"Something is happening," I confessed to the man holding me so closely. If there was a heaven, I was convinced that it was located in his arms.

"We are together here, leave it alone," he soothed, running a hand over my cheek. "All that matters is you and me."

But it wasn't real. I knew that. It didn't feel the way it should have. I didn't feel the calluses on his palms and he didn't move quite right. When I focused on a feature, it seemed to shudder and change, then blur. It was like he was flickering in and out of frame. Because this wasn't reality.

"I can't leave it alone."

"Georgia, this is the only way we can be together," he pressed. "Out there, we can't be near each other. You know that."

And I did. He was just past heaven's gate and it turned out that I had never been baptized. It felt like we were destined to be apart for the rest of our lives.

"I can't stay here," I said. then I dragged myself back to the reality that I hated so much.

"Ajax," a small woman pleaded. She was kneeling in front of him, his body splayed out over a couch. One hand was holding his, the other a phone to her ear. "Ajax, please talk to me."

To give him credit, he looked like he was trying to communicate with him, but every time he opened his mouth, his stomach heaved and he would spew onto his shirt. Eventually, nothing was left to come back up, but he just heaved and writhed on the couch.

"Please, hurry, I don't know what happened. One second, he was eating, the next he was vomiting." A pause as she smoothed his hair off his forehead just for him to convulse again. "It was just a pastry or something. And he's still trying to throw up. He's not allergic to anything, please, just get here as soon as you can."

The pull was strong. A hum in the back of my mind that grew to a shriek. Even the warmth scorching my skin seemed mild in comparison. I knew that I could do nothing to aid Ajax. I knew that I couldn't say anything to comfort either party. But I still fought to stay. I still fought because I knew that this was monumental. Even if I didn't know why.

But my weakened mind was not strong enough.

Hands were holding my chin, cold as a winter's midnight. Black eyes staring at me, constellations glowing on purple skin. I blinked.

"Oh, thank god, I worried that you might not come back to me," she sighed, relief softening her ever so slightly. She released me, spinning away to stare in that magic mirror of hers, her black dress twirling so beautifully around her like it had been crafted by the gods just to fit her body. "We need to act fast."

"I think I'm fading," I blurted. "I can't stay focused for long anymore. Everything is falling apart. But I need to go back. Ajax is sick. I think it's important."

"Of course, it's important. It's the answer to everything!" she explained hurriedly. "It was not my wolves that did this. But it was my brothers and sisters. Of course it was them."

"He's going to die," I pressed. "And even if you have the answer to everything, I cannot move."

A single finger touched her mirror. And there was Ajax, shaking and sweating on the couch with Keiko bent over him. Vomit was still on him, his skin looking so grey it was almost like he was made of stone. The doctor has arrived and was firing a list of questions at the crying queen.

"She's a talented healer. He might be unwell, but he will not die. I would feel it if he were going to die. I am tethered to him more than any other werewolf in the world." Her words were rapid, her black eyes to intent it was almost frightening. "I need you here for now."

"No, please, let me go back."

"You will. But I need to ask you something first," she said.

I nodded once, short and firm.

"Do you believe that Ryder is the man for you? Do you think that I made the right choice mating you to him?"

My mouth opened and closed several times. Such a complex pair of questions. How was I supposed to separate my own feelings from the ones she had given me? How was I supposed to judge our relationship together without looking at it through rose tinted glassed that had been placed upon me? Right now, with a king vomiting, my mind debellated, and my world careening to destruction, she wanted me to consider my relationship with the man who had made me like this?

But even now, I wished he was holding my hand. I wished I could hear his laugh, the kind where his eyes crinkled at the corners and the sound filled the room. I wanted him standing behind me, a steady presence when my legs felt weak and I didn't know if I could trust myself.

I wanted to adopt a little cat with that man. I wanted to come home to him in the kitchen. I wanted to run baths for him when he complained that he was tired. Because he was a good man. Even when we had been struggling with our worlds clashing, he had taken care of me. even when I wanted to hate him, I sought his comfort. Regardless of the mate bond, he was all I had ever wanted, all I had ever needed, even when I didn't know it.

"I feel blessed to have been chosen for Ryder," I answered truthfully.

"As you should," she agreed. "But is he the man you are choosing to be with for the rest of your life?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation now. Whatever time I had left, I wanted to spend it with Ryder.

"Good. Now, I'm going to call him to you the only way that I can. I'm going to put everything I have into you two and turn him absolutely feral. You may hate me for some time, but it is the only power that I have to bring you two back together now."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my gut clenching.

"I'm going to put you through a heat so intense, so strong, that it will drive Ryder to tear apart the world for you," she murmured, turning back to me so she could touch my chin again. Using her thumb, she cocked my head to one side. "Such a pretty neck, too bad he's going to tear it up."

Before I could even part my lips to ask her what she meant, I was back. The doctor was there, bent over Ajax. She was murmuring to him softly. The bright sky that had been outside had forfeited to nighttime. Keiko was on my right, talking to me gently. Her face was pale and she looked like she was on the verge of tears, but apparently it was almost time for my bath now.

She thought that the bath would help my fever and serve as a distraction as the others helped her mate fight off the rest of it.

I knew that nothing would relieve me of this heat. 

~~~Question of the Day~~~

How do you feel about thrifting?

I personally have come to enjoy it. I won't lie, the smell can be off-putting, but I have had some really great finds!