Draw Me In

WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF (continued)

ZARA

“Now about that bite” he says.

He is behind me at this point. I can feel the heat emanating from him. His breath caressing the back of my neck. The hairs on my body stand on end. He has stopped stalking. If he is trying to intimidate me, it’s working. I have no smart quips to come back with. In fact I have no words at all. They seem to be lodged in my throat. I would say cat got your tongue situation, but this is no cat. I chuckle a little to myself. The irony not lost on me. My chuckle quickly dies when I feel him begin to move around me again. He is now to the right of me. His height at my shoulders but his head towers above me. He stops for just a moment before moving to stand in front of me again.

“You’re funny, now again about that bite” he repeats. His eyes boring into mine. Holding me into place. Not that I could move to begin with. I remind myself to question that later. Not being able to move in a dream is new to me. I don’t particularly like it.

“I don’t want to get fur in my mouth” I say, twisting my face into one of disgust.

“Pity, we could have traded bites” his mouth opening revealing large canines. “But I assure mine is worse”

“Well you’re a dog and I’m human, that’s obvious” I say rolling my eyes.

His eyes change from a deep emerald to slightly black. If I had to guess. I’ve angered him.

“Don’t insult me” he snarks.

“Well what am I supposed to call an animal that clearly looks like a large dog?!” I question.

“I’m a shifter, and this is only one of my forms” he sits on his hind legs.

I’m not sure why I have the urge to pet him. Clearly not a smart choice.

“It definitely is not a smart choice” sounds the voice in my head.

“I wasn’t going to actually do it” I huff.

“You couldn’t even if the urge to do so overpowered you to” he says. “I control you here, I can give or take away your ability to move”

The admission both frightens and pisses me off. What kind of sick whatever he is would immobilize someone. That’s not a fair fight. Although it wouldn’t be much of a fight anyway being that he’s a large animal. But the point remains. It’s an unfair move. The thought having me straightening my spine. While I’m still fearful, I feel the need to stand my ground.

“Do you fear me being able to move?” I ask.

“I don’t fear you” he replies. And I could swear I see his eyes roll. Can dogs roll their eyes? I question to myself. I guess I’ve never contemplated the idea. I don’t have much experience with them anyway. I was never much of an animal person. Liked when other people had them. But none for myself.

“Then let me move” I challenge.

“Will you run?” He asks.

I contemplate the answer for a few seconds before ultimately shaking my head no. I could try to make a run for it. But given his size and closeness, I don’t imagine I would get very far. So I resign myself to staying in place. He eyes me for a moment before making some sort of decision in his head.

“Walk with me” he relays before standing and turning to walk.

I test my legs to see if I’m actually able to move. The movement seems awkward at first, but I’m able to move. Excitement courses through me at the ability to finally move. But the excitement is short lived. Because the next move make could very well be categorized as the dumbest thing I’ve done in life so far. Or in a dream I should say. In a split second decision. Walk to his head and pop him on the snout.

“Bad dog!” I admonish.

Something primal lights up in his eyes. I am instantly regretting my action and taking steps back. He moves toward me head lowered. I eventually feel solid wall behind me.

“f**k Zara, you’ve done it now” I scream to myself.

When his nose is aligned with my face, he pulls back his top lip enough to do a snarl.

“Don’t ever do that again!”

I swallow deeply, my mouth now suddenly dry. His eyes track the movement as I lick my lips. Changing the color in them just a bit to flicks of gold. All I can do is nod my head in agreement. But also, an odd feeling in my body as began to take shape. The sight of him stalking towards me stirred something. I chose not to question it in the moment. Filing it away for later contemplation.

Deciding that he is satisfied with my response. He begins walking down the hall. I’ve confirmed it is an actual hallway. A hallway in a mansion I’m beginning to gather as we walk. A very decorated mansion. The carpet is plush and deep red. The walls are covered in gold gilded wallpaper with sconces lining each side. There are few doors on each side. We stop at none of them. He continues leading me further down the hall. Unease begins to prickle at the back of my neck. I should not be following a creature further into the house. He must sense my unease because he stops and turns to look at me.

“Um, where exactly are we going?” I ask, tripping over my words.

“I need to show you something before I run out of time” he relays.

“Run out of time?” I say, a questioning look on my face.

“Yes, you can only be a dream for song long, and it has taken me a while to be able to communicate you this way” his voice is serious now.

“How long have you been trying to invade my dreams?!” My voice has now pitched up an octave. I don’t like the thought of him coming for me night after night without me having any sense of it.

“The amount of time does not matter, only that I finally succeeded in being able to do so” he answers.

“And why is that? And why are trying to get in my dreams anyway?” I’m now fully irritated.

“Because you are my mate” he finally says.

“What?!” I yell, just an alarms sounds pulling me back into consciousness.

The last thing I see is those emerald eyes as he says

“We’ll see each other again”