‘Don’t let any of the goats hear you saying that,’ Dream-Aster grumbled. ‘They’re very proud of their little mountain homes. Plus, hiding in one of them for a bit made sure you were well enough for Callum to bite you when you got here.’
‘Yeah. Sure.’ I wondered if this would morph into one of those dreams where I flied. I liked those. ‘I totally came here during a storm and your boyfriend made me into a mystical creature. That doesn’t sound like a dream at all.’
Aster pinched the flesh at the back of my arm.
‘Ow.’ I scowled at him, then the panic swept back in. ‘Oh fuck.’
The number one rule of dreams was that I couldn’t be hurt. Aster had either had a personality transplant and was messing with me, or he was having a psychotic break and believed I’dbeen turned into a beastie, or I actually had been turned into something that didn’t exist outside films and books.
I didn’t like any of those options.
‘You’re okay,’ Callum said from behind me, his gruff voice low and oddly soothing. He lifted his hand from my chest and pressed it to the side of my neck, which felt even more weirdly comforting.
Despite the good feelings his words and touch evoked, wild panic skittered through me. I didn’t know what to believe, what was true.
‘Focus on your heartbeat,’ Callum advised. ‘Breathe deep.’
I inhaled shakily, trying to ignore the whooshing wind and concentrate on the blood thumping around my body.
I frowned. The wind hit the walls of the cabin at the same time my heart thumped.
‘What?’ I looked down at my T-shirt covered chest. ‘Can I hear my heartbeat right now?’
Aster moved one of my hands to his sternum. ‘Listen for mine too.’
Feeling the thump through my palm helped me zero in on it. My back was flat against Callum’s chest. More than mine or Aster’s, Callum’s heartbeat was steady and sure.
‘Show him,’ Aster encouraged.
I didn’t know what he meant until Callum removed his hand from my neck and laid it on the pillow in front of my face. His blunt nails elongated, the tan skin changing to hardened black.
‘Your boyfriend has claws.’ I stared at them, then lifted my head to stare at Aster. ‘Your boyfriend has motherfucking claws right now.’
Thankfully, Callum did whatever werewolf magic was needed to make his hand normal again before he placed it back over my heart. I was glad of the renewed contact, had gone from beingepically weirded out by him snuggling me to aware I would probably have a meltdown if he tried to move away.
‘Callum will teach you how to bring out yours. And your teeth. They’ll get super sharp when you need them to. Plus your eyes can go all glowy and yellow.’ Each word crowded into the next as Aster explained my new powers. ‘You’re stronger now, heal way better than ever before. You’ll be able to hear loads of stuff and smell things and you’ll be able to see in the dark.’
‘Aster.’ I cut into a small space between words. ‘What’s wrong?’
Others might not notice Aster’s babbling. He talked a lot, and it could easily become almost like white noise. But I knew that when Aster got this vocal, it was because he was worried about something.
Salt filled the air again. Apparently I was already smelling things I never had before.
‘Do you mind?’ Aster asked, his voice small. ‘It was a choice between you dying or making the decision for you that you’d rather be not human anymore.’ Despite the tears in his eyes, his jaw hardened. ‘I hope you’re not mad, because I wouldn’t change it. If I ever have the chance to save you, I’ll always take it.’
‘I’m not mad,’ I said, and the bluster left him all at once. Aster sagged into his pillow, his grip on my arms softening.
‘You’ve healed well.’ His eyes slipped closed. ‘But you still need to rest.’
He did too. There were bags under his eyes, purple on his pale skin.
‘How long have I been here?’ I was unwilling to sleep again without knowing how long I’d already been out. I didn’t like that my memories of the storm were shadowy, that I’d lost a chunk of time after finding shelter in the goat hut.
‘It’s been five days since the storm,’ Aster said. He snuggled in close and his eyes fluttered, then shut.
‘Sleep, Lucas,’ Callum murmured into the back of my neck. ‘We’ll explain more soon.’
I didn’t know if it was because he had some wolfy hold on me or because despite feeling really damn good a nap sounded great right now, but despite the ridiculous things Aster had told me, my eyes drifted shut.
