Viola didn’t want to stay unconscious, but she was too exhausted to fight the weight dragging her under, and after being placed on a comfortable bed and receiving treatment, she let herself fall into slumber, a sleep that dragged her into yet another dream, back into that unreal place.

Viola found herself walking through a dark forest, glancing over her shoulder to check whether she was being followed, though by who, she had no idea. The trees stood tall around her, the sky just beginning to break into morning through a dusky haze. Birdsong filled the air, and her bare feet crunched against the dry leaves scattered across the ground.

For some reason, Viola felt an unexplainable happiness rising in her chest, one that made her want to jump for joy, so different from the suffering she’d just endured in the dungeon and the impending storm awaiting her to fight.

She was hurrying deeper into the trees when a hand shot out and caught her wrist, yanking her behind a tree. Before she understood what was happening, an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against a warm, hard chest, his bare torso radiating a heat that made her feel instantly protected, sending a trail of warmth curling down through her stomach.

She looked up at him in the dim dusk light, and the face staring back down at her was her husband’s, though she knew, even as she looked, that it wasn’t really him. Before she could react, his head dipped, and his lips crashed against hers, kissing her so fiercely that her arms wound around him instead of pushing him away.

“What took you so long, my mermaid?” He whispered against her mouth, his kiss growing hungrier. His mermaid? Was this some twisted echo of her own reality, replaying itself differently?

“I couldn’t get away fast enough, Vaelor.” She moaned into his mouth. She was kissing Vaelor…

Viola’s lips parted under the fierce press of his mouth, the hunger in the kiss flooding her senses until the dark forest and the crunch of leaves beneath her bare feet faded into nothing.

His arm locked tighter around her waist, dragging her flush against the hard heat of his bare chest until every line of his body seemed determined to sink into hers, as if he could erase the space between them completely. The contact sent a sharp, delicious ache straight through her core, the same feeling only Sebastian had ever been able to bring to life inside her.

His free hand shoved beneath the rough animal-skin garment covering her, his fingers sliding over the soft curve of her breast without hesitation.

The calloused pad of his thumb found her nipple, circling it, then pinching lightly, drawing a helpless sound from her throat that he swallowed with another deep, claiming kiss. The warmth of his palm against her bare skin made her knees weaken; she clung to him harder, her own arms winding around his neck as the longing swelling in her chest grew until it physically ached.

“When are you going to be mine,” he growled against her mouth between kisses, the words rough with barely restrained need. “I can’t wait any longer.”

The question vibrated through her, stirring something deep and aching. Viola felt the answer rise from somewhere she didn’t fully understand, her voice soft and breathless against his lips.

“As soon as I make it right and let him know you are the one I want.”

A low, frustrated sound rumbled through his chest. His hunger could no longer be contained. He tore his mouth from hers, only to trail hot, open-mouthed kisses down the side of her neck, speaking against her skin as he went.

“I hate meeting you like this, in places like this,” he murmured, lips brushing the sensitive spot just beneath her ear, then lower still, licking and nipping along the column of her throat. “Stolen moments in the dark… never enough, and I don’t like it when I see you together with my brother.”

Every word was punctuated by the slow drag of his mouth. At the same time, he shifted, pressing her more firmly against him, so the hard ridge of his erection dragged exactly where she ached to be filled. The thick pressure ground against the barrier of her clothing with every subtle roll of his hips, sending sparks of pure need racing through her.

“I want to take you, mate with you, have you beneath me every night in my home.” He groaned, rocking against her.

Her breath turned shaky. His did too. The friction was maddening, perfect, and nowhere near enough. Control slipped through her fingers like water.

“Take me now,” she whispered, the plea tumbling out before she could stop it, before she even understood what she was saying, as though she had no real control over this Azmira at all. “Vaelor… please. You don’t have to wait anymore.”

He stilled instantly. The warm, wet trail of his tongue left her skin as he lifted his head to look down at her. In the dusky light, his eyes burned with a hunger so fierce it sent a flush racing from her cheeks all the way down to the tips of her breasts, still cupped in his hand.

“I will not take my beloved in a place where I might hurt her skin,” he said, his voice low, absolute. “I will not let any mark that isn’t mine be left on you. And when I finally take you, my girl, it will be somewhere I don’t fear interruption, somewhere I won’t have to hold myself back from thrusting into your warmth simply because the ground beneath us is too hard. Now put your arms around me, Azmira.”

Heat flooded her face and neck at the command, at the way he claimed her even while denying them both what they wanted. Still flushed, still trembling, she obeyed, sliding her arms fully around his neck. The moment she did, his hand moved to cup her backside, strong fingers gripping the soft flesh there as he lifted her effortlessly.

Her legs wrapped around his waist on instinct, locking her against the hard, unmistakable evidence of his desire. The new position pressed that thick length directly against her core, and a soft, needy sound escaped her throat.

Vaelor’s mouth found hers again at once, the kiss deeper, hungrier than before, holding her suspended against him in the quiet of the awakening forest. For a moment, Viola felt safer there than anywhere else, not wanting to wake, because it felt like being with Sebastian again, and waking from this dream meant returning to a world without him beside her.

She tried to prolong the dream for as long as she could, but soon felt everything drifting away as other voices seeped into her subconscious.

“…how can we keep her here after this?”

“The bitch is making things harder and more complicated for us!”

At first, Viola couldn’t make sense of the words, but they soon became clear once she recognized the voices, and opened her eyes to the light of day, Matt, Gilbert, and Laila hovering above her.

The moment they noticed her eyes had opened, they crowded around the bed. “Thank goodness you’re awake. How are you feeling now?” Gilbert asked, frowning down at her.

Viola felt as though a large part of herself were missing, her body still warm, as though she’d just been pulled away from Sebastian’s arms, but it had only been a dream, and she reassured them. “I feel much better. Just hungry, and thirsty.”