The woman who had introduced herself as Rheia Bradley sat beside the one she knew to be Colton. He was the fun-loving one who was always playing pranks. It was for their daughter that the men had been in the store that night buying pull ups.
The third woman was Elizabeth Monroe. She was married to Gavriel Ambrosios, the handsome, dark haired man. She, Rheia, Meryn, and Colton, plus an SUV full of men she didn't know had parked outside of her work this morning and turned her world upside down. She had run to her boss, Bart, and begged to leave early. Of course, the older man said yes; he hardly ever told her no. Like Aiden, he was a complete softie. Without a thought for her own safety, she had jumped into their SUV and returned with them to the place almost everyone in town knew existed but never dared to try and find.
Six small words had changed everything.
"Keelan is hurt and needs you."
Anne looked around the room. "Where is he? Where's Keelan? What's happened to him?"
Elizabeth, or as she liked to be called, Beth, pointed to the sofa. "It might be best if you sit down."
Anne looked around the room and saw their grave expressions. She sat down and folded her hands in her lap. "Well?"
Aiden began pacing. "You see, Anne, there are things in this world that not everyone knows about. Special things that can sometimes be scary but mostly aren't..." He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck.
Meryn looked at her husband. "You suck at this," she said flatly.
Aiden turned and glared at her. "The last person I tried to explain all this to knocked me unconscious."
"Big baby." Meryn rolled her eyes.
Anne looked at Aiden. "Are you okay? Concussions can be tricky."
Aiden exhaled and pointed at his tiny wife. "She did it with the deck of my toilet about four months ago. I'm fine now."
Meryn held up both arms and acted like she was flexing. "KO'd, first try."
Anne looked at her confused. "Congratulations?"
Aiden turned to Beth. "Maybe you should try."
Beth nodded and turned to her. "Anne, what do you know about the paranormal?"
"Do you mean like ghosts?"
Beth smiled gently. "Not exactly."
"Oh for crying out loud! Meryn two-point-oh will be here before you tell her." Meryn turned to her. "Shape shifters, witches, fae, and vampires are real."
Aiden buried his face in his hands, and the men groaned.
Anne looked around the room. "I know."
Everyone froze. Aiden looked up. "What?"
Anne smiled at him. "You don't remember me, do you?"
Meryn's eyes narrowed dangerously as she looked up at her husband. "What does she mean?"
Aiden, eyes wide, shook his head. "No idea."
Anne chuckled. "Not like that, Meryn. I was about six when I met Aiden the first time, though I didn't know his name then. I was in town riding the new bike my parents bought me, when a man tried to lure me into the alley with candy. Of course I knew better than to go with him. When he got desperate, he tried to pull me off the bike, pretending like he was my father." She smiled up at Aiden. "That's when you came along. You plucked me from his hands, and he tried to run. You simply picked up my bike and chucked it at him like a Frisbee. You made sure I was okay and left. The police came and arrested him. I remember my parents were mad at first about my bike being banged up, but when they found out what happened, you were in their prayers that night. A lot of people in town know something goes on out here."
"What do you mean, they know?" Gavriel asked, sitting forward.
Anne smiled around the room. "We're not dumb, you know. None of you age. The true locals, the ones who have been here for generations, know something is in these mountains, but we don't say anything, because you keep us safe."
"Wait. Bart knows?" Aiden asked.
She nodded. "I don't think he knows exactly what you are, just that you're something different. He was very disappointed today when he found out that the women wouldn't be staying for a chat. He wanted to talk to the 'feisty' one."
Meryn glared up at Aiden. "Why do I get the impression he was talking about me?"
Aiden kissed her forehead. "It's a compliment, baby."
Anne looked closely at the men and pointed to Gavriel. "Vampire?" He nodded. She turned and looked at Darian. "Fae?"
He smiled. "Good job."
Colton waved his hand. "What about me?"
Anne thought about it a moment. "Dog?"
Meryn burst into giggles.
Colton frowned at her. "I am not a dog." Pouting, he looked over at Anne. "Why did you guess that?"
Anne gave a half shrug. "Because you're so open and friendly. You were waving your hand so eagerly, it reminded me of my friend's dog wagging his tail."
Her response had all the men cracking up. Colton crossed his arms. "That's not fair. She guessed Gavriel and Darian right."
