Page 56 of His Impossible Elf Mate
Ibecame aware I was dreaming when a strange light filtered around me. The trees differed from those I had become used to; the ones surrounding the Sweetwater compound. These were taller, thicker, darker, imposing. They whispered their secrets in languages I had never heard before.
Sounds assaulted me from every direction, making me wish for human hearing. The trees, the wind, birds, animals, all called out to me as I walked the path to my unknown destination.
There was an air of promise, or perhaps threat, as I wandered my way through the darkness, my way only illuminated by the light of the full moon and a blanket of bright stars.
Where I was going, I did not know, or even care. All I knew was I had to keep moving. To stay still was to perish. That I felt in my bones. Stillness was stagnation. Ennui was death. It was true of all elves. When a malaise came over an elf, an apathy they could not shake, they became disconnected from nature,from life, and slowly faded into nothing. There was no promise of such a death returning their soul to the earth or our nameless goddess. It was just an end.
My heart had a home. He was calling to me. Axel was the light of the moon, calling me to return to him soon. Through the dream, I felt our connection and his fear. The condition of my body, the distance of my soul, had him scared I would not return.
Nothing would stop me. I would be by his side soon.
Owls hooted their warning. My pace was too slow. I needed to draw every ounce of strength I had to make it to the end of this makeshift road.
Picking up the pace, I ran until it felt like my feet were bleeding, then ran some more. With every breath I took, I got closer to my destination.
There, at the end of the path and my stamina, I paused before the massive tree. It loomed above me, blotting out the light of the moon and draping it in shadows.
Eyes.
Millions of eyes looked at me from every species of owl I had ever seen, and more I had not. They all focused their gaze on me, judging me. They looked into my heart and held my future in their wickedly sharp talons.
“Please, I just want to be with him!” For Axel, I would go to my knees and beg.
“Who?” they asked in one voice, feminine. Hers. My goddess was here.
“Axel Sweetwater. The shifter who owns my heart.”
“Why?” Shudders worked down my spine, hearing them speak.
“The Luna. Fate. Whatever you want to call it. As soon as we met, there was a connection I could not shake, not that I wanted to. I love Axel.”
“Choose.”
I got to my knees then, sinking my hands into the dirt. “I choose a life with Axel Sweetwater. A life giving him the happiness he deserves even if this means my own life is shorter. Living without him would be no life at all.”
“Done.”
As one, they rushed me. Wings, talons, sharp beaks brushed me, tore into me, making me something else.
The noises in the room were extremely loud. Far beyond what my elf ears could take. I winced, setting off a chain reaction.
Everyone quieted, giving me immediate relief. Then my arms were with filled my Axel. My shifter lover smelled of distress and fear as he squeezed me tightly.
“I didn’t think you were ever going to wake up.” His tears were warm on my chilled skin.
Wrapping my arms around him, I returned the embrace. “Nothing can keep us apart.”
“That is untrue.”
“Shut it, Ívarr,” Chase barked in an uncharacteristically harsh tone. My friend snapped his mouth shut, chastised. “We are all going to leave you alone to talk as soon as Ívarr and Teagan have checked you over, T. Glad to have you back with us.”
Chase’s eyes were expressing a warning I didn’t understand. I was too tired to focus and just wanted to hold Axel.
There was this feeling of doom inside me, but I waited until I had gone through the necessary checks before I voiced them to Axel.
“What happened?”
“It can wait, T. I only just got you back. We thought you were going to die.” He snuggled closer, his bare skin warm against my body. He had helped me bathe after the others had left, though he had left my hair loose, as he preferred it that way.
