17. Elsie
Seventeen
Elsie
Dreams are supposed to be fuzzy.
Disjointed.
The kind that slip through your fingers the second you wake up.
This one doesn't.
It feels...
Real.
I'm standing in the middle of an enormous forest beneath a silver moon. The trees stretch impossibly high, their branches swaying in a wind I can't feel.
Someone is calling my name.
“Elsie.”
But that voice is far away.
Closer, someone else speaks, “Look what we have here.”
I turn.
Three men emerge from the shadows.
Only...
They aren't men.
Not entirely.
Their eyes glow.
One has claws instead of fingernails.
Another smiles, revealing sharp fangs.
The third? His shadow twists and stretches until it becomes something with four legs instead of two.
Shapeshifters.
Or just Shifters.
The words pop into my head with perfect clarity.
Well.
I've read enough paranormal romance to know what I'm looking at.
Only this isn't romantic.
It's terrifying.
They circle me, laughing among themselves as though I'm some sort of prize they'd stumbled across.
One reaches for me.
Another says something lewd that makes my stomach turn.
They're talking about me like...
Like I'm something to be bought.
Something to be taken.
Something to be used by whoever takes me first.
I back away.
“Leave me alone.”
They laugh harder.
“No one's coming for you, little human.”
Human.
That word again.
The way it’s used is strange, but it’s like I’ve heard it before.
A cold knot settles in my stomach.
I keep backing away until I bump into a tree.
There's nowhere left to run.
Then...
A roar.
It’s so loud it shakes the entire forest.
The ground trembles beneath my feet.
Every head snaps toward the sound.
The three Shifters suddenly look afraid.
Good.
Because I know that roar.
I'd know it anywhere.
The trees explode apart as something enormous bursts through them.
Not something.
Someone.
Graham.
Only...
Not Graham.
Not exactly.
An eight-hundred-pound Black Bear with rich cinnamon-colored fur charges into the clearing, those impossible forest green eyes blazing with fury.
The same Bear.
The one that saved me from the fox.
The one that followed me home.
The one that bit me and left a scar.
He plants himself between me and the creatures with another earth-shaking roar.
Mine.
The word echoes through the dream.
Not spoken.
Not heard.
It’s more like they’re felt.
The Bear glances back at me for only a heartbeat.
And somehow...
Even looking into the face of a giant predator...
I don't feel afraid.
I feel safe. Protected. Cherished.
Then everything dissolves into brilliant white light.
I bolt upright with a gasp.
My heart pounds so hard it feels like it might burst from my chest.
For one wild second, I have no idea where I am.
This isn't my apartment.
The bed is enormous.
The room smells faintly of cedar and fresh linen.
Sunlight filters through heavy curtains.
And there are people.
A lot of people.
Strangers.
And they're all staring at me.
Concern fills every face in the room.
An older man with kind eyes.
A younger dark-haired man whose arms are folded across his chest.
A pretty blonde woman in a white coat.
Another woman holding what looks suspiciously like a mug of tea.
But I look past every single one of them.
To the only face that matters.
Graham.
He's standing near the doorway like he's afraid to come any closer.
His shoulders are tense.
His jaw tight.
Those beautiful forest green eyes are filled with so much worry it steals my breath.
The dream comes crashing back.
The Bear.
The fox.
The bite.
Our date.
The sex we shared.
The fight.
The lake.
I stare at him.
“It was real, wasn't it?”
My voice barely rises above a whisper.
“You're the Bear?”
No one answers immediately.
The woman in the white coat steps toward the bed. She offers me a gentle smile.
“Miss Stevens, you've had quite a shock.”
“I'm fine.”
I don't even look at her.
“I would really like to examine you—”
“Really, I’m good,” I tell her and offer a smile to soften the words.
My eyes never leave Graham.
“Graham?”
He swallows and watches me.
“Tell me I'm not crazy.”
His expression crumples.
I sit a little straighter.
“Tell me I'm not crazy, please Graham.”
My voice shakes this time.
“You're that Bear.”
Slowly...
Almost reluctantly...
He nods.
Something that looks painfully close to shame crosses his face.
“I'm that Bear.”
Silence fills the room.
“Oh my God. What does that mean?”
He draws a slow breath.
“It means there are things in this world humans don’t know about. Shifters are real. Magic is real.”
Another breath.
“And, so is fate.”
His voice softens.
“Fate?” I ask.
“Yeah, Honey. You're my fated mate.”
The words hang in the air.
Impossible.
Ridiculous.
Wonderful.
Terrifying.
“I should've told you.”
He finally takes one careful step toward the bed.
“I should've told you before I got you mixed up in all of this.”
Another step.
“I should've asked before claiming you.”
Claiming.
The word lands like lightning.
“You...”
I blink.
“You claimed me?”
He closes his eyes briefly.
“Yes.”
“The bite?”
Another nod.
“And...”
Heat creeps into my cheeks despite the roomful of strangers.
“The...”
I lower my voice.
“The sex?”
He doesn't look away.
“Yes.”
The desperation in his eyes is almost unbearable.
“Elsie...”
His voice breaks.
“I went about this all wrong.”
He comes another step closer, his hands raised in surrender as if he's afraid I'll tell him to stay back.
“But I swear to you...”
His eyes shine with emotion.
“I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you if that's what it takes. I'll earn your trust. I'll answer every question. If you just give me a chance...”
