Taming Darkness

-Kalen-

Utter confusion consumes me. Am I in her dream? How on earth did I get pulled into it, and why didn't it just bring me to her side from the beginning? What was the point of making me traverse the mist to reach my prize?

I step closer, moving towards her side, when I come to an abrupt halt as I walk into something solid. I can't see what it is; it must be invisible, like unbreakable glass or a transparent force field. Whatever it is, it feels solid. I pound my fist into it, screaming as loud as I can, trying to get her to notice me. Yet, she never looks up.

"Aleera!" I shout again at the invisible barrier, but the result is still the same-she continues moving along, focused on her own worries. Her confusion is visibly noticeable, and it stirs something deep within me. She isn't afraid of whatever is happening. But I can't help wondering why I'm here if I can't even communicate with her. There has to be a reason for me to be here apart from just being an observing phantom. There has to be something more.

There has to be a reason she brought me here.

I gaze at her, focusing with all my might. Wait. That... isn't possible. I rub my eyes and look again. I can barely make it out, but it's definitely there. A cascade of hope, happiness, and peace slams into me, one emotion after the other, until I become a trembling mess. I rub my eyes yet again, staring one last time. It's still there.

My eyes are seeing double, not one, but two distinct auras.

My heart races in my chest, and my breath catches in my throat. I no longer care about getting through to her. I know precisely what this means and why I'm here. A goofy smile spreads across my lips as I continue to watch her.

I need to get back to the others and let them know, and reveal what I have witnessed. But I won't be able to wake up until she does. I'm a prisoner in her dream until she awakens, but I can't focus on anything but those auras and the way they dance together and intertwine.

An odd warmth spreads throughout my chest. I never imagined I would get to see anything so genuinely beautiful in my entire life. No, it's more like I never thought a day like this would ever come, period.

I focus solely on her until everything around me shifts again. Unlike the strange way I'd been sucked into Aleera's dream, I'm violently thrown out with a force that makes me jolt upright and gasp for breath as if I've been resurrected.

I nearly collided with Darius' forehead. He, Lycus, and Tobias are arranged in a circle, watching me intently. Worry is etched across their faces, but all I can do is grin at them like a complete fool.

"What's wrong, Kalen?" Lycus kneels in front of me and places his hand on my forehead. "Are you hurt? Sick?"

I struggle to form actual words, far too excited for my own good. I'm buzzing like I've downed several bottles of moonshine. Darius and Tobias kneel beside Lycus, each reaching for me, trying to figure out what's wrong; I've seen their looks of concern before. Reacting on instinct and throwing my arms around everyone, pulling them to me. "She was right there; I was in her dream." I sob against Darius' shirt. "I saw Aleera. She's..."

I squeeze them all tight as tears slip down my cheeks. However, my tears worry my mates, and fear and fury take them over, so I rush to continue.

"And I saw something else..."

"I saw her. She's pregnant," I gasp. The rage and worry that had been building in them vanished in a second. "Aleera is pregnant!"

Who cares if I act like a child over this? All I can do is cry and let the happiness I so rarely get to feel wash over me completely. My mates are frozen in place, the news slowly sinking in. I must sound crazy. To me, it doesn't matter. I just want to be happy about the news of our mate and our new baby! We are going to be parents!

A sudden realization dawns on me, and my elation is tempered with a hint of anxiety..

My mates are quiet, processing the news. Slowly, their faces transform from shock to a mixture of joy and determination. It's clear that we will all do whatever it takes to protect Aleera and our unborn child.

Currently, I feel more connected to my mates than ever before. Our love for Aleera-and now our unborn child-will be the driving force behind our every action.

Time seems to slow as we sit together, our minds racing with thoughts of the future. I can't help but envision the life we will create together, raising our child in a world filled with love and understanding, something I never had growing up.

The dream may have been a strange, ethereal experience, but it has given us the most precious gift of all: the knowledge that we are soon to become parents. And with that knowledge comes the fierce desire to protect the family we created.