Chapter Twenty Five

Christian walked in silence beside his wolf. His wolf was surprisingly calm; both had no idea where they were going. Christian glanced down at his wolf and went back to focusing on the moonlit area in front of him. He looked up at the moon and smirked. Humans had made up so many myths about them. Yes, the moon could pull a transformation out of them, but it did not control their shift; especially adult wolves. If that was the case, they would have been discovered a long time ago. That long lasting myth came from humans who had witnessed a foolish wolf transform in the moonlight. A light wind blew past them; Christian looked down at his body and realized he was naked. Where was he? He looked back down at his wolf. His wolf kept walking forward; its eyes were dazed as if he was in some sort of trance. Where were they going and why was Christian following behind his wolf so easily?

Alexa knelt down in front of Christian. Taylor didn't like the way Alexa looked at Christian.

"I have no interest in him other than his wellbeing," said Alexa.

"Not every elevated heartrate is a sign of anger or anxiety," said Taylor.

"You're right, but scents don't lie."

Alexa turned to face Taylor. He only scowled at her and cracked his neck. He hated how easily he grew attached to a female. Alpha's rarely felt close to anyone other than their mates. Omegas were known to be the social foundation of a pack so they connected with others easily. He spent years trying to suppress that side of himself because it was easier for him to live alone. He reminded himself that he or she had no claim on each other. He doubted that Alexa would receive the call for an alpha-omega so he had to keep his mind right about who he was to Alexa.

She walked up to him, grabbed the back of his head and pushed his face in front of hers. She smiled. She saw his defiant eyes and it took everything in her not to kiss him. It wouldn't be appropriate. She also scented that his emotions calmed down. She let go of him. He didn't give her the satisfaction of a reaction. She was no way near done with this man yet.

Anna had cried herself to sleep. When she woke up she noticed she was lying down in a dark forest. Thankfully the moon above gave her some light. She stood up and looked around. When she looked down at herself, she realized she was naked. She quickly covered her breast and private area. When she tried to walk while covering herself, she wasn't able to walk quickly and decided to uncover herself. No one was around and she was pretty sure she was dreaming. Heartbroken or not she would not black out and run out of her apartment naked and fall asleep in a forest. Especially since she never took drugs and never planned to take any. No, this was just a dream. Even though the landscape around her looked eerie, she didn't feel afraid as she usually felt in one of her nightmares. No, this was something else.

As she kept walking, she heard the wind blow past a few trees that were to the left of her. She looked at them and was surprised that she was not cold. Yep, this had to be a dream. What was her mind trying to tell her? Maybe this dream meant something. Maybe it was just a stupid dream. Either way, she'd rather be here instead of awake. She did not want to wake up to the feeling of dread. A small part of her thought she may have made a mistake. Maybe, Christian was the love of her life. No relationship was perfect, right? It could have been worse. He could have wanted to tie her up and beat her. Only it wasn't the playroom that bothered her; it was his fear of genuine intimacy. It felt unhealthy and she didn't want to be a part of it anymore.

As she continued walking and trying not to think about her decision to leave Christian, she was starting to get bored. Was this it? If she spent the whole night dreaming about walking naked through the forest, then she had no right to judge Christian for anything. She laughed at that. This dream could just be her subconscious way to clear her head. Her conscious mind was in near shambles at the moment. She knew she would be fine soon. That was one of the few things her mother taught her about dealing with life. She told her to cry, yell and kick, even scream, get everything you need out and never look back at it again. Keep it as a memory. Her mother told her that when she got her first B in pre-algebra in eighth grade. She thought her mom was being a bit dramatic, but it did help. She cried for about two hours, stomped on her text book and the next morning asked her teacher if she could get extra help. She looked around again and thought she was seeing things, which is possible in a dream. She saw a man and a wolf walking towards the other side of the forest. They did not seem to see her. She debated going over there to them, but something stopped her.

Grace drove as Carrick sat in the passenger seat. He put on a t-shirt and khaki pants. He made a mental note to buy some jeans. When did I stop buying jeans? He thought to himself as he looked through his closet. Grace had on a blouse and a pair of jeans. When he heard the bed moving and felt her weight leave the bed, he woke up. He thought he had heard her whispering, but his brain didn't fully process it. He opened his eyes just enough to see her pull the jeans over her underwear. He forgot his curiosity for a moment; then it returned. He sat up in the bed and asked what was wrong. She turned around and looked at him as if she forgot he was there. Then she looked nervous. He asked her if something was wrong. She looked at him and debated what to say. Christian ailment was a werewolf problem and Carrick wouldn't understand. Carrick raised an eyebrow at her. She closed her eyes and told him that he had to remain calm and trust her. He straightened his posture and told her that he trusted her. She said Christian fell ill and she is going to see him. He stood up immediately. She tried to get him to stay home, but she could not convince him.

