DREAM OR NOT
1391 Words
“We can actually be friends, you know that, right?”
The words tumbled out of Elena before she could stop them. A nervous laugh chased them, thin and brittle. Fear ran like ice water down her spine, because talking to a cursed wolf in a mirror definitely wasn’t in the Coping With Sudden Inheritance handbook.
Kael’s lip curled. In his world the world of fang and blood and moon-bound law Alphas didn’t have friends. They had subjects. Subordinates. Prey.
He scoffed, the sound a low rumble that seemed to shake the glass. “How about you find a way to get me out of here first? Then we’ll see about friendship.”
The thought hammered against his skull: She’s not just the last Daughter of the Veil. She’s my cage key. My only road to freedom._
The realization was galling. Bitter as winter ash.
Not a chance. No way. The words were a snarl in his mind. I can’t put myself in the hands of a Veil witch for the sake of freedom. And I certainly can’t have my revenge from inside a box.
Elena, oblivious, still had no idea that her love was the lock and the key. Or that the man staring at her through silvered glass was already planning how to burn her world down once he was free.
“So, uhm…” Elena shifted her weight, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Curiosity won over caution. “Wanna talk about yourself? Or what?”
Kael blinked.
Who is this girl?
Not the question of identity he knew her blood, knew her name. Elena Vale.The question was deeper. Who talked to the Alpha of the Blackfang Pack like he was a lonely guy at a bar? Like she’d been waiting for this day instead of running from it?
Elena felt it too. The wrongness of her own openness. Vulnerability was a luxury she couldn’t afford not with student loans, not with a dead aunt she’d never met, not with a cursed mirror in her bedroom.
“Sorry if I’m being too open,” she said quickly, too quickly. “Everything’s happening so fast and it’s… it’s really unexpected.” She let out a humorless chuckle. “It’s not like I woke up and thought, Hey, hope my aunt dies so I can inherit a haunted house I didn’t know existed.”
Her voice cracked. She hated it.
“It’s like a burden. Everything’s so big and I’m just… alone. I wish I..” She cut herself off, pasted on a smile so fake it hurt her cheeks. “Never mind. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.” She met his golden eyes again. “I’m sorry.”
Kael cared less than nothing.
Sympathy was a language he’d forgotten a century ago. He had no humor for her grief, no patience for her spiraling. As far as he was concerned, her words were wind.
He just stared.
Through the cold, merciless glass, he watched Elena retreat to her bed. She lay on her back, staring at the ceiling, one arm flung over her eyes like she could block out the world. Like she could block him out.
The room settled into silence, broken only by the ancient house groaning around them and the faint tick of a grandfather clock downstairs. Moonlight spilled through the tall Victorian windows, painting silver stripes across her comforter. Across her face.
And deep in the marrow of his bones, Kael knew: This was more than an opportunity.
But falling in love?
That would take centuries.
Love and power had nothing in common. He was carved from power from dominance, from blood oaths and midnight hunts. Love was a weakness Veil witches whispered about before they died.
Yet desperate times, as they say, called for desperate measures.
What would he do?
He didn’t know. So he watched her. Watched the rise and fall of her chest. Watched her lashes cast shadows on her cheeks. Watched, and waited, and hated himself for wondering what her hair would feel like if the glass wasn’t there.
Daybreak came pale and hesitant, leaking through the heavy drapes.
Elena woke with a gasp, heart hammering. For three disoriented seconds she didn’t know where she was. Then it all crashed back the mirror, the wolf, the conversation.
“God,” she whispered to the empty room. “Was that a dream?”
The thought was a lifeline. Please let it be a dream.Because if Kael Blackthorn was real, then her life had officially veered into gothic horror territory.
She smiled, shaky but determined. “Not real. Just stress. Just grief. Just too much caffeine.”
She threw the covers off and took the stairs two at a time, desperate for normalcy. The old house creaked under her feet, sunlight catching dust motes in the hall like tiny galaxies. For the first time since she’d inherited the place, she felt almost… happy.
“Good morning, ma’am.”
Elena yelped, nearly missing the last step. A man in a crisp charcoal suit stood in the foyer, tablet in hand, smiling apologetically.
“Sorry, ma’am. I’m Jerry, the estate agent assigned to your well-being in this residence.” He extended a hand. “More like your personal attorney. I’ll be handling your house affairs, taxes, upkeep everything. Just sign here.”
He held out a fountain pen. The morning sun glinted off his cufflinks.
“Uh, alright, Jerry,” Elena said, still catching her breath. She scrawled her name where he pointed.
“Congratulations,” Jerry said, taking the paperwork back with a professional smile. “You’re now officially the owner of E. Vale Estate.”
“Thank you, Jerry,” she said, the words automatic.
He handed her a sleek business card. “If you need anything, repairs, staff, legal counsel you can always reach me. Just in case anything comes up.” He nodded once. “I’ll take my leave now.”
And just like that, she was alone again. In a house that was legally hers.
Elena exhaled, long and deep. The foyer was grand, with a sweeping staircase and a chandelier that probably cost more than her degree. But it smelled like lemon polish and abandonment.
“I guess I’ll have to clean up,” she murmured to herself. “Make some changes. Make it mine.”
But even as she planned, Kael’s face swam back into her mind. Those gold eyes. That growl.
Is it real?
The indecision tore at her. Finally, she couldn’t stand it.
She went upstairs.
Each step felt heavier than the last. Her bedroom door was ajar. The mirror stood in the corner, covered again she’d thrown the sheet over it in the night like a child hiding from a monster.
Her heart was a drum in her ears. She crossed the room on fearful, curious feet, fingers trembling as she gripped the sheet.
She yanked it down.
Nothing.
Just her own reflection. Tired eyes. Bedhead. A coffee stain she hadn’t noticed.
Relief hit her so hard she almost laughed. “God, Elena. It was just a dream.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “You’re such a chicken. Restless over a dream.”
She turned her back, ready to leave the madness behind.
“Hey there. Looking for something?”
The voice was deep. Amused. And it came from right behind her.
Elena spun, yelping. The room was empty. No one by the door. No one at the window.
Her eyes darted to the mirror.
Kael stood there, arms crossed, one dark brow raised. The ghost of a smirk played on his lips. Very much not a dream. Very much real.
“Wait, what” The blood drained from her face. Her reaction betrayed her completely. “So it’s real.”
Kael’s smirk vanished. He’d seen it the flash of hope, then the crash of realization. _She thought she was dreaming. She’d wanted him to be a nightmare she could wake from.
What now? The question was cold in his gut. What will happen to me now? What will she do?
He was at her mercy.
And for the first time in a hundred years, Kael Blackthorn, Alpha of the Blackfang Pack, felt something worse than rage.
He felt like everything about him is starting all afresh
- Writer
