Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 130081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Nate was a very strong swimmer. Instinctively, he tried to right himself. If he was in water, he needed to get oriented—there might be predators here—he needed to be alert!
But again, he couldn’t move. His arms and legs refused to obey him—they just lay there, floating in the water like dead branches someone had lopped off a tree.
“What the fuck!” he growled, straining again to make something move—anything at all! But not even his toes—which he could see floating above the surface of the milky blue water—would wiggle.
“Be calm, Nate,” a soft, feminine voice said.
It was coming from behind him somewhere. Nate rolled his eyeballs as far back in his head as he could—at least that part of his body wasn’t paralyzed—trying to see who was speaking to him.
“It’s just me,” the voice told him. “It’s Lan’ara. I’m sorry about using a paralytic agent on you, but we had to be sure you wouldn’t hurt yourself…or anyone else.”
“Who the fuck is ‘Lan’ara’?” Nate demanded.
“I am Lan’ara.”
There was a faint swishing sound and the speaker came around to his right side so that Nate could look up at her.
She was undeniably beautiful—fucking gorgeous to be honest—with long, straight black hair and delicate features. But there was no doubt in his mind she wasn’t human—not even close. She had pale lavender skin tones and exotically tilted deep purple eyes several shades darker, which were fringed thickly with dark lashes.
“I am Lan’ara,” she said again, looking down at him. “Do you know me now?”
Nate glared up at her.
“How the fuck am I supposed to know you?” he growled. “I’ve never seen you before in my life!”
A look of shock and hurt came over her lovely features.
“But…we’ve been Dream-sharing for months!”
Nate felt the fury surge in him—the absolute rage which was all that had enabled him to survive for the past five years—ever since the Scourge had first invaded.
“I don’t know what the fuck that means or who the fuck you are but let me go right now or you’re going to be fucking sorry!” he snarled.
She looked down at him sadly.
“I’m afraid I cannot let you go—I am supporting your head.”
As she spoke, Nate became aware that this was true. A small, soft hand was under the back of his head, lifting it ever so slightly so that he could see and hear—otherwise the water would have gotten into his ears. A second hand was between his shoulder blades. He couldn’t think why he hadn’t felt her hands on him before she mentioned it—maybe because her touch was so light it was barely there.
“You know what I mean,” he snapped. “Un-paralyze me—undo whatever it is you did to me, so I can move again!”
“Not until you release some of your anger and calm down,” the purple girl said sternly. Her voice softened. “I know you’re upset—you’ve had to live your life in a state of constant rage for so long now. It was the only way you could survive.”
Nate stared up at her suspiciously.
“How do you fucking know that?”
“I wish you wouldn’t swear so much,” she said mildly. “I know all about you because of the Dream-sharing.”
That term again—it made no sense to Nate.
“Dream-sharing? What the fuck is that?” he demanded, ignoring her request that he not swear.
She looked troubled.
“It’s what happens when the mind of a Kindred aligns with the mind of a male of another species. You have dreams—visions—of each other. You see each others’ daily activities—the trials and tribulations the other person is going through. You and I have been Dream-sharing for months,” she emphasized again.
“So you’ve been watching me for months?” he demanded.
“Only in my dreams. And it wasn’t something I did consciously.” She looked at him earnestly. “Every time I closed my eyes at night, I found myself in your world, Nate. I saw what you went through—my heart aches for your pain.”
He felt something clench in his chest at her soft words. For a moment he was almost tempted to believe her. But no—what she was saying was crazy. She was clearly an alien—she’d even admitted she was a different species. It was probably another plot by the AllFather to fuck with his mind so he could suck up more of Nate’s pain.
“I can feel your disbelief,” she said softly, startling him. “I know it will take some time for me to prove myself to you, but the dreams don’t lie.” She bent closer, her large, lovely eyes looking into his. “Can you honestly say you don’t know me at all? After all the dreams we shared…”
“I never remember my dreams,” Nate said roughly. “So no, lady—I don’t fucking know you! Now are you going to let me go or not?”
An expression of heartbreaking sadness crossed her lovely face and for a moment Nate almost felt sorry for hurting her. But then he hardened himself—it was all a trick! He probably wasn’t even here, floating in this weird, warm pool of milky blue water. He was probably back at the Father Ship, hooked up to all those fucking wires while the Scourge pushed fucked up images into his brain to make his pain taste sweeter for the AllFather…