Chapter 22 Morpheus
Morpheus
Meanwhile…
There you are, pretty Omega, I think, finally finding my intended in the dream world. She’s naked and floating in a deep blue sea, her eyes closed, her arms outstretched.
My lips curl at the sight as I disrobe and step into the warm water, eager to join my little dreamer. “You told me you didn’t know how to swim,” I murmur. “Yet you seem to be doing just fine out here.”
She startles, her blue eyes opening toward the sky before searching for me. “What?” she asks, blinking a few times. “I don’t— Oh!” She tries to sit up and ends up spinning her arms in an awkward circular motion that leaves her floundering in the water.
I dive toward her, my arms coming around her and righting her in the shallow lagoon, the water maybe three feet deep at most.
She stands and clings to me, her lashes fluttering as she takes a big gulp of air.
“You’re okay,” I murmur. “I have you. And more importantly, you can stand here.” This is also a dream, I nearly add, but she’s shivering, her adrenaline rush evident.
So I simply hold her instead.
“Just breathe,” I whisper, my lips against her ear. “Inhale… exhale… that’s it, Serapina. Now be a good girl and inhale again. Mmm, that’s right, sweetheart. Exhale.” I repeat the mantra a few more times, helping her to regulate her breathing, and eventually the shaking subsides.
“How did I end up h-here?” she asks, only a slight quaver in her tone.
“You’re dreaming,” I tell her. “And apparently your mind wanted to return you to the lagoon.” I glance around. “Only this is a pretty different backdrop. All dark skies with glittering stars and two very distinctive moons.”
It reminds me of the Netherworld.
Except there are no blue seas like this in that kingdom. Just the Blood River and a recently resurrected Creek of the Dead.
So this is a glorious combination of her experiences from Hades’s world and Mykonos. “I approve of the scenery,” I tell her, meaning it. “Especially your choice of wardrobe.” I look down at her breasts pillowed against my chest. “You’re beautiful, Serapina.”
She frowns, then follows my gaze down and gasps. “Oh!” Her palms go to my pecs like she’s going to push me away, but her nails bite into my skin instead as electricity hums between us.
I arch a brow.
And she slowly looks back up at me. “This… isn’t real?”
“It’s as real as you want it to be,” I tell her.
“But it’s a dream?”
“Yes.” I draw my fingers up her spine to the back of her neck. “You’re in my world now, Serapina.”
“So you’re… actually here?”
“In a way,” I hedge, smiling. “You’re still in Hades’s labyrinth, but obviously asleep.”
Her nose scrunches. “Oh. So you could just be a figment of my imagination.”
I nod. “That’s true. But I’m the God of Dreams, sweetheart. So I could truly be here, too.”
“Hmm, maybe. However, I also know that, which means this could still be in my head,” she replies before looking around. “It would make sense that I wanted to continue what was happening in the cave.”
My eyebrow glides upward. “And what was happening in the cave?” I ask, my voice dropping to a lower volume, one meant for the bedroom.
The way her nipples stiffen against my chest tells me she’s not immune to my charm. Or maybe it’s because she’s thinking about what led us to disrobing and walking into that lagoon. “You were going to teach me about your knot,” she whispers.
“I was,” I reply, my lips curling a little. “I still can, if that’s your desire.” Because I would do anything to please her. To know her. To earn her.
She’s incredible. So resilient. Intelligent. Strong. Independent.
Her life hasn’t been easy, and she’s currently trapped in Hades’s maze, yet she looks up at me with such sincerity and interest in her alluring blue eyes.
“Hades told me I’ll crave a knot during my heat,” she informs me.
“Oh?” My intrigue is piqued. “Did he say anything else?”
She swallows and nods. “He said I’ll want to be hunted… because I’ll want to test my potential mates.”
I dip my chin. “He’s right. Omegas love primal play, as do Alphas. And although Maliki isn’t an Alpha, I’m sure he’ll enjoy chasing you, too.”
Serapina shivers. “Because I’ll want to… breed?”
“That’s the purpose of a heat, yes,” I murmur. “But all of us will understand if that’s not what you truly desire, little dreamer.” Though, admittedly, it will be a bit disappointing, as the notion of a pregnant Serapina is arousing as fuck.
I won’t care whose seed takes inside her womb; I’ll still love her and the life inside her equally. Because creation is magic. And the concept of being part of that creation is divine in nature. A miracle.
I just want to be a witness to that moment and help nurture the gift of life.
