Billionaire Bear Shifters A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset - Brittany White Page 0,97

would notice his absence. But by then, Eric would be outside town, running up into the woods to the sad little shack that Liddy lived in with her parents who always give Eric the stink eye - he tried to avoid them - and who Liddy was afraid of.

In the world of dream logic, there was no passage of time or real distance between locations. Cody ran out of the hotel, his tuxedo jacket and his corsage in hand, and headed toward the woods and suddenly there was Liddy’s sad little house, a dim light glowing from her bedroom window.

He wasn’t a kid anymore. His dream self knew that. But as he jogged through the mud, headed towards that window, he felt fifteen again.

“Hey.” Liddy opened the window and grinned at him and he knew right then.

That’s my mate and I love her.

“I ditched as soon as I could. We missed the movie, but we can hang out. If you want?”

Again, the scene changed and it all felt so real that Eric thought he had traveled back in time to his adolescence. Liddy and he were free, out on the town, and feeling invincible. Nothing could stop them because he loved her...even if he didn’t have the nerve to tell her yet. Because it was already perfect. Why screw things up when there was always the chance she wouldn’t agree?

That was the night he’d almost kissed her.

He knew his parents would be upset. A Strauss didn’t just go ditching a cotillion and if he did, he was probably Nathan. Nobody expected that kind of behavior out of Eric.

He’d taken her back home sometime after midnight and they’d both stood awkwardly by her back door, shivering because the night was chilly and they hadn’t brought coats. But Eric had lent Liddy his tuxedo jacket and he liked seeing her wear it over her dress.

“Thanks for ditching to hang out,” Liddy had said. She bit her lip, her cheeks rosy from the cool air.

“I’d rather hang out with you than those stuffy jerks,” he said. He felt ballsy.

Then things had gone quiet. He leaned forward, but Liddy was already pulling away. His heart broke just a little. But it didn’t dampen the whole night. Nothing could.

He watched her go inside and only then did he whisper, “I love you.”

“Eric?” Connor’s voice was unmistakable; low and stern.

Eric stirred. He was warm and comfortable and Liddy looked so pretty in her blue dress…

“Eric,” Connor said more firmly. “I see your eyes twitching, man. Wake up. It’s been two days already.”

“Mmm...comfy,” Eric murmured.

He heard Connor laugh and managed to open one eye, shutting it just as quickly when the bright light of the room threatened to blind him.

“Hey, Nathan, man,” Connor said, “dim the lights?”

Eric tried again and ever so slowly opened his eyes again. He was in his suite, in his bed. He felt...okay, outside of being a little tired.

With a jerk, he sat up and said, “Liddy!”

“She’s okay!” Connor said quickly. “She’s in your spare room-”

“Cody-”

“Cody’s at his place,” Connor said. “Everyone’s okay.”

“Everyone’s okay,” Eric said slowly. His head was throbbing suddenly and he winced, lying down again. “Everyone’s okay.”

“Lydia actually recovered first,” Connor said. “I mean she was conscious. Whatever you did, Eric, it took a whole lot out of you. But we’ve had the best healers looking after you. Shifter specialists and all. We think it was fighting off the mind control that really did you in. I know it was tough, but one of our healers said you shouldn’t have been able to fight it at all. Michelle was powerful as hell. Then you went and kept Liddy going. Whatever that connection is between the two of you, it’s something. Saved both your lives.”

“We’re mates,” Eric said. “I want to see her. Head hurts though.”

“Sure,” Connor said. He had been sitting on the edge of Eric’s bed as Nathan hovered in the doorway. “Hold on. Let me get you something for your head…”

Connor handed him a bottle full of some funky smelling milky stuff. He knocked it back and immediately felt a little less cloudy and when he sat up, his head didn’t hurt. Once he got out of the bed, he felt much stronger.

“Look at you,” Nathan said, cackling. He had a full beard now. He looked a lot better than when Michelle had him pinned against the wall. “Tough as nails, my kid brother. That’s a Strauss for ya.”

“Learned from my elders,” Eric said, tossing him a wink.