Chapter 22

THE SUNSHINE FELT WARM on her skin, and a gentle breeze ruffled her hair. It was a perfect summer day to lie in the fragrant blue grass beside the tranquil purple lake and watch the clouds drift by in the pink sky. The vivid colors made it clear she was no longer on Earth or perhaps dreaming. Either way, the scene was too serene to move and risk ending it.

A dog-shaped cloud floated by then one that looked like a butterfly. As she searched for more, in a game from her childhood, several gray clouds appeared. They seemed out of place in the pink sky, and Amy became alarmed, especially when they twisted and swirled, forming grotesque shapes that seemed to mock her.

The wind picked up, whipping her hair across her face and carrying a haunting whisper. She strained to make out the words but couldn't. She was ready to abandon her no-longer-tranquil spot, when one cloud, stark white amid the deepening gray, took the shape of a face with stark black eyes. They bored into her, unrelenting and filled with malice, and a sense of impending doom consumed her.

Frantic to leave, she tried to get up to run, but she couldn't move, not even to lift a finger. She wasn't sure if it was fear that paralyzed her or a strange sort of power emanating from the evil looming over her. When she thought she couldn't bear it any longer, a bolt of lightning tore through the sky, illuminating the face in the clouds with a ghastly glow. The breath left her body with a whoosh, as if the cloud creature sucked it from her lungs.

Amy awoke gasping for breath. Her lungs burned as though depleted of oxygen. She stared up at the ceiling, still haunted by the dark, unsettling eyes in her nightmare. She longed for the comfort of her mates, but it was the middle of the night, and she didn't want to disturb them once again. Her heart raced as she tried to shake off the lingering fear.

A subtle movement in the shadows caught her attention. When she looked, Remus was fully awake, watching her intently. Turning her head to the other side, she found Tarus' gaze fixated on her as well.

"Was it the same dream?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Not exactly. I was having a wonderful day by the lake when the face with black eyes appeared in the sky. I can't understand why it keeps haunting me."

Remus pulled her against him. "These nightmares need to end. You can't go on with so little sleep. You'll get sick."

"So will you, with me constantly disturbing you," she whispered."I'll go sleep on the couch. You have important duties requiring alertness and need your rest."

The words hadn't left her mouth before Tarus hauled her on top of him and spanked her for the first time. It wasn't more than a dozen swats, only love taps, really. Remus had spanked her much harder.

His stern warning singed her ears, however. "We are mates. If we are on the same planet, come hell or high water, we will share a bed at night. Do not dare suggest such a thing again. "

Remus, who had witnessed it all, felt much the same way. "As fated mates, our lives will be inextricably intertwined for as long as we draw breath. That means, we are by your side day or night, in good times and in bad, wrong or right, up or down, period, end of discussion. Got it?"

"I got it," she whispered, as they cuddled her between them, each gently rubbing her bottom.

Awake, they were a great comfort, but they weren't present in this dream to protect her. For the first few weeks, she'd slept peacefully. She hoped by being the creamy filling between two warrior cookies, her dreams would end for good. No such luck. Nearly every night since the transformation, she awoke with a jerk, or sweating, or screaming.

Even if her eyes opened and she didn't make a sound, her mates could always tell. It bothered them almost as much as it bothered her. To be fair, this was an exaggeration because they dozed off while she remained awake until much later. She knew because the last thing she recalled seeing through her window were the gentle rays of daylight breaking over the horizon.

FOR THE SECOND TIME that day, her eyes popped open as she awoke with a start. Amy lay there contemplating the awful feeling she had. Not from a dream. Surprisingly, she felt rather rested. More so, it was a feeling like she'd forgotten something important. As she sat up and looked around her bedroom, so much sunlight flooded in, she had a good idea what it was.

"Izzy, what time is it?" she called .

When the female AI voice replied, "Ten thirty a.m.," Amy shrieked and leaped from the bed.

"I'm two and a half hours late for work!" she exclaimed as she tore around the room, gathering her clothes. She'd have to skip a shower and do what she could with her hair, which was always a mess upon waking. "I guess it's a ponytail day," she muttered, grabbing underwear from the drawer and rushing to the bathroom.

Why hadn't someone from the clinic called? More importantly, why didn't Remus and Tarus wake her when they did? Since they'd started sharing a bed, this was the first time she recalled waking up without them beside her, and never had they missed morning sex.

Something was off.

She stopped in the bathroom door long enough to ask, "Izzy, what's today?"

"The day of the week is Sunday," came the reply.

Relief washed over her, and she staggered to the bed, slumping onto the mattress. It was her day off. Her warriors must have let her sleep in after a rough night. She appreciated their thoughtfulness and the few hours of dreamless sleep she'd gotten, but being alone wasn't something she cared for anymore, and she went to find them.

