Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Ama
I was pulled out of the darkness of my unconscious state, but at first, I wasn't sure by what.
All I knew was that whatever it was...was comforting and created a feeling of safety within my chest—one that had me letting out a contented sigh as I stretched out and enjoyed feeling like I had awoken from a long nap.
Hands smoothed over my sides in a languid up and down stroke that had me wanting to burrow into whichever one of my mates was doing this.
"Princess."
My Reaper mate. The man who’d driven me crazy for years of my life, yet never lost his place in my heart the entire time.
Drayven's voice had me opening my eyes to find myself back in my bedroom in Mortem. The sheets were instantly recognizable and made my brows furrow together in confusion.
Home? I wasn't supposed to be here.
I sat up and looked around, finding it both confusing and exciting that Drayven was in my bed and lying next to me.
I had dreamed about this happening so many times, even despite being angry at him during many of those moments.
I could never deny the pull that I felt with him.
It was as if a part of me knew that he was still mine, despite him being an asshole.
But instead of looking relaxed, as I would have assumed, his eyes were filled with an immense amount of concern and anger when I stared into their black depths. The rings of emerald green that flashed around them were pulsating. That only happened when he was ready to wield his scythe in battle.
Why was he upset?
"What is going on?" I asked, confused on how the hell we were here.
He sat up next to me and reached for my hand, squeezing softly.
My eyes darted down to the soft black silk nightgown I was wearing.
When I looked back up at Drayven, his eyes were roving my body, and his lust was clear—but it was also mixed with a primal anger that made the hair on my arms stand.
It was intense and made my stomach fill with dread.
"Dray?" I softly asked, wondering why he wasn't answering me.
His hand tightened on mine before he answered. "We are not home," he clarified softly. "We are in a dream, like in the carriage. Do you remember how we dream shared?"
"Oh," I answered, and my cheeks flamed with the memory as I absentmindedly tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Yes. I do."
How could I forget the first orgasm he’d given me while we were still simmering like enemies in an enclosed carriage? I had thought it had been my own private sex dream, but turned out I had used my Succubus powers unknowingly and pulled him into it.
"Where are you?" Drayven's voice was raw as he reached up and gripped my jaw with his free hand, tilting it up.
My head pulsed as I ran a hand over my face, trying to remember what had come right before this, the moment at the edge of my memories. It was right there. Right within reach...yet I couldn't grasp it.
How did I end up here? Why the fuck wasn’t my brain working properly right now?
A part of me wanted to scream in frustration as I wracked my brain for answers and came up with scattered pieces of memories.
"I was in the camp..." I offered, not quite remembering what happened to bring me here. "The last thing I remember was..." I trailed off as the memory of my fight with Nico slammed into me. "I was with Nico."
My heart squeezed as the emotions of that fight returned. I had to tune it out. Now was not the time to try to process it.
Why didn't he know where I was? We had been arguing together.
He shook his head, "You ran away from him, Princess. We've been searching everywhere for you. No one has been able to find you."
"I did run from him," I whispered as small flashes of my memory returned. "He didn't want me. He didn't want our mate bond.”
Drayven let out a low rumble, "Don't fucking remind me. I was seconds away from ripping his throat out, but then I felt you calling to me. If it wasn't for that, he'd be dead."
"Holy shit." Everything slammed back into me, my eyes widening and my heart beating wildly.
I explained in a rush, "I was taken. I was sitting by a tree outside of camp, and I think...
this is going to sound crazy, but someone grabbed me and pulled me into...
Well, I'm not sure what you would call it.
It felt like my body was being morphed and squeezed, and a lot of nausea came over me before I blacked out. How is that possible?"
"That's a question that I would like answers to as well," Drayven admitted roughly, dropping his hand from my chin. He sighed heavily as he leaned against my headboard.
"This is so messed up," I said and frowned, curling against his chest, trying desperately to remember any details I was missing, but it was like my brain was fuzzy or drugged.
Everything was hazy and slow, convincing me to close my eyes once again and give in to this moment instead of overthinking it.
"Princess, we are going to find you. I fucking promise.
I can't..." Drayven trailed off and pulled me onto his lap so I was straddling him, and despite the fact that he was clearly hard beneath me, the tone of this dream was vastly different than the one in the carriage.
Shit, we had come so far from then, and now, instead of just heat in his eyes, I could see the love there, making me feel strong despite this situation.
"You can't what?" I asked breathily, knowing that this was a precarious situation we were in, but I couldn't ignore how good he felt beneath my core, pressing into me and reminding me of his desire for me.
He leaned forward to rest his forehead against mine, and his voice cracked, "I can't lose you."
My lips opened in shock at the depth of emotion that laced those four words and rocked me to my core.
His hands found my hips and gripped them tightly as he gruffly said, "I still have so much to make up for.
I caused you so much pain, and I will be working for the rest of our devildamned lives to fix that.
But I need you, Princess. I need to replace all of those bad memories with such incredible ones that will eclipse the old ones completely.
I need you to know that your heart is forever safe with me.
I promise to never allow it to crack again. "
Holy hell. This man...He had said he loved me before, but I don't think I quite understood the depths of his feelings until now. It was rolling off of him in waves. His fear for my safety was so strong it was almost tangible.
Unable to stop myself, I leaned forward and kissed him fiercely. One of his hands trailed up to wrap around the back of my neck as he teased my mouth open with his tongue and caused a tremble to work its way through my body.
