"I'm fine," she says, though her voice is drowsy. "Just tired. It's been a long day."
I'm not convinced, but I don't push. Instead, I hold her as she drifts off to sleep, her breathing evening out into the steady rhythm of unconsciousness. I expect to stay awake for a while, my mind too busy processing everything we learned today. But exhaustion catches up with me faster than anticipated, and soon I'm falling into sleep as well.
Everything goes black before throwing me into an entirely different space. It can’t be anything other than a dream but it feels so… vivid.
I find myself standing in a massive hall, grander than anything I've ever seen. The ceiling soars overhead, supported by columns carved from stone that seem to glow. Tapestries hang on the walls, depicting dragons in flight, their scales rendered in golds and reds and oranges that shimmer as if alive. The floor beneath my bare feet is polished marble, engraved with intricate patterns of precious metals. But that’s not what truly catches my attention. It’s the bed at the center of the hall, an enormous structure piled high with cushions, draped in silks that match the colors in the tapestries. It's decadent and sensual, a bed meant for pleasure rather than mere rest.
And sprawled across it is Kaia.
She's naked, her brown skin glowing in the golden light that seems to emanate from everywhere and nowhere. Her curls are spread across the pillows like a dark halo, her eyes half-lidded, hazy with desire, and she's touching herself with lazy, exploratory strokes that make my mouth go dry.
"Sol," she breathes, her voice echoing strangely in the vast space. "I need you. Please."
I should know this is a dream. I should be able to recognize the impossibility of this place and this situation. But it feels real. The cool air on my skin feels real. The sound of Kaia's breathing feels real. The ache of want that throbs through my body feels devastatingly real.
I move toward the bed, drawn by magic running through this place. As I get closer, voices whisper against my ears seeming to come from the very walls, speaking words I can't quite make out but vibrate through my bones.
"Do you hear them?" Kaia asks, her hand stilling. "They're calling to us. Calling us home."
"This isn't home," I manage to say, though my voice sounds uncertain even to my own ears. "This is a dream."
"Is it?" She sits up, the silks pooling around her waist. "It feels more real than anything else. Come here, Sol. Touch me. Let me feel you."
I reach the edge of the bed, my magic flaring without warning. Blue light flickers around me, pulsing in time with my heartbeat. My wolf is close to the surface, closer than it should be, as if something's pulling it from me.
"You feel it too, don't you?" Kaia asks, relief in her voice. "This magic. It's different from before. Stronger."
"It's like the magic is trying to fuse with ours," I say, finally understanding what I'm feeling. This isn't just a dream. The same colors from a few days ago wind with our magic, tangling and flowing together as if all four were supposed to exist as one.
Kaia reaches for me, pulling me onto the bed. I go willingly, covering her body with mine, capturing her lips in a hungry, desperate kiss. She tastes like honey and spice, like something I've never tasted before but recognize on some instinctual level.
"I need you," she gasps against my mouth. "I need you inside me. Please, Sol."
I slide my hand between her legs, finding her soaking wet and ready for me. When I push two fingers inside her, she cries out, her back arching off the bed. I work her over, knowing exactly how she likes to be touched. My thumb finds her clit, circling in counterpoint to the thrust of my fingers.
"More," she begs, her hips bucking against my hand. "I need more. I think my heat is approaching. I need an Alpha. Why now? Why is this happening now?" Tears gather in her eyes before she scrunches them shut, holding onto me as I pleasure her.
I was sure her heat would reach us sooner than now but it makes sense. It would explain the warmth, the increased sensitivity, the desperate need I can feel radiating from her. But the timing is strange. She should have had more time before her suppressants wear off completely.
Unless the magic is accelerating it. Unless whatever's changing us is also affecting her biological cycles.
I don't have time to think it through because at that moment, I catch a scent that makes my wolf surge forward. It's an Alpha scent, wrapping around us like a physical presence. But it's not just one Alpha. There are two distinct scents, both calling to something deep in my consciousness.
"Do you smell that?" I ask, my voice coming out rough.
"Yes," Kaia moans, her body trembling beneath me. "It smells like power. Like safety. Like home."
The scents are doing something to me, making me want more, making my body react in ways I've never experienced before. I'ma Beta. I shouldn't respond this strongly to Alpha pheromones. But these aren't ordinary Alpha scents. They carry magic, woven so deeply into them that I can't separate one from the other.
I add a third finger, stretching Kaia as she cries out. Her magic flares, gold mixing with my blue, creating patterns in the air above us that mirror the ones inlaid in the marble floor.
"Sol, I'm going to—" She doesn't finish the sentence before the orgasm hits her, Kaia clenching around my fingers, her whole body going taut as pleasure crashes through her. I work her through it, gentling my touch as she comes down from her high.
When she finally opens her eyes, they're different. The brown has taken on a golden sheen, glowing faintly in the strange place.
"What's happening to us?" she whispers.
"I don't know, baby," I admit, lying down beside her, pulling her into my arms. "But whatever it is, I’ve got you."
