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."

Anne blinked. "Oh, my God."

"Anne, Anne! Breathe." Rheia waved her hand in front of Anne's face.

"I'm okay; I'm okay." She stared at the floor again and concentrated on taking even breaths.

Resident Evil?

She whipped her head over to Aiden. "Please tell me there aren't any zombies! I can handle anything but zombies."

Aiden rubbed her back soothingly. "No zombies. We have ferals, but they are not zombies."

She began to calm down enough to process more of what Meryn said. "What are ferals?"

Rheia smiled at her. "Ferals are beings that used to be witches, fae, vampires, and shifters. But they chose to give up their souls by committing murder. They lose whatever made them good and they attack people."

Anne looked Rheia in the eye. "But not zombies, right? A scratch or bite won't turn you into a zombie like in Night of the Living Dead?"

Meryn shuddered. "That movie fucked me up for years." Anne nodded in agreement.

Colton winced. "Sort of."

Anne's eyes narrowed. "Define sort of."

Rheia glared at her husband. "What he means is, their bite can hurt you if you're a paranormal. Colton was bitten by a feral, and he began to decay from the bite but didn't turn into a zombie. Feral bites don't seem to affect humans, so you don't have to worry."

Anne stared in horror at the people around the room. "Is it safe here?"

When no one answered right away, she began to shake. If it weren't for Keelan, she'd head directly to her apartment, pack what little she owned, and disappear.

"I see you have discussed the somewhat scarier aspects of our world with her." A male voice said from the door. She looked up to see a beautiful Asian man approach while pushing a serving cart. His old fashioned butler's outfit seemed out of place, yet suited him perfectly.

"Denka, if you would excuse me?" he asked politely.

Meryn stood and nodded at the man before moving closer to Aiden.

He lifted Meryn's chair out of the way and rolled the cart closer. With elegant movements, he poured her a cup of fragrant tea.