On Wicked Ground (Solsti Prophecy Book 4) Read Free Page B

just figured we probably had a distant relative somewhere. I never thought that-that…” 
    Gunnar kissed the top of her head. “You just said that in dreams, you know certain things to be true. Even if they make no sense in real life.”
    Nicole nodded. Alina’s presence had been so strong, she’d wanted to reach into her dream and touch her. Chills ran down her arms because she’d had no doubt that Alina was alive. Now, crowded with her sisters and their grandparents in this familiar hallway, concrete facts and logical questions reared up. But try as they might, the dream-sparked ember of possibility refused to dim.
    “I feel her.” Gin placed a hand over her heart, and her words fanned that ember into a tiny flame. “I always have, in a way. Like she’s near, but never in the same building with me.” She sighed. “Guess that’s a crazy thing for a scientist to say.”
    “I think the definition of crazy has changed,” Brooke said.
    “But where would she be? Who took care of her?” Nicole shook her head. “I want to believe it but my brain can’t make sense of it.” She turned her head and breathed in the comforting scent of her man, whose love embraced her through their psychic bond as surely as his arms held her body. I don’t even know what to think , she told him through their connection.
    Then don’t think, love. What do your heart and instincts tell you?  He stroked her hair as she nuzzled his chest, drawing on his essence to settle her.
    Tears brimmed as she lifted her head to meet Gunnar’s crystal blue eyes. That she’s alive . One tiny droplet spilled over to trickle down her cheek, triggered by the words she could only form in her mind.
    Gunnar dipped his head to kiss her gently. That’s what your heart tells me too.
    “Let’s go downstairs and talk where we can all sit comfortably.” Ashina spoke above the chatter, her healer’s voice carrying a note of authority. “You girls all look pale.”
    Nicole nodded and let Gunnar tuck her close to his side. On autopilot, she made her way down the steps, heart pounding and hands shaking. Where is she? How is she alive? What happened to her? The questions ricocheted in her mind on a repeating loop, competing for space with memories that only Nicole had. Age five when Alina died, she was old enough to remember her tiny sister. She remembered Alina’s long stays in the hospital and seeing pictures of her lying in a child size bed with safety bars.
    The group filed down the stairs to the great room of the large brick mansion. Nicole bee-lined for her favorite spot on the leather sectional, but Gunnar picked her up and set her on his lap. “I need to hold you, baby. Your heart rate and your emotions are trying to out-hurdle each other.”
    Trembling, she melted against his six-and-a-half-foot frame while her sisters and their mates found places to sit. Ashina and her mate, Raniero, entered the room a second later with Rilan, the group’s Elder.
    “We told him you all had the same dream, but we didn’t go into detail,” Ashina said as she sat next to Raniero on one of the couches.
    “Tell me everything you saw.” Rilan perched on a leather armchair.
    Nicole, Brooke, and Gin all exchanged glances, then Brooke took a deep breath and narrated the images that would be forever burned in Nicole’s mind.
    When she finished, Rilan rubbed a hand over his jaw and looked at each sister in turn. After a minute he stood and paced to the tall windows that flanked a large stone fireplace. Hands behind his back, he stared silently out into the darkened yard.
    Nicole glanced up at Gunnar and then at Brooke. Her sister returned the gaze with a shrug.
    Seconds ticked by, heralded by the soft clicking of a mantle clock. Nicole wanted to jump out of her skin with anticipation. But her mind was still a jumble of conflicting emotions. What if Rilan announced, in his old and wise opinion, that it was simply a dream?
    “Was she alone?” he asked