Chapter 6

SIX

She had to be stuck in dreamland again. She knew this because all of a sudden, he was there.

The surroundings were the same—old abandoned mineshaft and all—but everything felt different.

Her body was lighter. Her mind was clearer. And yet somehow, she instinctively knew that her true body was lying on the dirt in a cloud of knockout gas, and she was well and truly screwed.

Who did those men work for? The MWA? Bloody Cameron?

Soon, they'd find her, and there was nothing she could do about it because she was trapped in unconsciousness, staring at the male whose memory had taunted her ever since she first encountered him.

Somewhere back in reality, her headlamp was on, sending a beam of light through the dimensions and into her dreamscape. It shone toward the ceiling, illuminating the pale, rough sandstone walls. It burnished his platinum-hued skin, making him look completely otherworldly.

That wasn't hard. He was a total fantasy.

Luminous skin. Midnight hair. A face straight out of a dark elves' storybook and pointed ears to match. A body forged into perfect muscular hardness; every single inch of him cut and honed.

He wore nothing but loose black trousers. He was barefoot and bare-chested again.

Why was he always shirtless?

" You. Why are you here?" she blurted, feeling like she was losing her grip on reality. She was talking to an imaginary alien-man in her unwilling unconsciousness, and she was beginning to suspect that he might actually be real.

The magnitude was almost too much for her to comprehend.

Why me?

"Why are you here?" he countered, an irritating half-smirk hovering on his pale lips. "In an old, dusty tunnel, alone, in a state of forced unconsciousness?"

"Are you just here to taunt me about my inadequacies?" Her surprise turned into a snarl. "You're not being helpful at all."

His smirk turned into a cryptic smile. "Maybe I can be of help."

"How? What could you possibly do in this situation? You're just a ghost in my mind." She clung to her denial for just a little longer.

"Am I?"

" Ugh. " Jade crossed her arms and glowered as a terrible sense of urgency overtook her. Maybe this dreamlike state was her subconscious's way of dealing with the situation. "If you're going to do something, then you'll have to do it soon because these people are going to take me away, and once they get me into their treatment program, it's all over for me—that's if any of this even matters to you."

"Oh?" That infuriating half-smile was still there. It made her want to punch him in the teeth. "So they want to lock you away, to give you treatments against your will?"

At least he was actually listening to her.

It was the first time anyone had ever taken her situation seriously. Jade didn't know how to feel.

If he was real, then…

He was the only one in the Universe who could save her right now.

Well, wasn't that a pain in the arse? Having to trust a total stranger who just so happened to be a member of the most dangerous alien species in existence?

She absolutely detested that she was even in this situation, but by running, she was just delaying the inevitable.

"I can help you… perhaps ," he said quietly. "But on one condition."

Hope flared in her chest. "What?"

"What I'm going to do will require total cooperation from you. There's no room for even the slightest refusal or hesitation. Do you understand?"

She didn't understand a thing. "W-what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to take over your consciousness. So I can control your body."

Jade became acutely aware of her true form, slumped helplessly on the ground. How could she be inhabiting two realities at once? "But what's the point of that? Let's say you were able to wake me up and control my body or whatever. I still wouldn't be able to fight off two men on my own."

His smile turned sharp and vicious. Good lord, he had fangs. "If it's me controlling your body, you won't have any trouble. I may destroy you in the process, but that can be fixed."

She shook her head in disbelief. Destroy me? Well, at least he's honest about it. "And that's supposed to convince me how?"

"I am just making you aware of what to expect. It's insignificant in the greater scheme of things. If you want to escape, you have to make a temporary sacrifice." His tone softened a fraction. "My people have tech that can heal any physical damage. I'll do only what's necessary. Quickly now, decide. They're nearly here."

"How can you tell?"

"I can sense them. Can't you?"

Jade shook her head. She couldn't sense a thing.

But then…

She felt a faint, invisible touch at the edge of her consciousness. She didn't know how she could feel it, but somehow, she did.

And she knew it was him.

He was surprisingly gentle.

Do I let this strange creature take over my body, or do I do nothing and let the MWA take me away?

Submit to me, human. Suddenly, his voice was inside her head, loud and clear. She should have been shocked, but somehow, it felt so very natural. I'll take care of everything.

Part of her recoiled in horror.

But another part of her—a deep, secret part—wanted to let him take over. "How do I even do that?" She stared into his dangerously alluring obsidian eyes.

Let me guide you. Can you feel it? His gentle, invisible touch infiltrated beyond the edges of her consciousness. It was a cloud of invisible energy; it felt like a gently thrumming forcefield.

What is this?

We call it ka'qui. You either have the sense for it, or you don't. You obviously do.

Pressure enveloped her from all sides. It wasn't unpleasant, though. It was like being covered in a warm, weighted blanket.

His smile faded. He was perfectly serious now. I'll take you out of here. When I enter your mind, don't resist. Just let it flow.

She had no idea what he was talking about. All she knew was that the pressure was getting stronger, and it wasn't a crushing pressure; it was more of a liquid feeling, like drowning in warm honey without the distress.

It was pleasant.

He felt pleasant.

Her first instinct was to recoil because the strangeness of it all freaked her out, but then she remembered what he said, and somehow, it all started to make sense.

In a way that only he could.

Because he was already impossible, so what should it matter if she suspended disbelief entirely?

She was already in deep shit, so what would it matter if she let an alien infiltrate her thoughts?

Submit to me.

So she emptied her mind of all thought; all doubt.

She simply let him be.