To be Claimed by Her

Bonus Chapter 11

The Thinning of the Veils

Part 1: Not So Sweet Dreams

Gabe's POV

She's fucking outdone herself again, I thought as I walked through the field adorned for Samhain. The center pyre had an arch directly lined up with it wrapped in fall foliage despite the fact that there really isn't fall in Tir Na Nog. She wanted everything to be perfect for Cailleach and Phil. Before she knew her true heritage, she'd always thought of the goddess as a surrogate mother, and the gods know all of us saw Phil as a father figure, especially Sean.

I watched as she flitted around the courtyard, fixing small things that weren't really out of place. Iseldir followed her around, just as stoic as his father even at twelve. He carried a checklist and marked off projects as she called them out. Her hair was tied up in a long braid that swayed across her hips when she walked. Despite our immortality, we had matured some with age, well except Loki. I swear that man has an eternal fountain of youth in his fucking interdimensional pocket, along with an endless supply of clothes.

I cleared my throat, "Ahem, Little Wolf."

She turned and smiled instantly. I held up two glasses of lemonade as she and Iseldir came closer. Placing a kiss on my cheek as she took the glass, she muttered, "Thank you M'anam."

"Thanks, Dad," Iseldir said, gulping his down quickly.

"Hey kiddo, why don't you go see if Sean and Phil need any help," I suggested. He flashed me a thankful look and dashed off, glass still in hand. I couldn't help but laugh. Eveleen had a slight frown that I kissed. "What's wrong, love?"

"I just feel like something's wrong," she muttered.

I took her hand and set the glass down, leading her to a small clearing filled with soft grass. We sat down and I pulled her against my chest. "Talk to me. What has you going so overboard with this handfasting? Is it because it's Cailleach?"

She sighed, "I really don't know. There's this gnawing feeling in my gut that something just isn't right. I mean, it's not like a part of the decorations are missing, it's like something is coming. Something I can't stop and we can't see."

I turned her toward me slightly, "Is it the same feeling you got before Kaylie showed up on the mission with Marc?" Her eyes went wide, as realization set in, and she nodded wordlessly. "Okay, this is something we need to talk with the others about. We can't ignore your intuition, little wolf. It's never steered us wrong yet." I helped her up and we headed back to the main house as I sent a message to the others.

Hey, little wolf has a bad feeling about something bad coming - as in something bad like when Kaylie showed up. Everyone meet in the study so we can talk.

I received a round of responses as I held her hand. She stayed completely silent which was worrisome in itself. I pulled her closer, wrapping my arm around her shoulder, "Hey, it will be okay," I tried to convince her as I kissed her temple.

Marc rushed toward her when we reached the house, "What happened? Did you see Kaylie?"

They walked toward a sofa and sat down as she explained, "No I haven't seen her or anyone for that matter. Well, maybe that's not really true. I don't know. It's like little flashes of things in my dreams." Her forehead scrunched like she was trying to recall something just beyond her grasp. "A flash of gold, a deep voice, but I can't understand what it says. Then I get the feeling like someone is watching me, watching us." She shivered as Marc pulled her closer to him.

Silas and Axel knelt close to them, "Is there anything else - no matter how random, you can remember from your dreams, Serina?" Silas asked her, his hand running up and down her arm.