Chapter 24: Chapter 24

HARLAN

The darkness of the dream lured me deeper.

Until I stood in the midst of a forest in complete darkness. Even for my lycan form, it was tough to see.

Then the moonlight broke through the canopy of trees and showcased the forest hiding from me. I took in the trees and the random pond in the distance. It wasn’t a familiar place, yet it called to me.

A lycan formed on a nearby hill and howled at the hovering moon. It gave me chills. A branch snapped behind me, but when I spun around, no one was there.

“Anyone there?”

The wind grew and blew leaves around me in a mini tornado. It brought in a flood of senses, but a lurking lycan was the strongest.

“Show yourself!” I shouted, spinning another circle.

I stopped in the middle of the clearing when I felt him close to me. I looked over my shoulder as a figure caught my attention. Slowly, I turned around and came face-to-face with who I assumed was my father.

I’d only seen pictures of him from years before, but I knew him.

I looked like him. The blond hair and dark eyes. Though there was something dark that lingered in the midst of them. Something evil.

“Son,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

I sat up in my bed on Sunday morning, drenched in sweat. My sheets were tangled around my waist, and my cell phone rang out from my nightstand.

I set my alarm so I didn’t miss breakfast.

Rubbing my eyes with the palms of my hand, I walked toward the kitchen to grab myself an ice coffee.

The remains of my dream still lingered in the air.

It’d been frightening to look into the face of a person I knew who was evil. I’d never dreamed of my dad before now. Why would he show himself?

Not that I knew it was actually him.

Maybe it was a suppressed dream of mine to know my real dad.

Alpha Allaire had always called me his own. It’d only crossed my mind a few times over the years about my real dad.

I opened the top and downed a mouthful of the cool coffee blend.

Everlee was coming back today.

My wolf had a hard time falling asleep the night before because of his excitement. I got dressed and jogged to breakfast. Erick and Greg sat at a booth in the corner when I got there.

I fixed my plate and made my way over to them. Kellan had slept in, not being a morning person, and it gave me a chance to see them without him.

Erick slid over and let me into the booth.

“What’s up?” I asked, sitting down.

Erick took a bite of his food and looked at Greg. “Nothing. We’re surprised you’re here without Everlee and her friend.”

I shrugged. “She’s away this weekend.”

Erick glared at me and dropped his fork. “I’ve got to ask. Don’t you want to rip that asshole to shreds?”

“Rage?”

“Yeah,” he said.

“Well, of course I do, but I promised Alpha Allaire and Alpha Hunt that I wouldn’t. The superintendent knows too. We can’t fight or we get suspended. I’m too close to graduating.”

“Come on,” Greg said across the table. “I know him being with your mate is killing you.”

“It does. It hurts, but we all promised. We can’t fight.”

“So sharing your mate is okay?” Erick said.

I tightened my fingers into fists. “No, it’s not, but it’s all I have at the moment. Can’t we drop it?”

Erick put his palms out in a surrendering motion. “I’m sorry. I just know being a lycan, we’re already put underneath wolves. I don’t want you to get the short end of the stick.”

I swallowed my food. “I didn’t grow up in a pack that put lycans underneath wolves. Our luna is part lycan. Not everyone thinks that way.”

“But most do,” Greg said.

“Listen,” Erick said. “We don’t get it. We’re not used to that kind of pack. Why don’t you bring Everlee over to see us tonight? There is a bonfire, and I think it’ll be fun.”

“I can do that. She’s coming back soon.”

I pulled out my phone to a new text from Everlee.

“Got home late last night. Come by when you’re up.”

“Speaking of,” I said. “I’ll ask her in a few minutes. She’s home.”

I finished my food, my wolf anxious to get to her. Her scent drifted down the halls of her dorm room. Excitement coursed through me. I knocked several times and waited for her.

I could feel her heartbeat in my chest. It slid over me like a velvet blanket.

Everlee opened the door, and I stepped inside. Grabbing her T-shirt, I pulled her toward me and kissed her.

Her chuckle warmed my spirits. The nightmare. The lycans. They all drifted away when I was near her. Even the faint scent of Rage on her clothing was easy to push away.

“Get a room!” Bryiar shouted from her bed.

“Yours or mine?” I pulled away to whisper into her ear.

Everlee braced her fingers on both sides of my face. The brightness in her eyes was evident. She was happy to see me. Even though something lingered between us. A silent tension, neither of us spoke it.

“Actually,” Bryiar said. “I’m heading out to breakfast. I’ll see you all a little later.”

She shut the dorm room door behind her and left us alone. “How was the game?” she asked, directing the conversation to avoid any mention of her leaving.

“It…” I trailed off, not wanting to lie.

She stopped by her bed as she began to make it. When I didn’t answer, she looked over her shoulder. “Everything okay?”

