Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
Once Torin was asleep, I would attempt to access his dream realm. What was it that gave him terror while he slept? Who was he fighting in his dream realm? I tiptoed to Torin’s bedroom and watched his chest rise and fall rhythmically under the quilt.
At least he wasn’t having a night terror now. His eyes moved side to side underneath his eyelids, but his face was peaceful. Although he warned me about his dream realm, Torin appeared relaxed in his sleep right now. I should be safe.
Torin would invade my personal space and make it his business to learn anything about me, but he was guarded and didn’t let me in. He readily found my dream realm access point, while I didn’t even know where to search for his.
I knew little about him, and he’d done a good job of ignoring my existence for years and dodging my questions since he reappeared in my life.
My achy body reminded me to stop looking at sleepy Torin and return to my bed. Relaxing on the mattress, I closed my eyes and visualized the rabbit hole. Perhaps if I entered my dream realm, I could meet Torin there and talk to him or find a way to jump between our dream realms since we were mates.
After all, he’d let me break down in his arms after Lisa died, and I wanted to be the person Torin trusted enough to share his pain from killing Jason. I wanted to be that person for Torin.
The usual darkness and sensation of falling engulfed me. I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed I would quickly find a way to Torin’s dream realm. I didn’t want to linger in my dream realm for too long because I feared I could meet the witch who’d spoken to me before.
I was still unsettled about the witch’s motivation of seeking me in my dream realm. What if she returned?
Reopening my eyes, I landed on my feet but not in the magical forest of my dream realm. I was in my old bedroom in the kingdom. Blinking, I scanned my surroundings.
The room was my nursery and had changed as I grew up until I left home after I turned eighteen. I could have changed the small space for a larger one in the manor, but I liked my narrow twin bed, perfect for my small frame. And I liked the familiar surroundings. I was safe in my room.
Why did my mind transport me here, though? I visualized the magical forest with the witch symbols carved into the trees.
Underneath the windowsill sat two attached desks, covered in notebooks with doodles on the covers and my calligraphy supplies. My scuffed backpack leaned against the wall at the entrance of the walk-in closet.
I smiled when I saw the corkboard with the pictures Mom loved taking of our family. The oversized green beanbag chair lounged in the corner I’d deemed my reading nook space.
Everything looked the same as before I left seven years ago.
Except for the lit incense sticks and candles on my shelves, filling the room with my favorite scents—lavender and lilies.
With the moonlight peeking through the window and the glow from the candles, I had enough light to see everything in my room.
But why was I here? Since I still didn’t have good control over the images of my dream realm, had Torin evoked the image of my childhood bedroom in the kingdom? But why?
Two strong hands gripped my shoulders. A yelp escaped my lips, but my tensed body quickly relaxed when the sparks ignited under my skin.
How did Torin find me here?
His hands slid down my arms, leaving warm traces of desire that made my body shiver.
I closed my eyes, enjoying the calming and blissful sensations.
Each stroke sent waves of irresistible pleasure coursing through my veins.
I hoped Torin felt the same warmth on his skin to put him in a good mood for a conversation.
I could see what the fuss was all about when Dad had encouraged me to find my mate.
I inhaled deeply and took a lungful of the sweet citrus scent of orange and lemon. My eyes snapped wide open, and I whirled in his embrace.
“Hayden?” I squeaked.
“Hello, sweetheart,” he said in a low, sensual voice that felt like velvet over my skin, causing goose bumps to appear on my forearms.
He was still holding me. Not good. I took a step back, and Hayden released me but watched me intently with his endless blue eyes. His white dress shirt hung loose at the unbuttoned top, exposing his chiseled chest beneath, while his gray dress pants clung around his long legs.
“Where is your body… I mean, are you back in the kingdom?” I asked, blood rushing to my head, heating up my cheeks.
“I’m close by.”
I frowned. Where had he gone after Torin’s guards kicked him out of the territory? Torin refused to let Hayden on his territory. Would he ever give me a straight answer?
Then a cold chill ran through my body as my brain caught up with the predicament of the situation. I prayed Torin wouldn’t find me here.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay, Princess,” Hayden said, unleashing his charming smile that made my insides twist uncomfortably. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Hayden. But why am I here?”
“Your parents keep your bedroom unchanged and clean.” My bodyguard gestured around the space.
