Luca freezes for a moment before scowling at me and dropping his hand from my shirt, crossing his
arms over his chest before he sinks back into the couch cushions, glowering.
“No!” I say, throwing myself over the arm of the couch and stumbling my way to the door, my face still
pale from my shock. “Um, sorry it’s good to see you, Jackson! I’m d you coulde.”
I hear footsteps behind me and turn to see Ben and Rafeing over. Luca, perhaps predictably, stays
on the couch, though he’s moved to lean against the far arm of it so that he can watch the goings–on at
the door, his arms still crossed.
“You’ve got a really nice setup here,” Jackson says, his eyebrows raised as he looks around the room.
“Thank you,” Rafe responds, reaching out a hand. I see the corner of Jackson’s mouth twitch upwards
at Rafe’s rtive warmth as he shakes my brother’s hand. But it’s gone in a sh. “Where is your room
located?” Rafe asks.
“I’m closer to this guy,” he says, nodding to Ben.
“Really?” Ben asks, surprised.
“I’m four doors down,” Jackson says, leaning against our doorway. Ben looks even more surprised now,
perhaps wondering if Jackson is just very perceptive? Or if he, Ben, hasn’t been perceptive enough..
“You’re letting a draft in,” Luca calls from his ce on the couch. “Maybe it’s time. to shut the door.”
A little shocked, I re at him over my shoulder, because the door has been open for hours. “Would
you like toe in?” I say to Jackson, gesturing towards the room. “We don’t have any food left, but…”
“That’s okay,” Jackson says, nodding at me and pulling a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “I just
came to give you a copy of my schedule. Maybe you could tell me a time, tomorrow, when we could
meet for the homework?”
“Come to dinner tomorrow,” Rafe offers instantly. “Ari really doesn’t leave the room much. He’ll be here
all night. I’m sure you can find a quiet space to work.”
I turn slowly to re at my brother, but sigh when he just res back. He is definitely not going to let
me go galivanting around in the castle alone with my
mate.
“Yes, Jackson,” I say, taking the schedule from his hands anyway. “Please,e for
dinner.”
“All right,” he says slowly, frowning as he looks between Rafe and me, probably wondering about our
weird over–protective cousin rtionship. “See you tomorrow, then.”
“Bye!” Luca shouts from behind us, his word harsh and obviously making I clear that he wants Jackson
gone now.
I roll my eyes, but keep my focus on Jackson. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks for this,” I hold up the
now–useless schedule in my hand.
“You’re wee,” he says, nodding to me before moving away. I smirk a little as he goes, thinking he
needs to work a bit on his pleasant good–byes.
Rafe doesn’t say anything as he moves away from the door, heading back to the center of the room
and gesturing for Ben. But Ben pauses, frowning at Luca.
“Why are you so rude to him?” he asks. “What did he ever do to you?”
“Dude’s got bad vibes,” Luca says, scowling. “I don’t trust him.”
“You’re the one with bad vibes tonight,” Ben says, frowning at Luca, whose jaw drops open, probably
surprised that Ben – who he could take out with a single punch – is calling him out for bad behavior.
But I just sigh as Ben walks away to go work with Rafe more.
I settle in on the couch across from Luca and re at him a little.
“Ben’s right, you know,” I say, keeping my voice soft. “You have been in a mood all day, and you’ve
been taking it out on everyone else. Get your shit together.”
“Get my “Luca sputters, leaning forward to re at me. “Get my shit together!? Are you kidding me,
Ari!?”
My scowl deepens as I narrow my eyes. “This is weird for me too, you know!” I hiss leaning forward,
admitting for the first time in person – however tacitly that the dream state really is real.
Luca groans and presses his eyes shut, gritting his teeth, his whole body going tense. I kick him,
ncing over the edge of the couch at where Rafe slowly has Ben go through the gestures of a cross–
body punch.
“I am serious!” I whisper–hiss. “We cannot have this conversation here! This is not public information!”
Luca’s eyes fly open, instantly ring at me. “Fine,” he snaps. “Then we are having this conversation
tonight. And I would suggest that you have a great deal of chamomile tea very soon, because I am not
going to wait around for you in that boring–ass fog forest for hours while you do your best to stay
awake and avoid this conversation –”
I sit up a little, surprised. “Wait, so,” I hesitate now, trying to figure out the meaning behind his words,
“you can go there and like, hang around? Even before I get there?”
“Yes, Shrimp!” he snaps, grabbing one of the pillows and throwing at me. I gasp a little as it hits me
right in the chest. “And it’s really boring! There is nothing to do there except wait! It sucks!”
