'I will come to you in your dreams.'
By Savanna Kougar
By Savanna Kougar
Sivesi strolled onto the small lake dock, mesmerized by the sun as it began slipping behind the distant mountains. The sun's blasting radiance vanished the peaks, a sight she'd never seen until this year, even growing up as a wilderness girl.
She'd repaired the old battered dock shortly after arriving at the remote forest spot. Sivesi had wanted to spend the summer connecting with Mother Earth, walking peacefully among the wild animals, as her priestess ancestresses had practiced in the Celtic lands.
Yielding to the ancient, hidden Scottish clan she belonged to, Sivesi had promised to choose a man for husband at the Autumnal Equinox, and take her place as a healer practitioner.
Also, as of late, she'd become the clan's liaison to Dante, the powerful alpha werewolf, who kept the forests and lands around Talbot's Peak patrolled and protected with his impressive team of friends and family -- just as she and her clan watched over, protected the lands they'd settled since 1205 A.D.
She sighed, the sound whispering inside the late afternoon breezes. Her heart turned heavy at the thought of choosing a man to wed. None pleased her.
All of them were good men, fearsome warriors of high intellect with poetic souls. Yet, an undefinable ache owned her heart. She wanted, needed something more.
Casting her glance downward at a disturbance in the lapping water, Sivesi stopped dead. Shock coiled like a cold snake in the pit of her stomach.
Could it be?
She blinked several times, hoping what she saw would disappear, or be explained in some mundane way -- even though Sivesi knew of their existence. After all, her ancestors had formed alliances with them during the Middle Ages.
But, no, her eyes didn't lie. The youngish mermaid appeared to be trapped in a discarded fishing net from a bygone era. Sivesi stared as the mermaid with the face of an angel gazed back.
A desperate appeal for help shone in her huge, aquamarine eyes, the color not so different from Sivesi's. Entranced, her feet glued to the slightly swaying dock, Sivesi wondered what the hell to do. Exactly.
Still owning some presence of mind, Sivesi studied how the mermaid was entangled in the net. Her blonde tresses were a twisted mass. However, the frayed ropes were twined tight around one of side of her tail fin, and her delicate shoulders were crisscrossed.
Without thought now, Sivesi pivoted hurrying to where she could jump off the dock. Landing on the pebble-littered ground, she waded into the lake's crystalline waters.
As she tried to decide what ropes to tackle first, she whipped her knife from its leather sheath. Since a wee one, her father had rightly trained her to carry one when in nature.
Fear contorted the mermaids face as Sivesi neared, and she tried to thrash free.
"No, no. It's to cut through the ropes. Not to harm you."
Who knew what the beautiful creature understood? There must have been some kind of understanding. She calmed immediately, her expression becoming serene, hopeful.
Careful to keep her footing, Sivesi eased toward the mermaid's silvery turquoise-colored tail. After a few moments of puzzling out the ropes, Sivesi cut through the one in the least dangerous position.
After that, she worked swiftly, well used to handling her knife. Once the mermaid wiggled her beautiful tail free, Sivesi waded close to her shoulders. Already, the little angel mermaid had partly maneuvered herself out of the crisscross of slimy ropes.
It was only a matter of a few quick cuts, and she undulated on her side, nearly free. Strands of her gorgeous thick hair had been enmeshed so deeply, Sivesi knew she would be dragging the net behind her.
"Wait! Let me..." Sivesi grabbed hold of her knotted tresses, and as the mermaid halted her movements, she sliced through the mat of rope and hair.
As fast as she could, Sivesi backed up to give her swimming room. But what met her gaze as she glanced up again startled her. No, stunned her to the core.
Sivesi stumbled almost falling on her butt. Her heart beat with a furious rhythm.
She stared at a merman. A beyond handsome man with blue-tinted, golden skin held the young mermaid in his embrace, against a chest so fine her hands ached to touch him.
"Uncle," the little mermaid cried out in an ancient language Sivesi knew.
Eyes the color of a stormy sea focused on her, and Sivesi sizzled as if an electrical current ran through her. 'What's your name?' formed on her lips, yet her tongue betrayed her.
'I will come to you in your dreams.' His voice filled her mind.
His presence, powerful as a god, breached her automatic mental defense. 'I will come. I promise, my red-haired warrioress.'
Sivesi felt her soul wrap around his words as he turned, and dived beneath the blue darkening water of early evening.
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My latest release is HER MIDNIGHT STARDUST COWBOYS. For the blurb and excerpts click on my page above.
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Wishing you shapeshifting love on the wild side…
Savanna
Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance
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