“May I come in?” She asked when she reached the doorway.
Devon looked up sharply as if stunned to know that there was someone else in the building with him at this time. “Oh, hi, Erin,” he said a bit absently. “Please, come in.”
As she walked into the wide office, he stood up to greet her. “Good to see you again, Erin,” he said with a grin. “I completely forgot about our meeting.”
“It’s not exactly a meeting,” she said self-consciously. “Just me coming to get some instructions on how to use the oh-so-powerful dream stone.”
Devon chuckled and propped a hip on the edge of his desk. “I was even more skeptical about it when I first heard of it a few years ago. My cousin, Eli, had been in possession of it before then, but he’d never been curious enough to find out if the stone was what legends claimed it to be or not. I, on the other hand, decided to humor myself and test the stone to prove to myself that the story behind it was a mere fabrication, but now I’m a believer.”
“I see,” said Erin. “And now, you are about to make a believer out of me?”
He shrugged. “Take out the stone from the pouch and put it under your pillow before you sleep tonight. Think about what you want to know about your past or future, or me.”
“You?”
“I claimed to be your mate, remember?”
“Right. That’s it?”
“Yes, that’s all there is to it. I’d love to know what your visions are when you wake up.”
“You seem to be so sure that this thing will work,” Erin said, trying not to giggle.
Devon smiled. “Good night, Erin. I can’t wait to hear your candid review about the stone tomorrow.”
Erin couldn’t help but admire his confidence despite how ridiculous the situation looked. First, he boldly claimed to be her mate, then he tells her a plain little stone in his possession had the power to take her on a time travel adventure where she will discover her past and future, and maybe get confirmation that he was indeed her mate. And here she was, going along with the craziness? Shoot me right now, she thought humorously.
“Ok, then. Good night, Devon,” she said and left his office.
As she drove home, she wondered if she should share this wild tale with her parents, or wait until after she has had the time to ‘use’ the stone and verify that this was just a hoax and Devon was just trying to get a good laugh at her expense. She couldn’t even understand why she was entertaining this sort of thing, but her curiosity just wouldn’t let her ignore it. What if Devon wasn’t lying? What if the dream stone was indeed a thing, and what if it had the power to reveal whatever she wanted to know about her past and future to her? And what if her new boss was indeed her mate?
The ‘what if’ questions kept buzzing around in her head until they were nearly driving her crazy. She needed to put all her doubts to rest once and for all, and all she had to do was put the darn stone underneath her pillow and get a good night’s sleep and wake up to see that Devon had simply pranked her.
Erin couldn’t remember the last time she looked forward to going to bed as she did tonight. Even her mother was surprised when Erin announced that she was going to bed at 8 p.m. sharp.
“Do you think she’s coming down with something, maybe?” She heard her mother asking her dad as she climbed the stairs.
“She looked fine to me,” her dad had replied.
I’m also eager to find out if I’m right in the head or not, she thought. Once inside her room, she took out the stone from its pouch and placed it under her pillow, directly at the center, where she would lay her head.
“Ok, dream stone. Do your thing,” she said aloud and lay down to sleep. As soon as her eyes closed, she began to drift into sleep. Her last coherent thought was her wondering if past lives were indeed real and what hers must have been like.
Morning came faster than Erin had expected. It seemed as if she’d only closed her eyes for two seconds last night and when she opened them, it was morning. Yes, she’d had a dreamless sleep and now she was awake, feeling refreshed and ready to go to work and gloat at Devon about how she’d known all along that his stupid dream stone was nothing but an ordinary pebble that he’d probably picked up at a riverbank somewhere and transformed it into something special with his fake story about werewolf legends. What a tall glass of horseshit. And to think that she’d nearly fallen for it. Ha!With an unusual burst of energy, Erin sat up in bed and threw back the covers, but the moment her feet hit the floor, she knew something was wrong. Her energy levels immediately dropped down to zero as soon as she looked at her feet and saw them encased in a pair of primitive leather booties instead of the soft woolen socks she’d worn to bed last night. The tan
The man blinked and then his look of surprise was replaced with annoyance. “What do you mean? Is this a time to jest?”“I’m not jesting!” Erin snapped, equally annoyed. “I’m legit confused and I don’t even know where I am, or what this place is, or what the heck is going on here.”“Why do you speak so strangely?” Asked the man, mystified. “Are you unwell?”Erin let out a sigh of exasperation. For all his good looks, this man had nothing to offer in the way of intelligence. But… what if it wasn’t his fault that he didn’t understand her? What if the dream stone had truly transported her back in time and now she was in her past life just as she had thought about before she fell asleep last night? Could that explain her sudden understanding of the Athabascan language?No way! She thought, rejecting the possibility. Time travel wasn’t possible – forget
