speak with.”
With that, the line went dead.
I lowered my hand and looked down at the phone screen blankly, slack-jawed at being hung up on.
Sure, he was new to having human emotions again, but what in the actual fuck was wrong with him?
I wanted to get angry, but instead I felt unsettled and raw. I started pacing, my hand tight around my phone. Something about the tone in his voice when he’d said he needed to talk to someone, it had been… off. Too serious. Verging on anger.
He called back twenty minutes later. I answered with, “Cole, what the fuck is wrong with you?”
“You’ll forgive me when you hear what I’m about to share.” Then he paused and added, “You know, I don’t murder people for sport anymore, but I may make an exception for Reed.”
I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. His tone was anything but light.
“What are you talking about?” I demanded, shoving down an insane protective impulse—like I somehow had to defend Reed from Cole, of all people. “Who did you call?”
“My brother,” Cole said tightly. “He and Jeremy are trying out some new café in the city.”
“Good for them,” I replied. Then I added, “Okay, so for the record, when someone shares something deeply personal with you, please don’t hang up on them without explanation, Cole.”
“I did explain. I said I needed to talk to someone and that I’d call you back.”
I counted to ten. “Okay. So you called Thierry.”
“Like I said, Jeremy was with him, too. We also spoke.”
“That’s great,” I said, too baffled to even be annoyed. It wasn’t like Cole, dancing around the point like this. “And?”
“From everything you described, you’re having the mate dreams,” Cole said flatly. “I called Thierry and Jeremy to be sure.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m not having… whatever those are.”
“Mate dreams. And yes, you are. Jeremy himself confirmed it.” He added, “You know, Jeremy also didn’t tell Thierry the dreams were being shared right away. I suppose that’s a wolf thing. They do tend to be rather isolationist, though—”
“Wait a fucking second. Slow down. What, exactly, are you saying?”
“Okay, so you know my brother is mated to a werewolf. Jeremy isn’t so bad, of course, but—”
“Cole.”
“Right. When a werewolf meets their fated mate, they share their dreams with them. Literally. Not in a poetic, romantic way, though there’s probably lots of that, too…”
My stomach dropped as I processed what he was saying.
Cole, oblivious to my reaction, continued, “Anyway, these are basically lucid dreams that you and Reed are occupying at the exact same time. It’s exceptionally rare and only happens when a wolf meets their fated mate.”
I should have felt relieved that there was an explanation, but I didn’t.
Fated mate…
Well, if we were destined to be together, that would explain why I had immediately trusted Reed. Why his face was seared into my mind. Why my dream-self had wanted so badly to comfort him last night.
I flinched as I remembered the way he had whimpered, his eyes so full of anguish.
Cole kept on talking. “Thierry did say that the spell would spread through the pack sooner or later. It makes sense that it started at the top and is working its way down. I wonder if—”
“Spell?” I asked helplessly. “What spell?”
“Oh, the fated mates spell,” Cole said, his voice rising slightly as if surprised I didn’t know this already. “I thought I told you about it. I’m sure I did.”
“Gee, it must’ve slipped my mind, what with the ancient, murderous vampire stalking us.”
“I suppose you’re forgiven. Anyway, nearly a year ago, my brother convinced a witch named Poppy to invent a spell to conjure a fated mate on demand.
They were thinking it would save vampires who had lost their humanity.
Thierry tested it on himself first, being too noble for his own good—a bit foolish, if you ask me, but then that’s always been my brother. He—”
“Focus.”
“Right. The spell ended up being more robust than anyone had planned, and it spread through our bloodline. I’m not complaining, of course. It’s probably why I met Eli when I did.”
I tried to focus on the details so I wouldn’t come apart at the seams. “If it’s going through your bloodline, then how is it affecting Reed’s pack?”
“Well, when Poppy cast it on Thierry, it hit Jeremy as well because he’s Thierry’s mate. It must have also spread through his pack, the same way it spread through our bloodline. Jeremy was alpha at the time. And Reed is the alpha of that pack now. So, I suppose, here we are.”
“Okay, so this is all a spell,” I said, relief crashing through me. “None of it is real.”
“None of what is real?” Cole demanded—always way sharper than basically anyone else I’d ever met.
When I didn’t reply after a long pause, he added, “If the spell brought you and Reed together, then you’re really his fated mate.
The spell is kind of like a magnet—it only attracts what’s already out there.
It doesn’t actually make you two fall in love or anything. ”
“Good. I’m not falling in love with anyone.”
“No, of course you’re not,” Cole replied, without missing a beat.
“Okay, so let’s backtrack,” I said, trying to process everything he’d just told me. “This spell is affecting Reed’s pack. And because we’re having the, err… mate dreams”—I forced the words out—“Reed is my—”
Then I broke off, having a hard time finishing the sentence. It sounded completely ridiculous. Impossible.
