Dream of Us

Dyani’s POV.

I fall asleep in Denali’s arms. It feels strange to call him Denali, yet the name is so familiar to me and suits him so much more than Adrian. I’m grateful that my shift doesn’t start until the afternoon at the restaurant. I booked the day off for the wedding yesterday, but it’s back to reality later.

“You are a celestial, that means you can harness power from astronomical events like eclipses and you can shift like a werewolf.”

“Shift? I can become a wolf?”

My mouth hangs open. Yesterday, I learned that I have awesome magical powers. Today, I learned that I can turn into a wolf.

This just keeps getting better and better!

“Yes, I want to take you out to the woods this morning and show you how to shift. There is still much more to tell you about.”

My brain is still recovering from yesterday’s overload. I keep thinking that I can’t take anymore and then I learn something new and it’s so cool that I forget how much it’s boggling my mind.

“Okay, I’m ready when you are.”

Denali drives me out to the nearest forest. On the way, I ask him questions about shifting and werewolves. It seems celestials are extensions of werewolves; made special by the fact we’re formed from stardust. It’s a little confusing because we still all had mothers who gave birth to us, so I don’t really know how the whole stardust thing works, but I’m willing to roll with it.

“You used to know Sian before your memories were taken,” Denali tells me.

“Sian?” I stutter. “Your cousin?”

He smiles knowingly. “She’s not my cousin. She’s an old friend of ours, she’s been watching over you for the last ten years.”

Wow.

“Remind me to thank her when I see her,” I mumble.

I’m eager to see Sian later, another person who can help give me an insight into the person I used to be. I want to know who Dyani really is, because all I have is this human ‘Annie’ who grew up in a foster home.

Denali leads me into the trees and strips out of his clothing. I do the same, feeling a lot less embarrassed now that he has seen me completely naked. My mind goes back to our night together and I have to remind myself to focus and listen to what he is saying.

Denali asks me to get down on my hands and knees. It is all very questionable at first, but I trust him and close my eyes. I picture myself changing like he tells me to. He warns me that it will hurt, however the first bolt of pain that fires down my spine makes me yelp. I’m mentally unprepared for the agonising pain that follows. Bones break and muscles twist into new positions. My body contorts and shakes. I’m covered in a thin layer of sweat and a thick layer of fur by the time the painful shift is over.

I lay on my side, breathing heavily on the dirt. Denali has shifted into his wolf. He lets out a low whine and nuzzles his snout against mine. His pink tongue comes out to lick my face and I find the strength to bat him away with my paw.

Wincing from the ache in my body, I get to my feet, well, paws. I shake out my fur on instinct, feeling my muscles respond. I stretch them out, relieving the ache.

Denali gestures his head towards the trees and breaks into a gentle jog. I test my new body with a few steps and then run to catch up with him as I find my balance. I fall into step beside him, slowing my pace so that we can run together. The wind feels good on my fur, it dries the sweat from my shift. I look around and marvel at how clearly I can see. It dawns on me that I’ve always had better sight, hearing, and a stronger sense of smell than those around me. I’ve been supernatural and not even known it.

I’m overwhelmed with gratitude as I look over at Denali. The man has shown me who I truly am. He spent years locked away because of me, and he put a lot of effort into tracking me down. He’s killed for me and has proven that he will do anything to keep me safe. My chest tightens at the thought of ever losing him; I can’t let that happen.

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“Hey, girl. Haven’t seen you in a while,” Gwen greets me.

“That’s because our shift patterns never match up!” I smile widely. “How are you doing?”

“All good, can’t complain. What about you? Sian tells me you’ve got a new fella in your life?”

“Yeah, he’s pretty special,” I smile secretively. “Where is Sian?”

“Over there, she’s setting tables for this evening.”

“Thanks. Catch up with you later?”

“You better come find me.”

I wave at Gwen and walk over to Sian. She looks up and smiles briefly, returning back to the cutlery she’s setting on the table. I step in front of her, blocking her way with my arms crossed over my chest.

“You’ve got some explaining to do,” I tell her, pretending to be serious.

“Oh? What’s going on?” She asks, looking equally confused and nervous.

“You lied about Denali being your cousin.”

She looks guilty for a moment. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know what else to describe him as, he told me to…wait, did you just call him Denali?”

The penny drops and I grin at her. “Denali told me everything, and I mean everything.”

She gasps and immediately, her eyes start to water. She clutches a napkin to her chest.

“Does this mean you know?”

“Call me Dyani from now on,” I reply.

She squeals happily and throws her arms around my neck. She hugs me tightly, I rub her back, laughing at her reaction.

“Can you remember anything?” She asks hurriedly, letting go of me.

“Not entirely. There’s odd flashes now and then, Denali is hoping they’ll come back to me in dreams. Just learning our real names has random flashes of times when I’ve used them in the past coming back to me.”

“Okay, let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

I think back to my conversation with Denali this morning. On our way back from the woods after our run, he told me more about my other mates. He calls the other two his brothers, although they’re not blood related. Calian and Nuka.

“Denali is going to teach me how to use my magic, and then we’re going to find Calian and Nuka.”

Her eyes widen. “Do you remember them at all?”

“I have memories of the four of us together,” I reply, feeling my cheeks heat up as I think of some of the more intimate memories I have. “I thought they were dreams for a long time.”

“Do you know where they’re being held?”

“Denali has tracked which parts of what countries they’re in, but we don’t have specific locations. He’s hoping the two of us will be strong enough to pinpoint where they’re being kept.”

“I’ll come with you,” she says in a rush. “Name the time and the place and I’ll be there, I’ll help you get them back.”

“Thank you, Sian.”

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“Hold my hands like this and close your eyes,” Denali guides me. “Do you feel that power running between us?”

“Yes,” I murmur, clinging onto the warmth that is travelling back and forth between us.

“Open your eyes and look.”

I do as he says and look down at our joined hands. Streaks of gold are dancing back and forth just beneath our skin. It’s like our blood vessels have turned yellow and orange, the colours of flames.

“What is that?” I whisper, expecting his answer to be ‘magic’.

“Star fire,” he answers. “It’s what celestials harness when they conjure together. It’s inside us, but it amplifies when combined with other celestials’ fire.”

“It’s incredible,” I murmur in awe, staring at the lightshow beneath our skin.

“It’s what we’re going to use to free your mates.”

“How do we do that?”

“When you concentrate, you can use the fire as a weapon.” Denali looks around the room, his eyes landing on a vase on my dining room table. “For example, that vase. You could use the star fire to evaporate the water in it and burn the flowers.”

“Could?” I ask.

“I don’t want to ruin your flowers,” he says sweetly.

“I don’t mind, they’re on their way out anyway. Can I give it a go?” I ask shyly.

“Of course.”

I turn my attention to the vase and imagine the flames inside us aiming towards it. A shriek leaves my lips as a ball of fire produced from our hands flies across the room and hits the vase. It shatters into large pieces and scatters across the tables. The flowers disappear into ash and the water evaporates, leaving a singed table and rising steam in its wake.

“Oops.”

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