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Her body drenched with sweat. Her screams
grew frantic. Thankfully, she was asleep and not in
danger. It was only a nightmare.
Kate, he shook her shoulders in an effort to
wake her.
Joey, she cried.
He s okay. Wake up, Katie.
By now, Joey stood at the door rubbing sleepy
eyes. What s the matter?
Richard glanced at the boy then turned back to
Kate and shook her again. Katie, wake up.
Her panicked eyes opened wide. Their
smoldering depth spooked him. It s okay, Joey is
right here.
I m here, Mommy. Joey moved toward the bed
and accepted her desperate hug.
Oh, Joey, thank God you re okay.
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Catherine Bybee
Did you have a bad dream?
Nervous, fearful laughter tumbled out of her
lips. The worse.
Do you want me to sleep in here?
No, it s okay. Mommy s okay. Kate met
Richard s eyes from over the top of Joey s ruffled
hair. Something had scared her half out of her skin.
You should get back to sleep.
Joey yawned, tugged out of his mother s arms,
and hobbled back out of the room.
Come on, let s get you back to bed. Richard
took him by the hand, led him to his room, and
tucked him in.
Is my mommy okay?
Richard smiled at the concerned expression on
the child s face. Yeah, she s fine. Just a bad dream.
I d have bad dreams too if I was hurt like her.
Joey s eyes started to close before Richard snuck
out of the room.
Richard returned to Kate s side and sat on the
edge of her bed. Some color had returned to her face,
but her breath was still rushed.
I m sorry I woke you.
Don t be. He took her hand in his. Do you
want to talk about it?
I don t know what s gotten into me. I never
have nightmares. Now I ve had two in a row, one
yesterday when you picked up Joey and now this.
Was it the same dream? Richard asked.
No. The first one I was being chased, by what I
don t know. But I knew if I stopped it would kill me.
She took a deep breath and lifted her chin. This one
was different.
How? She was probably experiencing some
type of posttraumatic stress from her ordeal. Still, he
couldn t help but wonder if maybe one of those
scratches were bites. Or that her dreams would clue
her into the changes that would happen if she had
been turned.
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Embracing the Wolf
It was just a stupid dream, it s nothing.
Sometimes talking about them helps. He didn t
know if that was true, but it sounded good.
Kate shrugged her shoulders. Joey was in our
apartment. There was a dog by him... she broke off.
Richard felt her pulse quicken as her hand squeezed
over his. The dog ripped into his throat. Then I
woke up.
Richard jaw clenched. Did the dog in your
dream resemble the one from the restaurant?
Not really. A pensive smile met him. I guess
it s normal to have a few nightmares after being
shot. Don t you think?
I m sure it is. But are they memories? Or
Premonitions?
You should get back to sleep, he said. He rose
to leave but her grip tightened.
Richard, umm... She caught her lower lip in
her teeth. Will you stay here until I fall asleep? I
know it s childish but...
Stop, you don t need to explain. In fact, he
couldn t think of a better place to be than by her
side.
He dimmed the light and lay beside her. To his
delight, she curled up next to him. Her cheek rested
on his chest. If she noticed that he still wore the
clothes he had left the house in hours before, she
didn t say.
She, on the other hand, wore a thin cotton
nightshirt. On its front, a teddy bear wore a hat,
fuzzy slippers, and stood holding a cup of coffee that
said I don t do mornings.
Funny, most of the women in his life wouldn t be
caught dead wearing something like that to bed.
Their usual attire purchased out of a fancy lingerie
magazine or store. Either that or they wore nothing
at all.
Some of the tension left her body. Her tremors
diminished and her breathing evened out. He
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Catherine Bybee
detected the fresh smell of strawberries and cream
from the shampoo she d used in her hair. He leaned
back and stroked the silky expanse of her tresses.
Her sigh sounded more like a purr.
Where do you live? she asked.
Below Malibu. I have a home on the beach.
Why didn t you take us there?
I told you. This house is set up with a security
system. Mine is less secluded.
Is that the only reason?
No. I also thought you d like the safety of other
people around.
Hmm...
Her lids fluttered shut, her breath evened to
deep silent waves.
Richard?
Yes, he whispered.
I d like to see your home.
And for reasons which eluded him, he could
hardly wait to show it to her.
****
She awoke to find herself alone. Sunlight poured
through the double-paned windows brightening the
room. Kate gave her arm a tentative move, testing it
to see how much pain it would give her.
Surprisingly, the throbbing had diminished to a
dull ache. She made her way to the private bathroom
and clicked on the light. Beautiful granite counter
tops adorned the furniture style vanity. Antique
bronze fixtures set the tone of the room. She ran her
hand along the sink, appreciating the understated
elegance. The Ritter home could easily feel stuffy if
only for its sheer size. Whoever decorated it took
away the museum feel by the simple touches that
were always at arms reach.
Kate regarded her reflection in the mirror and
groaned. Her hair flew wild in every direction, and
the dark circles under her eyes would take two
layers of liquid foundation to hide. What must he
50
Embracing the Wolf
think? Had she looked this bad last night when she
practically begged Richard to stay by her side to
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