Hannah tilted her head to one side as she studied her granddaughter. “I can’t fault you for following your heart.”
“Will you help us, please?” Caleb asked.
“If Caleb wasn’t my mate, if he was my friend or just someone who came to you for help, you would help him.” Elise squeezed Hannah’s hand. “Just because you don’t approve of me having a mate, and you don’t agree with Karros letting Flora go so she could be with Aiden... Will that stop you from helping them help their sister?”
“I have loved you since you were in your mother’s womb,” Hannah replied. “I remember putting my hand on her stomach and feeling you kick.” She smiled wistfully.
“Grandma,” Elise began, “I never set out to disappoint you or hurt you. Neither did Karros. You know that.”
“You’ve never disappointed me.” Hannah wrapped her arms around her granddaughter’s shoulders. “You are so brave.”
Sylvie snorted. “The brave thing would have been to think of your own family.”
“You don’t really mean that, Sylvie,” Hannah replied. “You’re only upset about Karros breaking up with Flora because you know how much he loved her.”
Sylvie’s eyes misted with tears as she jutted out her chin like a petulant child. “I can’t understand why Flora would hurt him like that. He was so happy when he came home and told us that Flora had agreed to marry him. He was willing to accept that you didn’t love him because he thought he could make you happy.”
“I know that but after I met Aiden, there was no way I could go through with marrying Karros. It wouldn’t have been fair to him. It wouldn’t have been fair to any of us. And he understands that,” Flora said.
“He tells you he understands it. But does he?” Sylvie asked.
“Yes. He does.” Caleb couldn’t hold back any longer.
Elise still held onto Hannah’s hand as she reached for Sylvie’s hand, too. “Karros understands exactly how Flora felt when she met her mate.”
Sylvie’s mouth opened and closed like a goldfish as her eyes went wide. “No.”
“Yes. Karros met Zara, Caleb and Aiden’s sister, today. They are mates.” She waited for the news to sink in. “Which is why we really need for you to help us.”
“You are both mated to shifters?” Sylvie didn’t sound impressed as she looked up at the ceiling. “Is this some kind of a cosmic joke?”
“Love is never a joke, Sylvie,” Hannah said quietly.
“No, it’s not.” Elise placed her hand on her heart. “I never thought I could feel this way. I had grown to believe that love had passed me by. When I saw how much Karros loved Flora, I always wished that I could experience that same love. Until he lost her to Aiden and then I was grateful I’d never had my heart ripped in two like that.”
Caleb moved to stand behind her and she leaned back, nestling against him. “I will never hurt Elise. I will never break her heart.”
“And Karros has found true happiness with a woman who will love him as intensely as he loves her.” Elise swallowed down her tears. “We need your help to make that happen. If not, then he might lose another love. This time in the most tragic of circumstances.”
“Well then. We’d better begin.” Hannah hugged her granddaughter briefly before letting her go. “I’ll get the ingredients we need to help you dream walk. Elise, you can help me. I’d like to pass some of my knowledge on to you. It’s a pity you don’t like making potions as much as you like making food.”
Caleb’s shoulders sagged forward as relief flooded him. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing the sister he’d only just found. Not when he and Caleb had lost so much already.
Chapter Twenty-Seven – Elise
“So, he’s the one?” Hannah scanned the wooden shelves before her, picking up ingredients for the dream walking potion.
“He is.” Elise held the ingredients her grandmother passed to her. “Are you disappointed?”
“You’ve found love. Why would I ever be disappointed in that?” Hannah pointed to a higher shelf. “Can you reach the namjil juice?”
“Sure.” Elise placed the items down on the table behind her before standing on her tiptoes and reaching for the purple namjil juice. “Here.”
“You didn’t answer my question.” Hannah grabbed a couple of vials off a lower shelf and placed them on the table. “Do you think I’m disappointed?”
“I don’t know,” Elise answered honestly, her Grandma Hannah had a way of figuring out if you were telling the truth with her laser-sharp stare.
“Elise,