Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Next out of the shuttle was Bruin’s mate, a middle-aged Earth female who went by the name of Luna, Wraith believed. She was a lovely, if somewhat enigmatic woman and it was clear that Bruin was devoted to her. She was wearing a black and white outfit as always, since those were the only colors she ever dressed in. She—
But his stream of thought was cut off when he saw the third and final passenger coming out of the shuttle.
“Gods!” he muttered hoarsely—though no one could hear his voice but him. Still, he couldn’t help the exclamation.
The final passenger was a human female who looked to be a little younger than Luna. She was an Elite—a female the Goddess had blessed with extra full curves—and she was beautiful.
Long, golden brown hair flowed in waves down her back and her large, lovely eyes looked silvery-green—though that might have been just because they were filled with tears.
“There, there, Hanna,” Luna said as she put an arm around the other female’s shoulders. “Don’t cry! You’re safe here and you can tell me all about it.”
“Am I? Am I really safe?” The girl’s lovely eyes darted around the Docking Bay nervously and happened to fall on Wraith.
And that was when something strange happened.
Usually when people looked at Wraith, they looked right through him, because they couldn’t actually see him. But when the girl called Hanna’s gaze landed on him, her eyes actually met his for a long, lingering moment. Then she stiffened and swiped at her tears, as though she was embarrassed that he’d seen her crying. Wraith even saw her cheeks go red as she swiftly looked away.
He stared at her, too amazed to do the polite thing and look away himself. She had seen him—he was sure of it! For the first time in over a hundred solar years, someone had seen him!
“Come on now, let’s get back to our suite and we can talk,” Luna said to the other female.
“I hate to be a burden,” Hanna replied. “I know you and, er, Uncle Bruin are really happy together. I hate that I’m barging in on you two.”
“Oh, you won’t be barging in,” Bruin said, smiling down at her. “Any kin of my mate is welcome here. But to avoid any, er, embarrassing situations, I got you a guest suite right beside ours. That way you can have your privacy and still reach us quickly if you have a problem.”
“And by ‘embarrassing situations,’ Bruin means that he still can’t keep his hands off me.” Luna looked up at her mate and smiled and he returned the smile with a knowing one of his own.
“Aunt Luna! You shouldn’t say that so loud!” Hanna’s eyes darted to Wraith again and her cheeks went pink.
“Why not?” Luna asked. “We’re the only ones here.”
“No, we’re not. What about that man?” Hanna’s eyes darted to him again and then away. She dropped her voice but Wraith could still hear her. “I mean, he seems to be listening!”
“What man?” Luna and Bruin both looked in Wraith’s direction but neither of them seemed to see him. Which wasn’t unusual at all. Even people who supposedly had the gift of seeing spirits, like Luna claimed to, couldn’t see Wraith. He thought it must have something to do with the curse he was under, but he wasn’t sure. However, Hanna was clearly seeing him—how was that possible?
“Never mind,” she said to Luna. “I’m just surprised. So…I’m not staying with you two?”
“No, is that a problem?” Luna asked, frowning.
“I don’t know.” Hanna looked desperately unhappy. “I’ll tell you what happened and then you tell me what you think. But first, let’s get to your suite.” Her eyes darted to Wraith one more time and this time he nodded at her.
Hesitantly, Hanna nodded back. Then she turned and hooked her arm through Luna’s.
“Come on—let’s go.”
They left the Docking Bay and for a long moment Wraith just stood there, his boots hovering a quarter inch above the metal floor as always. How could she see him? What did it mean? And why was she so upset? Was she in some kind of trouble?
He didn’t know but he had to find out. However, since Hanna could see him, that was going to make things tricky. He couldn’t just follow them down the corridor and drift through the walls of Luna and Bruin’s suite to observe. He would have to be more careful than that.
But he would find a way, Wraith swore to himself. Hanna was the first person who could see him in over a hundred solar years.
He was definitely going to find out all about her.
6
HANNA
As they made their way back to her Aunt Luna and Uncle Bruin’s suite, Hanna couldn’t help thinking of the strange, silent warrior who had just been standing there looking at them in the Docking Bay. Who was he and why did he stare at them so rudely? It was almost like he didn’t expect them to see him watching!