“Your expression… you look wistful?” she says, one of her hands traveling up my chest to my neck to trace the line of my jaw with a single fingertip. “You desire a child?”
It’s such an observant question, one that confirms how well Serapina pays attention to those around her. Always studying and reading into situations. That skill is no doubt a product of her harsh upbringing, the ability to evaluate everyone and everything around her a means for survival.
But she uses it now as a way to ascertain my wants and wishes, even though I was primarily focused on her.
“Alphas exist to gift our seed to Omegas and aid in the creation of life,” I tell her honestly. “So yes, it has long been my desire to have a child. But I’ve waited millennia, Serapina. A few more decades or centuries won’t bother me.”
Her eyes widen. “Centuries?”
“Or decades,” I add. “I did say ‘decades,’ too.”
“You would wait centuries for me to be ready?” she asks, ignoring my “decades” commentary altogether.
I cup her cheek as I tighten my hold around her lower back with my opposite arm. “Serapina, I would wait for eternity if you asked me to. I’m your Alpha. Always and forever. In whatever capacity you desire.”
She stares up at me, her gaze searching. “You’re not doing a good job of convincing me that this is real,” she whispers.
I smile. “Dreams are very real for me, my heart. But this can be as fantastical or as true as you wish. Because I’m your God of Dreams, and your fantasies are my literal commands.”
Her lashes flutter a little, her pupils seeming to dilate. “So you’ll give me anything I want… in this dream?”
“Sweetheart, I’ll give you anything you want.” I pause to ensure she knows I mean now and in general.
So long as it’s within my power to do so, I will always provide whatever she requests.
Dream or no dream.
“But if you would like to begin with the parameters of this fantasy,” I go on, “I can work with that.”
“Then I want to continue our conversation from the lagoon,” she tells me softly. “I… I want to know what would have happened next.”
My gaze slides down to her mouth and then back up again. “I’m fairly certain I would have kissed you, Serapina.” I graze my thumb along her bottom lip. “And then I would have guided your hand to my knot, to let you explore.”
She shudders. “Okay.” Her expression takes on a lustful quality. “Show me, Morpheus. I want to experience what should have been.”
My breath leaves me, her words sounding more like my own fantasies—me wanting to show my Omega what life should have been like between us. How our souls should have bonded all those millennia ago.
But this is Serapina.
My perfect intended.
My Goddess.
And that makes my fantasy so much more intense. My desires burn hotter. My love shines even brighter.
“Dreams, Serapina,” I whisper, my forehead falling to hers. “I’m starting to wonder if our roles have reversed, and perhaps you’re truly here to make my fantasies come true.”
Because I want nothing more than to indulge her.
To embrace her.
To worship her.
I brush my lips against hers in the softest of kisses, aware that when she wakes tomorrow, this will be nothing but a memory inside her mind.
But for me, this is so fucking real. I’m here. I’m in the dream world with her. Embracing her. Tasting her…
I kiss her again, applying a tad more pressure, and draw my hand back into her hair to properly hold her.
Everything melts away around us, the sea morphing into a different kind of pool. A secluded bath. One with walls all around us to give us privacy.
Not that anyone can disturb us here.
The only way to end this is with Serapina telling me to stop… or someone rousing her back in the real world.
However, I want to provide her with a semblance of privacy, while also introducing her to the magic of my domain.
I create four pillars around the bath, all of them stone and adorned with gold leaves.
Then I add a bench layer to the massive basin, giving us a place to lounge… or do other things.
Whatever she wants. However she wants. I’m hers.
Serapina doesn’t seem to notice any of this, her body simply melting into mine with each stroke of my lips against hers.
But the moment I slip my tongue into her mouth, our embrace changes.
Her nails scrape along my skin as she moves her hands up to my shoulders, then wraps her arms around my neck.
I groan, the feel of her pressed up against me the most intensely amazing sensation I’ve ever experienced. She’s so warm. So soft. So mine.
I deepen our kiss, my arm a steel band around her lower back.
Because I need more. I need her.
Gods, I’ve been starved for so fucking long. No Omega. No true mate. And now… now my ultimate fantasy is playing out in my dream world.
Serapina moans, her tits practically vibrating with the sound.
I shouldn’t continue. I should stop. But my hand drifts of its own accord, needing to feel her. To know her.
I cup her breast, eliciting another delicious sound from my mate as she arches into me. This wasn’t part of the plan. But I can’t stop now. I want to feel every inch of her. Memorize this moment… in case there’s not another one.