Carrick didn't understand why Taylor didn't drive Christian to a hospital as soon as he fainted. Nothing was making sense. Grace wasn't even allowed to treat Christian as he was her son. He planned to go with her and see how their son was doing. If he did not show any positive signs of health; he would call the ambulance himself with or without his wife's permission.

Grace and Carrick stood in front of Christian's elevator entrance. She pushed the button and the elevator doors opened. She took a step toward the elevator and put her hand on one of the doors to keep it open. She turned to face him.

"You are going to see a lot of things that you won't understand," she said.

"I think I'll understand enough," he said.

"If we don't handle this right, Christian may never wake up."

He looked at her. Why wasn't he in a hospital?! She had a look of fear and hint of feral warning her eyes.

"I have never put you or our kids in danger. I need you to believe that I would not do anything to hurt us."

She hadn't looked at him in this way for over thirty years. When they first became serious, she gave him that same look. It reminded him that there was a part of her that she would never show to him. That same look terrified and aroused him. He was connected to this woman in a way that he had never connected to anyone else. His trusted her then and he would trust her now. This situation somehow had something to do with the part of her life he was not allowed to see.

"So Christian is like you then?"

"Yes, the same thing that is happening to Christian could have happened to me."

After she said that, she walked inside the elevator. He paused for a moment then slowly stepped into the elevator. They heard a ding and the door closed. Grace feared she said too much. No one could truly hide everything from their spouse after twenty eight years. She may have lost him for good this time. Right now, he probably going through everything little thing he dismissed about her in his mind. He might even figure out that she's supernatural. Just before the door opened, she felt his hand hold hers and squeezed it. A tear fell down her eye and she looked up at him. He wiped her tear away.

"I've been crying too much lately," she chuckled.

"It's okay, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere," he said.

The elevator door opened and they saw their son lying limp on the couch. Grace and Carrick rush toward him. Grace knelt down, touched Christian's forehead. She leaned in closer to subtly to see if she could smell anything. He wasn't drugged. She removed her hand and pretended to check his pulse the human way, but she was actually listening to his heartbeat. It was steady. He was just in a deep sleep. His steady breathing showed no signs of struggle. His body was healthy. She was sure it was his mind that was in trouble. Once his mind gave out, his body would follow. She had no idea how to get into her son's head. A powerful wolf could, not literally, but she or he could command him to wake up.

"Christian, honey, can you hear me," asked Grace.

Christian heard a woman's voice and turned around to see where it was coming from. Then it stopped. He saw that his wolf was a few feet ahead of him now. Where were they going? He jogged toward his wolf and went back to walking beside it.

Carrick asked about Alexa. Alexa awkwardly introduced herself. When she shook his hand, he noticed her strong grip. He groaned and she apologized. Taylor and Grace frowned at her. She looked away in embarrassment. She was rarely around humans, sometimes she became nervous. For some reason she was more nervous around human men than human females.

"So, Christian hired you," asked Carrick.

She noted his confused tone.

"Yes, he couldn't refuse my skills," said Alexa.

Taylor rolled his eyes.

"We have more important things to think about right now. Sorry, honey," said Grace.

"How long does he have," asked Taylor.

"That's entirely up to him," said Grace.

"Is it," asked Alexa in a somber tone.

Everyone in the room, but Carrick knew the answer to Alexa's question. Carrick saw the near defeated look on their faces. Grace was connected to these two people as well. How was that possible? What did they have in common?

"I'll give him till morning, after that I'll have to call his father," said Grace.

"He'll never forgive you," said Taylor.

"He won't have to. As long as he's alive, I'll live with the consequences," said Grace.

Carrick wanted to scream what is going on, but he remembered his promise. This entire situation was out of his depth and he knew he would do more harm than good. If Christian was physically alright, all they could do was wait. If he heard Grace right, she just admitted to knowing Christian's biological father. They would discuss that further once Christian was safe.

Anna stalked the man and the wolf from a distance. She didn't walk toward them; she just walked in the same direction. He still hadn't seen her. Why didn't she have a wolf with her? Something was driving her towards the man and she didn't know why. It wasn't a full on urge, but a dull nagging. Her dream was guiding her to make a choice. She looked at the man again. Should she go up to him?

The man stopped and looked toward her direction. She stopped walking. The man just kept looking at her as if he was waiting for her. She covered herself again and slowly but surely walked up to him. She smiled and introduced herself.

"Hi, I'm…" Anna's mind went blank. "I don't remember."

He looked at her and blinked his eyes.

"I don't remember my name either," said Christian.

"Oh…" said Anna.

Thanks for reading! I wanted to resolve at least one relationship issue in this chapter and I decided to dive deeper into Grace and Carrick's relationship. Carrick isn't stupid or blind; he just made a decision a long time ago to trust Grace with all of his heart. As long as Grace remains honest, they will be alright.

I plan to do at least one full chapter about this dream connection. I have ideas about where it is going, but it's still in its how do I make this work stage.

As always I appreciate any comments, reviews and constructive criticism.