He’d shifted to wolf form!
She could hear the breathy pants of a creature hunting her. Her feet ached as she trampled the packed earth and small rocks and she was vaguely aware that this was her nightmare, even more terrifying in real time. She forced her legs to move and pushed through the burn of her overtaxed muscles as she scampered blindly ahead. Branches and leaves whipped at her face and arms, the horrifying sounds of paws pounding the ground forced her to move faster.
Karis, follow my voice and come home.
She recognised her mother’s voice, a sob escaping from her throat. Her mother was safe. The knowledge gave her strength as she charged ahead.
Show me where to go!
Keep coming, Karis. Look for my light. Look for the white light.
He was gaining on her. She could hear the huge wolf’s frantic pants as terror raced down her spine. She sprinted forward and saw the faintest light piercing through the inky darkness. With one final burst of adrenaline, she raced towards the luminous apparition of her mother. As she drew closer the vision disappeared and shifted into a huge bright sphere.
Another portal!
Without hesitation, she raced towards it, hurtling through the brilliant white light. She could hear Rue’s wretched howl dissipating as the blackness swallowed her whole.
“Karis, wake up!”
She moaned in protest at the demanding voice so close to her ear. “Vander?” Her throat ached and she swallowed in an attempt to moisten her dry mouth.
“I’m here. You are safe.”
She opened her eyes for visual confirmation she was indeed safe in his warm arms. “My mother?” she asked, shivering as a cool breeze washed over them in the quiet forest.
“She’s fine, just exhausted. Rafi went back with her already.” Vander looked down at her. “I hate to make you go through a portal again, but I want to get you back too.”
Karis nodded as her teeth chattered. Every inch of her body hurt.
Vander kissed the top of her head. “I’ll carry you.” He lifted her up easily and moved towards the centre of the clearing where the trees had a slightly distorted view.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and turned her face into his sweater.
“I’ve got you,” he said, walking towards the portal.
“I know.” She held on to him tightly. “Just take me home.”
“Close your eyes. When you open them you will be in your own bed.”
She followed his directions and drifted to sleep as exhaustion overtook her.
* * * *
“How long has she been sleeping?” Nadine asked.
Her mother’s voice broke through the haze of sleep. She was home.
“Two hours.”
Vander. He was still here.
“She’s waking up. Karis, it’s your mother.”
She opened her eyes and reached out to hug her mom. “Oh, Mom, it’s not a dream!”
“Not a dream, I’m here, safe and so are you.”
Karis squeezed her tighter. “I love you so much, I’ve been so worried.” She pressed her wet cheek against her mom’s shoulder.
“Shhh…” her mother whispered, smoothing her wild curls. “I love you too, and I’m so glad you’re safe.” She moved from her embrace to grab the tissue box.
Karis took the offered tissues and wiped her eyes. “I’m so sorry I never trusted your gift or my own.”
Her mother dabbed a tissue at her own tears. “The only thing that matters is that you do now. We have time to talk about everything else later.” She rubbed her temples as Vander moved from the shadows towards the bed.
“You both need to rest,” he said gently.
“He’s right. I think I’ll go lay down in the guest room.” She kissed Karis on the cheek, rising slowly. “You’ll stay with her?” she asked, looking up at Vander with a small smile.
“I’m not going anywhere.” He closed the door behind her before crossing over to the bed.
“Get in,” Karis said, pulling the covers back. She couldn’t stop shaking. Her emotions were all over the place. She had so much to say to her mom and to Vander, but she was so tired.
“Karis.” He raised an eyebrow.
“I need your warmth.” She shivered again as her T-shirt and panty clad body trembled beneath the blanket.
“That’s the second time you’ve demanded me to do something,” he teased, stripping off his clothes.
Even facing the most extreme case of exhaustion in her life, she admired his hard ripped muscles. “This is exactly what I need,” she whispered, snuggling close to his naked body.
“Me too.” He nuzzled the dark curls of her hair. “There’s so much we need to talk about, so many things I need to say to you.” He nudged her. “Karis?”
Later.
He turned off the light with a flick of his wrist as her soft snores filled the room.
* * * *
She was running for her life, terror ripping through her as she struggled to be free of Rue. “No!” Her eyes flew open in semi-darkness, her frantic breaths the loudest sound in her ears.
“Karis, you’re safe.” Vander opened the curtains to let in the waning sunlight. “You’re okay.” He came to her, lying beside her until the tremors stopped shaking her body.
“The dream was so real and I was so scared. I half expected to open my eyes and see I was still trapped in that nightmare with Rue.” She sat up and winced at the tiny aches and pains covering her body from head to toe.
“I know.” Vander sat up and clasped her chin in his hand. “But you don’t have to be afraid anymore, Karis. Rue is lost in another dimension with no way to return. He won’t be able to hurt you or your mother anymore.”
“What about the other rogue genies?”
“We have no way of knowing how many were working with him, but the High Council has rounded up six of them. I’m hopeful they will be able to extract whoever else was involved and deal with them accordingly.”
“But that means there are some of them still out there. They could come after me or my mom
¼
“ Her eyes widened. “My mom, where is she?”
“Downstairs making herbal tea,” Vander said with a smile. “She’s convinced her special brew will make both of you feel like normal again.”
“Oh, boy, she’s known for her ‘special’ blends.” Karis touched his goatee. “The way I’m feeling right now, I’m willing to drink it without a fight.”
Vander chuckled. “She’s going to bring it up to you. You should stay in bed and let your body rest.”
