"I wasn't trying to sneak up on you. I heard you get up and wondered if something was wrong. I figured you heard me, too."
I hadn't. I didn't want to admit that my guard had been lowered so much that I hadn't even noticed him approach. But I wouldn't lie, either.
"I was distracted," I finally said.
Callum started to smirk, but it quickly faded when he realized I was serious.
"Shit."
"I don't know what's wrong with me."
"You don't?" he asked. "Because I think it's obvious."
"Then, please enlighten me."
He went to the fridge and took out a bottle of water. "You aren't just attracted to her. You don't just like her. You have deeper feelings than that." He cracked the top on the bottle and took a deep drink.
"Deeper than what? Than a crush? Than a fling?"
"You're falling in love with her," he answered.
I couldn't argue because he was right. For months, I'd been dreaming about her. Most of them were her nightmares, but there were a few from the past. Memories of her childhood, her college years, and times before she'd been traumatized by Rhiannon. I may not have spent much time with her in person, but I'd spent months with her mind and her thoughts as she slept.
"It doesn't matter," I stated. "Whether I meant to connect with her the way I have or not, I've invaded her dreams, her thoughts. Essentially, her privacy. It wouldn't be right for me to pursue her." I moved past him to the fridge for a water of my own. "And then there's Caleb. When she finds out about him and the fact that he's part of our group, she will never trust us again. She'll never trustmeagain."
"You can't know that," he argued.
"I can because I've read her thoughts in her dreams, remember?"
"Shit," he repeated.
We drank our water in the silence. I'd left the light over the stove on in case Merry woke up and needed a drink or snack in the middle of the night. It was the only illumination in the room.
"You have two choices," he stated.
"Oh, really. What are they?"
"You can brood and watch her with calf eyes until she walks out of your life. Or..."
He paused, likely for dramatic effect, and it was annoying.
"Or what, Callum?"
"You could prove to her that you're different. I think she already understands that we're different, but she senses you on another level. An animal level." His voice dropped as he said it, almost a growl, and I rolled my eyes. "So, it's both a good thing and a bad thing for you because she's attracted and super aware, but that also makes her more nervous than she already is."
"There's a much bigger problem than any of this," I stated. "Someone is watching her."
Callum straightened, his head swiveling. "What the fuck, man? Why didn't you lead with that? Did you check the perimeter? Why didn't our wards or alarms go off?"
I shook my head. "Not that kind of watching. Whoever is observing her has connected to her the way I have. Or the way Ava would. But they're extremely skilled. Tonight was the first night that I even caught a glimpse of them and I've been in her dreams for months."
I heard a gasp from the mouth of the kitchen and closed my eyes. What the hell was wrong with me tonight? First, Callum was able to sneak up on me and now Merry had managed to come out of her room without either of us realizing it.
When I opened my eyes and looked at her, Merry's face was nearly white, even in the dim, yellow glow of the stove light. Her eyes were nearly black in the shadows but my vision was acute enough to see the accusation in them.
"You've seen my dreams?" Her voice was soft, frighteningly so. She wasn't just upset. She was beyond angry.
"Yes."
