Their Beloved Mate

Wake Up, Tazanna!

Tazanna shot to her feet and looked around the room. Finding it empty, she groaned and threw her head back. "You are finally losing it, girl!" she muttered to herself as she thought of the deep velvety voice that spoke to her through her mind. For some reason, the voice sounded so much clearer today, so much closer as if the person was standing next to her. "Stay away from my head!" She shouted to the empty room, looking around and waiting for a reply that did not come.

"I am not even asleep and already I am hearing his bloody voice," she muttered as she sat down and reached for her beer. It had cooled down a bit, to just the way she loved it.

Taking a huge gulp, she tried to remember what the man looked like. She had seen him in her dreams so many times, he always made his presence known. Each night for the past month, he made it his mission to always get into her dreams, no matter how hard she didn't want to dream about him, he was always present. It was so hard to explain, because sometimes it felt like he was controlling her dreams, that he wanted her to see what he wanted, hear what he had to say, all of which she forgot in the morning. What she did know was that it was the same man, each time. No matter what she did, it did not seem to help block him from her mind. The other was a quiet presence.

And every morning she woke up with a pounding headache, and nothing or no one to blame except that deep velvety voice.

Draining her beer in a few gulps, she walked to the fridge and got another one, in a bid to grow so tired that she fell asleep without hearing the voice.

All of a sudden, there was laughter in her head and it wasn't hers. This time it was so clear. Her eyes widened as she realized that she could hear his voice without being asleep.

"Hello?" Tazanna called out aloud. She looked around the room, trying to find the man yet knowing it was all in her head. "This is ridiculous. An imaginary voice has me talking to myself," she mumbled as she turned around and made her way up the stairs. She needed to sleep. She walked into her room, removed the dress she had worn, and threw herself on the bed in only her underwear.

Even though she had feared it, sleep came so easily to her.

The dream started as it always did.

Tazanna was dressed in a white flowy dress, walking through the meadow, surrounded by white flowers. Her hair was blowing behind her as her hands outstretched, gently going over the long flowers. She turned, a huge smile on her face as she noticed the two men dressed in black following her slowly. All of a sudden, she fell. With a gasp she cringed her eyes, readying herself for the impact on the hard ground. But nothing happened. She opened one eye slowly, only to come face to face with grey eyes with a red circle around the pupil gazing at her.

"I've got you, beloved." That deep velvety voice said with a trace of humor.

Tazanna looked over the man's shoulder, to the other who was watching them with a scowl on his face, his usually dark eyes swirling with gold.

Tazanna righted herself, only to end up in another place. This time it was a huge room with hanging crystal chandeliers and huge windows that brought in the sunlight. She could see ice-covered mountains, but it was so warm in the room. Again, she was dressed in a deep red dress that reached her feet. Just like in the meadow, she turned around, seeing the two men following her as before. One had a scowl on his face while the other had an indulgent smile on his face. Just as she was about to turn and face her front, cold arms went around her, holding her captive. She tried to struggle but she felt paralyzed, her voice seemed to be caught in her throat. Her eyes searched for the two men who were always there to help her but she couldn't see them. She thrashed around, trying to dislodge herself from the arms that were holding her, but she couldn't. There was a distorted voice, she knew it was saying something but she couldn't make out the words. She felt a cold shiver go down her spine. For some reason, she knew this person was meant to hurt her. She closed her eyes, hoping that she could disappear. From afar she could hear her name being called, the urgency in it making her try even harder to break free. With strength that she didn't know she possessed, she broke free.