“My feet feel like they’re on fire.” She tossed aside the sheets to look at the scratches and cuts on her feet.
“Want me to make them all better?”
His deep voice took on a rough edge and Karis wanted nothing more than for him to make all of her feel better. “Would you do that for me?” The intensity of his unwavering golden stare warmed her with the same power of the sun.
“I would do that and anything else you ask of me.” He touched her cheek, his finger falling to trace the full swell of her bottom lip.
“I’m not your master anymore.”
“No, but—”
“Here you are.” Her mother interrupted him as she breezed into the room. “This will fix you right up.” She offered the steaming cup to her daughter.
“Thanks, Mom.” She sniffed the hot brew before taking a hesitant sip. “It’s not as bad as some of the other ones you’ve concocted.” She took a sip as Vander chuckled. “How are you feeling?”
Her mother scoffed. “Being around Rue’s negative energy affected me the most. I’m fine. Besides, I wasn’t running around in the dark being chased by a crazed wolfman.”
“Don’t remind me, please,” Karis said with a shudder.
“I’m sorry, honey. Drink before it cools.”
She grinned. Some things never changed, thank goodness, her mom was one of them.
“Spend some time with your mother. I need to go back and deal with a few things.”
We need to talk.
She met his gaze as her mother fluffed her pillows.
We will.
He leant down to kiss her on the forehead. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”
“Okay.” She watched him disappear in a wave of light. He would be back, so why was her chest tightening up?
“Karis, I can hardly believe all you’ve been through.”
“That
we’ve
been through.”
Her mom took her hand. “Yes. So much has happened so fast. I know this must be a lot for you to accept.” She studied her daughter. “Do you accept your gifts as part of who you are now, Karis?”
She squeezed her mom’s soft hand and wondered how she could’ve willing disconnected herself from her own flesh and blood. “I do. I know now that’s all you ever wanted me to do and I’m so sorry it took me this long. Maybe if I had tried to learn more about my gifts as a child, none of this would’ve happened.”
“None of this is your fault. You know I believe everything happens for a reason. The only thing that matters is that you’ve accepted your abilities now.”
“I never expected any of this,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes, “but I’m no longer denying anything I know to be real.”
“You have abilities many would love to have. This can be a burden and a gift, but I always knew you had the heart to go with the power.” Her voice wavered.
“I’m so happy to have you back in my life.” Her voice broke as she met her mother’s warm gaze. “Can you ever forgive me for shutting you out?”
“I was never angry with you, Karis. Never. You needed time to figure out things on your own.” She took her other hand and squeezed them both tightly. “You are my flesh and blood, my heart and I will always love you, no matter what.”
“I love you so much mom.” She removed her hands from her mom’s and wrapped her in a fierce hug.
“I know, honey, I know. Now, I need to tell you something.” She pulled away to wipe her eyes. “I’ve decided to help the High Council.”
Karis frowned. “What? Are you serious?”
Her mother nodded. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be around others like ourselves. People with abilities this world doesn’t understand yet or accept. I want to learn more about these other dimensions and I could be of help to the High Council.”
“Wow. This is a surprise.” She understood her mom’s need to be involved with something she had spent her whole life believing in, but she wanted to spend time with her now that they had just been given a chance to strengthen their relationship.
“If you want me to stay, I will.”
Karis shook her head. “You should do it.”
“I’m not going to live there.”
“It’s okay, Mom. This is who you are and I’ve also accepted that. You of all people should see all this new dimension holds.” She laughed at her mother’s happy squeal.
“I haven’t been this excited since I discovered Vander’s vessel,” her mom paused, “you love him, don’t you?”
Karis met her mother’s stare dead on. “I do.”
“I knew you would,” her mom said with a knowing smile. “And now he is free to love you in return.”
She gasped. “How did you know I used a wish to free him?”
“Because true love should equal freedom. Vander is a good man and good for you. I’m happy you’ve met your match.”
Karis waved her hands. “We haven’t talked about any of this. I don’t want you jumping to conclusions where he and I are concerned.” She needed to say the words out loud for her mom and herself. He had agreed they needed to talk, but she had to be prepared to say good-bye to him.
“I don’t ‘jump’ to conclusions, I sense them and I’m getting a huge vibe from the two of you. Now, I should shower, Rafi will be back soon with Vander and he’s going to help me gather some of my things.”
“Wait, you’re going back, today?” She stared at her mom as she stood up.
“No time like the present. Besides, I have no home to go back to right now. Everything I own is downstairs in your living room.” She shook her head. “I don’t even want to
think
about unpacking all of that stuff.”
“You can stay here with me. We’ll figure everything out.”
Her mom cupped the side of her face. “That’s fine, but you and Vander need time together too and I want to go. I’ll come back in a few days and untangle my life here.” She kissed her on the cheek and headed for the door.
“Are you sure you want to go?” Karis asked, admiring her spunk.
Her mom tossed a sassy look over her shoulder. “Positive.”
* * * *
“You’re mother is tough and funny as hell,” Vander said, sitting down at the foot of her bed, seconds after her mom had left with Rafi.
Karis grinned. “She’s always been the way she is.”
“She’s an original, just like you. Now, where were we?” he asked, pulling back the covers.
She sucked in a breath as his ultra warm hands wrapped around her battered feet. “You were going to make me feel better.”
He lifted her feet and gently kissed her toes with his eyes locked on hers. “You should never have been subjected to this pain.” His fingers lightly traced the scratches and cuts on her feet. “Forgive me for failing to protect you.”