Page 13 of Julian

“I told you the truth. I’m psychic. I have dreams. They usually …” Keep me alive. Warn me of hellhounds. “I use my premonitions to help me escape them. And you …” Her heart pounded in her chest as she stared deep into his eyes. “I dreamt of you. The fire.”

“How did you come to me?”

“I, uh, I can sometimes astral project,” she confessed. “But after what happened in Idaho … I couldn’t stay.”

“What happened back there? What’s with the hellhounds tonight? Why are they after you?”

“I …” There was no logical explanation. No one would believe her. “They’re always after me. But tonight … I think they’re after you too.”

Julian shook his head. “Why did you run, back in Idaho?”

“I was scared. I can sense Hell,” her eyes seeped in sadness. “I can sense it on other people. I can sense it on …”

“On me?” Julian asked.

Cassia nodded. “It’s faint. But you know when people have gone to Hell. It takes time to lose the scent. It does things to people. Leaves an imprint?—”

“On their soul.”

“Yeah, I guess once you’ve been touched by a …” Demon. She couldn’t say the word aloud. “Something bad.”

“Why is this happening?” Julian’s gaze roamed over her. “How did you really find me?”

Cassia crossed her arms protectively over her chest. He doesn’t believe me. “That first time I met you in the woods … I already told you, I wasn’t there for you. It was a job. A job gone wrong. I don’t completely understand why this is happening now, why I saw the fire. After you saved me that day…well, I know it sounds crazy … we didn’t spend time around each other but …” I can’t stop thinking of you. Her stomach tightened into a ball. “The dreams are intense. The fire. I could feel it on my skin. Even with the astral projection … I wasn’t sure if I could find you.”

“But you did.”

“I did.” She released a breath and sighed.

“Why did you leave the hospital?”

“Look, I’m sorry about Idaho,” she offered without giving him additional information. She’d shifted in the hospital room and then took off back to the airport. “I was scared. You have to understand … I was being chased. I couldn’t be sure they wouldn’t come for me. I had to get out.”

“I’d literally just saved you though?—"

“I didn’t know you.” Cassia leaned forward and released her arms to her sides. Her fingers accidentally brushed against his and she snapped her hand back as if it had been burned. Her heart pounded as his energy flowed through her. She swore she heard his wolf growl. “Sorry… I …” What’s happening to me?

“What are you? I thought you were human but there’s no way you could have escaped the hospital on foot. The human doctors said you needed surgery.”

Cassia couldn’t trust the Alpha with her secrets. She knew the time might come one day, but tonight wasn’t it. With all her strength, she suppressed her true nature and locked eyes with the Alpha in a defiant stare. Any wolf roaming the earth would be forced to submit, but Cassia was no wolf nor did she have any plans on succumbing to his power.

“I’ll tell you what I am when I’m ready,” she answered, satisfied with the truth. “And I’m gonna need a minute.” More than a minute. A year. A century. However long it would take until she could trust him.

“I can feel your energy.” His gaze softened. “Fear. Magick.”

“I’ve been running for a long time,” she confessed, emotion swirling in her chest.

“I know what that’s like.” Julian leaned toward Cassia.

“Do you believe in prophesies?” She asked.

“I’ve lived long enough that I never rule out a good prophesy. Or conspiracy theory, for that matter. Too much shit goes down in this world.”

“My premonitions. You’re the first … other than the ones that affect me.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “The cards … they are what lead me to advise others. That’s different. But protecting myself? I rely on my senses. When I started dreaming of you …”

“Looks like I got here for the good part.” Greyson materialized behind them wearing a broad smile.

Cassia screamed bloody murder and jumped up from her chair.

---