The Nightmare (The Mist Book 2)

Ifelt the moment my bride closed her eyes—at long last—to enter the realm of dreams. Normally, I would have waited endlessly for her to finally cross the Veil once she’d conquered her ever elusive sleep. But not anymore. My brand on her acted like a lifeline that I could simply yank to bring her to me the minute she surrendered to the lure of the Veil.

I had gorged on many Beasts on my way back to my domain inside the Mist Plane. It was odd to be here while the portals to the other side were opened. However, it was the only way for my mate and me to play without jeopardizing her safety.

I watched her running, terror etched on her face. I inhaled deeply, savoring the taste of her fear. Fuck, how I had missed it! Even though my body buzzed with an insane amount of energy, each delectable wave of her despair only fueled me further. For the first time, I didn’t care about the power my woman was giving me. The scent of her fear no longer reeked and repulsed me like it had earlier.

Upping the ante to enhance her experience, I made the terrain before her even more uneven, with knotted roots and brambles to make her trip. For a moment, I considered making the ground sticky, or muddy to make it even harder for her to advance, while accelerating the speed of the Beast, but it felt like an overkill. Still, a bit more spice was needed to truly push her over the edge. First, I thought of making the trees come to life and attempt to grab her: a classic that never got old. Then I thought creepy shadows with glowing red eyes cutting her path, as they emitted a haunting, inhuman laughter. And then I got it: a decomposing swarm of seahorse fairies nipping at my Naima while the Beast closed in on her.