Page 30 of Loving Nightmares
“Great!” Nia said, motioning for Mykia to walk with her. “We’re baking right now.”
Walking into their dorm, I couldn’t help but smile. Isla had outdone herself. What had been a simple living space before had been transformed into a home filled with everything a kid could want. The sunken living room was filled with a variety of plush chairs, couches, and poufs to sit on, and the built-in bookcases contained everything from games to art supplies.
Before I went any further, I turned to check on Saint and Ashur, who continued to talk in the doorway. Probably a good thing since most adult nightmares were intimidated by them, let alone children.
“Arabella is here!” Nia called out.
Three appeared out of nowhere and wrapped her arms around my waist, making me sway back slightly in surprise. I crouched down and hugged her fully before examining her relaxed face. Unlike last time, there were no bruises or cuts. She looked happy, healthy, and was wearing an adorable pair of pajamas with princess crowns along with fuzzy unicorn slippers.
“You’re back! We were worried you wouldn’t visit us with all the important stuff you were doing,” she said, pulling my hand.
“I heard that our two wolves shifted,” I said.
As I passed, Synthia, who was baking and talking to Mykia and Nia as if they’d known each other forever, looked up and offered me a smile. “They’re in their room playing with Benny. They haven’t left the dorm unshifted yet.”
“We can change that,” Mykia assured her. “I’m going to be hanging out with you guys from now on, if you’re cool with that.I can shift into a hellfox, and I’ve been around for a bit, so any questions you have, I probably have the answer.”
I knew she meant ‘around’ as in ‘alive,’ but I also trusted her to give advice on the institute. I had a gut feeling that Mykia had been by my side for a reason, and the way she seemed to meld into this group, already willing to aid them, told me it’d been the right decision.
As the girls talked, I walked with Three to the larger bedroom that contained two twin beds. In the center of the room was Benny, his head snapping up to offer me a big smile. I gave one back, but my gaze was on the two very,veryyoung boys that appeared to only be around three.
“Does Isla know how young they are?” I asked Three in concern.
“Yes. She was over earlier and went to get anything else they could need while in these forms.” Kneeling down, I picked up a piece of the puzzle they were doing and placed it right in the center.
“Mine.” One of them grabbed the puzzle piece and held it to his chest, looking panicked.
“You’re right, this is your toy,” I agreed. “In fact, everything in this room belongs to you both, and no one can take that away.”
The other little boy nodded, visibly relieved.
“They don’t talk much,” Benny explained. “I don’t think English is their first language.”
Mykia appeared in the doorway. “I know a few languages, maybe I can help.”
This idea was turning out to be better and better. Nodding, I stood up and spoke softly to the boys. “I’m going on a mission for a little bit, but when I get back, I want to do some more puzzles and games. Is that okay?”
Both boys nodded, and Mykia took my place as I stepped back. As I watched their simple but meaningful interaction and listened to the easy conversation of Nia and Synthia behind me, I felt a surge of determination.
I was going to create a world where they could feel this way everywhere—and that meant getting rid of War.
12
ASHUR
“Ashur!”The sound of my mate giggling my name had a large smile breaking onto my face, glad I’d gone with my instincts on this one.
My moon hadn’t chosen to put on a sweater, but I had decided she needed one anyway. Specifically, mine.
Now she was slipping her arms through my massive sweater, huffing and adjusting her hair. I sat on the edge of the bed, pleased with seeing her in my clothes. While she acted like she was upset, muttering and grumbling under her breath, I could tell from the smile playing on her lips that she didn’t really feel that way.
“Now I’m completely mismatched.” She stepped back, looking down at her leather ankle-boots, the bottoms of them bright pink, and her tight black pants. I didn’t understand why my navy blue sweater didn’t match in her mind, but I also didn’t question it. The woman was clearly some type of expert in clothing. It was like she owned one of those human malls or department stores, all of it right at her finger tips. The shoes had surprised me the most, by far. I had thought they were joking about her hoarding them, but her shoes had a room allto themselves. They lined shelf after shelf, each pair as perfectly unique as my mate.
Maybe I needed to get her a pair of shoes. I knew she liked the wolf necklace around her pretty throat, but maybe I could also get shoes…
“I think you look beautiful, my moon.”
Her grumbling cut off, and a slight pink hit her cheeks. “Alright, you’re forgiven for messing up my outfit then. That was super sweet.”
