Page 24 of Bone Collector’s Mate

Chapter Eighteen

Rook

I fell asleep in Noir’s arms. I was with my mate, in our home, with our son sleeping down the hall and our little one growing inside me. I’d never been happier. And, apparently, my brain did not like that because it decided to give me the worst dream of my life.

And I’d had many, including one as a child where a bird came from the sky, stole me, and dropped me in the ocean. I blamed the seagulls at the beach trip with my grandfather for that. The way they would steal lures out of boxes and drop them into the ocean was nothing shocking, but at the time, it had been horrifying. I didn’t want to go near the ocean for years.

Tonight’s dream was one that made my childhood terror seem like nothing.

I was in the woods. That wasn’t unusual as a wolf. I often dreamed about being on all fours and hunting prey or exploring.

In the background, there was a faint sound of wind chimes, and I ran toward them, looking for my mate, but I couldn’t find him. I kept following the sound, and the farther I went, the more the forest felt wrong.

My wolf was on edge.

I howled for my mate, but all I could hear was a faint sound of wind chimes farther and farther away than when I started.

I howled again, and, this time, I heard a baby cry. My wolf ran faster than he ever had, his fear greater than mine.

But when we reached a clearing, there was Noir standing at the tree line with a baby in his arms. No. Not a baby. Our baby.

This should’ve been the happiest dream ever. I got to see my mate with our little. Except it wasn’t happy at all. I couldn’t get to him. With every step I ran, he was farther away. He wasn’t moving, yet he was, and he didn’t see me.

At least, I didn’t think he did, but then he spoke.

“Rook, I don’t know which side they belong on.” He looked down at our baby, who I couldn’t see clearly with the way he was all swaddled up. “Where do you belong?”

I howled, begging for my baby. The wind chimes grew louder and louder while my mate was farther away, our baby still crying. And just as I thought I was about to reach them, I woke up covered in sweat, out of breath, my heart pounding.

Did he mean life or death?

I sat up, my hand on my belly.

“Mate. What’s wrong?”

It took me a second to realize it was Noir and he was talking to me, in our bedroom.

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

And just like always, fine was a lie.

“Is it the baby?”

“No. The baby’s fine.”

And this too felt like a lie, but a different kind.

He sat up and pulled me close. “You’re not okay, mate. Did you have a bad dream?”

I nodded.

“Can you tell me about it?”

It took me a bit to collect my thoughts, but I told him the entire thing. Then I asked him a question I was scared to know the answer to. “What is our baby?”

His hand went to my belly. “Ours.”

“No. I didn’t mean that.” I looked up to meet Noir’s eyes. “I’m a wolf. You’re a bone collector. And what if…what if our baby exists between life and death? Will they be…”