**Ch 330: Kiss Between Times

An hour went by, and I still cried as my kitten slept beside me. As I wiped the tears from my eyelids, my mind started to drift into darkness before a glimpse of light began to come through the black abyss.

I found that my time-gap had taken me to a desert scenery. Eggshell blue skies stretched beyond the Horizon. To my left was a riverbed that had white sand at the edge of it. Gentle waves danced over the sand, making these foamy bubbles as the ripples pulled back out. Plant life such as arrowhead plants, Lily pads, and lotus flowers bloomed along the river, but nothing grew overly crowded that you couldn't see the crystal clear water.

"Looky what I made!" I heard a cute little girl giggle, and I peered my eyes towards the sound of her voice.

A heartwarming teardrop rolled to my cheek when I saw Ivan and Kai sitting at the riverside between little Mia. She looked to be maybe three or four years old, and she was still human. Little Mia smiled proudly at the pile of lifted white sand she had constructed with her tiny hands.

"What did you make?" Ivan sweetly asked her.

"I made a mountain!" Mia happily cheered. "Isn't it big!"

"It's the biggest mountain I've ever seen," Kai remarked as she sat on his left. Ivan sat on her right, but she sat more towards the front of their legs, which were covered by their Kaunakes skirts, and they were both shirtless.

"I can agree with that," Ivan commented, and his smile was incredibly loveable with her. I studied Kai to notice he had a smile too. Even though Mia was still human, his impression was pleasant towards her, which wasn't a surprise because he always accepted his friends' mates.

"Go clean your hands. It's almost supper time for you," Ivan kindly told her.

"Ok!" Mia stood up, and waddled to the water. Inherently, she started playing in it more than just washing her hands, but Ivan didn't say anything to correct her as she soaked her white linen dress.

"I'm thinking supper sounds delicious." Kai licked his lips after making such a remark, which made Ivan chuckle to understand what he meant.

"MIA!"

A gigantic crocodile lunged out of the water with its massive jaws wide open to chomp down on Mia. Ivan was quick to grab her as Kai put himself in front of the crocodile's jaws. Instead of snatching Mia, Kai's forearm got snapped inside the crocodile's powerful jaws. He was pulled under the water, and my heart was pounding. Bubbles exploded up to the surface as Ivan bounced Mia in his arms to hush her crying. Those bubbles turned red before the crocodile floated to the surface, and then Kai's head popped up next. He swam to shore until the water got shallow enough for him to walk out of it. The wounds on his bare torso healed, and his golden long Kaunakes skirt was saturated.

"I hate those things!" Kai complained.

"You hate animals," Ivan mentioned as if he was reminding him while Mia's scared crying settled into a whimper.

"Is she ok?" Kai ignored his remark and asked, showing his obvious concern for Mia, which warmed my heart.

"She's just startled," Ivan answered before he kissed her on the side of her head.

"Take her back to the tents. I'll be there in a second," Kai told him, and Ivan just walked away.

Kai sighed as he combed his fingers through his wet short hair. "I just can't wait to find you already," he mumbled to himself, and I had a feeling he was talking about me.

This was a daring move, but I hollered, "Kai!"

His neck twisted, and he glimpsed in all directions. As his face came back in my direction again, he answered. "I hear you. I just don't see you."

I was utterly speechless to learn that he did hear me. So this confirmed that baby Kai heard me that day his family was under attack.

"Do you know who I am?" I asked to see if he did.

Kai chuckled. "Of course, I would know my mate. I've been wondering if your time gap would have you come to me one day."

"You knew I could mentally travel to the past?" I giggled as he came closer to me.

"When I mentally rest, I dream about you, so yes, I knew." He confessed wholeheartedly.

"In the future, you never told me we could communicate from your past," I mentioned.

"Well, this is my present." Kai corrected me with a chuckle "Maybe I'm letting time catch up with itself."

"Possibly, but you always have your secrets." I shared with a clear indication I wasn't happy about it.

"You say that like you're upset," he comments, without failing to notice.

"You and I sometimes have bad arguments. Before my mind sent me here, you were very angry with me, and you said some harsh words." I recounted whether it was good or bad. I did it anyway.

"I see," Kai responded like he was thinking. "Was there something major that happened before I said those things?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure if I should tell you the details about your future," I truthfully implied.

"Probably not," Kai chuckled. "Either way, you came here for a reason. I'd imagine perhaps the future me isn't in the right mindset to comfort you."

"Right now, you are mad at me, but you could have just told me the truth. It would've prevented so much from happening." I shared with a clear crack in my voice as I started to cry.

"Don't cry." Kai frowned. "You're going to break my heart."

"I'm trying to be strong," I replied earnestly.

After thinking, Kai spoke. "From the sound of your voice, something big must've arisen, but there is one thing I know about myself that I'll only share with you and no one else."

"And what's that?"

He unexpectedly cupped my face, which was invisible to him as he says. "If things are that bad, sometimes I'll lash out in anger and say things I don't mean because I am scared."

"You're always fearless though," I replied as my ghostly hands touched his wrist, which I knew he felt from the way he glanced at them.

"Fearless and fear don't have the same meaning. I fear for anyone I care about to get hurt, but I don't fear danger. I'd risk it all to save anyone in my Coven. As I'm sure you just saw me save Ivan's mate," Kai gently explained.

"Yes, I saw the whole thing," I whispered as his lips inched in closer, which faltered my breath to be still while my heart soared up my chest. Our lips connected as he intimately kissed me between times, but there was a void between us since I am a ghost visiting the past, which was his present.