She gasps when I give her a little squeeze, then practically purrs when I thumb her nipple.
My mouth leaves hers to kiss a path down her neck, but her fingers suddenly thread through my hair as she yanks my head back up for more.
I smile just before our lips touch, then indulge in her demand.
Only this is more than an indulgence.
It’s a claiming.
Not just from me, but from her, too.
Because our kiss turns from explorative to feral in an instant, her tongue dueling mine as I thumb her nipple and press my lower half against her belly.
There’s no question as to where my knot is or how hard I am for her.
My cock is like a fucking brand against her soft skin, my body throbbing for her in ways I can show more than describe. “Fuck, Serapina,” I breathe.
She clings to me. “More, Morpheus. Please.”
My hands go to her hips, and I pull her flush against me, then lift her. “Wrap your legs around me,” I tell her.
She does.
Because of course she fucking does. She’s my good girl. My dream.
I walk us backward to sit on the bench, where she straddles me with ease, but I don’t let her sit. I force her to stay on her knees and place her exactly where I want her—with her tits closer to my face.
Leaning forward, I take a nipple between my teeth and bite.
She gasps in surprise, then startles when I lave the sharp sting away with my tongue.
“Ohh,” she moans, her back arching as she tries to encourage me to do it again.
I don’t.
Instead, I suck, which draws even more beautiful mewls from my Omega.
Her fingers find their way back into my hair while her other hand goes to my shoulder. “That feels… feels so good…”
“Mmm,” I hum, agreeing with her.
Only, I would change feels to tastes, because fuck, my mate is sweet.
I want more.
To lick every inch of her.
To sink my teeth into her flesh and mark her.
To drag her beneath me and fuck her.
But I can’t rush this.
I need to savor every second of her admiration and approval. Revel in her attention. Enjoy her choice.
Switching to her other breast, I lavish it with the attention it deserves, cherish her with my mouth, and pleasure her with my tongue.
By the time I pull away, a pretty flush has spread all over her chest, the color matching her cheeks as she pants in my lap. “More?” I ask her.
She nods. “Yes, please.”
I twine my fingers in her hair and pull her down for a kiss. But just before our mouths meet, I tell her, “My heart, with me, you never have to beg. All you have to do is ask.”
I demonstrate my vow with my tongue, embracing her with millennia of passion building inside me, all for the Omega of my dreams. My mate. My intended.
She quivers, her body lowering onto mine as I gather her closer, placing us intimately together and allowing her to feel my knot right up against her slick cunt.
Serapina reacts by pressing herself even more firmly against me, her lower half giving an exploratory shift as she seeks friction against my shaft.
I indulge her in her needs. Because fuck, how could I stop her now? Why would I even try?
“Dreams, you feel amazing,” I whisper.
This might be a product of her own mind, but it’s still the most incredible experience of my existence.
And it makes me crave her that much more.
I’m going to have to find a way into Hades’s maze, which was originally why I sought out Serapina in her dreams. She has the power somewhere inside her to alter the wards. I wanted to teach her.
Instead, I ended up in this bath with a very turned-on Omega in my lap.
She’s so close to her heat. I can feel it. This need inside her is only going to build.
Until she loses her mind with lust.
And begs Hades to knot her.
I want to growl at the unfairness of it all, the very real threat of losing my mate all over again to his possessive touch.
She’s mine, too…
But I can’t claim her in a dream. And I also won’t bite her until she asks me to.
“I want to touch you,” Serapina says on a pant, her mouth against mine, her pussy so fucking hot against my aching cock.
“Touch me,” I tell her. “Touch me wherever you want, little—”
The world vibrates around us, causing me to growl.
Her eyes go wide. “What is…?” She trails off, her voice dissipating as her visage begins to fade.
And suddenly, she’s gone.
My head falls back, my body strung tight as agony simmers through my veins. For a brief moment, Serapina introduced me to a true fantasy.
Now, I have to face the nightmare of reality.
A nightmare where I once again realize that she’s not yet mine.
“Fuck,” I growl, my fists clenching as the illusion melts away around me. “Fuck.”
I’m so fucking tired of battling Hades for my right as an Alpha. But I’ll fight him for eternity if it means one day winning a kiss from my intended.
She chose me in her dreams.
Hopefully, she’ll choose me outside of them, too.
But the only way I’ll ever know is if Hades lets me see her.
Or if I teach her how to let me into the maze.
Next time you dream, Serapina, I’ll focus on finding you, I decide. Until then, I’ll be waiting for you in the dream world, my love…