"Got it," Travis said, nodding.
"Any food restrictions?" Leif asked.
She nodded. "No sugar, of course, and the more fluids the better."
As the witches got started entertaining the children, Ellie settled down off to one side to go over each child's chart and read her grandmother's notes. Grant sat beside her, and Emeric took up a spot against the wall not too far away.
"That's going to take some getting used to."
"What?" Grant asked.
She pointed to the guard. "Having a bodyguard. Is it really necessary?"
Grant was quiet for a moment. "Did you dream before coming here?"
Ellie froze. "Why?"
"I did. So did Adriel and Declan, right before their mates arrived. They dreamed of their mate's deaths."
"But they're alive."
"Yes, but the general consensus is that being aware of what could happen helped to prevent them from dying."
Ellie noticed that Grant's hands twisted and flipped the air stone over and over. She reached over and held one of his hands in hers. His thumb rubbed circles over the top of her hand. "What did you see?" she asked. He shook his head. "Please tell me. Don't carry those images alone. I did dream, but I didn't really see anything. I was just afraid and overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness. I would wake up crying without knowing why."
"Death."
"What?"
"I think I saw death. Etain and I compared dreams; they were almost identical. In my dream, I saw a woman with creamy, pale skin and warm brown eyes drown in an ocean of black."
"I can't drown in a desert," she reminded him gently.
"No, but I don't think the darkness was water. I think it was death, and it swirled all around you."
Ellie looked out over the room. "You don't think..."
"I hope not."
She shook her head. "Let's talk about something else. Tell me about your parents."
His hand tightened. "There's not much to say. My father kicked me out of my pack when I was young, and I never tried to go back. You?"
"They were murdered while shifted in Africa. It's one of the few places where we can shift and not arouse suspicion. They were killed by poachers for their tusks."
"They didn't shift back?"
She shook her head. "Elephants were one of the first shifters known to remain in animal form after death."
"Were the poachers ever caught?"
"The official answer is no, but I think they were." Her eyes drifted to her grandmother. "One day, there was a hunter's rifle mounted over the fireplace, and she had a certain peace about her. My mother was her only child."
Grant's eyebrows rose. "Your gram kinda kicks ass."
She grinned. "She's yours now too."
"Oh yeah." He paused. "Where's your grandfather?"
Ellie hunched in on herself. "He died in a car accident thirty years ago. We were on our way home from picking up dinner for Gram; it was her night off. I was telling him about my research when the car beside us lost control and forced us off the road." She shuddered. "He was trapped, and we could hear the sirens. If he could have shifted he would have made it, but it would have exposed us to the humans, putting me at risk. So he slowly bled to death while the paramedics tried to get him out. He just wasn't strong enough to shift and heal then shift back to human." She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "Tragedy seems to haunt us. We're a matched pair, aren't we?" she asked feeling depressed.
He wrapped an arm around her, and she leaned into his body. "We can be. What do you see when you think of our future?"
She wiped her eyes. "You and gram. A home. Continuing my research to help children. What about your dreams?"
"You. Good food. And a warm, dry place to sleep."
"That's it?"
"It's all I've ever wanted."
A piece of her heart broke when she realized that two of the most important things to him were something to eat and someplace warm to sleep. What had happened to her mate in his past that the very basic things had been denied him?
She laid her head against him. "What about children?" She felt his body tense.
"What if I hurt them?"
"Grant, I've seen you with Benji. You're protective and nurturing. Any child would be lucky to have you as a father."
He shook his head. "The way I grew up, I don't know how to be gentle."
She was about to ask him what he meant when loud shouts were heard from inside the Garcia's home. Moments later, a group of people rushed into the courtyard. The men carried a small group of children, and a unit warrior carried an unconscious man.
Ellie and Grant scrambled to assist. Her grandmother immediately started to settle the children on spare cots so Ellie concentrated on the adult.