“That he’s my—”
“Your fated mate,” Cole said, having the audacity to sound exasperated. “He’s the one person destiny has picked out for you. Without him, you’ll never truly be happy again.” Then, with a reproachful tone, he added, “Come now, detective, please do attempt to keep up.”
I let out a jagged-sounding laugh, but my entire world was imploding all around me.
“There’s got to be a rational explanation for this.”
“There is,” he replied pointedly. “And I just explained it.”
“Well, fuck.”
“Hmmm. I suppose it was too much to hope for that you’d end up with a nice vampire boy,” Cole said, sounding wistful. “Or a vampire girl. Whatever.”
“I’m not even sure I’m officially bisexual!” I protested. “And I can’t have a fated mate! Definitely not one who is also a man!”
“I’m fairly certain he’s a werewolf.”
“Cole, come on.”
“Oh, stop your pearl-clutching, detective. First, we already established a long time ago that you experience same-sex attraction, in addition to whatever else you’re game for.”
He was referencing a throwaway conversation we’d had months ago, where he had asked me—randomly, the way he did just about anything—if I had ever been attracted to a man before. And because I had been compelled into honesty at the time, I hadn’t been able to tell him no.
Then he added, “And second, you clearly do have a fated mate. Though, perhaps not for much longer. I might murder him for stringing you along like this.”
“Please don’t,” I said, rubbing my forehead. “Okay. So… the dreams aren’t me being crazy.”
“No. The dreams are supernatural. And very real.”
“Okay,” I said slowly, trying to get caught up. “And Reed… knew about this?”
“Oh yes. He would have known from the first dream exactly what this meant. Which is why we should figure out where to hide his body.” Then he paused. “Hmmm. Although I suppose we’ll need to take care of the pack, too. They’re probably not going to be pleased when we dispose of their alpha.”
“We’re not killing my fated… whatever.”
“Fated mate, darling. It’s not that hard to say. But you’re forgiven. After all, I suppose it’s a shock.”
I had known Reed was important somehow. But… him being the person—the man, no less—destiny had picked out for me?
It was a lot to take in.
I didn’t really need the universe pairing me off with anyone or deciding when and where I explored my bisexual side. Though it seemed I didn’t have a say in the matter.
“Wait,” I said slowly. “So this entire time, Reed has been in these dreams with me, and he’s known what was happening and… he’s been hiding from me? On purpose?”
“My thoughts precisely. And this is why we must get our alibis in order, detective.”
“We’re not killing my fated mate!” Then I paused and everything fully, truly sank in for the first time. “Oh, holy shit. I’m going to murder him.”
“That’s the spirit, detective!” Cole paused. “Err—do you still want me to hypnotize your boss into undoing your suspension?”
“No,” I said slowly, realizing what I had to do next. “I’m… I’m going to go confront him. Reed, I mean. In person. And I’m going to ask him why he’s such an asshole.”
“Yes, I’m sure that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Then you’ll turn around and come right back.” I could practically hear the grin in his voice. “Please do call when you’re there and give me all the gory details. We are, after all, besties.”
“Hell would freeze over before I’d talk about my love life with you, Cole.”
“Yes, darling. You’re very formidable and stoic, of course. It’s among your many lovely and charming qualities. I’ll get the directions to Crescent Springs from Jeremy and text you.” Then he paused. “You still have the amulet?”
Before he left town, he had given me a powerful amulet worn by his maker, Magnus, after we’d killed the evil fucker for good. It protected the wearer, neutralizing all forms of magic. Cole had made me swear to keep it. If he couldn’t be there to watch out for me, at least I’d have something.
“I doubt the werewolves will be casting any spells on me.”
“Harris,” he said sternly.
I sighed. “Yeah, I still have it.”
“Bring it with you. Just in case. Jeremy has told me things about Crescent Springs. You might need it.”
“Fine.”
“Remember, I want gory details. All of them.”
I shook my head, bemused. “I’m hanging up now.”
With that, I ended the call.
Well, well. Apparently, I had a soulmate.
Who happened to be a man. And a werewolf.
One or both of those things, I could probably learn to live with.
Maybe.
But what I couldn’t deal with was the fact that he had apparently let me think I was going crazy for months. Because what in the actual fuck?
This was impacting my sleep. My career. My mental health.
I pulled up flights on my phone and found one leaving the next morning. It was a three-hour flight to SeaTac airport, just outside of Seattle. With shaking hands, I booked it. Once I landed, I’d need to rent a car and drive the rest of the way. And I’d need to deal with lodging, too.
But those were small issues and I wasn’t concerned about the cost. I could afford whatever the price tag ended up being. After all, I had plenty of money saved up—one of the perks of having a virtually nonexistent social life.
I was going to find Reed.
And then I was going to make him explain to me in small words why he had known I was his soulmate for months and hadn’t done a single fucking thing about it.