Destiny's Wrath (Destiny Series - Book 3) by Straight, Nancy (read full novel .txt) 📗

We walked into a clearing, the night-washed sky revealing a cabin that looked to be long forgotten. I stared at the lonely cabin for a while, and I looked at Max standing in the silvery light of the moon. The lonely cabin’s mortar had long since crumbled away revealing the thick logs resting on top of one another. The roof, in places, was gone, in others was caved in. Something about this cabin was enchanting, begging me to come closer.

I only wanted Max, to be held by him, and for him to tell me how much he loved me. His eyes were heavy as they looked down into mine. He cupped my face in both his hands. I felt his lips press firmly onto mine as his body pressed against me.

“I love you, Lauren. For the first time since we met, I feel like I get to keep you, like nothing in the universe could rip you away from me.”

I felt the same, “It’s finally just us, the way you told me we would be together.”

Max shook his head and grinned, “You always say that. You’ve told me lots of times that I came to you in a dream, but you have never really told me about the dream.”

Chapter 25

I had shared so much of my life with Max that it never occurred to me that I hadn’t told him about the dream, where he came to me and told me he was my destiny, years before I ever met him. We both sat down on a fallen tree outside the cabin, and I shared the dream that had transformed my life.

“The first time I had the dream, it was one of those nights where the night’s illumination was so bright that the moon actually cast shadows – like tonight. I was having trouble getting to sleep, so I just kept staring out the window to see why everything was so quiet. There were no cars, no people, no barking dogs: it was as if the entire town were sleeping.

Eventually, I went to my bed and lay down. When I did, I glanced back near the window I had just looked out and saw a person sitting in my chair in the corner of my room. I was startled at first; I didn’t dare turn on the light because I thought the person in the chair was a stalker who had broken into the house or something.

After a minute or two, I heard the guy say, ‘Lauren, why are you getting all worked up?’ I didn’t say anything. He repeated himself, ‘Lau-ar-ren,’ dragging out the sound of my name, and I started to really get scared. ‘Come on, settle down. You’re going to give yourself an aneurism.’ I could see his face clearly. The stranger was you. I asked, ‘How do you know me?’ You didn’t answer me at first, so I asked, ‘What do you want?’

Then you told me, ‘Lauren, relax, I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to talk. Hear me out and I’ll leave.’

I was still thinking you were some sort of a stalker, so I tried to barter with you. I’m sure I said something lame like, ‘If you leave now, I won’t call the police. Just go, and we’ll pretend this never happened.’

Your voice got a little more stern when you told me to just calm down. By then I was still scared, but I didn’t feel like I was in any real danger, so I said, ‘Okay, I’m calm. What’s so important for you to tell me, that you are only able to share it with me in the middle of the night? I’m listening.’

I was still a little preoccupied, not sure why I was talking to a stranger in the middle of the night in my bedroom. I made eye contact; that was when I saw your eyes for the first time. Realistically you were all the way on the other side of the room, but your green eyes with brown flecks in them were just as clear that night as they are to me sitting by you tonight. You asked, ‘Lauren, do you remember what we were talking about last time? . . . Courage. Have you been working on that one?’

I didn’t even understand your question, so I asked, ‘What? Courage. What do you mean have I been working on that one?’ That’s when I got the bright idea that the conversation wasn’t really taking place, that I was asleep and having a dream, so I stepped into smart-aleck mode. ‘Courage, hmmm…Nope, can’t think of anything courageous I’ve done recently, other than hanging out with a stranger in my room in the middle of the night. I am, however, open to suggestions if you think I should bum rush you or something?’”

Max laughed out loud, “Really? You offered to tackle me? How did I take that?”

“Pretty well. You gave me an odd look, and said, ‘A stranger?’ You looked baffled, which again made me think that this was a dream. The look you gave me made my hair stand on end, which is never a good sign. I finally answered, ‘Yes, a stranger. You act like I should recognize you. Should I?’

You laughed at me, not like a little chuckle, but a real belly-laugh, and said, ‘Well, Lauren, it’s nice to meet you. I’m your destiny.’”

Max squeezed my hand and smiled, “No way, I really just came right out and told you I was your destiny?”

“Yep. You seemed to be enjoying yourself. Then you went into a really long speech. I had the dream so many times I know the whole speech by heart, ‘We’ve been meeting this way for years; it always amuses me how quickly you forget. I should have realized we would have to play twenty questions before we could continue. So, do you