27. Cain

CHAPTER 27

CAIN

I expected to experience jealousy after witnessing two other creatures giving my mate pleasure.

But I'm proud.

She had whispered a prayer to me on the echo of aftershocks of her orgasm.

Praising me.

Thanking me.

She had called it a reprieve, though, before she had to go back. I didn't want her to think that this was all there would be.

You have an eternity of pleasure awaiting you, my star, I think as I watch her settle into her dreams. She'll be awake soon, and the two other creatures seem to know that. They solemnly tuck her into the bed as she closes her eyes. Her lips stretch into a smile as she sighs.

She's happy.

My beast rumbles with a purr. It's a sound I've never heard from him, but I echo it as he tastes the aroma of peaches and cream drifting through the Dream Realm. We both watch as Scarlett flickers in and out of the dream plane. She'll be gone soon, but the transition is taking longer than usual.

She doesn't want to wake up. I don't blame her.

I allow him to linger in the ecstasy of Scarlett's release while I settle against the wall and close my eyes. The heat of the morning blisters over my tower as the chains binding me start to dissolve.

Monsters Night is over.

And for the first time, I can experience the euphoria of finding a mate of my own.

Not just one, but three. I knew this would never work without other monsters to stabilize a union like this. And it seems two have miraculously appeared.

I don't believe in coincidences. Something has triggered this. Or someone has drawn us all together.

Maybe there really are Gods after all.

No matter if there are higher powers at play or not, I know what happens next.

I will go to her. There's no stopping it now. Blood contract or no, Scarlett Nightingale belongs with me.

With us, I think. The two dream creatures I sense are sated after feeding on her dreams. They did more than pleasure her. They helped her. Her screams had been ones of pain. I hadn't been able to go to her, and I reluctantly consider what might have happened had the two others not been there.

She could have died.

They look hungry, though. Their eyes glow red-hot as they seem to reluctantly back away from her. The one with large fangs exercises his jaw, and the other tastes the air. Feeding on her dreams isn't enough.

They need her blood, too. They'll get it, when they find her in the real world.

But I will go to her first. She doesn't understand what's happening, and she deserves to know.

I've allowed her to believe it was all a dream because that's all I thought it could ever be.

I was wrong.

Sunlight spills through the windows of my tower, and my eyes fling open. The chains fall, and I rise to my feet, only for my beast's purrs to turn into growls.

My chest tightens as his power swells over me, his eagerness to feast making my canines sharpen and my jaw ache.

"Helia," I say before my voice is completely gone. One night of imprisonment wasn't enough, not now that my beast has tasted the awakened dreams of a true mate.

She's lying in her bed like a decadent treat just waiting to be devoured. It's too much for him to resist.

His strength ripples through me, making me grow as new muscles wind over my arms, my torso, and my entire body. My cock swells and throbs, the massive appendage enough to split Scarlett in two without a little magical assistance. I can't hope that my beast would have enough finesse to think of that.

He's going to kill her.

He's going to kill everyone in our path, and then he's going to take Scarlett no matter if she's ready for us or not.

"Helia!" I roar.

The Monster City Queen should have responded to me by now, but she hasn't. I don't have time to wonder what the hell she's doing that she can't answer my summons, but I know I have precious seconds to decide what I'm going to do.

My reflection in the window overlooking the city grows as my beast takes control. My skin darkens with nightmares, and my eyes take on a fractured glow. My jaw unhinges as a wide maw yawns open, displaying sharpened teeth. My beast overcomes lucid thought, shoving one singular thought into my head.

Feed.

My beast will drain my city dry. He'll devour everyone in his path and destroy everything I have built.

Oh, the irony—I have become my own worst enemy.

"No, beast," I growl as my words lose form. My massive tongue isn't made for talking; it's made for tasting. For devouring and doing wicked things.

I won't let him be wicked, not when it means the mate I have searched so long for will suffer.

If she's better off without us, then so be it.

My beast can't stop me as I use the last of my strength to propel us forward. The windows rush at me like a glimmering barrier. When I break through them, I dive inward .

I go to a place in the Dream Realm I've never ventured before. I find the nearest river of blood and throw myself into it.

My beast thrashes and roars as we slip under. Then blood is all I know. It's not like real blood. It isn't sticky or wet.

But it's consuming .

It's a place I don't belong. But it'll keep Scarlett safe.

I can't speak anymore, but I think my last words as powerfully as if they were a prayer.

Don't come looking for me, star. Stay safe. Stay… awake.