I watched the young couple shift into their cheetah forms as they played with their pair of cubs. At first, I was so lost in the bucolic scene that I didn’t realize I was dreaming until the scene changed and I saw the two cubs being shoved into a bush by the female cheetah, who urged them via mindspeaking to stay put and not shift back until they were told.

“Xander, watch after Zane and keep him safe for mama, you hear me? Mama and Papa need to lead the hunters away from you, my sweets.” The fatter of the two cubs nodded with wide eyes, leaning forward to lick his mother’s nose. She chuckled and told them both that they were good boys, then ran off, presumably racing after her mate to do as she’d said.

Shit. Was this a dream or a precognitive vision? My stomach churned as a feeling of dread settled over me. My heart raced as I stepped away from the cubs in the bushes and turned to watch another scene play out. It was as though I were floating overhead, the all-seeing viewer to a horrible, gruesome movie. A pair of human hunters, a man that looked as though he were stoned, or out of it for some reason, and a familiar-looking woman, chased after the adult cheetahs in a Jeep. I wasn’t sure the man should be driving, but that was the least of my concerns.

My heart caught in my throat when the woman held up a rifle and put a shot through the smaller, female cheetah’s head before quickly popping in another cartridge and killing her mate with another clean shot through the head. The woman cackled and screamed back at the carcasses as the Jeep kept right on going, not even bothering to stop to pick up the trophies like a normal hunter would. “That’s right! Die, shifter scum!”

I couldn’t place where I knew her from, but my next thought was of the cubs, and I was immediately zapped back to the bushes where they’d been tucked away. The two little ones were huddled together, whimpering and shaking in fear. I wanted to reach for them, but I was just a visitor here with no corporeal form.

Stepping away from the bushes, I hugged myself and tried not to scream at the awful, overwhelming sense of futility. Why was I being forced to witness this atrocity if I couldn’t help?

“Kyle! Kyle, wake up, honey. You’re having a bad dream.” My eyes fluttered open to see Sammy leaning over me. I reached up with a trembling hand to stroke his curtain of hair. His eyes were filled with concern as they searched mine. “Were you having a nightmare or a vision? I could feel your pain through our bond. It was so bad that it woke me.” My vision blurred as tears filled my eyes. I pulled Sammy into my arms and held him close as I recounted the dream.

“…so, yeah, I hope to hell that was just a bad dream and the result of eating greasy, leftover pizza from last night’s dinner before we went back to sleep this morning after that dream walk with your brothers. The idea of hunters killing shifters in cold blood is just too horrible to imagine. And what that woman said! She knew there were shifters in the world and that those cheetahs were actually people, and yet she still killed them in cold blood? Who does that? And you know damn well it’s not a true hunter when they don’t bother to claim their trophy.” I shook my head in disgust. “And those poor cubs, you know? Those little guys are all I can think about now. Fuck me, seeing that was enough to make me join Aaron in the whole vegan thing.”

Sammy rubbed a comforting hand in a circle over my chest. “I don’t know, Kyle. If I’m being honest, it sounds more like a vision than a dream. I’m hoping that maybe it’s a vision you were given so that you’ll have a chance to prevent it from happening.”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah, that’s the only answer that makes sense. I mean, why else would I have a vision dream about people I don’t know? It’s not like they’d have anything to do with us or the quest, so what the fuck?”

“Umm… I don’t know. The goddess is mysterious, and who knows what she has up her sleeve? But then again, sometimes a dream is just a dream, no matter how real it feels.” Sammy didn’t sound convinced by that as his voice trailed off. He turned to look at the clock on the nightstand. “Wow, we really slept in. Check-out time is in half an hour, and we both know that our brothers will be here sooner than later. I bet when we turn our phones on, we’ll find them blowing up with messages. How about we get dressed and pack our bags? We can head into town and walk around for a while to get our mind off that awful vision you had before we get some food.”

“Good plan.” I turned to kiss his temple before throwing the blankets back and sitting up. “And thank you for calling it a vision, because I think we’d be fooling ourselves if we called it a dream.”

By the time we got our stuff packed and the two of us were dressed and ready to go, we barely made check-out time. The innkeeper offered to have their driver give us a ride to town, but Sammy shook his head. “Thank you, but it looks like a beautiful day outside. I think we’d rather walk and enjoy the fresh air.”

“It’s definitely the day for it, dear. You boys have a wonderful time, and be sure to pop in and see us again if you’re ever back in the area.” She passed us a card with our receipt, along with a hopeful smile that we’d be back one day.

We’d barely left the B&B and had made it about a half kilometer or so away when we came across a group of rough-looking kids. There were about six or seven of them, screaming obscenities and trying to hit something with a stick. Sammy and I rushed forward, ready to help the victim.

The little hooligans backed off quickly when they saw two adults approaching. As they stepped away, I saw a pair of baby cheetahs. One of them was hissing and growling, defiantly swiping a chubby little paw at the jerks, while the smaller one huddled against his brother’s flank. Even if I hadn’t recognized them from my dream, one quick sniff would’ve told me they were shifters.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? There are laws against torturing animals. Get the fuck out of here before I kick your asses and call the authorities,” I shouted, following it with a low growl. The kids scattered like cockroaches, jumping on bikes and taking off toward town without looking back. Sammy rushed over and picked up the cubs, cuddling them to his chest. He fell onto his knees, his eyes glowing purple as he drew on his powers.

I knelt in front of him, cupping a palm on the back of his neck while I took turns petting each of the cubs with my other hand. Sammy’s eyes returned to normal and he shook his head. “I saw them, but not their…” His voice trailed off as he looked doubtfully at the cubs before he mouthed the word death. “These little ones didn’t see anything scary from the bushes, but they’re cold, hungry, and scared. I tried to mindspeak them, but they aren’t answering me. Maybe they just don’t want to talk to me? I don’t know, but we need to help them. We can’t just leave them here, even I know that much.”

Smiling gently at my mate, I shook my head. “That’s because you’re in human form, baby. Even with all your powers, unless you’re trying to talk to me through our mate bond, you wouldn’t be able to mindspeak anyone without having that gift. We’d need Uncle Ethan or Aurora for that one. What do you mean by ‘even you’ would know that much? There’s nobody more capable than you to take care of these little ones until we can find their family. Come on, baby. This will be good practice for us, don’t you think?”

Sammy nodded hesitantly. “If they’ve already started shifting, they’re at least toddlers. I’m guessing they’re twins, don’t you think? They’re a little on the chubby side, so I’m thinking they must be older than toddlers, but I can’t get a read on more than that.” When he called them chubby, the larger one batted a paw at Sammy’s chest and gave a weak growl.

I leaned in with a chuckle and tapped a finger to his nose. “Calm down, little alpha. My mate wasn’t calling you chubby to be mean. He was saying you’re big and strong. Now you be nice, you hear me?”

The cub nipped at my fingertip but followed it with a lick of his rough tongue. His omega brother cuddled close against Sammy’s chest, slowly beginning to purr as he listened to Sammy’s reassuring heartbeat.

Sammy bent to kiss the top of the tiny omega’s head. “That’s right, you’re safe now. We’ll take care of you until we find your family.” He turned and bravely planted a quick kiss on top of the little alpha’s head too. Sammy and I both chuckled when the little alpha started purring.