I scowl at him, hugging the pillow to my chest. “Fine,” I growl, ring at him. “I’ll go to bed.”
“Good!” he almost shouts, forgetting himself a little as he jumps off the couch and storms for the door.
“So will I!”
The door ms as Luca leaves and I gape after him for a moment before slowly turning back to Ben
and Rafe, who stare at me.
“Seriously,” Rafe says, ncing over towards the door. “What the hell is going on with you two?”
“He’s just tired,” I mutter, sighing and pushing myself up off the couch as well. I grab my Chemistry
textbook off the coffee table and take it with me towards my nook. “And so am I. I’m going to bed.
Sleep tight, guys.”
They murmur their goodnights as I swing my velvet curtain shut and flop onto my bed in despair,
burying my face into my pillow.
“Whoa,” I hear Jesse’s voice say out in the room as the bathroom door creeks open. “Where did
everyone go?”
Predictably, it takes me forever to fall asleep, not least because Jesse, Ben, and Rafe stay up for a
while, talking softly. I get changed into the pajamas that Daphne thoughtfully packed into my uniform
box and re–braid my hair once it’s dry, but it’s the Chemistry book, in the end, which really does the
trick.
It’s not that it’s not interesting – it’s just that I’ve had such a long day, and the workout Jesse put me
through,bined with the minute details of the periodic. table…
My eyes are flickering shut before I know it.
And almost immediately after that…
I raise my eyelids again to blink in the soft light of the birch forest, looking around at the pretty yellow
leaves flickering in the wind.
I sigh, wrapping my arms around myself, steeling myself for the hard conversation that’s going toe
next. Because I know I owe him an exnation, but god, it would have just been so much easier if –
“Shrimp!” Luca’s voice rings out through the grove, and my eyes go wide to hear the anger stillcing it.
“I know you’re here, I can feel it!”
I curse to myself and then gasp as he appears between the trees, striding towards me. I press my eyes
shut, willing my clothes to change, my hair to tuck itself up under the cap –
I give little shriek when I feel hands wrap around my upper arms, giving me a shake. But when I open
my eyes and look down, I’m relieved to see Luca’s fingers wrapped around the sleeves of my ck
uniform, not the white nightdress I always wear when I first appear here.
“Talk!” Luca demands, ring down at me. “Now!”
“Would you stop being so rough with me!?” I snap, shaking myself free of his grip and taking a step
back from him. “You’re bigger than me, Luca! It’s bullshit to use that to try to intimidate me
“Are you seriously going to try to talk to me about what is fair right now, Ari?” he spits out, stepping
closer to loom over me. “After all of the shit you pulled with this
– this dream!?”
12:54 Sun, 10 Mar
Material ? N?velDrama.Org.
07號
“Hey!” I shout, whipping my finger up into his face, “I, too, was pulled into this dream without knowing
what it was, and I also did not know at first that it was real!
So-”
“But you definitely knew before I did!” Luca snaps, grabbing my arm and hauling me closer. And you
should have told me! Immediately!”
“I did!” I insist, staring up at him.
“Not until after you let me confess all sorts of weird shit!” he shouts, flinging hist arms out to the side in
exasperation. “God, seriously, Shrimp, do you think I would have said half of that shit to you if I had
known that you were actually hearing it!?”
“Which is why,” I say through clenched teeth, crossing my arms. “I told you it was real, and then
decided to never meet you here again!”
“What, like that’s your choice alone!?” he gasps, staring at me. “Do you have control over this ce?”
do you
I spread my hands wide and, some instinct prodding me, will flowers to grow. Delicate little snowbells
push themselves out of the earth, unfurling themselves from green leaves to hang their little white
heads all around us.
Luca gasps, his eyes going as wide as saucers as he looks around.
“Can you do that?” I ask, my voice going softer now.
Luca looks up at my face and stares at me for a long moment before he, too, spreads his hands wide.
Nothing happens.
“What….are you trying to do?” I ask quietly.
“I’m trying to make…daffodils…” he murmurs, looking around. But none appear. I sigh, shaking my
head as he looks up at me again. “So this is…your dream,” he says, picking up on things now.
I nod. “I think so.”
“And you pulled me into it,” he continues, studying my face as he takes a step closer.
I shrug, a little embarrassed, but admitting it because….well, I certainly can’t me him for it. Dream
statese from the female wolf, we invite our mates into it, but we’re in charge.
“So,” he continues softly, and a pulse of shock runs through me as I feel Luca’s hands on my cheeks,
turning my face up to him. “Do you…not want me to do this?”
And before I can stop him, he lowers his lips to mine.