Meryn was giggling and pointed at him. "She got you right, too, admit it."
Colton sighed dramatically and winked at her, letting her know he wasn't really mad. "I'm a wolf shifter, so half right."
Meryn leaned in on her elbows. She pointed over her shoulder at her husband. "What about him?"
"Oh, he's easy. Bear."
Meryn's eyes widened. "How'd you know that?"
Anne looked Aiden up and down. "He's huge and kinda growly like a bear, but nice and gentle like a teddy bear. Plus, Bart always complains that Aiden eats all the honey buns as he walks through the store."
Aiden stared, his mouth wide open. He turned to Gavriel. "Did you know we were so easy to identify?"
Gavriel brought a hand up to cover his mouth. "I think you are a rare exception."
Anne remembered the reason why she was there. "That leaves witch. That's Keelan isn't it? What's happened to him?"
Colton was about to respond when Rheia held up her hand. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask. Are you sure you're okay? You're taking all of this extremely well."
Anne shrugged. "I'm a nurse; not much fazes me anymore. I've known since I was a child that something strange was in these mountains. Personally, I like the idea of vampires and shifter dogs as opposed to the alien invasion theory I heard at the feed and seed last week."
"I am not a dog!" Colton wagged a finger at her.
Rheia nodded. "You had me convinced at nurse."
"You're the doctor aren't you?" Anne asked, feeling a special kinship with the woman.
Rheia nodded and the twinkle in her eye told Anne she felt the same way.
Aiden cleared his throat. "Rheia said that nurses are like the human equivalent to military sergeants in the medical field."
Anne nodded. "That's about right."
"If that's the case, then I'm going to lay it out straight for you." Aiden took a deep breath. "Keelan is a witch. One of his gifts is premonition. In his dreams, he saw a scenario play out where all of us died. To prevent that from happening, he sacrificed himself to save us."
Anne sucked in a breath, and the room started to close in on her. "I thought you said he needed my help. I can't help him if he's dead!" She had finally found someone she cared about; she couldn't lose him, too!
Aiden was suddenly kneeling down in front of her, and he took her hands in his. There were tears in his eyes. "He's not dead, but he's not alive, either. The spell he protected us from stripped his soul from his body. My brother is also a doctor. He said we can keep Keelan's body alive for quite some time while we look for his soul, but it will be hard work. He'll need a lot of care."
Anne put the pieces together. "That's why you came to get me? Because I'm a nurse?" She shook her head. "There have to be hundreds of nurses out there who are better qualified. Why me?"
Aiden squeezed her hands. "Because, after meeting you, Keelan told us you were his mate, his destined partner."
Anne felt like all the air in the room was disappearing. She had recognized Keelan the second she saw him. She had been dreaming of him for weeks, but he had never said anything to her.
"You're telling me that the one man I am destined to be with has had his soul stolen and could possibly die?" she asked quietly, staring down at the floor.
"Yes," Aiden replied softly.
Anne had just enough time to turn to the one person in the room who could help her. Rheia's look of panic was the last thing she saw before she blacked out.
*****
"It wasn't my revelation that made her pass out; it was yours," she heard Meryn say.
"She's coming to."
Anne tried to open her eyes, but something cold and wet was lying across her face. She reached up and removed the washcloth. She turned to Rheia who was sitting on the floor next to her.
"I guess I'm not as bulletproof as I thought," she admitted, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Rheia shook her head. "You are doing remarkably well. Don't sell yourself short."
She sat up and noticed the men around her flinched and reached out at the same time as if to steady her. She held up a hand. "I'm okay. I just need a moment. Tell me about mates while I remember how to breathe."
Colton began to speak and Meryn elbowed him aside. "She seems to be able to take my explanations."
Aiden brought a chair for Meryn, and Colton did the same for Rheia to get her off the floor.
Meryn tapped her lips. "Okay. Here it goes. Living in our world and being mated is like getting married to your dream prince, you're destined to be together like in a fairy tale, but more like Grimm's Fairy Tales and less Disney. Magic is real, and the fae kick ass. Vampires and shifters are kinda like what you see on TV except for the wolfman thing. The sex is off the charts, but you kinda have deal with some Resident Evil moments with some peeps called ferals, so it balances out. All in all, it's fun."