bed, even our joined bodies. I forgot who I was, not that I ever knew who I was, and that was when I heard him call again.
“ Rain,” Titan said from afar.
This time, I hurried to answer. “I’m here,” I said. Cold air swept my skin again. It wrapped around me like a blanket, and I shivered, my body feeling as if it floated. I was as light as a feather, and the creature I’d seen yesterday showed itself. I lifted my hand to touch the robed skeleton coming out of the shadows, but I couldn’t move, even though I knew Titan hadn’t tied me up. Unable to move while the cold wrapped my body, I let the creature come to me. I should be afraid. It was terrifying, a skeleton with hollow black eyes, but somehow I also felt it didn’t mean to hurt me. “Hi there,” I said. “You’re here for me, aren’t you?”
In response, it echoed my name, a musical sound as if they were many. That was when I saw them. Hollow gray skeletal faces on the ceiling above us. Their bodies peeled away from the shadows and descended. One figure hovered above me where Titan’s body should be, while the others circled. They hummed, chanting my name. A mating call. It had to be.
I opened my mouth to answer.
Titan shouted my name.
I blinked my eyes open and gasped.
Titan hovered over me, his hands on my shoulders, his eyes as black as theirs. He shook me.
“I’m here,” I said. “I’m here.” I touched my face to make sure it was solid. “I think I just had an out-of-body experience with…with the things from the shadows.”
He released the breath he held and moved to sit at the end of the bed, his back to me. He hung his head. “It’s not like this all the time. The mating season demands we mate, and not only in a physical way.”
I sat behind him, resting my cheek on his back. Despite the best day of my entire life, the dark cloud of uncertainty hovered over us. I heard his call, and he bared his soul to me, told me his secrets so I could see the side of him I hadn’t known. Those things promised an endless void for me to explore. I didn’t know all this for sure, but they’d touched me, and I felt I understood more than before. Regardless, they were here for me.
“What are those things?” I asked.
“Wraiths. The dead fae army, empty souls I summon at will. Usually at will, but the mating season is different. I…they’ve come to witness and aid in my mating.”
He wanted to mate me! I lifted my head from his back, then scooted to sit next to him. Titan stared at the floor, his hands resting on his knees. He looked at me. A smile turned up his lips, but it went away so fast, I’d probably imagined it. “You’re mine,” he said, and his shoulders hunched.
“I’m happy to be yours. It’s a little weird, this whole mating thing, I mean, but I’d get through it if you told me how it works.”
When he rested his head in his palms, a slap of reality hit me. Oh God, he was disappointed. A mate was a mate, a soul mate, the one who completed the other. I didn’t know if it was fate, but it sure wasn’t a coincidence. I was his, and he was mine, and he probably wished it was someone else. The wig, the clothes, the makeup, none of it mattered, because in the end, he’d wake up to me. “You’re a hard to man to read. Most of the time, I don’t understand you, but I love you. I’ve always loved you, so I’m sorry. I’ve tried everything, and I don’t know who else to be.”
His head snapped up. “What?”
“You must’ve noticed all the hair changes, the colored contacts, and the styles I’ve changed over the months.” I glanced at him, and his jaw clenched and he had this scary expression on his face, so I looked away. “For years, I tried to get your attention, and then I realized that maybe it was a physical thing, because I knew it wasn’t anything else. We get along, always have. I wasn’t your type, and men always look for a type of woman they like. My sister’s ex? He’s proof. People say
“ Rain,” Titan said from afar.
This time, I hurried to answer. “I’m here,” I said. Cold air swept my skin again. It wrapped around me like a blanket, and I shivered, my body feeling as if it floated. I was as light as a feather, and the creature I’d seen yesterday showed itself. I lifted my hand to touch the robed skeleton coming out of the shadows, but I couldn’t move, even though I knew Titan hadn’t tied me up. Unable to move while the cold wrapped my body, I let the creature come to me. I should be afraid. It was terrifying, a skeleton with hollow black eyes, but somehow I also felt it didn’t mean to hurt me. “Hi there,” I said. “You’re here for me, aren’t you?”
In response, it echoed my name, a musical sound as if they were many. That was when I saw them. Hollow gray skeletal faces on the ceiling above us. Their bodies peeled away from the shadows and descended. One figure hovered above me where Titan’s body should be, while the others circled. They hummed, chanting my name. A mating call. It had to be.
I opened my mouth to answer.
Titan shouted my name.
I blinked my eyes open and gasped.
Titan hovered over me, his hands on my shoulders, his eyes as black as theirs. He shook me.
“I’m here,” I said. “I’m here.” I touched my face to make sure it was solid. “I think I just had an out-of-body experience with…with the things from the shadows.”
He released the breath he held and moved to sit at the end of the bed, his back to me. He hung his head. “It’s not like this all the time. The mating season demands we mate, and not only in a physical way.”
I sat behind him, resting my cheek on his back. Despite the best day of my entire life, the dark cloud of uncertainty hovered over us. I heard his call, and he bared his soul to me, told me his secrets so I could see the side of him I hadn’t known. Those things promised an endless void for me to explore. I didn’t know all this for sure, but they’d touched me, and I felt I understood more than before. Regardless, they were here for me.
“What are those things?” I asked.
“Wraiths. The dead fae army, empty souls I summon at will. Usually at will, but the mating season is different. I…they’ve come to witness and aid in my mating.”
He wanted to mate me! I lifted my head from his back, then scooted to sit next to him. Titan stared at the floor, his hands resting on his knees. He looked at me. A smile turned up his lips, but it went away so fast, I’d probably imagined it. “You’re mine,” he said, and his shoulders hunched.
“I’m happy to be yours. It’s a little weird, this whole mating thing, I mean, but I’d get through it if you told me how it works.”
When he rested his head in his palms, a slap of reality hit me. Oh God, he was disappointed. A mate was a mate, a soul mate, the one who completed the other. I didn’t know if it was fate, but it sure wasn’t a coincidence. I was his, and he was mine, and he probably wished it was someone else. The wig, the clothes, the makeup, none of it mattered, because in the end, he’d wake up to me. “You’re a hard to man to read. Most of the time, I don’t understand you, but I love you. I’ve always loved you, so I’m sorry. I’ve tried everything, and I don’t know who else to be.”
His head snapped up. “What?”
“You must’ve noticed all the hair changes, the colored contacts, and the styles I’ve changed over the months.” I glanced at him, and his jaw clenched and he had this scary expression on his face, so I looked away. “For years, I tried to get your attention, and then I realized that maybe it was a physical thing, because I knew it wasn’t anything else. We get along, always have. I wasn’t your type, and men always look for a type of woman they like. My sister’s ex? He’s proof. People say
Similar Books
