My Not Yet Mate

Chapter 66

Lily

She jolted awake when the sound of an infant crying cut through her dreams. She sat straight up. Her heart was pounding and she blearily reached for the baby formula along with the bottle filled with water. She quickly made the bottle, before lifting her daughter out of the crib to feed her. She leaned down to rest her cheek on her forehead, breathing deep to calm the anxiety moving through her from the dream.

“Oh, Lucy. I wish things were different,” she whispered. “I wish we could be with Daddy and be a happy family:”

She scrubbed her face where the tears cascaded down her cheeks. She burped Lucy and got out of bed. She changed her, before walking out of her room, cradling her in her arms. She hurried down to Sasha’s room and knocked. She lifted Lucy to her face while she waited, murmuring softly to her. Sasha opened the door, rubbing her eyes.

“Lily? What’s wrong?”

Lily shifted nervously. “Can you watch Lucy? I need a break?”

Sasha took her. “Sure. Do you need to talk? Are you okay?”

Lily turned around and rushed back to her room, slamming the door behind her. She walked over to the art desk in the corner and pulled it up. She grabbed a large sketch book and tore a sheet out. She picked up her pencil and began to draw. Lukas’s face slowly came into view as she added more and more details. She picked up her colored pencils and began to shade and add color to his

face. She spent a lot of time perfecting his eyes before she stopped, satisfied. She used the blacks and greys to add highlights to the rest of his face, where she had left it colorless

When she was done, she carefully set it aside to get another paper out. She grabbed her mirror and began to sketch herself, adding the same amount of details and color to her own face. She stared at it for a long time, before putting the first sketch over top of it. She lined up the papers and tore them in hall. She walked to her dresser to grab a frame large enough to hold a full sheet of paper. She meticulously lined up half of her face with his on the back of the frame, before carefully setting the glass on top of it to hold it in place. She put the frame around it, before gently flipping it over to close

the back. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

She turned it back over to study it. His eye stared back at her and she touched his cheek, her heart pounding. She forced herself to move away to snag a piece of notebook paper. She sat down on her desk to scrawl a note.

asked

to tell you when I miss you. I hope this is enough!

She taped it to the back of the frame and hugged it to her chest. She stepped out onto her balcony and let Gemma’s wings come out. She climbed onto the railing and leapt into the sky, trusting Gemma not to let her fall. She flew over the territory, her wings flapping quickly. She checked her watch halfway there. 4:30 AM, just enough time to get there and leave before he woke up.

“Lily, where are you going?,” Sasha’s panicked voice asked through their link

1

“I’ll be back soon. I promise.”

She cut the link before Sasha could respond. She found herself lost in the dream as Gemma took them to Lukas’s castle. She hoped that what she had dreamed was true. She did not know if she could take it if it wasn’t. It had given her hope that everything would be okay eventually and that she could lean on him. She landed on his balcony, hiding in the shadows.

She peeked in the window and her heart pounded when he was easily seen in the bed. He shifted and she stepped back. She set the picture on a patio chair and movement inside the room made her stop moving. She looked through the window again and he was sitting up. He looked around the room, confused, before getting up. She gulped nervously as her chest constricted.

“Gemma.”

Gemma took over, to scramble over the balcony railing to hide beneath it. The door above them opened and the sound of deep inhales greeted their

“Lily,” he murmured.

She moved along the wall slowly to avoid detection. A shadow fell on the ground from the balcony.

The door closed and she crept out from under the balcony. She watched his room for a moment, but he had drawn his curtains. She knew he was giving her an out and she wanted nothing more than to go to him. She hesitated, considering her options for a moment, before taking off into the sky again. She heard him sigh and her heart broke more.

She hated every time she left him. She needed him and she knew it. She didn’t want to make excuses for herself, but she was scared. She loved that he respected her. Suddenly, a dragon appeared beside her and she dropped to the ground. She hid behind a tree as the other dragon

landed. It slowly shifted back and Lily uttered a cry of relief when the Goddess beckoned to her. She walked over to her and the Goddess pulled her into a hug.

“I want to help you, Lily. Please, let me.”

“Not yet. I want to do this by myself.”

“Let me show y

you how he dream walks. Let me teach you to control it. I know he came to you tonight.”

Lily eyed her. “I don’t think I can sleep anymore. I am too upset,” she said honestly.

The Goddess cupped her face, wiping a tear away with her thumb. “Let me come tonight and I will show you. Send Lucy hack to her other home and let

me come.”

–

She nodded. “Okay. She looked down. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything, my daughter.”

“The dream I had tonight. Was that true? What Lukas showed me?”

Her face was tipped up. “He has loved you since before he saw your face. He smelled you and you became his whole world. Trust in what he shows you, child. He can not lie to you. Not in your dreams.”

She nodded again. “Ok, but what if-”

“He cannot lie to you. Now, let me send you home. I have left a gift for you. Close your eyes.”

Lily closed her eyes and her body was pulled forward. Her feet lifted off of the ground and when she touched back down, she stumbled. She reached out and her hand managed to grasp onto something smooth. She opened her eyes and she found herself back in her bedroom. On her table there was a picture frame.

She walked over to it and picked it up. A beautiful glossy picture of her drawing of the three of them as a family was in it. The vivid colors and happiness in it made her smile as she ran her fingers over it. She carried it to her bedside table and set it up. She laid in her bed, staring at it. She wasn’t sure how well this was going to work, but she wanted to make real memories like the one portrayed in the picture. She closed her eyes and reached for Sasha’s link.

Aja, are you awake?”

“Yes, honey. Are you

back?

“Yes. Do you think the

Sasha?”

person who has kept Lucy will take her back for a while. There is something I need to do. Sasha was silent for a few minutes.

‘Do I need to be worried?”

Lily opened her eyes to look at the picture again. She smiled softly.

“No. I just want to focus on this, so we can be a family. He deserves everything he wants.”

“And what do you deserve, Lily?”

She closed her eyes again. “My happily ever after, Aja.‘