The Chosen (Book 3)

Warmth surrounded Lura before she even opened her eyes.

It wasn't the painful heat she remembered from the awakening. There was no blinding light, no magic ripping through her body, and no voices calling to her from beyond the glowing circle. This warmth was comfortable and steady, wrapped around her like a blanket.

Her cheek rested against something firm, and an arm lay loosely around her waist. Fingers moved slowly through the ends of her hair, occasionally brushing against her back.

Then she heard it.

Thump. Thump.

A heartbeat beneath her ear.

Lura's eyes slowly opened, and the first thing she saw was a familiar chest beneath her cheek. Her gaze traveled upward until she found those silver eyes already watching her.

Memories from what felt like the night before came rushing back all at once.

She had kissed him.

Not accidentally. Not because he'd pulled her into it. She had looked at this mysterious pain-in-the-ass man who had somehow become the safest part of her dreams and kissed him because she wanted to.

Twice.

Heat immediately climbed into her cheeks.

The chest beneath her started shaking.

"Don't."

The shaking became worse.

Mysterious Man: "I haven't done anything, my Moon."

"Your chest is laughing at me."

Lura lifted her head enough to glare at him. His silver eyes glittered with amusement while he made a terrible attempt to keep his expression innocent.

Mysterious Man: "Perhaps my chest has a sense of humor."

"Then your chest is an asshole."

His laugh finally escaped, deep and warm enough that Lura couldn't keep glaring at him. She buried her face against him again with a groan while his arm tightened around her.

For someone who was supposed to exist only inside her dreams, he was becoming far too comfortable.

Mysterious Man: "Good morning."

"Debatable."

Mysterious Man: "Are you always this pleasant when you wake?"

"I'm usually not waking up on top of some mysterious man who refuses to tell me anything about himself."

Mysterious Man: "Some?"

Lura lifted her head again.

His grin told her exactly what he'd done.

"Don't get cocky."

Mysterious Man: "I wouldn't dream of it."

"You're hilarious."

She tried to roll away, but his arm remained around her waist. He wasn't actually stopping her; she knew she could move if she wanted to.

The problem was that she didn't particularly want to.

Lura relaxed against him again, and his teasing expression slowly softened. His fingers returned to her hair, separating a black strand from a white one before letting both fall across her shoulder.

Mysterious Man: "Do you regret it?"

The question was quieter than everything before it.

Lura knew immediately what he meant.

She studied him for a moment. For once, there was no knowing smile on his face and no mysterious answer waiting behind his eyes. He actually looked uncertain.

That surprised her.

She thought about the kisses and the way she'd felt afterward. Kael still had a place inside her heart that no one could take. Loving someone new wouldn't erase him, just as healing hadn't erased everything she'd survived. She'd spent too much of her life letting fate, family, rank, and mate bonds decide what she was supposed to feel.

That kiss hadn't belonged to fate.

It had been hers.

"No."

Something changed in his expression.

Lura smiled softly and placed her hand over his chest. "I don't regret kissing you."

His heartbeat gave a heavier beat beneath her palm.

She felt it.

Her smile immediately became mischievous.

"Oh."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"What?"

Mysterious Man: "Nothing."

"Your heart just did something."

Mysterious Man: "Hearts tend to do that."

Lura laughed. "Were you nervous?"

Mysterious Man: "No."

"You were!"

Mysterious Man: "I assure you, my Moon, I was not."

"You absolutely were. Look at you trying to act all mysterious again."

He shook his head, but the small smile pulling at his lips betrayed him. Lura laughed and settled against his chest once more, strangely pleased with herself for discovering that the mysterious silver-eyed man wasn't completely impossible to shake.

For a while, they simply stayed there.

That was when Lura began noticing how different everything felt.

Usually their dreams were wrapped in moonlight. The enormous tree had become familiar to her, along with the soft grass and distant sound of water, but today sunlight poured through the branches overhead. Warm rays touched her skin while birds called somewhere beyond the clearing. Tiny flowers moved in a breeze she could actually feel against her face.

Lura frowned and slowly sat up.

The movement caused his arm to fall from her waist.

"Is it morning?"

He looked toward the sky before returning his attention to her.

Mysterious Man: "It appears so."

"Smartass."

Lura pushed herself to her feet and immediately looked down. Cool grass pressed between her bare toes, and beneath it she could feel the damp earth and even the uneven stones hidden under the soil.

She wiggled her toes.

That was... weird.

She took several steps away from the tree while he stood behind her. Every sensation seemed sharper than it had been before. She could feel the warmth of sunlight against one side of her face and the cooler breeze against the other. She could hear water flowing somewhere nearby and the flutter of wings high in the branches.

Then the scents hit her.

Flowers. Wet soil. Tree bark. Water.

And him.

Lura stopped.

His scent reached her from several feet away, stronger than she'd ever noticed it before. Cedar mixed with rain and something darker that reminded her of the air just before a storm.

She turned slowly.

He was watching her.

"What?"

Mysterious Man: "You tell me."

Lura inhaled again.

His eyebrow lifted.

"I can smell you."

That eyebrow went higher.

Lura immediately heard how that sounded.

"Not like that."

His mouth twitched.

"Don't."

Mysterious Man: "I said nothing."