Her mother came into the room shortly after Danshak’s departure. Erin still hadn’t recovered from the shocking turn of events in the last couple of minutes since she woke up. Either someone was playing a cruel joke on her, or she was developing some sort of mental problem. Or she was truly in a different dimension, even though that was most likely impossible.“How are you, my dear child?” Her mother asked. In this era, Bernice Brown had waist-length hair, dressed in leather and fur clothing with a woolen quilt thrown around her shoulders. She even looked younger here than she did in the future, that is, if this was really the past.“Here, drink this. It will make you feel better,” she said and offered Erin a bowl of broth that didn’t smell so good.“Um, thank you, but I’m fine,” said Erin, trying not to wrinkle her nose at the unattractive smell wafting out of the bowl.Her mother smiled. “
Erin thought for a moment before speaking again. “Do I love Danshak?”“Well, from your behavior towards him since your betrothal, it does not seem as if you do. You have spoken harshly about him many times, but I believe that with time, you might grow to love him. Danshak is a good man and a strong werewolf, you are lucky to have him as your mate.”“He doesn’t seem to be fond of me either.”“I know, and that can change when both of you get to know more about one another,” said her mother, optimistically.“But if we don’t like each other, why did we agree to be mated?”“Well, that decision was not up to either of you. Your father saw an opportunity to become a member of Vak’s family and he took it. He may not be next in line to become the supreme leader after Vak is dead, but he has secured our family a spot in the ruling clan. There is no higher position for a werew
Erin thought for a moment before speaking again. “Do I love Danshak?” “Well, from your behavior towards him since your betrothal, it does not seem as if you do. You have spoken harshly about him many times, but I believe that with time, you might grow to love him. Danshak is a good man and a strong werewolf, you are lucky to have him as your mate.” “He doesn’t seem to be fond of me either.” “I know, and that can change when both of you get to know more about one another,” said her mother, optimistically. “But if we don’t like each other, why did we agree to be mated?” “Well, that decision was not up to either of you. Your father saw an opportunity to become a member of Vak’s family and he took it. He may not be next in line to become the supreme leader after Vak is dead, but he has secured our family a spot in the ruling clan. There is no higher position for a werewolf to attain than that.” This piece of information seemed even extra s
It was midday when her eyes finally fluttered open and she regained her consciousness. She could guess what time it was by the position of the sun, even though she couldn’t fathom how she knew that fact.“She is awake,” whispered a female voice beside Erin. She turned her head and came face to face with a younger version of her present-day/future sister-in-law, Aubrey Silver.“Aubrey, is that you?” Asked Erin.“Who do you speak of? You know that is not my name,” said the Aubrey lookalike. “Have you still not recovered?”“Don’t trouble her, Abna,” said Erin’s mother. She sat at the edge of the bed and placed a warm hand on her daughter’s forehead in a universal gesture of manually checking body temperature. “You do not have a fever, thank the gods. Your sister will go fetch you a bowl of food for you to eat. Perhaps it was hunger that made you faint.”Her
Abna stopped brushing her hair and returned the comb to the box, then she picked out a small stick from it and presented it to Erin. The thin stick was frayed on one end as if someone had been chewing on it.“What’s this for?” Erin asked.“Oh, please stop with the jesting now,” said Abna impatiently. “Clean your teeth quickly, so that we can go outside together to meet your in-laws. We cannot keep them waiting any longer.”“Yes, boss,” Erin muttered under her breath and stuck the strange little stick into her mouth. It tasted familiar although she knew for a fact that she had never used a chewing stick before in her life.A beautiful young woman entered the room with her hands clasped in front of her as if awaiting instructions from them.“Good morning, my ladies,” she greeted politely. “Your mother sent me to get your things for the trip.”“Good morning, Sei
“I heard you were not feeling too well this morning,” said the Prime Alpha. “Do you feel better now?”“Yes, sir,” said Erin unsurely. How did they address the supreme leader in this era? Was it sir? Your majesty? Or your Lordship?“Please, pardon her manners, my Alpha King. She is clearly still in recovery,” her father spoke up from behind her.Vak responded to the apology with an understanding smile, but Erin could see that her new husband, Danshak, wasn’t too pleased with her slip up judging by the scowl on his face as he regarded her with hard eyes.“I apologize, my Alpha King,” said Erin quietly. It wouldn’t do to offend her father-in-law and shock the entire clan with bad manners on her first day of joining the ruling family.“You will ride in the wagon with your maid,” said Vak. “I do not believe that you are strong enough to ride on your mare just yet.