"You failed," an unfamiliar voice hisses from the darkness that surrounds us. "She trusted you and you let her down." The eerie feel to the clearing multiplies tenfold with the disembodied voice.

"Stop it!" Chris growls, lashing out at the darkness as he curls protectively over the body he clutches in his arms.

Instincts scream at me to run away but Selena's words echo in my mind.

'Remember who you are...'

I have dominion in the dreamspace, not whoever or whatever is poisoning this place. My trembling legs carry me cautiously towards Chris, each step gaining a fraction of confidence.

"She's dead because of you," the voice rasps, bouncing around the clearing.

"I tried," Chris whispers with pain and anguish in his voice like a knife to my gut.

"You failed! And now she's dead because of you!" Hisses the response.

"No!" Chris growls, lashing out once more. Eerie laughter echoes around us in sick delight, sending a shiver down my spine.

My heart stops as my eyes land on the woman in Chris' arms. For a moment I'm shaken, frozen in place, and staring down at myself. Gruesome wounds cover my body and lifeless eyes stare into the sky as he cradles the body carefully.

"It's not real," I choke out in a small broken voice that barely sounds like me.

Chris snarls and turns to face me, his face contorted in rage, eyes wide and red with tear streaked cheeks. Seeing him so broken crushes me, but I force myself to hold back and not rush to him.

His gaze snaps away from me and lowers back to the mangled woman in his arms. He's torn between wanting to believe that I'm standing here and fear that I'm just another trick.

"It's not real," I reiterate, more confidently and take another step forward.

"This is a trick," he growls, gently setting the body down and getting up. His shoulders roll forward, fingers curled into claws, and he takes a threatening step forward.

"Stop!" I order, pushing all of my energy into that one word. Lucas' warning about this world being real haunts me, leaving my only fear Chris.

"Have you come to torture me some more?" he sneers. "What way will you die this time? By a witch's curse? Drained by vampires? Slaughtered by rogues?!"

I take a step back from my feral mate, stunned by his words.

This time!? How long has this been going on?!

"Chris, who am I?" I ask, trying to get him to realize I'm real.

"Another dark figment of my imagination," he spits, narrowing his gaze at me. I use everything in me to keep from flinching back as he towers above me.

"No," I say, shaking my head. "You know I'm not-"

"Liar!" he growls, raising his hand and readying to strike. My body tenses for the impact but I hold my ground.

"Never," I whisper, raising my palm slowly to touch him. Chris flinches away then pauses and I take the chance to make contact. The moment my skin touches him, the sparks that only a mate can feel dance between us.

"How?" He gasps, dropping his fist as his shoulders slump. "I thought you were-"

"It's a trick," the corpse hisses, locking it's black eyes on us.

Anger like I never knew existed in me flares into existence at the perversions polluting my mate's mind. Channeling all of my emotions and energy, I feel the air around me begin to shimmer and crackle.

The mimic's confidence shatters as I confidently stride over to it. "Who are you," I growl, towering above it."

"Chris help me," it cries out in a voice identical to mine. "Please! You promised to protect me!"

Chris comes to stand beside me, balls his fists, and growls, "No."

The corpse's face, my face, face contorts, the features losing their coherence as its web of lies unravels. Inky pools that were its eyes begin to run down its cheeks and the mouth grows unnaturally wide.

I reach out for it, stripping away the layers to reveal the core. When I open my eyes, I recognize the Shadowman stands there, staring at me with those eerie, amber flecked, silver eyes.

"You're just full of surprises," he grates out, glaring at us.

"What do you want?" I snap, glaring back at him.

"I'll have it soon enough," he cryptically replies. "You're too late..."

"No I'm not," I reply defiantly, taking a step forward. "You haven't won yet!"

"Haven't I?" he replies with a grin that sends shivers down my spine.

"No. You said it yourself, I'm full of surprises," I taunt, trying to get him to reveal something.

My words strike a nerve, making his grin fall and gaze narrow. "Don't get too cocky yet girl, you don't have it all figured out."

"But I know something and it scares you..." I trail off. His silence is the only confirmation I need.

"What's one clueless girl going to accomplish when the entire royal pack couldn't last time?!" He sneers but I've caught on faster than him.

Last time? Bingo!

I can't suppress my dark smile as he plays into my hands, giving away small details that shed light on who he really is. His eyes go wide as he catches his fault too late.

"But I'm not alone," I say with a triumphant grin. "I'll never be alone again, but you?"

He hisses and steps back, clearly not having counted on this encounter nor it to go this way. As he loses control of the dream, the darkness seems to fade back into him, letting the moonlight bathe the clearing in it's light.

In a desperate last ditch attempt, the Shadowman lurches at me like he did during meditation, no doubt aiming to finish what he started. I close my eyes, focus on what I felt when Selena destroyed the memory fragment, and unleash my energy. He screeches and the air whooshes around us and when I open my eyes, there's just falling stardust as Chris blocks the light with his arm.

"What the hell was that?" He breathes, looking around, his body tense like he's readying for the next attack.

"Lord knows, but this isn't my first run in with him," I whisper. "We need to wake up now... I need to talk to Derek."

Chris reaches for me, his jaw opens as if he wants to say something but he hesitates before nodding. Once more, I close my eyes and push us out of the dreamscape and back to the waking world.

Waking up, I feel multiple people before they come into focus. Derek, Mack, Jude, and Willow crowd Chris' bed, staring with slack jaws, eagerly waiting for us to speak. I sit up, rub my eyes, trying to get my bearings and make sense of everything that just happened.

