His Lost Mate (A Steamy Paranormal Romance Novel) by Kathy Kulig

deep breath and his nostrils flared. “The great god of the rains is angry with our people.”
    Lauren, puzzled by this man and his statement, gently touched his arm and asked, “Muan?”
    His face softened and he nodded his head. “Our time is short.” He pounded his chest in mock bravado. “I am Muan, a great shaman. I serve Hunab Ku—the supreme creator, but I do not have the power to protect you.” Tears filled his eyes. “I can no longer secure your safety, Cimi. You must leave with Kayab.”
    Lauren stood with her mouth open and then smiled. “What a bizarre dream. It’s even more bizarre since I know I’m dreaming.”
    Muan ignored her comment. His expression seemed conflicted with love and sadness. He peered down the path, then raised his hand and called out, “Kayab, here!”
    Lauren saw a young man standing in the shadow of a massive mahogany tree. He held his head high. His hair gleamed like black obsidian and reached past his shoulders. A spear and square shield rested against the tree beside him.
    Then the scene shifted and Lauren found herself at a pond next to a waterfall. Muan was gone, but the man he called Kayab stood facing her. “I have a gift for you,” he said. He held a small object wrapped in a black cloth and tied with a vine of violet orchids. He took her hand and gently laid the package in her palm.
    Lauren stared at the gift for a moment, not sure what to do or say. An eerie sense of foreboding gnawed at her.
    She was about to ask him what it was, but a buzzing sound in the distance continued to get louder. The noise annoyed her, invading the serene sounds of the jungle. She glanced over her shoulder, and the jungle faded away into darkness.

Chapter 5
    Lauren blinked her eyes several times before her vision cleared. She was no longer in the jungle. She stared at her buzzing alarm clock—five forty-five a.m. Not again, she thought. The same dream had haunted her since she arrived in Guatemala a couple of weeks ago. It was very unsettling. She switched off the alarm and abruptly sat up in bed, scanning her room. Muan and Kayab were still fresh in her memory.
    She climbed out of bed and stepped out onto her balcony. Outside, the sky was streaked with shades of mauve and red as the sun conquered dawn. The dew in the trees and grass glistened in the early rays of light. She stretched her arms over her head, yawned and tried to shake off her bewildered thoughts. Weird dreams. Why was she having them almost every night? She couldn’t get the images out of her mind.
    * * *
    Later that morning, Lauren sipped steaming coffee in the dining room as she stared out the window that overlooked the small terrace. “Another restless night,” she muttered. She closed her eyes for a moment as images of Kayab and Muan paraded inside her head. Over the last couple of weeks, bits and pieces of the same dream invaded her nights, like chapters in a book read out of order and she woke every morning exhausted and troubled.
    Outside, the lake was smooth and glossy like marble. No ripples marred its surface. The leaves on the trees remained still. There wasn’t the hint of a breeze and the ceiling fans in the room did little to circulate the humid air. It would be a warm day out at the ruins. Bad weather had kept them close to the hotel for most of the week. Lauren had spent part of that time working on her thesis, but she was anxious to explore more of Tikal’s mysteries. Sitting around the hotel was driving her a little stir-crazy. She wanted to get to the dig and stop sightseeing if the government would ever give them permission.
    She’d had bizarre dreams before, never so realistic. Even stranger was dreaming while knowing she was dreaming. “Lucid dreams,” she said out loud. She tried to remember if she ever had one before.
    “What about lucid dreams?” Margaret sat down at the table.
    Lauren was startled out her deep thoughts. She stabbed at her eggs. “Oh, I had a very vivid dream last