"Your face did."

She pointed accusingly at him before following the sound of the water. He fell into step beside her, looking entirely too amused with himself.

The stream wasn't far away. Clear water flowed between smooth stones, sparkling beneath the morning light. Lura crouched beside it and dipped her fingertips beneath the surface.

Cold shot through them.

She jerked her hand back.

"What the hell?"

He stopped beside her.

Mysterious Man: "Problem?"

"The water is cold."

Mysterious Man: "That is generally a quality water possesses."

Lura glared over her shoulder. "You know what I mean."

She put her hand back into the stream more slowly. The water flowed around her fingers, cold enough that she could feel every movement against her skin. When she lifted her hand, droplets rolled down her wrist and across the mark that had appeared during her journey.

Lura touched one wet fingertip to her tongue.

Water.

She could actually taste it.

Her eyes narrowed.

"I don't normally taste things in dreams."

For the briefest second, something passed through his expression.

It disappeared so quickly that Lura almost missed it.

Almost.

She stood and wiped her wet hand against her pants. "You know something."

Mysterious Man: "I know many things."

"That's exactly the kind of annoying answer I'm talking about."

Mysterious Man: "Your awakening changed you, my Moon. It is reasonable that your dreams would change with you."

"That's an answer without actually answering me."

He smiled.

Lura folded her arms and stared at him. He was impossible. Beautiful, irritating and impossible.

Then another thought occurred to her.

Actually, she was tired of something else too.

"You know what?"

Mysterious Man: "That question usually concerns me."

"It should."

Lura walked toward him and stopped directly in front of him. "You know my name. You know things about me that I haven't even told you. You call me your Moon whenever you feel like it, but I still don't know what to call you."

His amusement faded slightly.

Interesting.

Lura tilted her head. "What's your name?"

He remained silent.

She waited.

Nothing.

"Seriously?"

Mysterious Man: "There are some things you must discover when the time is right."

Lura groaned. "Of course there are."

She turned away from him and started pacing slowly, tapping a finger against her chin.

He watched her suspiciously.

Mysterious Man: "What are you doing?"

"Fixing the problem."

Mysterious Man: "What problem?"

"I need something to call you, and apparently you're determined to be dramatic about your actual name."

His silver eyes followed her as she walked around him.

Mysterious Man: "I already have a name."

"Then tell me."

Silence.

Lura stopped in front of him again and smiled sweetly.

"Exactly."

He sighed.

Lura studied him deliberately. His hair caught the sunlight, but it was his eyes that always drew her attention first. Those strange silver eyes had been there from the beginning, appearing in the woods long before she'd understood why this man kept finding his way into her dreams.

Then she smiled.

"Silver."

He stared at her.

Mysterious Man: "Silver?"

"Yep."

Mysterious Man: "You have decided to rename me Silver."

"Until you give me something better."

He looked almost offended, which only made her enjoy it more.

Mysterious Man: "Surely your imagination is capable of something less obvious."

"Oh, absolutely. I had other options."

His expression became wary.

Lura grinned. "Moon Boy."

Mysterious Man: "Silver is acceptable."

Lura burst out laughing.

His surrender came so quickly she nearly doubled over. "Oh, Goddess. You should have seen your face!"

Mysterious Man: "Silver will do."

"Too late. Now I know Moon Boy bothers you."

He stepped toward her.

Lura backed away, still laughing.

Silver: "Careful, my Moon."

"There. See? Now we're even."

Silver: "Hardly."

"You have your Moon. I have my Silver."

The words slipped out before Lura thought much about them.

His expression changed.

The teasing disappeared, replaced by something so unexpectedly tender that Lura's laughter slowly faded. Silver looked at her as though she'd said something far more important than she'd intended.

She suddenly became very aware of how close he'd gotten.

"Do you hate it that much?"

Silver: "No."

His answer was quiet.

He reached for her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. The instant their skin touched, a warm spark traveled through Lura's palm and up her arm. It was stronger than before, but instead of pulling away, she tightened her fingers around his.

Silver looked down at their joined hands before lifting those strange eyes to hers.

Silver: "I think I could become rather fond of it."

Lura smiled.

"Good morning, Silver."

His free hand came up and gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

Silver: "Good morning, my Moon."

Lura didn't hesitate this time.

She rose onto her toes, placed one hand against his chest and kissed him softly.

For the smallest moment, Silver froze as though she had somehow managed to surprise him again. Then his arm circled her waist and pulled her closer, returning the kiss with a tenderness that sent warmth through her entire body.

When Lura finally pulled back, she found him staring at her.

"What?"

His thumb moved slowly along her waist.

Silver: "You are becoming dangerous."

She grinned. "You haven't seen anything yet."

His laugh followed her as she slipped from his arms and headed back toward the stream.

Lura didn't question why the dream felt so real anymore. She didn't question why she could taste the water, feel every blade of grass or hear Silver's heartbeat as clearly as her own. After everything she'd endured, she wanted one thing in her life that didn't need to become another mystery she had to solve.

So she let herself enjoy it.

What Lura didn't know was that this wasn't another ordinary night spent dreaming beneath their tree.

Outside this beautiful place, morning had already come and gone.

And her real eyes remained closed.