“That was…crazy,” she remarked the moment the phase was gone.
“Easier?” he asked.
“Yes.” Not yet full wolf, but the progress was astounding.
Nico kissed her shoulder and wrapped an arm around her torso. “Good. Get some sleep.”
And that was when Anne knew that this was no longer just a fling.
It should have made her panic, but she was too tired for it. Perhaps that was a blessing. In Nico’s arms, she slept. In sleep, she dreamed, the same happy slideshow at first before the shit hit the fan and everything went to hell. Anne woke up to sweat all over her body, Nico still passed out, and laughter ringing from outside…the same laughter from her dream.
She didn’t think. She sprinted out, knocking everything in her path and drawing a voice from behind. Panic blossomed when the laughter turned into a scream, and she was leaping into the clearing and rolling the small figure around until she was hunched over it like an umbrella. In doing so, she knocked even more, including two equally small figures who sat staring at her while a ball bounced before them. Boys. Shifter kids.
The Bennett Clan.
“Anne?”
Her head whipped to Rosalia, who ran into the clearing and looked bewildered. So did other clan members who wandered over to check out the commotion.
“I was…” Dreaming. Lost. Back in the past and ready to hurt another child. She recoiled. “Trying to keep her safe.”
“From a ball?”
“Yes, from a ball.” Nico’s voice floated in the air as he stepped into the clearing and gently took Anne off her feet. Then he curled an arm around her waist and let everyone absorb the gesture, cutting off any doubt of what their relationship was. “She thought the kids were in danger. Are you kids all right?”
The three nodded and sprung to their feet, eyeing Anne warily before they snatched the ball. Rosalia’s eyes widened, but the woman recovered quickly and waved everyone away.
“Well. That was quite a good morning. Kids, no more ball-playing until after classes. Nico, I will be very mad if you return to your guard duties today, so why don’t you take another day off? Anne, too.”
There was no mention of her action, but that didn’t stop the trepidation from violently shaking her inside out. She fought to keep her composure as she walked back to her tent, the apology trapped in her chest until she heard the tent zipping closed.
“I’m sorry,” she blurted out.
“Don’t be.”
She remained silent to that and looked ahead, willing the visions to go away. This time, it was of the three children she had stunned today and how close she had been to hurting two of them.
“Hey. Hey, Anne.” A hand rested on her shoulder. When she still didn’t respond, he placed his mouth on her shoulder. “Look at me.”
He shifted around until he was kneeling in front of her. Finally, she met his gaze.
“Nico…”
“She knows you wouldn’t have hurt them.”
“I almost did. All because I was stuck in my nightmares. I’m always stuck in them. I can’t seem to escape them. I’m sorry for—”
“Stop,” he said harshly, then plucked her off her knees and tucked her on his lap. “Stop apologizing for a tragedy you went through. Stop apologizing if you still dream about it, because anyone would.”
“I keep hearing them. My husband and daughter, but my daughter most of all.”
“What were their names?”
“Ava. Ava and John Leonard.”
Silence. He only held her closer.
“You need closure. Something to ease those memories.”