My dearest Lach,
I met you today for the first time and already I am overwhelmed with what I feel for you.
I knew I would meet you, you see. I’ve had visions of you for months. But they didn’t prepare me for what I would feel today.
Our futures are intertwined. Tangled together, not only with each other but also with others. We are destined to be lovers, more than lovers. It feels strange for me, knowing all this when you do not.
Perhaps it is because I know how this will all end. By now, I’m sure you’ve realized what I already know—that I am not long for this world. I do not know when or how, but I will be forced to leave you behind. I thought I had made peace with it…until today.
But destiny does not change on a whim. What is coming to pass is for a larger purpose, greater than either of us. And, even now, I understand that you aren’t wholly mine, even if you do not.
When I am gone, Lachlan, you will be needed more than ever. I know you will want to die with me, that you will do your damnedest to wither away, but you can’t. I don’t want that for you. I want you tolive. I want you to cherish each year. If not for yourself, for me. Your existence is more precious to me than my own and all I want is for you to have a full and happy life.
I can see you now, in my mind’s eye, shaking your head, but I’m demanding that you don’t ignore my desire. That’s right. Your mate is demanding something of you. And I know you, Lachlan. You will do anything in your power to give me what I want.
And what I want is for you to live…and to love again.
Don’t deny yourself happiness because I am gone. THAT ISN’T WHAT I WANT FOR YOU. And you shouldn’t want that for yourself.
Let me go, my love. Release yourself from the pain and the grief. It is time.
With my heart and soul, I love you.
Belinda
As I finished reading her words, my heart pounding in my chest and my lungs burning, a single drop of liquid hit the page next to her signature. I blinked, trying to focus my gaze on it as it was joined by another droplet. Lifting a hand, I touched my cheek, feeling the wetness on my skin.
I lifted my fingers to stare at them and realized I was crying. With a howl, I shot to my feet, my chair crashing to the floor behind me. As I lurched for the back door, I was already tearing at my clothes, leaving the tatters to fall where they would.
As soon as my feet hit the back porch, I launched my naked body into the air. When I landed in the grass, it was on four paws. Another howl tore from my throat and the sound felt as though it was ripped from my very soul.
Then I ran as if the hounds of Hell were behind me.
Chapter Three
Chloe
My cell phonerang, right on schedule.
“Hi, Gram,” I greeted as I answered.
“Hi, darlin’. How are you doin’ today?”
“I’m good. How are you?”
“Fine as I ever am. How’s the fishing going?” she asked.
I looked out into the trees surrounding the cabin as I answered. “Frustrating. I’m having trouble getting a single bite.”
“Maybe you’re using the wrong bait.”
I shook my head and sighed in frustration. “No, I think my bait is fine. I just think I’m going after the wrong fish.”
“Hmmm. So what kind of fish should you be going after?”
“The biggest I can find,” I replied.
To anyone listening, our conversation would seem a bit odd but not necessarily out of the ordinary. What they wouldn’t realize is that we weren’t really talking about fish at all.
