She returns my false smile. “Of course. As long as no attempts are made to remind him of his past, then you are allowed to see him. Have a good day, Mr. Erikson.”
Anders and I are silent as we make our way outside.
My family has suffered so much. Being separated would break our hearts. It isn’t fair to put my own happiness before theirs. If Anders is no longer comfortable with my plan to reunite with Soren, then that’s it. I will have to stop. If I alone were the one to suffer, I would still risk it all. But I won’t be the reason my family is torn apart.
The TTA office is a plain-looking building from the outside. The travelers I’d seen from the past and future spill out into the streets. Not one of them is out of place in their new surroundings. I’d never have guessed they were travelers at all.
With my hands in fists, I force myself to speak. “Being with Soren is risky. I understand if you no longer support my decision. If our family is separated because of me, I’ll never forgive myself.” My throat thickens, and the streets around me blur. “Say the word, and this will end here and now.”
Every second of silence that passes tears at my heart.
Anders huffs, the sound heavy. “Have you always been such a craven?”
Blood heating, I whirl around to strike him. He grabs my fist easily. “How dare you?” I snarl the words throughclenched teeth. “It’s not craven to sacrifice my happiness for the sake of our family!”
Anders sneers. “All these years, you still haven’t learned to put yourself before others.”
“Like you do?” Anders may have never taken his role as eldest seriously, but I have. It’s my duty to protect my family. Aye, Wulfric is Alpha, but that doesn’t mean he must bear the responsibility alone.
His eyes narrow. “Once, Lyall. Just once, allow yourself to come first.”
The storm raging within me slows and then settles. “You… you want me to do this? Even if it means being separated.”
Anders shrugs. “Just don’t be an idiot and get caught. Simple.”
I gape at him. Anders would risk losing his connection to our pack, for me, for my happiness?
He grunts when I wrench him into a back-slapping hug. “You’ve changed, brother. Father would be proud.”
The tension leaves Anders’s shoulders, and he grips the nape of my neck. “We’ll think of something. I promise. Let’s ask Jamie. He’s got quite the imagination. I’m sure he’ll think up a way for you and Soren to reconnect.”
We linger a moment, basking in the warm glow of pack and brotherhood. Anders is blinking fast when we separate. My own eyes sting. He coughs. I scuff my boot on the ground.
Although I’ve been to this timeline often since Soren and I were forced apart, something feels different now. I take a breath and find my chest is lighter, my heart racing with hope rather than fear. For the first time, I’ve arrived here knowing I will find my mate. Knowing that I will not be leaving brokenhearted.
After all these years, I’ve been given a second chance with the man I love, and I will be damned before I squander it.
This time, we will never be parted again.
Chapter 4
Soren
New York is abig and sometimes strange place. People have encounters with odd people all the time. So why can’t I forget him?
He’s in mydreamsnow, dreams where I’m happier than I’ve ever been. In these dreams, he makes me laugh and smile so hard my cheeks hurt. Wherever we are, it’s somewhere cold, full of rugged natural beauty. He looks at me like I’m his entire world, kisses me like he can’t get enough. We talk. I don’t know what about. Our conversations are muffled, like I’m hearing them from underwater.
Every time, I wake with an ache in my chest and sometimes even tears in my eyes because I know I’ll never find anyone who loves me like my dream man does.
My dreams become more and more intense. Tender kisses become heated. Every touch has me aching for more. Beneath me, his eyes dark with lust and adoration, he falls apart as I drive myself deep into the heat and tightness of his body. He feels like home. His gorgeous lips part as he utters moans I can’t hear. When he comes, his lips formingthe shape of my name over and over again, I realize that all my life, something has been missing.
It’s him. It’s the love we share in these dreams.
It’s so damn pathetic.
“Are you sleeping well? You have bags under your eyes,” Fergus points out one night, worriedly rubbing beneath my eyelid.
I move out of his reach to plate up the piping hot veggie lasagna we’re having for dinner. “I’m fine. Just having weird dreams.”
