Work seemed like a blur to Erin the next day because she spent the entire day looking forward to the moment when Devon would present her with the so-called dream stone with its supposed time travel powers.
Any normal person would have brushed off Devon’s wild tales about a powerful stone with supernatural powers, but being the curious person that she was, Erin couldn’t resist the opportunity to explore a new adventure, even an unbelievable one. Plus, there was the issue of Devon claiming to be her mate even though he was a complete stranger and they had never met before. Was that how it’s supposed to be? Shouldn’t her mate be someone she already knew? Weren’t they supposed to automatically fall in love or something?
At that last thought, Erin cringed a little. She had always found the whole falling in love thing a bit creepy because she was an independent woman, and the thought of having someone in her life whom she couldn’t live without made her nervous. That was why she’d been content with her relationship with Mike had been perfect – they had both liked each other deeply but when it was finally time to part ways, she didn’t feel emotionally crushed or heartbroken. Being single again after a long-term relationship had felt odd at first, but now she had grown used to her new status eventually. Imagine how hard it would have been to carry on with her life if she had been in love with her ex. She would have been miserable for months before finally recovering enough to face reality. She would have pined for Mike and wept while looking at old photos of them together. She would have struggled to move on with her life after months of mourning the loss of her lover. Who wanted to live that? Certainly not her.
But then again, she wasn’t completely averse to the possibility of falling in love with the right guy. She just didn’t want to have to fight battles first to get that love, like her cousin, Ryan, did before he finally ‘won’ his beautiful African wife, Farrah. Nor did she want to go through the torture of navigating real-life obstacle courses before getting rewarded with love, as it happened between her brother, Eric, and his wife, Aubrey. Erin wanted a simple, straightforward love, not the one that came with loads of pain and emotional baggage. She wanted a love that was mutual from the get-go; no games, no drama, no gut-wrenching tests to prove its authenticity – just simple, easy love. Was that too much to ask?
“Hey, you! It’s time to clock out,” Farida said cheerfully as she came into the back office where Erin was cataloging new pieces of artwork that got delivered to the gallery earlier in the day.
“Is it 5 p.m. already?” Erin asked and glanced at her wristwatch.
“Ten minutes past 5 p.m, actually,” replied Farida. “I think you should leave the rest of the cataloging for tomorrow.”
“Sure,” said Erin and she rose to her feet. “Do you know if Devon is still in his office?”
“Yeah. He’s always the last to leave. Do you want to see him?”
Erin didn’t know what Farida would think if she were to reveal that she had an interest in the mysterious dream stone and that Devon was even going to give her a rundown of the terms and conditions of using the stone. How laughable!
“Uh, yeah. I wanted to ask him some questions about that outstanding painting of his,” Erin lied.
“The Werewolf Fantasy?”
“Yes, that one.”
“I’m not sure you’ll get anything useful out of him about it though,” said Farida pessimistically. “For some reason, he is never forthcoming with information when it comes to that particular painting. I literally had to squeeze out the little bits of details that I got about it. He is unusually tight-lipped about the painting and I can’t figure out why. I know artists tend to be attached to their works, but there’s something curious about how protective Devon is about this one.”
Curious indeed, Erin thought. “Why didn’t he just take it home, then?”
Farida shrugged. “I have no clue, my dear. Well, I’m outta here. See you tomorrow.”
“Bye,” Erin bade her supervisor, and then she packed her laptop and notepads into her bag, ready to call it a day. She opened the desk drawer and retrieved the small pouch containing the dream stone. It didn’t weigh much, but it felt heavy at the same time. It was difficult to explain, but she could tell right now that there was more to this stone than meets the eye.
She stepped out of the tiny back office and turned off the lights before making the trip upstairs to the second floor of the gallery. The top gallery had a certain eerie vibe with an assortment of sculptures, metal works with their complex designs of intertwining limbs, abstract creations of wood, and acrylic busts. The place looked like a hub of unbridled creativity.
Devon’s office was at the end of the hall with glass walls and its door left wide open. From where she was standing, Erin could see him sitting at the huge desk, working on his computer. His hard face was grimly set in concentration as he tapped away on the keyboard, probably sending an email. For the first time since she met him yesterday, she finally got the chance to have a good look at him. His honey-colored hair with natural blond streaks stood out in beautiful disarray of short curls on his shapely head, his wide forehead was slightly furrowed at the center with his thick eyebrows slanting upward, making him look fierce. He had a straight aristocratic nose, sharp cheekbones, thin lips, and a square jaw. She wouldn’t call him handsome, but she couldn’t deny that he was an attractive man nonetheless.
