Wolf Dream by M.R. Polish

“I can’t tell you all my secrets. It wouldn’t be any fun if you knew everything.”
    Luna’s d eep growl rumbled inside of me, but she never came. My heart sped up. Where was she? Why wasn’t she standing next to me? Something was definitely wrong. I whispered Luna’s name, fearing the worst for her safety.
    “Your wolf can’t help you here. Jus t like every other dream you’ve had, but this time it’s just you and me.”
    I flinched. What was she talking about?
    “So you haven’t figured it out yet, huh?”
    “What are you talking about?”
    The heel of Meadow’s high-heeled boots clicked on the tiled floor as she stood up and paced in front of me. “All these years I thought you were smarter than this.” She stopped walking to look at me. I almost thought I saw remorse in her eyes, but she glanced away too soon for me to look into it any further.
    “Esmerelda, every time you fall asleep Nicholas can find you. One of his great abilities is control of the spirit. All he has to do is concentrate on your spirit. When you fall asleep, you keep letting your guard down, giving him every chance to slip in your dreams. It was so nice of Julie to use a sleep spell on you to let us know where you were. Without the spell I wouldn’t be able to enter your dreams. I don’t have the full strength of magic that I used to have.”
    She spun around with her arms out. “And now here we are. In your dream.” She stopped and stared at me ; the copper coloring in her eyes glistened, looking brighter than normal.
    “What? No. You’re lying, I got off the plane with Ian.” I glanced away , shaking my head.
    “Really? Then why is no one here?”
    I spun around. It couldn’t be true. Could it? Luna. Where was Luna? “Luna, can you hear me? Answer me!” My breathing quickened when I didn’t hear her respond. I was alone—alone with Meadow. “What did you do?” My heart raced, and I felt sick.
    “Me?” She splayed her hand over her chest. “I didn’t do anything. Nicholas sent me here to check up on you, make sure that you’ve been sleeping well, and to see if you’ve missed seeing him in your dreams the last couple of nights. Don’t worry, sweetie, I’m sure you will see him again soon enough. He’s about to make a deal that will change everything.”
    Everything inside me screamed to be released. Without another thought, I raised my hand and a red ball of energy shot out at Meadow. It went right through her, and she laughed. The eerie sound echoed off the restroom walls. “You can’t hurt me here, just like I can’t do anything to you. I told you, we’re meeting in your sleep.”
    If what she said was true, then I needed to wake up—fast. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block her out. I could feel the lighter atmosphere of reality form around me and I gasped as I shot straight up and looked around. My heart raced so fast it ached in my chest and up through my neck. My breath came in short pants which I was unable to slow down.
    Ian was next to me and we were still on the plane. He reached over and touched my leg. “You okay?”
    I jerked my attention to him and shook my head. No, I was definitely not okay. My whole body began to shake. Images of Meadow’s eyes and the restroom flashed through my mind. Wrapping my arms around my middle I rocked back and forth as I concentrated on calming down. Ian placed his hand on my back, giving me the warmth and comfort that I so desperately needed.
    Only a fter I was finally able to take long steady breathes did I stop rocking. I still felt a cold chill that raced over my skin, but I sat up without freaking out anymore.
    I ran my hands over my face, wiping away all my tears, and cringed as I wiped off a line of almost-dried drool that must have come out while I slept. I glanced at Ian’s leg, where a small wet circle proved that I had, indeed, drooled all over him. Could I just die from embarrassment now? What else could go wrong?
    I sat up a little more to