COVEN, Dreamwalker

Chapter 2

Elana

Every morning it’s the same.

I wake gasping for breath, my eyes wildly searching my room.

As they settle on the tiger’s eye crystal opposite my bed, I breathe deeply, slowly grounding myself as I repeat the same mantra.

It’s just a dream. It’s just a dream.

Eventually, my mind clears and all I’m left with are the remnants of a song, like a whisper on the wind. Every morning for the past few months I’ve woken with fragments of its melody clinging to the edges of my mind, only for them to disappear as soon as I reach for them.

Only today it’s still there, a melody I recognise. But a song I still don’t know.

“Elana! Breakfast is ready,” shouts Mum.

God, I wish she’d just walk up the stairs or use telepathy like everyone else.

“Coming, Mum,” I scream back, causing my vocal cords to tighten in an unnatural way.

Grabbing my backpack, I shut the door to my room and activate a cloaking charm. Nothing fancy; it just convinces whoever enters without my permission that they’re seeing nothing but a blank room.

Descending the stairs, I eye the pictures of my family lining the wall. Me, Mum, my siblings and, of course, Dad…

Well, kind of.

His face is magically masked and can only be revealed once he’s completed his quest, or some other such nonsense.

Reaching the bottom step, I find my brother Eric and our eldest sister once again arguing over privacy.

Emily’s gift is soul reading. She can literally see everything you’ve done and everything you’re thinking about doing. Unfortunately for Eric, he seems completely incapable of not leaving mental imprints on everything he touches.

Hence the fight.

“El! Tell her she can’t keep prying into my life like it’s a book,” pleads my brother, clearly hoping I’m going to take his side.

“Sorry, Ric, you gotta see it from her angle. You keep leaving mental imprints all over the place. How do you think she feels being slapped in the face by your wank-bank material?”

His face drops.

I bite back a laugh.

Em, can’t you give him a break? You know he has an overactive… everything.

Emily looks at me.

Her lips twitch.

Finally, she nods and gets up.

“You’re lucky baby sis is here to save your arse!” she hisses at Eric before leaving the room.

Rolling his eyes, Eric pushes himself to his feet and joins me on my way to the kitchen.

You know you’re meant to be my twin. Why do you always take her side? he asks, holding the door open for me.

Maybe stop being such an asshole, I snap as we take our seats at the table.

“Morning, Mum,” we greet in unison.

“Mmm,” she replies, passing us our breakfast.

“So, your aunt Leandra and uncle Viktor mentioned you guys don’t plan on attending the Full Moon Feast… is there a reason?” she asks, resting her hip against the marble countertop as she takes a sip of her coffee.

Huffing, Eric wrinkles his nose.

“Well… we decided maybe it would be best to skip. You know, after last time… with Em and the Alpha’s son…”

“Yeah, talk about awkward…” I say, pushing my baked beans around my plate, trying to avoid them touching my bacon and eggs.

Why does she make these for me when she knows I hate them?

Pushing off the countertop, Mum frowns.

“Don’t be silly. Trust me, everyone’s long forgotten about the pup who couldn’t keep it in his pants long enough to secure a prime engagement.” She takes another sip of her coffee. “Besides, you’ll both be eighteen by the next full moon. Don’t you two want to find your mates, or even just give some face time to the family?”

Eric and I exchange a look.

“Translation… Grandpa would love it if we… had options and at least considered chosen bonds. Ones that would benefit the packs and the covens.”

Mum raises an eyebrow.

“Have you been reading my mind?”

“No. You gave the same speech to Em on that fateful day we’re pretending no one remembers.”

Eric snorts.

Mum’s eyes narrow.

Then I feel it.

Her aura.

Warmth settles over me, easing the tension from my shoulders.

Beside me, Eric sighs.

I knew he’d crack as soon as I felt Mum flexing her calming aura around us.

Wimp.

Come on, Lana. We can hang with the cousins and avoid all the other crap, he pleads through our link.

Rolling my eyes, I sigh heavily.

But you run interference… deal?

I already know he’ll agree to anything if it means keeping Mum happy.

“Fine, we’ll go,” I say aloud. “But no promising I’ll take a chosen just to make Grandpa happy.”

“Deal,” Mum says triumphantly before taking another deep sip of her coffee.

I glare at Eric.

He shrugs.

Traitor.

“Before I forget, how’d you sleep?” Mum asks.

The question catches me off guard.

My fingers still around my fork.

And for the briefest moment, the melody from upstairs drifts through my mind again.

I shrug my shoulders and draw in a deep breath.

“Fine.”

A blatant lie.

Mum watches me for a moment, but I keep my attention firmly on my breakfast.

It’s not like she can help even if I tell her the truth about the horrifying scenes that have haunted my dreams since I was sixteen.

Or explain why, after months of forgetting that song the second I wake, this morning I can still hear it.

Mum’s attention is drawn elsewhere, giving Eric the perfect opportunity to bother me

Since we’re going now, mind telling me if she’ll be there?

My fork pauses; she who?

Oh come on, El, you know who.

I smile and shove some bacon into my mouth. I close my eyes and pretend I’m looking for what he wants; really, I’m savouring the taste. Ah, who says it’s a she?

His eyes go wide, and I nearly choke.

He sees and kicks me under the table.

Ouch, look Ric I can’t tell you anything except she’ll come when she comes… the law remember?

Fine, he huffs, shoving a piece of bacon and runny egg into his mouth.

Gross.