Page 58 of Bosse
Just a nightmare from all the stress. A dream and nightmare. He kissed her as if she were the only woman he’d ever wanted.
But that kiss had also felt like a goodbye.
No. She shook her head, unable to accept what her scrambled emotions and terrified brain conjured up. He couldn’t be caught again. He said he’d die first. Shifters in dark blue jumpsuits had given him drugs.
They were taking him to the Black River Pack.
Her logical mind stuck its nose into her internal argument. How had they even found him? How would anyone know who he was or wait for him to arrive in a place to be captured?
Okay, she could think more clearly now. Bosse was fine. Some days, she felt like a crazy person ruled by her out-of-control subconscious mind. She just missed him, and her stressed-out brain convinced herself to dream they were together. She should have directed it to dream of Bosse arriving in America and smiling.
Or maybe an image of where Rez had been locked up.
Last night had been nothing more than a nightmare, just like a million other people have when worrying about someone.
With him free, she had to focus. She had one task to accomplish last night and failed.
She dropped her head into her hands and rubbed her eyes, disappointed in herself. She’d meant to grab an hour of sleep and wake in time to hide and watch for someone who might be taking food to Rez.
This was a disaster.
How could she have possibly missed the opportunity to catch her best lead?
It was Bosse’s fault.
Really? No, that wasn’t fair.
She allowed him to consume too much space in her head, making the screw-up entirely her fault. This second dream of him had not been a fun one. Well, except for the time they had to snuggle and kiss. She’d stayed in a deep sleep, evidently waiting for any sign that he was truly free and on his way to America.
Had that been a prophetic dream of something Bosse would face?
Her dreams usually projected something already in motion.
The short night of sleep would have been fine if she’d had another chance to sleep in his arms. She sat up and chided herself for losing an opportunity to learn Rez’s location. Fantasies had no place in her dreams when she was running out of time.
Last night, she’d had a second dream, one she couldn’t brush off as unimportant. She’d once had a prophetic death dream, which had come true.
Now she’d had a second one, and the reality was that she and Bosse had no chance to be together in real life. Even if she could, her clan would shun her for wanting to be with a shifter. Regardless of what happened in the future, she’d never forget the feeling of him holding her against his chest during the dream the night he escaped.
She’d tuck that fantasy into a special place in her heart for later if Krol or his men realized she helped Bosse or caught her trying to free Rez. She wouldn’t live long, and her death would be brutal.
Was he the one who would leave her bloody and gasping for breath?
Krol might toss her into the arena just to laugh as some horrible monster like the Beast ripped her to shreds. Blood flying everywhere. Her screaming.
Stop it, Alifair!she ordered.
Thoughts like that would not give her the courage to face another day in this place. Worry about one thing today. Find Rez! She might be losing her mind from all this. If so, she hoped to end up in a nonstop dream world with Bosse.
Jumping up, she dressed, found her water pitcher empty, and scurried down the hall to the group bathroom. Finished with her personal needs, she splashed her face with icy water. That woke her up. On the way back to her room, she passed two more servants yawning as they headed to the community bath area. Not late yet. She wove her unmanageable hair into one thick braid and tied it with a thin leather thong.
Shaking off her dreams to deal with reality, she prepared for a new day of sleuthing for her mother’s friend. Alifair had to remind herself of that often. Rez had verbally cut her to the bone at times, but if Alifair’s mother still lived, she’d expect her daughter to be the strong woman she’d raised. She knew better than to allow personal differences to get in the way of performing her duty to their clan.
Time to face Hessie. Instead of immersing herself in kitchen duties today, Alifair offered to prepare and run food to the guards.
Linota hated that task and sent her a smile of thanks.
If Alifair were honest with Linota, she’d admit she had an ulterior motive. Even so, she really didn’t mind taking over that task for the easily frightened young woman. First, she had to feed the main floor guards. Even with torches lit along the walls, any activity in this main hall had a dreary feel, but food generally made the guards happy.
