Five Sparks To Light My Fire

Chapter 12

Dazed, I looked around me. Five minutes had passed since I came back, but my mind hadn't recovered yet. I couldn't remember anything from the dimension switch. And the weather seemed to be significantly cooler than before.

Indigo eyes. What do you want, baby...

"Rose? What happened?"

Nathan smiled at me, his blue eyes glinting under the sun. His styled blonde hair bounced slightly as he guided me through the doors, one arm on my waist.

"I wish I knew," I replied. Shaking my head, I scoffed. "Someone spent more time groming himself than a woman."

"You don't get to criticize me on a busy day," he retorted. "Do you know how many meetings I have to attend after a few hours?"

"My, it sure must be difficult to take up the position of the CEO of a multi-billion dollar franchise, not to mention all the pretty chicks that will be falling at your feet for the chance to experience a real life billionaire romance," I rolled my eyes with a snort.

"Lucky me, huh? He winked, flashing his drool-worthy dimples.

I smacked his arm with a giggle. Looping my hand around his toned biceps, I snuggled into him, seeking warmth from an underlying chill.

The Dimension Switch had me extremely unsettled. After a week of party planning and meetings during the day, and shifter trainings during the nights, today was supposed to be a day of relaxation. Yet, my mind was soured by an encounter I couldn't remember.

Or maybe, I didn't want to remember? I shuddered.

Nathan wrapped his arm around my shoulders and placed his chin on my head. "You okay? You seem slightly weirded out."

I nodded, deciding to speak to him later. "Let's share dinner tonight."

"Just like old times, huh?" Nathan consoled me with a hug.

"Yeah," I held back my tears. "This week has been the best. You were away for over a year. I missed my best friend."

He stiffened. His arms tightened their hold on me. "I apologise for avoiding home. I was dealing with my personal issues."

I composed myself with a firm nod.

I still remembered the cold night, when Nathan broke into the facility where I was imprisoned. Keith and Nathan had held my hand when I had no hope left to live. My dependence on these two men, a father and his son, ran deeper than blood ties, and prolonged separation from either of them brought up a sense of panic within me. PTSD, the doctor had said. I considered them my family, and would always be insecure of being abandoned.

Four years ago, Keith helped me change my name and get the required legal documents to enroll me into college under the identity of Rose Dawn. When Nathan was away on shifter duties, he would leave Aaron and Easton to protect me. That's how we had a bond close enough to form an involuntary mind link as a group. And when my friend from high school, Elisa Treast, followed me to enroll into the same college, she entered our bond.

The four of them were invincible forces to reckon with. None of the other students dared to oppose me with them by my side. They let me into his secrets and I let them into mine. They held me hand when I was weak, didn't judge what I went through.

The five of us worked hard together and completed a four year course within two and a half years. Elisa returned to her family, her clan, to work in her family's real estate business.

The same went for the rest, where Aaron and Easton returned to take over their family businesses while I followed Nathan to his home, where I was welcomed with warm hands into a family of powerful wolf shifters. Keith never made it official, but soon after the day he invited me into his home, word spread around his pack of my title as his goddaughter. Hence, Nathan, Hannah, and the rest of Keith Knight's children became my brethren.