His voice drops to little more than a whisper.
“If you can forgive me...”
He can't even finish the sentence.
The room is completely silent.
Everyone is waiting.
Watching.
I can't believe what I'm about to say.
“Forgive you?”
He looks up.
“I know I have no right to ask this of you, and I swear I will abide by whatever you decide. But I love you, Elsie. With everything I have and everything I am, I love you. You are it for me. I will do anything to make you stay, Honey. But if you need me to let go,” he says without finishing the thought.
“No,” I whisper.
Hope flickers across his face.
I smile.
A little shakily.
A little unbelievably.
“No?”
“No, Graham, I don’t need you to let go. I don’t want that at all.”
“You don’t?”
I laugh softly, because somehow this is the least crazy thing I've thought all day.
“Of course not, you idiot. I’m in love with you.”
For a heartbeat, the entire room forgets how to breathe.
Graham just stares at me.
Like he isn't sure he heard me correctly.
Then his eyes fill.
Not with guilt.
Not with fear.
With hope.
Real.
Overwhelming.
Hope.
For one impossible heartbeat, Graham just stares at me.
Like his brain has completely stopped working.
Like every fear he's carried since the lake has suddenly vanished.
Then he moves.
He crosses the room in two long strides before I can even blink.
One second he's standing by the foot of the bed.
The next...
I'm wrapped so tightly in his arms I swear I can hear his heartbeat racing against my chest.
Or maybe that's mine.
He buries his face against my hair and lets out a shaky breath that sounds suspiciously close to a laugh.
“Oh, thank fuck, Honey.”
His voice is rough with relief.
“I love you, Mate.”
His arms tighten around me.
“So damn much.”
The tears I'd finally gotten under control immediately start all over again.
“I love you too,” I whisper into his shoulder.
“I know. I love you too.”
He laughs, the sound cracking with emotion.
“I just... I needed to hear you say it again.”
I lean back enough to look up at him.
His freckles stand out against cheeks that are just a little pink.
Those beautiful forest-green eyes are suspiciously shiny.
“Are you crying?”
His ears turn even redder.
“I am not.”
“Graham, you absolutely are.”
“I’m aggressively perspiring.”
I blink.
“From your eyeballs?”
He clears his throat.
“My mate just said she loves me, I’m emotional. What can I say?”
I can't help it.
I laugh.
A real laugh this time.
The kind that bubbles up from somewhere deep inside me.
“There she is,” he murmurs, smiling like he's just watched the sun come out. “I've missed that laugh.”
“It's been, what, twenty minutes?”
“Worst twenty minutes of my life.”
“Oh, dramatic much?”
“I'm a musician.”
He shrugs one shoulder.
“It's practically in the job description.”
I roll my eyes.
“So that's your excuse?”
“It’s served me well so far.”
“It really hasn't.”
“No?”
“No.”
I reach up and smooth an unruly lock of red hair away from his forehead.
“I was going to say you’re one impossibly handsome Bear.”
His grin grows positively smug.
“I kinda like when you call me Good Bear,” he whispers.
“Yeah?”
He nods and catches my hand before I can pull it away and presses a kiss against my knuckles.
“I love you.”
He narrows his eyes playfully.
“You stole my line.”
“You can still say it back.”
“I will,” he says, and when I poke him in the chest he barks out a laugh and says it again like I want him to, “I love you.”
He chuckles before leaning down and kissing me.
Softly at first.
Almost like he's asking permission.
I answer by sliding my arms around his neck.
The kiss deepens, filled with love more than anything else.
With gratitude.
With promises neither of us has found words for yet.
The room around us completely disappears—well, to us, anyway.
Apparently, not everyone appreciates our reunion.
Someone clears his throat.
Loudly.
Then again.
“Excuse me.”
The deep voice is unmistakably amused.
“But do you think you two can come up for air so I can officially declare this mating sanctioned and welcome the newest addition to our Clan?”
Graham freezes.
I feel him sigh dramatically against my forehead.
Without turning around he mutters, “Bad timing, Alpha.”
A chuckle ripples through the room.
Graham reluctantly looks over his shoulder, though he makes absolutely no effort to let go of me.
“Sorry, Alpha.”
He shrugs without a shred of embarrassment.
“I needed a moment with my mate.”
Marcus raises one eyebrow.
“A moment?”
Daniel snorts from somewhere near the door.
“Pretty sure that was closer to five minutes. And yes, I was counting.”
“Of course you were,” the doctor mutters under her breath.
Marcus folds his arms, though the corner of his mouth twitches.
“I'm beginning to suspect this meeting may never actually start.”
Graham nods thoughtfully.
“That's a possibility.”
I elbow him lightly in the ribs.
“Graham.”
He looks down at me with complete seriousness.
“Yes?”
“You can let me breathe now.”
“No.”
“Graham.”
“I almost lost you.”
His teasing expression softens.
“I'm going to need at least another minute.”
I smile up at him.
“I suppose I can allow that.”
Marcus lets out a long-suffering sigh.
“I remember when Daniel and his mate were like this.”
Daniel immediately points toward the Alpha.
“You were worse.”
“I was not.”
Rafe Maccon laughs outright.
“You absolutely were.”
For the first time since waking up, the room doesn't feel filled with strangers.
It feels...
Warm.
Like a family teasing one another around a dinner table.
And somehow...
Without ever expecting it...
I'd just become part of it.