“May I come in?” She asked when she reached the doorway.Devon looked up sharply as if stunned to know that there was someone else in the building with him at this time. “Oh, hi, Erin,” he said a bit absently. “Please, come in.”As she walked into the wide office, he stood up to greet her. “Good to see you again, Erin,” he said with a grin. “I completely forgot about our meeting.”“It’s not exactly a meeting,” she said self-consciously. “Just me coming to get some instructions on how to use the oh-so-powerful dream stone.”Devon chuckled and propped a hip on the edge of his desk. “I was even more skeptical about it when I first heard of it a few years ago. My cousin, Eli, had been in possession of it before then, but he’d never been curious enough to find out if the stone was what legends claimed it to be or not. I, on the other hand, decided to humor mys
Morning came faster than Erin had expected. It seemed as if she’d only closed her eyes for two seconds last night and when she opened them, it was morning. Yes, she’d had a dreamless sleep and now she was awake, feeling refreshed and ready to go to work and gloat at Devon about how she’d known all along that his stupid dream stone was nothing but an ordinary pebble that he’d probably picked up at a riverbank somewhere and transformed it into something special with his fake story about werewolf legends. What a tall glass of horseshit. And to think that she’d nearly fallen for it. Ha!With an unusual burst of energy, Erin sat up in bed and threw back the covers, but the moment her feet hit the floor, she knew something was wrong. Her energy levels immediately dropped down to zero as soon as she looked at her feet and saw them encased in a pair of primitive leather booties instead of the soft woolen socks she’d worn to bed last night. The tan
The man blinked and then his look of surprise was replaced with annoyance. “What do you mean? Is this a time to jest?”“I’m not jesting!” Erin snapped, equally annoyed. “I’m legit confused and I don’t even know where I am, or what this place is, or what the heck is going on here.”“Why do you speak so strangely?” Asked the man, mystified. “Are you unwell?”Erin let out a sigh of exasperation. For all his good looks, this man had nothing to offer in the way of intelligence. But… what if it wasn’t his fault that he didn’t understand her? What if the dream stone had truly transported her back in time and now she was in her past life just as she had thought about before she fell asleep last night? Could that explain her sudden understanding of the Athabascan language?No way! She thought, rejecting the possibility. Time travel wasn’t possible – forget
Her mother came into the room shortly after Danshak’s departure. Erin still hadn’t recovered from the shocking turn of events in the last couple of minutes since she woke up. Either someone was playing a cruel joke on her, or she was developing some sort of mental problem. Or she was truly in a different dimension, even though that was most likely impossible.“How are you, my dear child?” Her mother asked. In this era, Bernice Brown had waist-length hair, dressed in leather and fur clothing with a woolen quilt thrown around her shoulders. She even looked younger here than she did in the future, that is, if this was really the past.“Here, drink this. It will make you feel better,” she said and offered Erin a bowl of broth that didn’t smell so good.“Um, thank you, but I’m fine,” said Erin, trying not to wrinkle her nose at the unattractive smell wafting out of the bowl.Her mother smiled. “
Erin thought for a moment before speaking again. “Do I love Danshak?”“Well, from your behavior towards him since your betrothal, it does not seem as if you do. You have spoken harshly about him many times, but I believe that with time, you might grow to love him. Danshak is a good man and a strong werewolf, you are lucky to have him as your mate.”“He doesn’t seem to be fond of me either.”“I know, and that can change when both of you get to know more about one another,” said her mother, optimistically.“But if we don’t like each other, why did we agree to be mated?”“Well, that decision was not up to either of you. Your father saw an opportunity to become a member of Vak’s family and he took it. He may not be next in line to become the supreme leader after Vak is dead, but he has secured our family a spot in the ruling clan. There is no higher position for a werew
Erin thought for a moment before speaking again. “Do I love Danshak?” “Well, from your behavior towards him since your betrothal, it does not seem as if you do. You have spoken harshly about him many times, but I believe that with time, you might grow to love him. Danshak is a good man and a strong werewolf, you are lucky to have him as your mate.” “He doesn’t seem to be fond of me either.” “I know, and that can change when both of you get to know more about one another,” said her mother, optimistically. “But if we don’t like each other, why did we agree to be mated?” “Well, that decision was not up to either of you. Your father saw an opportunity to become a member of Vak’s family and he took it. He may not be next in line to become the supreme leader after Vak is dead, but he has secured our family a spot in the ruling clan. There is no higher position for a werewolf to attain than that.” This piece of information seemed even extra s
It was midday when her eyes finally fluttered open and she regained her consciousness. She could guess what time it was by the position of the sun, even though she couldn’t fathom how she knew that fact.“She is awake,” whispered a female voice beside Erin. She turned her head and came face to face with a younger version of her present-day/future sister-in-law, Aubrey Silver.“Aubrey, is that you?” Asked Erin.“Who do you speak of? You know that is not my name,” said the Aubrey lookalike. “Have you still not recovered?”“Don’t trouble her, Abna,” said Erin’s mother. She sat at the edge of the bed and placed a warm hand on her daughter’s forehead in a universal gesture of manually checking body temperature. “You do not have a fever, thank the gods. Your sister will go fetch you a bowl of food for you to eat. Perhaps it was hunger that made you faint.”Her
Abna stopped brushing her hair and returned the comb to the box, then she picked out a small stick from it and presented it to Erin. The thin stick was frayed on one end as if someone had been chewing on it.“What’s this for?” Erin asked.“Oh, please stop with the jesting now,” said Abna impatiently. “Clean your teeth quickly, so that we can go outside together to meet your in-laws. We cannot keep them waiting any longer.”“Yes, boss,” Erin muttered under her breath and stuck the strange little stick into her mouth. It tasted familiar although she knew for a fact that she had never used a chewing stick before in her life.A beautiful young woman entered the room with her hands clasped in front of her as if awaiting instructions from them.“Good morning, my ladies,” she greeted politely. “Your mother sent me to get your things for the trip.”“Good morning, Sei