Chapter 51

Wyatt

The scent of swamp, darkness, and night-blooming jasmine invaded me. My eyes keenly navigated the landscapes of my dreams. An empyrean light moved through shadow and I, The Beast, sought out its trajectory and moved within the veins of the swamp to meet it at its destination. I sought that which should be part of me.

There she was stepping across roots and across lily pads as if she were little more than the light she emitted. Bri, no longer rail thin, but curvy with full hips and breasts as her sundress swayed with her movement, strode with slight confident steps until she stopped staring into pools of water. Three intertwined, raised circles made of root and decay and framed in duckweed were illuminated by her. She stepped on a root that bordered one of the mysterious pools and dipped her toe in. Her eyes met mine and then she jumped. As her head passed the surface, panic struck.

I woke up wrapping myself around her, her heartbeat spiking in surprise but steady, reminding me