Page 32 of Loving Nightmares
Saint’s lips pressed up. “Funny you think I would let you die.” His gaze darted to mine. “That true for allsis metas?”
“I think we should ask when we go, but that’s my understanding.”
Arabella squeaked again, clapping her hands and going to the bathroom to grab something, Saint shook his head in amusement before nodding towards the door. “We’re good to go. We’ll leave from the underground garage and then take the jet.”
I unintentionally let out a frustrated noise.The jet.I hated that damn contraption. Saint obviously knew it as well, as hechuckled, grabbing the bag from Arabella as she came out of the bathroom and offered me her hand.
I took it without hesitation. I may hate the jet, but I would willingly travel with her anywhere.
My brows furrowedas I stared at the plate in front of Arabella. The private flight steward had given us dinner about twenty minutes ago, and over the course of that time she had eaten maybe ten percent of it. I was fighting the urge to grab her from across the table and pull her on my lap to feed her. It was ridiculous, she was perfectly capable—
I picked up a biscuit from the center plate and placed it right in front of her. Blackwell and Damian, frustrated with the interruption of our conversation, both offered dissatisfied sounds that she ignored.
“Am I not eating fast enough?” she teased, taking a bite out of the biscuit and instantly calming me. I didn’t even feel ridiculous about it either, because from across the way at another table of four, I could feel Razar, Zain, Cy, and Saint staring at her as well. In fact, the only one who wasn’t was Amun, but that was because he’d fallen asleep, probably exhausted from the literal magical explosion they had caused.
I didn’t know how exactly to explain why I needed her to eat; it was just a base and primal need, one that wanted my mate taken care of as much as possible. I didn’t mind admitting that, but there were other instinct-driven desires that had nothing to do with food that I was far less vocal about. At least around the others.
No, that provoked a much different image in my head, one that had me growing uncomfortably hard at the mere idea.
“Need you to eat more,” I grunted, keeping my response simple instead of allowing my brain to go down the route of imagining her bent over…
As if knowing, she flashed another smile and took another bite, turning the conversation back to travel plans.
While Arabella hadn’t planned out our travel, which I was gathering was the norm for her on the team since she handled logistics, Blackwell and Damian were catching her up. We were only a few hours away from Cape Town, South Africa, and they were telling her about the boat they’d chartered to take us to the remote island where thesis metaslived.
Somehow I managed to stifle my groan. Much like being in the air in a metal contraption, traveling on water was not appealing to me. I had seen the way Arabella lit up in excitement, though, and at the end of the day, that was all I really needed—her happiness.
After watching her eat the rest of her plate, satisfied with the progress, I stood, excusing myself and walking towards the back of the jet so I could throw myself in one of the reclining seats to stretch out. I had been in wolf form for so long that I often forgot what it was like to inhabit such a large human body. Specifically, I’d forgotten how I never seemed to fit anywhere perfectly. I would have thought that by now humans would have figured out that not everyone was built exactly the same, especially with nightmares walking around.
As I sat, my thoughts traveled to the last time I was away from the continental United States and how I’d craved returning. Maybe I knew I was supposed to be in the Oceanic Forest, that I needed to be there for when my mate came to find me.
The rockingof the boat was enough to make the strongest sailor sick to his stomach, and my grip on the railing was so tight I worried I’d break it. The Atlantic Ocean was dangerous this time of year, and while we were traveling between Europe and North America, there weren’t nearly as many humans on this voyage as I would have assumed. Which was good, because unless you had nightmare level strength to hold on, you would be overboard.
I considered siphoning some of my sister’s magic through our bond to lessen the storm, but I needed to preserve my energy. Traveling back home through the Americas was always complicated.
“Sir! You should be under deck!”
I turned to find a man that couldn’t be more than twenty looking panicked, probably because I didn’t look like I belonged up here. My human cover story probably had something to do with that.
“Let me help,” I said, figuring it was the best I could do. “I want to make sure we make it to the Americas.”
The boy stared at me, but then he shook his head and waved for me to follow. Hours were spent navigating the turbulent seas, and only when the storm finally broke did we receive news that we hadn’t lost any sailors and that the passengers, while sick, were safe and sound. I didn’t place nearly as much value in life, let alone human life, but the relief and excitement they felt was something I found myself enjoying.
Especially when they talked about the families they needed to get home to. I would never have that, but the sense of community was one I could appreciate in humans.
I never imaginedmeeting someone like Arabella. I’d assumed that I didn’t have a mate, despite instinctively knowing that Ishould. But none of my siblings had found mates, so I didn’t think I’d find mine either.
But now I had someone to come home to.
Someone who would worry about me, someone who cared about my well-being. The idea of someone like Arabella extending that to me, that sense of protectiveness, was so goddamn addictive. It made me want every ounce of her attention, even if it was selfish.
“About to land!” Arabella said as she sat next to me and took my hand. I’d told her I didn’t like when the plane landed, which was true…but more than anything I loved the sensation of her hand against mine.
I loved her…I just had to find a way to tell her that.
13
ARABELLA
