Chapter 886
“I’m really not comfortable with this,” Asher Nightshade muttered for the nth time as Alaric prepared the bed for them.
And by them, he meant Violet and Micah.
To dream-walk, they needed to be fully rested and relaxed. Naturally, the boys wanted their mate as comfortable as possible.
Micah was a completely different issue.
No mate willingly allowed another male to stain their sleeping space with his scent. It was practically an unspoken law amongst possessive wolves. Even Micah sharing the same bed with Violet was already testing dangerous boundaries.
Fortunately for him, the bond recognized him as family rather than competition. Otherwise, this conversation would have gone very differently.
At the same time, Micah couldn’t exactly take Violet back to his own room either. That space belonged to him and Adele. It was sacred territory.
So one of the rooms in the infirmary had been prepared instead and the other Alphas kicked out as well. Too many dominant males crowding around Violet while she slept was a disaster waiting to happen. Tension alone would have eventually set either Asher or Alaric off.
Sleep made people vulnerable, soft and tempting. None of them particularly liked the idea of another man witnessing their mate in such a state.
Only Irene remained.
She stayed near the door under the excuse of standing watch and offering help if things went wrong. Personally, Asher doubted she would be useful here. He and Alaric could handle anything themselves.
“I told you already, babe.” Violet cupped Asher’s face between both palms, forcing his attention back onto her. “This is my fight. I’m not dragging any of you deeper into it.”
Asher covered one of her hands immediately. “Your life is my life,” he reminded her. “If something happens to you, I die too.”
His gaze lowered instinctively toward her stomach before returning upward. He didn’t dare say it aloud, not with Irene nearby.
“You cannot get hurt.” He reminded her.
The three of them had already agreed to keep the pregnancy secret until Griffin and Roman learned about it first. Everyone else could wait.
Violet exhaled through her nose.
“You always think you need to carry everything yourself to stay in control.” Her thumbs brushed lightly against his skin. “But you have to let go of the reins this time, Asher. You’ve suffered enough already. No more.” Then she leaned upward and pressed a kiss against his forehead.
“I’ll be safe. Little junior will too.” Violet whispered the last part so quietly it was a miracle anyone heard it.
Irene heard enough. The Luna pretended to stay occupied checking the windows and secured exits around the room, but her werewolf hearing picked up fragments of the conversation regardless.
Her brows drew together immediately. Little junior? Surely not. Yet suspicion lingered stubbornly in her mind.
She was a mother herself after all. Back then, she and her husbands used coded conversations around the children too whenever they were hiding pregnancies or sensitive information.
But the second Aeron crossed her thoughts, bitterness crept in immediately.
Her husband was still trapped out there.
The possible meaning behind Violet’s words stopped mattering after that.
Nothing mattered more than ending Angus and bringing Aeron home alive.
“Bed’s ready,” Alaric announced.
The moment the words left his mouth, Micah practically launched himself onto the neatly arranged bed with an exhausted groan.
Alaric’s eye twitched.
He had spent the last several minutes making sure everything was perfect for Violet and now the blankets looked ruined already.
A low sound rumbled from his chest and Micah glanced toward him instantly. The expression on his face practically screamed, Don’t start your territorial bullshit with me.
Violet intervened before either of them escalated. She kissed Alaric quickly on the forehead.
“All good here.”
The storm in him eased slightly.
Then Violet climbed onto the bed beside Micah while Alaric hovered nearby fussing over her pillow placement and blanket like an overprotective husband preparing his wife for surgery.
Micah watched the entire thing with amusement dancing across his face.
“Who would’ve thought our first sibling bonding experience would end up like this?” he asked Violet.
Violet released a tired breath.
“Honestly? Not me.”
Micah stretched slightly before adding, “Let’s hope our father dearest is already asleep. Otherwise we might end up wandering through random dreams first.”
His mouth curved unpleasantly. “Trust me, you do not want to see the things I’ve seen.”
Violet raised a brow at that.
Asher folded his arms. “It’s one in the morning. His supposed victory should’ve made him careless enough to sleep peacefully.”
“All theories,” Micah replied. “We’ll know soon enough.”
Then he turned his attention fully toward Violet.
“Ready for this ride, sister?”
Confidence rolled off him so naturally it became contagious.
Violet felt some of her tension loosen. She nodded once.
“Let’s go.”
Micah took her hand. “See you on the other side.”
Violet took that as her cue to close her eyes and surrender herself to sleep.
Realistically, sleep should not have come that quickly considering she had only just shut her eyes, but that was where Micah’s abilities came into play. She felt his power wash over her slowly, pulling her deeper and deeper under.
The sensation felt strange, almost intrusive.
Like invisible fingers slipping into the corners of her mind and tugging her consciousness away from reality itself.
Her natural instinct was to resist but Violet knew this was Micah, so she forced herself to relax and let the power take hold. Soon enough, the world around her disappeared and Violet found herself standing inside the dreamscape.
Everything felt weightless and unreal, as if
she existed somewhere between smoke and starlight.
Beside her stood Micah and somehow, he looked even more dangerous here. Perhaps because this was his domain, every part of him felt amplified. His features appeared sharper, his presence heavier, his energy thick enough to almost taste.
Honestly, he looked unfairly attractive. No wonder so many people fell victim to incubi within dreams. What person would willingly resist a creature built to lure people apart piece by piece?
Then Violet remembered exactly what incubi usually did inside dreams and mentally gagged.
Micah immediately frowned.
“Don’t give me that look.”
Violet only shrugged innocently.
Micah rolled his eyes before focusing again.
“I’ll locate Angus —”
He stopped abruptly because the connection between them snapped. One second Violet stood beside him and the next, she vanished as though she had never existed there in the first place.
Micah froze. “What the—”
Before he could even process what happened, he returned to reality.
Micah jerked awake with a sharp inhale, the sudden movement immediately putting the others on alert.
Asher sensed something wrong instantly.
It had not even been a full minute since they both fell asleep.
“Why are you awake already?”
Alaric’s gaze fell on Violet who remained completely motionless. His entire body stiffened.
“Why isn’t Violet awake?”