I pulled back to look at him, and the hunger in his gaze had me gasping as he picked me up and rolled off the bed, holding my core firmly to his hard-on as he backed me up to the wall, trapping me. Shit. I couldn’t even count the number of times I’d imagined this.
"You're my everything, Princess," he breathed out before his lips captured mine once more. My body trembled with need as the dull throbbing between my legs turned into an incessant ache demanding relief.
I pushed at his chest until he pulled back, then I attempted to pull his shirt off as I pleaded, "Please. We don't know how much time we have left in this dream together."
His eyes narrowed as his chest rumbled at the concept of anyone stopping this, "What do you want, Princess?"
My breathing was becoming rapid as my own desire coursed through me. "Need, Drayven. I need you to make me come. I need this moment with you before it's all ripped away. I need to remember this moment with you when I wake up."
I knew I wasn't wearing anything under the nightgown because I could feel the light scraping of his pants against my core.
He helped me pull his shirt off, and my hands immediately gripped his back.
I dragged my nails down his skin lightly as he reached for the waistband of his pants between my legs.
His cock sprang free and lined up with my entrance. His fingers delved into my folds, finding me beyond wet, as he circled my clit and captured my lips again. The kiss turned primal as our teeth clashed, and I bit his lip and groaned, "Now."
He dropped me to my feet suddenly and spun me around so that my hands were flat against the stone wall. Pulling my hips back, he bent me over, and I felt the thick tip of his cock in warning before he pushed himself into me with one swift thrust of his hips.
Oh fuck.
I moaned as he filled me, and while I thought I would have a moment to adjust, he immediately set a fast pace that made me feel like I was gasping for air and flying through the stars at the pleasure that rocked me.
His groans of pleasure made my walls clench around his cock as I moaned my ecstasy. There was something so fucking hot about hearing his groans and the slap of his hips against my ass as he filled me completely.
"Princess, you feel so damned good," he growled out as his hips drove into me over and over again until I felt myself spiraling into oblivion.
Reaching down between my legs, I brushed my finger over my clit, knowing I would come undone within seconds and moaned, "Come in me, Dray."
"Not until you—" his words were cut off as my walls clenched around him and I cried out his name, my fingers circling over my clit and driving me over the edge.
He grunted, his hips continuing to buck into me furiously and his grip turning almost bruising as he buried his face against my neck. I couldn’t even tell you how long the man kept that pace up, my entire body broken into a heat flush and every nerve ending lit up.
The feel of his massive body caging and pressing my smaller one was so hot, the dominance that he naturally exerted filling the space as he filled me.
I swear to the devil, this man was fucking me like he had been wanting to his entire life, like we had no time left, which probably wasn’t far from the truth.
I felt my eyes nearly roll to the back of my head as he angled his hips a different way, causing him to hit a white-hot point of pleasure and pain.
I exploded, my climax pulling him over the edge as he buried himself inside of me, his cum filling me up as I closed my eyes, the brick cool against my face. We stayed that way for a few moments, breathing heavily and calming our racing hearts. Holy hell.
"I'm coming for you, Ama," he vowed as he pulled out of me and yanked me back against his chest, his breath hot against my neck as he peppered the skin with kisses.
I wanted to make a joke about how he just had, but I knew it wasn't the time or place, especially since his voice had such a heavy and serious tone to it.
"You can't," I whispered as I turned around in his arms to peer up at him.
He tucked his cock back into his pants as his eyes flared with green, "What do you mean I can't? You better fucking believe I will come for you, Ama. No matter what, you always come first, and I am not leaving you in the hands of whoever the fuck—"
"No." My voice was serious as I gently covered his mouth with my fingers and I spoke quietly.
"I need you, Drayven. I need you to keep them going towards the capital.
We have limited time, and every second wasted is one where the people of Pura are most likely being hurt.
I need you to be the leader that Mortem always knew you could be.
You were groomed for this, and I know you can help lead this army to victory.
I will not let you sacrifice the lives of everyone in Pura for me. "
Drayven's eyes flared again, and he looked away for a moment, his breathing rough as he pulled me closer to him and tucked me under his chin. "I can't let you go, Ama. Do not ask me to do that. Why do they deserve such kindness from you? They treated you like trash your whole life."
"You aren't letting me go. You're just handling the most important task first," I promised softly.
"You can come for me once you all have taken the capital back.
I need you to make sure our families and the people we love make it out of this alive.
Because, although there are many who did treat me poorly, there are people like my dad, Zurie, and some of the other monarchs, who showed me that maybe the people are capable of changing and accepting hybrids. "
Drayven's voice was choked, and a single tear—which nearly fucking broke me—rolled down his cheek as he asked, "What if you wake up and find out you're in danger? You’re my fucking mate, Ama. The love of my devildamned life. I can’t—"
“You can,” I kissed him softly, “and you will. You have to. Promise me, Drayven.”
“I promise,” his eyes darkened, “but if you are in danger—”
"I can handle it," I whispered hoarsely, fighting my own tears and not completely certain whether my words were true or not. I would have to handle it. There was no other option.
When Dray pulled back, I noticed that his eyes were shiny with emotion, as if he was about to cry, and that practically pulverized my heart, making me want to take it all back.
Not so he could save me, but so I could find him and stop him from feeling such pain.
I moved forward and kissed him softly, murmuring against his lips, "I love you, Dray. "
"I love you too, Princess. Forever and always," he swore.
An agonizing pain rocked through my head, and I struggled to hold in the scream that threatened to rip from me. I couldn't show him I was in pain. He would ignore everything I had just asked of him and come for me.
Thankfully, the darkness crept in, and suddenly, I felt nothing.