Page 58 of Dreaming of Darkness

At two weeks, my body seemed to finally calm its chaos a little bit and didn’t seem convinced that I needed to be impaled on my mate twenty-four seven. Not that Traum had complained. He’d stayed in the living world with me, feeding off our own lust and pleasure while systematically preparing for a cross-country move.

A whole new life for us. An adventure unlike any I’d ever dreamed about. And with a male I could never have imagined.

I had never been happier. Not just now, but with what the future looked like. A home for us. A family to belong to. A place to raise our own.

“I can feel you thinking,” Traum murmured softly, “Something good.”

I pursed my lips, trying to swallow back the grin I always wore when we talked about our bond. Traum claimed that the bond between us would change and evolve as we did, growing as our relationship would. He told me how his parents were able to speak mind to mind, and a cousin who could actually feel his mate’s emotions from great distances. Others who shared power and strength between the pair of them.

I brought our tangled to my lips, kissing the back of his hand,“I’m just excited.”

“Good,” Traum shifted in the seat, his enormous frame barely fitting. “Because I believe we are here.”

The diner was old-fashioned, with a light up coffee mug in the window and pale seaform green accepts on the door. “Lotus Cafe,” I read, pulling over into the parking lot and driving around the back of the building.

“There, that’s him,” Traum said, pointing at a tall figure dressed in a sheriff’s uniform.

“How do you know?”

Traum tapped the side of his nose. “He’s from the Brotherhood Warriors, I can smell him.”

I blinked, “Well, that’s effective.” Putting the car in park a few parking spots away from the parked cruiser. Together Traum and I emerged from the car, moving towards the trunk as the tall, thick built man marched up to us.

Without hesitation, Traum stepped in front of me. “Are you Brother Alden?”

The man, who had short-cropped dark blonde hair, grinned widely at us, showing off dimples and a cleft chin. He was all bold angles and muscles physically, but the smile on his face was a dead-giveaway.

Golden retriever, I thought, through and through.

“Sheriff Alden is what they like to call me here in the Glen, but I’ll answer to nearly anything these days,” The male held his hand out and Traum, who had been educated on human traditions in between mind-blowing orgasms, took it.

The two stared at each other. Alden grinning, Traum with narrowed eyes. Then a breath later, as if a spell had snapped apart, Traum smiled and stepped back. “Thank you for meeting us.”

“I’m Bailey Sullivan,” I said, pushing gently past Traum. “Traum’s fiancee.”

Alden’s grip was warm and full of welcome. “Lovely to meet you, Bailey. The three of us have a lot to talk about, but for now, let’s get you to your new home.”

My heart leaped. Our new home.

“If you want to follow me, it’s just down the road.”

We agreed, piling back into the vehicle a final time for the day as we followed the black and white sedan down a quiet looking, tree-lined street. When I saw it for the first time, I knew it had to be ours. The third house, with a wide, shaded front balcony, practically screamed home. It had soft white shutters set against a pale blue exterior, and a brightly glowing lamp at the edge of the drive and a matching pair against the dark painted front door.

“Home,” I said, running a hand up the railing on the front porch. “This is our home.”

Alden, who was whistling, apologized as he moved past us with a pair of jangling keys. “Sorry, sorry folks, one second.”

“You are my home,” Traum said, his voice a croon, “But this place, it feels good.”

I leaned my head against his shoulder, my belly warming at the comments and the soft caress of his hand against the small of my back. I wanted to get him inside. To kiss him, feel his skin against mine as we began this next chapter.

Traum growled, his voice dropping, “You test my control, little dream.”

I sniffed, not sorry at all.

There was a curse ahead of us and then the door swung open. Alden turned, his cheeks a little darker than before. “Well folks, I’ll leave you to settle in this weekend. Your new cell phones are on the counter, my name and information are programmed in. When you have a chance…. or when you aren’t…you know what, just call me next week.”

And then he was gone, stepping lightly across the small frontlawn and into his cruiser. Traum and I watched him until his taillights were out of view.

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