I ran my finger over the top of her head. “Yeah. I actually didn’t stay long. Seems people are still very interested in our relationship.”

She frowned. “Nosy a-holes. So what did you end up doing?”

“I went to eat with your dad.”

She lifted both brows at me. “Dad came up? I did mention hanging out with you. What did he say?”

She tossed her pillow into its spot and sat down.

“Nothing really. Just catching up. I’m glad we got the one-on-one time. I’m ready to go home. Maybe we can next weekend?”

“I’d like that. Sit down, you’re making me nervous.”

I sat next to her and wrapped my palm around her thigh. Momentarily, I felt her stiffen at the movement, but she relaxed seconds later.

“Have you eaten already?” I asked.

“I had a pop-tart. I’m not that hungry this morning. I’m really just tired. I had a long weekend.”

Crawling toward the headboard, I laid back and lifted my arm. “Come here.”

She leaned back into the crook of my arm and sighed. “Did you eat?”

“Yeah, Erick and Greg were there. I ate with them.”

Ever didn’t respond. I knew she had feelings about them, but I needed to break the ice. “Speaking of. Would you be interested in going to the bonfire with me tonight?”

“~Oooo~ fun,” she said. “I loved those growing up.”

“Yeah, me too. Erick and Greg want to meet you.”

She stilled and sat up on her elbow. “Are you sure that’s a good idea, Harlan?”

I looked down at her. “Why wouldn’t it be? I want you to get to know my friends too.”

She sat up and scratched her arm. “You know how I feel about them. They make me nervous. There is something off about them.”

“Here we go again,” I mumbled, rubbing my palm down my face. “Are you seriously going to avoid them? You can go to meet Rage’s pack but won’t sit with my friends?”

Everlee’s face turned ashen. “That’s not fair. His pack is different than people you just met, and you know it.”

~God, I hate it when she’s right.~

“Okay,” I said. “It is different, but I need you to come. Please.”

“Of course I’ll come. I just don’t want to be drowned by your friends. I’ll speak to them, and then we deserve some time alone.”

I tucked her hair behind her ear. “I wanted to tell you about this dream I had last night.”

“Was it about me?” she asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

“Oh, go and get two mates and suddenly you’re full of yourself.”

She tossed her head back and laughed. “You’re stupid. What was the dream about?”

“My dad.”

Both of her brows lifted in shock. “Your dad? The lycan king?”

“That one and only,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “I’ve never dreamed of him before, but he showed up and spoke to me. Weird, isn’t it?”

Ever nodded and played with a string on her jeans. “What did he say to you?”

“Just said hello basically and then I woke up. It was such a wicked feeling. It felt real. Like I really stood in the woods, and he was really there.”

She smiled. “How do you feel about it?”

“I don’t know really. I’ve never really longed to meet him. Maybe when I was really young, but it’s odd that he would wait until now to show up.”

“It is odd,” Ever said. “Perhaps it’s just a dream.”

“Could be,” I said, touching her chin gently. “Perhaps you could come over and kiss me like you’ve been gone all weekend.”

Everlee chuckled and crawled over to straddle me. Her scent woke my wolf immediately. She leaned down and kissed me. It was gentle and sweet. Something tugged on my wolf and weighed heavily down on me.

When she pulled back, I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “Did you do something with him?”

Ever froze. “What?”

I put my palms on her shoulders and pushed her back a bit. “With Rage? Did you do something…sexual with him?”

Everlee’s face turned red, and she crawled off my lap. “What a petty thing to ask, Harlan. What do you want from me? I scrub my skin after I’m with him so you won’t smell him on me, and now you go and ask me that? He hasn’t marked me. That was the deal.”

I stood up when she did.

“Yeah, but did he touch you…there?”

She ground her teeth together and folded her arms. “Stop asking that.”

“Why? Because you don’t want to answer?”

She turned her face, and a tear raced down her cheek. I knew in that moment he’d touched my mate where I wanted to so deeply. “I hate you for asking me that,” she whispered. “I already feel guilty for leaving you here this weekend. Now you want a recap. Get out. I can’t do it.”

She walked toward the door, but I grabbed her and pulled her flush with me. “Everlee,” I whispered. “I’m sorry. My wolf is out of control lately. He’s putting things in my head. I—everything, including me, has been off since this school year started. I didn’t mean to disrespect you.”

Ever covered her face with her palms. “I’m sorry, Harlan. I’m struggling today.”

I slid my palms down her arms to her hands. “Why don’t we start over tonight? We’ll go hang out at the bonfire and go back to my place. You can sleep over if you want, or,” I whispered. “We can stay up all night. I don’t care which one.”

Ever smiled. “I like that idea. I’ll meet your friends. I just don’t want to be pulled away from you tonight.”

“Deal. I’ll pick you up around eight. We’ll spend some time under the stars like we did growing up.”

She smirked. “I can’t think of anything better.”