"You did it," Willow announces, grinning like a fool. Derek gives her a sideways look before locking his gaze on me.

"Did what?" he grumbles, narrowing his eyes.

"I might have bumped into the Shadowman again," I mumble, feeling my cheeks heat.

"Jezus Jess! What did I say?!" Derek snaps.

"Well, I didn't fucking know that was it!" I snap back.

Derek palms his forehead before pushing his hands over his face like he's physically pushing back his retort. "Are you okay?" he finally asks.

"Yeah," I reply, feeling not even a headache. My attention shifts to Chris, who is silent and staring at his hands like he thinks there's something in them. "How long?"

"I don't know," he says, just above a whisper. "It wasn't always so bad..."

"What wasn't so bad brother?" Derek asks, picking up on the seriousness of the moment.

"It started just after you came here, didn't it?" I press on, ignoring Derek.

Chris simply nods. "It was just memories from the war, sometimes the nightmares I had while you were gone, but then it changed. At first, it was just bad situations, but I could handle them... I always managed to keep you safe..." The haunted tone in his voice warns me just how deep this runs.

"Until you didn't," I fill in, remembering his anguished, broken state as he cradled my broken body.

"I tried so hard baby!" he pleads, locking his eyes on mine. "God, the things I've seen... I've lost you so many times and in so many ways." His voice breaks at the end and I can't bear his pain. I shif onto my knees infront of him, taking his head in my hands and lifting his gaze to mine.

"You haven't lost me," I promise, "Not yet at least, but there can't be any more secrets or -"

"Never! Baby I have no idea what came over me. I saw your dagger in that thing and I was terrified that my nightmare was coming true," he whispers, eyes locked on mine, begging me to believe him.

All I see is truth in them but I'm still torn.

His motives might have been from the heart but that doesn't erase what he did.

I rest my forehead on his, struggling to sort my feelings out. I want nothing more than to forget his outburst happened but part of me is scared of next time.

"So how do we get rid of this thing?" Derek asks, crossing his arms over his chest. His expression is guarded, making me wonder what he isn't saying but I don't want to bring it up now.

"He shouldn't be able to force his way back into Chris' mind, I expelled him like Selena did for me. She said the shadow is sneaking in because we let him in, he can't force his way in," I try to explain.

"So what? You clean up everyone, person by person? How is that safe?!" Derek growls.

"No," Willow comments after sitting quietly through this all. "Whatever it is, it's like a parasite... He hides, feeding off of the misery he inflicts. Why else torture Chris like that? Jess has gotten in his way and even the deepest ticks will show themselves under enough pressure."

"She's right," I agree. "For whatever reason, he seems to be able to call most things happening, but this is the second time I threw a wrench into his plan..."

Suddenly, a memory surfaces of Selena calling me a pebble, setting off chains of events that are hard to predict.

"What is it Princess?" Derek asks.

"Before I came to the palace for the first time, Lucian pulled me out of a nightmare and I spoke with Luca and Selena... She said I'm like a pebble in water, setting off ripples and changing those around me unpredictably," I mumble.

"Not surprising," Derek scoffs, earning an elbow in his ribs from Mack. "What?! Have you just met her? The woman is a magnet for trouble!"

"Hey Jackass, she said you were one too. Chris and Willow too," I dryly reply.

"I want to say I'm surprised," Mack says with a sigh. "But I can see that being the case, the lot of you are unpredictable."

"What else did she say?" Derek asks, dropping back into serious Guardian mode as all levity leaves his tone.

"Just that... and that she couldn't remember a time where more people like us were in play at once, let alone all in the same place."

"'Cause that's not ominous," Mack sasses, pursing her lips and giving Derek a knowing look.

"Maybe it's not all bad?" Willow muses. "Maybe we're needed? We've already proved what we can accomplish together... I'm not one to gamble, but even I wouldn't bet against us."

I can't help but smile at her. Her undying optimism is a fresh breath and the way she sees things is completely different from the rest of us, offering a unique perspective.

"I like your mindset," I admit, yawning. "I'm going with it 'till proved differently."

"You need to rest," Derek cuts in, giving me a stern look, before shifting his attention to Chris. "You too brother. We can talk more about this tomorrow."

I nod, feeling exhaustion wash over me once more now that the adrenaline is gone. Willow gives me a quick hug before following the two Guardians out of the room. Being alone with Chris once again leaves my mind once again heavy and conflicted.

I want to forgive him but...

"I can sleep on the couch," he offers as if he senses my train of thought.

The fact that he's offering me space after his reasons for his outburst are now clear while knowing I'm still struggling says a lot, but on the same token, my very being craves the comfort only he can provide.

"Stay," I whisper. "Just because I understand why, doesn't mean I can forget what you did... but I also need you. I hate this Chris."

"I know baby," he whispers, inching closer. "I can't say sorry enough, but I promise you, never again."

My chest tightens at his promise. His words and the way he announced my pregnancy hurt at the time, but the fear of next time was the real concern. There's no rational reason, no shred of proof I should believe he'll never betray me again, but I know he means every word.

I can't imagine what he's been dealing with in those dreams. If I had to watch him die over and over again no matter what I did... that kind of thing could break a person.

I slip out of bed only long enough to change into one of his T-shirts, my prefered nightgown, and crawl back in next to him. Chris relaxes the moment I settle into my spot against him. A moment later, his arms wrap around me, hugging me tight and in no time sleep starts to drag me down.

"I love you," is the last thing I hear before sleep claims me.