In the hall, she heard hushed voices coming from the living room. Hurrying, when she turned the corner, her sock-covered feet slid on the polished wooden floor. Both men looked up in time to see her arms windmill as she skidded to a halt.

"Good morning!" she exclaimed .

Remus scooted over and patted the cushion on the couch between him and Tarus. "It's nearly afternoon, mate," he noted. "Plant your lovely bottom here and tell us how you rested."

She hurried over and settled between them, her most favorite place to be.

Tarus stretched his brawny arm across the back of the couch as he turned to face her. "Any more nightmares?"

"Not that I recall," she said with a shake of her head. She was about to ask about their plans for the day when her stomach growled loudly.

Remus chuckled. "Before we take you back to bed and pleasure your beautiful body, perhaps we should feed that beast in your belly."

"I am rather hungry," she admitted.

Tarus brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers one by one. "You'll need energy to keep up with two highly trained warriors. The question is, are you hungry for breakfast or lunch?"

"Lunch," she declared. "I picked up fresh vegetables newly arrived from Primaria at the market and fish that looked like salmon. How about that and a big salad?"

They both looked highly skeptical.

"I also have fresh bread and deli mac and cheese," she suggested. The latter, she knew, was their favorite.

"Now you're talking," Remus said, leaning in for a kiss.

She looked at Tarus' brows raised in question. He shoved his twin out of the way and, after pressing his lips to hers, murmured, "Whatever you prepare is fine with me, precious gem."

Remus grunted. "That's not what you said when presented with a yogurt parfait for breakfast the other day. "

Tarus grimaced. "It smelled like it had soured and tasted worse."

"I'm still learning your likes and dislikes, but we'll figure it out." Amy patted them both on the thigh and rose. "I'll get started, but first I'm going to gather the cherry tomatoes from the balcony. I've never had a green thumb, but I have a pretty good crop already."

In her kitchen, which was big enough for a table for four, she prepared the salad first, chopping what looked like lettuce but was bright blue and adding the Primarian versions of green peppers, cucumbers, and green onions, which were pink, orange, and a bright chartreuse respectively. Then she grabbed a bowl and went to pick the plump cherry tomatoes—red like they were supposed to be since she'd grown them from a seed packet from Earth—which were thriving in pots on her sun-kissed balcony. When Amy stepped back into her cool, cozy kitchen, the low hum of masculine voices from the next room brought a smile to her face. She enjoyed having her warriors at home.

She washed the tomatoes and tossed them with a seasoned oil and vinegar dressing. Mediterranean seasoning, which she'd been thrilled to find at the general store, went generously on the salmon before Amy popped it into the food prep unit for a few seconds. Next, she went to call Remus and Tarus in for lunch. When she moved to the doorway, she caught a snippet of their conversation and stopped in her tracks.

"Amy needs to know," Remus stated, his voice strained with concern.

"No, absolutely not," Tarus vehemently countered .

"She can't go on without sleep and fearing what lies around the next corner. If we tell her the truth, it might snap her out of this lingering amnesia."

"If her mind is so dead set against her recalling what happened," Tarus reasoned, "I fear what she might do if she learns the truth about that Maker-bedamned alien who caged and tormented her in that cave."

Staggering backward, she felt the wall against her back as a ghastly image of soulless black eyes and pale, waxy skin formed in her mind. What she saw next was even more horrifying—it wasn't merely an image, but a vivid, tangible memory of him lifting her off her feet and aligning his mouth with hers. Then, a paralyzing weakness engulfed her, rendering her powerless, unable to even put up a fight, while he inhaled deeply. Like in her dreams, the breath left her in a whoosh, but in reality, that was how he siphoned not only her energy but her life force.

The sheer horror of being fed upon by an alien parasite was too much. Her knees shook and her equilibrium shattered. As she struggled to stay on her feet, she collided with a shelf. The impact sent plates cascading to the floor with a deafening crash.

Footsteps thundered on the wood floor, announcing Tarus and Remus' arrival a split second before they burst into the kitchen.

"What happened?"

"Need you ask?" Tarus roared. "Look at her face. She overheard us."

"Say it isn't true," she whispered.

Both men sank to their knees in front of her regardless of the broken dishes.

"I wish I could, sweet mate," Remus whispered .

"I recall every awful minute. Adria was there, and Myron too. And I remember how that creature almost sucked the life out of me," she exclaimed, tears streaming down her face. "I don't know how I could forget. It was a living nightmare."

"But it's over, koria . And you're safe with your mates," Tarus reassured her as he lifted her trembling form and cradled her against his chest. Not to be left out, Remus' comforting arms enveloped her from the other side.

Amidst her sobs, she could have sworn her brave warriors' anguished cries merged with her own.