She couldn’t catch her breath. She was hot and sweaty from running so hard. A dreaded sense of danger overwhelmed her, and she looked all around in front of her, trying to see what might be causing the renewed panic.
Suddenly the bear was so close she could feel him breathing down her neck. He roared again so loudly that she screamed.
Sienna bolted upright as her eyes popped open. Once again, she was in her Daddy’s arms. He was rubbing her back and saying something to her, but she couldn’t hear his soft voice over the rush of noise in her ears.
Finally, she shook off the vision.
Jayce looked terrified. She couldn’t blame him. He pulled her against his chest, breathing heavily. “Fuck. You’re going to kill me, Little one.”
Sweat ran down her brow. Her nightie was soaked as if she’d actually been running instead of simply imagining it. Her diaper was soaked, too, which unnerved and infuriated her. But that wasn’t the most pressing issue right now.
Jayce leaned her back a few inches. “Do you usually have the visions when you’re sleeping?”
“No. Never.” She kept panting, exhausted from running so hard as if it had been real.
“Was it a nightmare?”
She shook her head. “No, it was a vision. I don’t know how I know the difference, but I do.”
“Can you tell me about it, Baby girl?”
Something fell into her lap, and she looked down to find the pacifier. She probably spit it out when she screamed. “It was the bear again.”
“Can you describe him, Little one?”
“I didn’t see him at all, this time, but I might be able to describe him from the other vision.”
Jayce frowned. “You didn’t see him?”
“No. He was chasing me. I was running. I’ve also never moved from one spot during a vision. I don’t participate or interact. I just watch. Until now.” She shuddered, unnerved to say the least.
“Your power is evolving, Little one. I suspect it will continue to do so in the coming days. Go on. He was chasing you?”
“Yeah. More like taunting me. He wanted me to shift, but I didn’t know how yet. It seemed to frustrate him.” Sienna sat up straighter and faced her Daddy. “That’s it. He’s rushing me through this process. In the first vision, he was trying to get me to consummate our mating. Now he’s pressuring me to shift as if it’s of vital importance. Doesn’t he know I can’t control when I shift for the first time?”
Jayce’s brow was furrowed as he listened intently. “It’s possible he doesn’t know actually. I’m not sure the bears are fully aware of when and why and how our mates experience their first shift. I’ll have to ask some of the other Alpha Protectors if anyone has explained the process to Thorn or Surge.”
“Who are Thorn and Surge?”
“Our liaisons with the bears. We meet with them often. They’ve become our friends. We trust them.”
“Maybe it’s one of them, then?”
Jayce was still frowning. “Seems unlikely. If they wanted to tell you something, they could just call. There’s no need for them to be so cryptic and come to you in a vision.”
Sienna slumped against her Daddy, feeling heavy and too warm even though she was only wearing the thin cotton nightgown. She’d never worn anything this revealing. Even when she slept at night in her childhood home, she wore one layer of her shifts. Sometimes two.
Daddy palmed the front of her diaper. “Let’s get you changed and take your temperature.”
Her face was already hot, but it heated further. Emotions overwhelmed her. “I don’t want to wear a diaper, Daddy,” she complained.
He rose, holding her close, kissing the crown of her head. “I know, Baby girl. Try not to think about it. No one is going to judge you. Certainly not me. It may be necessary if you’re unable to control your bladder during a vision.”
“I didn’t have any problem before today,” she grumbled.
“You also never had visions as strong as the two you’ve had since you got here. This last one was very upsetting to you. I could see you struggling through it. I didn’t want to wake you and risk interrupting something that might have been important, but you were moaning. Your body was twitching as if you truly were running. You were obviously in distress, and Ihave to say, I didn’t like it. I’m going to monitor you closely. If I decide one of your visions is too stressful for you, Iwillattempt to pull you out of it.”
Jayce lowered her onto their bed. Before she could argue with him, he pulled her nightie over her head. “Lie back, Baby girl.”
