The Afterlife

Chapter 3: Mysteries

The sun was setting, casting a lovely orange glow in the sky. Kaori was running through the forest, in wolf form again, when he saw Allie laying in the dirt peacefully, always so beautiful.

"Hey," he said awkwardly after he shifted back and put his pants back on. The attraction between them was always palpable, but he always felt in control. Still, her beauty was blinding. 

He didn't deserve such a creature. "Wanna watch the sunset?"

Allie threw a smile at him over her shoulder, causing Kaori to lose his breath for a moment when the sun shone off her dark hair. "Sure, mate."

"You know," said Allie. "Did I ever tell you why my parents named me Allie?"

Kaori shook his head, still feeling speechless.

"They wanted me to have so many allies," she said. "And besides, Ai and Li means love and strength. I don't really feel like I'm strong, but I do love my friends."

"Do you love me?" Kaori blurted out.

"You're my mate," she said. "What's not to love?"

As Kaori stared at her in awe, he watched as her golden brown hair became blood-red. "Allie!" he yelled. "You're bleeding!"

"I am?" asked Allie, smiling. "Oh, don't worry," she said, even as the blood seemed to come from her chest, now, too. It looked like she was disintegrating.

"No! Don't leave me! I love you! We need the doctor! Help! Help!" screamed Kaori."Nightmare detected. Alarm on. Please say 'Stop Alarm' to stop alarm." Beep, beep. "Nightmare detected. Alarm on." Beep, beep. Beep, beep.Beep, beep. "Please say 'Stop Alarm' to stop alarm."

Kaori blinked. And he groaned. It looked like he'd had another nightmare.

"Stop... al...a...rm..." he managed, and the smart home device in his room finally shut up.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes while chiding himself for doing so. The pack doctor had said that rubbing his eyes was going to make him need glasses in human form someday, but at this moment he didn't really care. He'd had another nightmare again, and he felt so frustrated. At this point, it almost seemed like he was meeting her only in dreams, and he really wanted to know if the version of her that his dream self imagined was really the person she was.

Why can't I do anything? Why? Why does she keep on dying? I miss her so much. I can feel her through our bond, but I don't know where she is. I just know that this time, she really is alive, even if her physical body is dead and buried.

After their last encounter while he was out shopping for new training supplies, he'd thought of quite a few theories as to what had actually happened. The first time he saw her die right in front of him, he thought she'd actually been dead. They'd buried her body, and he'd cried for days. It wasn't until recently that he'd been forced by the Alpha to stop moping and do something productive before he went feral from the loss of a mate, which had happened to some pack members before -- the grief consumed them.

But then she reappeared right in front of him. At first he'd thought it was so lucky for him to be blessed with a second-chance mate so soon, but he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw her in front of those houses, running away from hunters.

She exuded love and strength...

At least he finally knew her name. Allie. Love and strength; allies and partners. They were meant to be... now if only Kaori could figure out how to keep her alive. He had a different nightmare every time he tried to sleep, and so he'd had the pack technologists program the Alexa to wake him up when it realized he was having a nightmare, usually because he was screaming. The rings around his eyes were becoming increasingly noticeable, and he was grateful to the Alpha for having excused him from warrior duties lately so he could resolve the mystery of his beautiful mate.