“Are you putting this image in my dream realm because it feels like I don’t have control over it?” I asked and pressed my lips together.
Heart pounding, I realized Hayden’s presence stirred a storm of desire and resistance within me. Our connection was intense and hard to ignore, but there were unsaid things that swirled around us.
“I am, and I can teach you how to control your mind in your dream realm so you can recall memories and locations as you please.”
That was not a bad idea, but I desperately needed to know how to exit my dream realm right now. It was easy to jump down the rabbit hole. Once I knew my access point, I could visualize it on demand. But how did I leave my dream realm before a fight between Torin and Hayden broke out?
Hayden closed the distance between us with one large stride, and I gulped.
“H-Hayden, why are you in my dream realm?”
His hands grasped my shoulders again, and the hot waves of his touch ran over my body. I trembled, and Hayden, as if he knew what his mate touch did to me, grinned. His eyes held me captive, and I couldn’t look away.
“Don’t you want more, sweetheart?”
I did, but it wasn’t right. For some reason, I had already opened my heart to Torin, and I didn’t want to mislead Hayden.
“Why are you here, especially after we talked?”
His eyes glittered in the candlelight.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Although I’d told Hayden about how I felt about him, he still appeared in my dream realm. Even if Hayden was my second mate, the mate bond was biology. A physical attraction and it was normal to feel it for two men.
Yes, totally normal.
His intense gaze unsettled me, and I took his hands off my shoulders and just held them.
“How did you find my dream realm?” I demanded.
Hayden let go of my hands slowly and placed them to my sides, but his eyes spoke of promises of more touching and holding hands or other body parts, and it scared me.
He pulled a book from a shelf and showed me the cover.
“Your favorite fairy tale. Even when you were older, you’d pick it up and read a page or two when you had a hard day at the kingdom,” he said, placing the book back in its place.
He came back to me and pulled me by my waist without warning. My body pressed against his, and I tilted my head to look at him. His bold eyes held my gaze, telling me he wouldn’t let me go. My bodyguard’s actions were possessive and unfamiliar.
“Hayden, what exactly is going on here?”
My bodyguard had no intention of leaving me alone, even after I’d made my choice to be away from him and warned him about it.
“I’m your mate, Princess. I gave you enough time to get used to the thought, and now it’s time to go back to the kingdom and announce it.”
After swallowing hard, I inhaled deeply. I couldn’t let desire triumph over reason.
“No, there are other things we need to talk about first,” I said.
Hayden was a patient man, unlike Torin, but right now, my bodyguard’s eyes held unfamiliar urgency.
“When you’re away from me, I become anxious, sweetheart. Your place is next to me.”
My absence had seemingly caused him stress, turning his usually cool and calm demeanor into impatience.
Leaning in, he dipped his head to my face. He was going to kiss me.
“I’ll only kiss you,” he said as his breath tickled my cheek, “if you want me to. What do you say, sweetheart?”
His sweet breath moved over my lips, but our mouths didn’t touch.
I realized that the mate touch was a physical manifestation of the bond, and both Torin and Hayden possessed it. But if I were to complete the mating with one of them, there had to be more than the physical. And Hayden didn’t own my heart.
“Hayden,” I warned in a loud voice, pushing him off with both hands.
Suddenly, my body shook, and my shoulders felt like something pressed on them. I blinked, and my vision blurred for a moment. Instead of Hayden’s face, I was met by an Alpha with flashing crimson eyes. Torin’s face was awfully close to mine.
I took a deep breath. “I’m awake?”
I looked around, and my heartbeat sped. I was back in my bedroom in Torin’s apartment, and he sat on the bed next to me. He must have shaken me out of my dream realm.
By the frown on his face and the scowl in his cold, red eyes, I’d have to guess Torin knew I was with Hayden. No…Torin must have thought that I had a dream about Hayden since Torin didn’t know my bodyguard could access my dream realm.
“How dare you say another man’s name in our bed.” His voice sounded deeper than usual, signaling how close his vampire was.
How did I end up with the angry Alpha when I only wanted to find the access point to his dream realm?
“Torin, let me explain. I wanted to tell you something, and now it’s probably a good time,” I said in my calmest voice, but on the inside, the extra adrenaline that burned in my veins spread like wildfire.
It was the worst timing to tell the already angry vampire about another mate.