Page 12 of Winter Unleashed

He looked at me with such disgust you’d think I were a piece of shit on his shoe. “I already do.” He tossed me to the ground again.

This time I bounced back up to stand. “Who are you?”

“That no longer matters,” he said in a voice so deep and loud it echoed through the night. He turned his head and smiled at someone.

I followed his gaze to see a luminous woman with dark brown hair that fell just past her waist, gliding her way to him. She stepped into his embrace as he lowered his lips to her. “Why is she still here?” the woman asked while she toyed with the button on his shirt.

“I was having a little fun. I thought you might like to do the honors.”

The woman kissed him again, long and deep, before turning to me. The look on her face made me want to run away, but I couldn’t move. She flung out her arm and my head felt like it exploded. The pain was so bad it blinded me. I dropped to the floor, my head in my hands, and screamed as the pain overwhelmed me.

Then I was falling through a dark abyss for what could have been seconds or hours before a tiny dot of light appeared and grew bigger as I fell toward it. I realized I was going to smash into the ground, but there was nothing I could do about it. There was nothing to grab onto, nothing to stop my crash. And just before my body slammed into the rocky surface, I woke up gasping for air, safe in my bed.

The sun sparkledthrough the bedroom windows, and a smile spread across my lips when I smelled bacon, coffee, and cinnamon. I leapt out of bed and shuffled to the kitchen where my aunt was busy at the stove.

“You made more cinnamon rolls, didn’t you?” I asked, still groggy from my nightmare.

I’d had at least one of her delicious cinnamon buns every day since she’d arrived. My eyes narrowed when I couldn’t remember when that had been. My memory loss was probably from being overtired thanks to the damn nightmares I’d been having.

Celeste turned to me with a warm smile. “I did. You’ve been working so hard to control your power, you deserve them.” She handed me a steaming mug of coffee and gestured for me to sit at my dining room table.

“Thanks, they smell delicious.” I sipped my coffee while she worked and prattled on about nonsense. After a few more minutes, she placed a plate full of eggs, bacon, and a cinnamon bun in front of me and took a seat in the chair next to me. “Aren’t you eating?” I asked when I noticed she didn’t have a plate of her own.

“No, just coffee for me.” She lifted her mug and smiled.

I took a bite of the bun and moaned as the richness of the cinnamon and the sweetness of the icing coated my tongue. “Oh, these are almost better than sex,” I said around a mouthful.

She chuckled. “I’m glad you like it. I heard you grumbling in your sleep again. You had another nightmare, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Tell me about it. Was it the same as usual?”

I nodded. “Kind of. It’s always the same man, but something different happens each time. This time was one of the worst though.”

“And he still doesn’t look familiar to you?” She peered at me over her coffee mug, taking small sips as she waited for me to answer.

I nibbled my lip as I thought through all the dreams, pulling the man’s face to the front. “Nope. He acts like I should know him though. Like he was important to me at one time, but I got nothing.” I shook my head. “He hates me so much.”

“And does the woman appear in all of them as well?”

“She does. They seem to be in love, or at least in lust, with each other. I just can’t figure out who they are or why the dreams feel so real.”

She sighed. “Our minds work in mysterious ways, my dear. Dreams are our mind’s way of trying to tell us something.” She gave a little shrug. “It would help if they’d be more direct though.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” I said before taking another huge bite of the delectable pastry.

“Do you remember everything I taught you? You’ve come a long way in controlling that power of yours.”

I wiped my mouth with a napkin and slid from the stool. “I remember.”

“Show me.”

Closing my eyes, I reached out for my wolf. She answered with a little attitude. She’d been doing that recently, and I wasn’t sure what her deal was. Without my having to ask, she knew what I wanted, and she gave it freely. She was still helping me even though she was upset with me. I just wish I knew what had ticked her off.

Normally, my power would surge forward unrestrained. One second, I’d just be standing there and the next I’d be covered in flames. But after Aunt Celeste’s guidance, I’d learned to use it like a spool of thread, only unraveling enough to take care of what was in front of me while the rest stayed behind, ready if I needed more.

I opened my eyes and held my hand out in front of me. We watched as a small flame appeared in the palm of my hand. I let it flicker and sway for a minute or two before reabsorbing it into my body.