Once I was dressed, I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and messaged Tyler to let him know I was up and feeling a bit better. I thanked him for being there for me yesterday. Then I followed my nose to the kitchen as the smell of pancakes wafted through the house.When I walked in, Ryder looked up at me. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "You doing okay?"I nodded. "Better than yesterday," I replied, which he seemed relieved to hear."Do you want to talk about it?" he offered tentatively.I shrugged, "Yeah, I think I do," I replied, surprising us both.Ryder spooned pancake batter into the pan as I took a seat at the kitchen island."So, what did you see?" I asked, wanting to get a better idea of his perspective so that I could compare it to my own.He hesitated before replying, probably concerned that delving into the vision again might be some kind of trigger for me."I just want to try and see whether we saw the same thing and whether we have the same interpretation of it,
I spent most of the day with my nose buried in a book, trying to lose myself in the pages and escape the persistent thoughts swirling in my mind.Ryder had gone to do some work in his studio. It kind of felt like he was keeping himself busy as a way of avoiding me. Maybe that's not the right way to phrase it... More like he was trying to give me space and was keeping himself busy in his studio as a means of distraction.I figured it was probably for the best. Things were better between us. We were civil with one another. But sometimes when I looked at him, Bailey's laugh rang through my head. It was my painful reminder that I couldn't trust him... I couldn't forgive him and pretend it never happened. We could coexist, but I couldn't see it going much further than that.Despite my efforts to focus on the story in front of me, my mind kept drifting back to the vision from the day before. Who was the man Ryder had seen? Was he the one keeping me there, or maybe he was my rescuer? If I co
The next few weeks blended together into a rather monotonous routine, each day indistinguishable from the last.Tyler spent his days as he usually did. Classes, physical training, and other pack business, while Ryder bounced between being my willing subject to test visions on, along with his own study and work schedule, and then also his therapy appointments.Initially, I had planned to practice daily, but it soon became apparent that that wasn't going to happen. It was so taxing that realistically, I couldn't manage more than two or three days a week without burning myself out.The sessions left me exhausted and often feeling sick, especially if I touched someone in the vision. After I figured that out I made a conscious effort to avoid any type of physical contact with the subjects in the visions, which seemed to help alleviate some of the aftereffects.I spent most of my days reading or making notes on the things I had learned in an effort to keep some kind of log for my own records
It had been almost a month since that terrifying vision where I saw myself pregnant and battered. Ryder and I had made significant progress with the visions, but spending so much time together was taking its toll on me and it was getting harder and harder to remember why I was holding a grudge against him.On weekends, I sometimes showed Tyler the progress I had made with the visions. We had a really rocky start, which was kind of my fault because I hadn't mentioned to him that when you tell yourself not to think about something, the possibility of the vision being about that thing seems to be exponentially higher. So when we found ourselves standing in his bedroom as him and Jess came barrelling in while making out. It was awkward, to say the least.He handled it really well though. As soon as he saw what was happening, he stood between me and what was going on in the vision behind him, covering my ears with his hands and just looking straight into my eyes. At first, he seemed panick
I turned to Tyler, "Are we having dinner with your parents tonight?""Yeah, they want to celebrate the new car," he replied.A knot tightened in my stomach as I remembered our last dinner together.Tyler noticed my apprehension. "My parents promised it wouldn’t be a repeat of last time."I grimaced, but nodded, figuring I didn't exactly have a choice either way."How about we go for a run?" he suggested, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me closer so that he could kiss my cheek."I already went for a run this morning," I revealed, dismissing the idea."Yeah, but not with me," he said, smiling.I hesitated, feeling guilty. "I want to go for a run with you, I really do. But I’m really excited about the car and I want to check what the requirements are for getting my license here," I explained.Tyler chuckled. "Am I getting second place to a car here?" he teased, shaking his head. "It is a purple car..." I said, trying to justify it.He sighed and nodded, pulling me in for
It was Friday morning, and I woke up to Tyler gently stroking my cheek."Morning," he whispered as he saw my eyes beginning to flutter open."Morning," I replied with a groggy smile."Are you ready to get up?" he asked.I groaned and said, "Five more minutes," nuzzling into him.He played with my hair as I pretended to be asleep. "You excited to get some answers today?" he asked, referring to my meeting with his tutor this morning."I’m excited but also nervous," I sighed, opening my eyes. "I really hope he can help me with some answers. That’s my biggest fear at this point, that I never understand why this is happening.""Sometimes things happen that we can’t explain," Tyler said supportively. "If that’s the case, then you need to find your own meaning in it," he encouraged me, probably wanting to prepare me for potential disappointment in the gentlest way possible.I supposed he was right, but it was still frustrating.Groaning, I got up and stretched my arms above my head. "I’m gon
After our shower, we climbed out, and Tyler headed back to his own room to get dressed. "You’d better hurry, or we’re going to be late," he called out."Worth it!" I replied with a smile as I pulled on my panties.We met up in the kitchen where Tyler was pouring coffee into travel mugs for us. He handed me a protein bar and a sealed cup. "Let’s go," he said gesturing with his head towards the door."What? No bacon? No eggs? No hash browns? What kind of service is this?" I teased.He chuckled as he held the front door open for me. "I’ll get you a complaint card to fill in.""So where are we going?" I asked as we settled into his car and buckled our seatbelts."The Fortress," Tyler replied, looking back over his shoulder as he reversed down the driveway."The Fortress?!" I asked in surprise.Did they have some kind of castle or stronghold here that I wasn't aware of?Tyler smiled, probably knowing that the name would raise an eyebrow. "It's like a training center. My dad carries out a
I hesitated, nervous that he was going to think I was insane, but I knew I had to tell him. I'd searched for answers myself, but had come out empty handed."I... um... Well, do you know anything about werewolves and visions?" I asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.Shane looked at me curiously, his brow furrowed with deep lines. "What kind of visions?" he probed."Oh, you know... just the standard kind. Just visions of the past... the future," I went on with a shrug, still trying to sound nonchalant.He chuckled a little at that. "The 'standard' kind? In my experience, I can't really say that werewolves having visions is standard.""Um..." I looked over at Tyler nervously, but he nodded, encouraging me to go on."Who is experiencing these visions?" Shane asked, throwing me a lifeline."Me..." I said, my voice soft and filled with uncertainty.Shane looked at me apprehensively. I could see his mind working as he tried to establish whether I was being serious or not. After a mom