Heart of a Beast

Chapter 7 | Tiberius

Song: "Let Me Be Your Superhero" by Smash Into Pieces

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There was no time to explain.

He had fallen asleep after holding her sleeping form close, his heart, soul, and body aching for her.

In her dream, he saw her huddled in a dark expanse with just a bit of light illuminating her features. She curled up in a ball, her face buried in her knees as she held them tightly to her chest.

Words echoed in the empty void—hateful, derogatory words—in her own voice.

"Worthless..."

Worthless?

He fell to his knees before her, his heart aching that she would even think that about herself. Crouching down low, he pressed his nose against her white knuckles and whimpered.

When she looked up, the pain he felt reflected in those gorgeous blue-greens before him, drawing a whine from him as he licked her hand.

This is a dream, he reminded himself. He could do anything here. There was nothing to hold him back as his soul sought out hers.

Lowering his head as he squeezed his eyes shut, he imagined himself in his human form. When he opened them, he saw his fur recede into the skin of his arms and legs.

He forced himself to speak for the first time in a year, afraid he might not even recognize his own voice.

"Is that what you think, Mate?"

He sounded normal, no grizzly lisp or growl.

Encouraged, he looked up to see her staring at him, and he couldn't look away.

"You're not worthless. You are so much more than that."

She vanished before he had a chance to say more. Before he could cup her face in his palms. Before he could hold her in human arms. Before he could comfort, care, and explain everything as he stroked her hair with gentle fingers.

Instead, she jolted awake, thus waking him and he had to rush her to the river before her body seized up once more. Her wolf pressed against her skin, he could feel the heat of it, and the increased rhythm of her heartbeat.

He should stop holding her in this hot, humid weather. He wasn't helping her, but only adding more stress to her hypersensitive body.

But he couldn't help it. He longed to hold her. To take care of her, to comfort her, to tell her that everything would be okay.

He couldn't tell what she was thinking when she was cooling off in the river, and he didn't know how to communicate with her in the dark.

Did she know that was him in her dream and not merely her mind conjuring up images in her sleep?

It was common for the souls of mates to visit each other in dreams before sealing the matebond. It enabled them to break down walls and barriers that hindered their union—especially if they attempted to deny the matebond.

The matebond was a force all its own and it would push mates together if they tried to resist it.

Would she accept him as her mate having met him in a dream?

His thoughts circulated around that brief encounter and what she might be thinking now as he relaxed into the soothing touch of the river.

After a few minutes, his fur prickled as her eyes brushed over him. He turned to catch her staring, his heart skipping when she thanked him for taking care of her.