Luke

Looking out the window of the travel trailer was freaky. Just a few hours ago we had driven through a full town, albeit poverty-ridden, but it looked so real. People had dotted the streets, working and well, living. But now... Now it was like being on a ghost tour in an old west town. I kept expecting to see a horde of ghosts converge on the trailer.

"So how long do you think this has been going on?" Victor asked no one in specific.

Gabe sighed as he looked at Gray lying on the small couch, "I don't know. I mean based on what North and Silas saw it could be decades or even more. Then again, if the spell is feeding off those who pass through, she might have been living multiple lifetimes here."

"She mentioned having a cabin up in the mountain," Silas said. "Should we check it out?"

"That might be a slippery slope," Kota pointed out. "While I say we need to go soon, for now, we need to find out what happens when Gray wakes up. We have no idea what she will or won't remember."

"How did you know?" Owen asked Gabe.

He shook his head, "It was more of a feeling really. Something seemed off from the moment we entered the town. I mean, hell, I see spirits everywhere all of the time, but here I didn't. It was like a fucking vacuum and that isn't normal."

"Maybe you can do some research on the name Clara said - Gracie Jean Wilmont?" Owen suggested to Victor.

"Already been searching. It's a fairly common name in these parts so I'm trying to narrow it a bit."

"Any ideas what she is? I mean, I can find a heartbeat, a pulse - all the basics of human physiology, and hell those three had sex with her - even drank from her," Sean said.

Almost in unison, they all slapped their necks, "Fuck!" North swore. "She bit all of us."

Sean got up and began to examine their marks, "That's odd," he mused. "She has some sort of fangs, but they're very small, not even as large as a nascent vampire." He grabbed a notebook and scribbled details, then asked, "Did any of you have any side effects - euphoria, pain, blacking out?"

"Other than surprise and the pleasure of the bond forming, nothing extraordinary," Silas smirked as he looked down at her. "She seemed surprised that she broke the skin as well."

"Same here," North said. "I mean, don't get me wrong, it was hot as fuck, but nothing that indicated anything supernatural."

"Euphoria," Nate said with a dreamy look. "When she bit me, it was euphoric, like I'd been hit with an amazing high." Sean hummed and scribbled more notes.

"May I suggest we take shifts watching over her and the rest get some sleep?" Owen said.

"Nate and I will take the first shift," Kota said, passing Nate a pillow and blanket to cover her with. We all agreed and split between the two trailers.

Gray

I could hear them talking, but I couldn't wake up. What did they mean I wasn't human...the town wasn't real...I didn't understand. I tried to talk, to open my eyes, but nothing worked.

I felt Nate's hands touch my skin as he covered me. It was like fire and I desperately wanted to feel it again. I tried shifting but it wouldn't work. Silence began to fall over the trailer as one by one, they fell asleep.

I felt a warmth in my hand and blinked, my eyes meeting Kota's soft green ones. "Hello, again little ghost," he smiled. "Been eavesdropping I see."

"I tried to wake up, but I couldn't." I looked around and realized we weren't in the trailer. "Am I still asleep? Where are we?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," he said. "I'm assuming you grabbed my hand in your sleep and pulled me, well, pulled me wherever we are now."

"Oh. I'm not sure. I don't understand what you were talking about. Am I not me...or not human?"

He cupped my chin with his free hand, "I'm sorry, little ghost, but it seems you aren't who you think, or at least not completely. Although it does help in understanding how you walk the spirit realm so easily." I saw his eyes studying me and he asked softly, "May I kiss you, Gray?"

My tongue ran across my lips as I nodded, "Yes please." He leaned forward, lifted my chin, and pressed his mouth to mine gently. It was a soft kiss, not rough like the others, but still just as passionate. He pulled back and I noticed the area around us had lightened up. I looked around and gasped, "Hey, I remember this!" I tugged at his hand and ran toward a large field of wildflowers, giggling.

"So where are we?" he asked, watching me with a grin.

I flopped down on the grass, making fluffs of blooms and weeds lift in the air. "This is the field next to my house when I was little. There's a trail over there," I pointed to the east," where I went to the creek with Mama to get water before Papa dug the well."

"Gray, can you tell me when it is?" Kota asked, pulling me up into a sitting position.

I frowned, "Well, I was about six or seven. The Miller's hadn't finished their property yet. We had a barn-raising party just that fall. I remember falling asleep in the hay with the horses. Mama was so mad that I messed up my good dress."

He tilted his head to the side, "Did you have a car or phone?"

"We had horses and a big wagon with a buckboard," I giggled.

"When did you get your pickup truck and start working at the hardware store?"

I frowned, "I don't know. I mean, I guess it was after my folks died. The house burned, no that's not right...I sold it, but..." I was getting confused. Things weren't making sense. I felt myself getting anxious. "Why isn't it making sense?" I looked at Kota as tears started to fall.

"Just breathe for me, love. It will be okay. I know it's confusing right now, but we will figure it all out soon," he said softly. He kissed my nose and smiled, "I think you've either lived several lifetimes or been around for much longer than you realize, Gray. Somehow it's been hidden from you. That's what Gabe sensed when he began pushing you about your name." He smiled at me and handed me a black-eyed susan blossom.

"Thank you," I said and leaned against his chest. We sat watching the flowers wave in the breeze when I asked, "Any idea how we get back?"

"Not a clue," he chuckled. "Although I can't say I'm worried either. The company is perfect."

"Flatterer," I teased and poked his side.

"I only speak the truth," he replied with a serious face, "Besides if it makes you smile and laugh, I'll spend forever telling you how beautiful and perfect you are."

I smiled again, but then it fell. "But am I? Am I what you see or just a spell like the town? What if I'm not even real anymore?"

He turned me around, pulled me on his lap, and kissed me. "Did that feel real?" His hands gripped my lower back and head and kissed me again, his lips beginning to trail down my neck until he reached my collarbone. "You feel real to me, Gray. Matter of fact, you feel amazing, my beautiful little ghost." I moaned and arched when his mouth covered my now-exposed breast. He skillfully flicked his tongue over my nipple, bringing it to a taut point, then bit down. My hips ground against him and I tugged at his hair. "Is this real, love?" he growled as his hand slid under my ass, kneading the flesh.

"Yes," I panted, "please." I needed more, wanted more. I ran my tongue across his neck and felt the urge to bite down as I'd done with the others, but hesitated, my body going stiff.

Kota noticed and pulled back as well, "Gray, what's wrong?"

I kept staring at his neck, "Why do I feel the urge to bite you? I mean Silas told me to bite down, but with North and Nate, I wanted to. I don't even understand how I broke the skin, but I did. Their blood each had a different taste. How do I even know that? I don't understand, Kota."

He held me around my waist and said, "If I ask any question that is uncomfortable, just tell me to stop, okay?" I nodded and tried to relax. "Do you remember having sex with anyone before Silas?"

I frowned, trying to think. I mean I'm sure I had, but I couldn't remember a name or even a face. "I...I don't know, I can't remember, but I'm sure I have."

"Okay, have you ever had the urge to bite someone before, maybe a lover?"

Again, it was like a blank slate and I groaned, "I can't remember. Why can't I remember?" My body began to shake violently as he pulled me closer, pressing kisses to my head.

"I don't know, Gray, but we will find out, I promise," he whispered and in my heart, I believed him.

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