Strange man in her dreams

A woman was lying motionless on a large bed, inside a dim room. Her blonde hair was disheveled, scattered all over the pillow on which she lay. Black curtains were drawn to keep out the harsh sunlight. Red silk materials were draped over the curtains and around the bed post. Two figures stood beside the bed, staring down at the unconscious woman.

"When will she wake up?",Brandon asked as he stared at Cara who was looking pale on the bed. Her skin looked translucent and her veins could be seen, red and blue lines running down her arms.

"I don't know",Jezebel said. She equally looked pale after using the dark magic to bring back Cara. Dark Magic was an element of a powerful Sorceress. Jezebel was just an ordinary witch and using the spell drained her totally, almost taking her life.

"What do you mean you don't know?",Brandon snapped angrily. "I thought you said it would work". He turned and glared at the witch, watching as she huffed for breathe.

"It worked",Jezebel said angrily. She glared at the Vampire Lord and looked away, knowing that there was nothing she could do. "I don't know how long it will take before she wakes up. I had to destroy her wolf for the ritual to work. We can only wait"

"I don't have time for this",Brandon said and turned to leave the room. "Inform me when she awakes. I have more important things to do"

Jezebel watched him leave and muttered a curse. She had risked her life by using the dark magic to bring back Cara, and she did all these for Brandon. Yet he didn't even care. He could be so ungrateful but yet, there was nothing she could do about it. She could only hope the ritual worked because if it didn't, he wouldn't hesitate to kill her like he killed Maria.

She lowered herself on the bed and stared at Cara who was looking deathly pale, with no sign of consciousness. The woman was no longer a shifter so it would be easy to manipulate her to do their bidding.

"You better survive this",she hissed at the unconscious form on the bed.

They needed Cara in order for their plans to work.

...

"Dragon scale", Riven said in a hard voice.

"Yes Alpha. It seems one was spying on the mansion",Cade said.

Riven hated the lot of them. In the last war with the damned creatures of Tartarus, during the era he locked the creatures up in the dark abyss, the dragon clan had taken sides with the demons and hellish creatures. When they realized the war wasn't favouring the creatures of Tartarus, the dragons had quickly changed sides, not wanting to be on the loosing side.

The lycanthropes and other creatures of the supernatural realm won the war in the end, but Riven had banished the dragons as a punishment for betraying them and joining the demons. He exiled them to the ends of the island, where they would leave in seclusion, without food and water.

Over the past years, the dragon clan had lived on a low profile, keeping to their end of the island. They held a great hateful grudge towards Riven for exiling them to a barren land. They probably already knew about Riven's mate and they were beginning to stir up trouble.

"Any idea why they would choose to appear now?",Cade asked when Riven remained silent.

Riven knew it was because of Layla but he said nothing. He had a lot of enemies, enemies he made centuries ago. These enemies knew they couldn't physically harm him because he was the most powerful creature in the realm. Waging a war against him was stupid and pointless. So they would target what he cherished most.

And that was his mate.

"Arrange a meeting with the Dragon Lord", Riven said finally and tossed the dragon scale back to Cade. "I must address this issue before it blows out of hand"

"Yes Alpha",Cade said and left. He knew that 'address this issue' meant a terrible punishment on the dragon clan.

Riven stood outside the door for a while, his shoulders taut with fury. One of the dragon clan member had the audacity to trespass on his territory, despite being exiled. It was an atrocious act and he would wipe out the entire race of the dragons if they dared touch his mate.

He walked back into the room and joined Layla on the bed. As he pulled her into his arms, his fury was doused for the moment and he let the presence of Layla soothe his beast.

...

Layla found herself in a dark room. It was entirely dark, not a single light illuminated it. She could feel the soft bed beneath her. This wasn't Riven's bed and she knew it. Riven always left a lit lantern to illuminate the room because after the incident with the creature from Tartarus, she was terrified of the dark.

So she knew instantly that this room wasn't Riven's because it was totally dark. She gasped suddenly when she felt a hand snake around her waist. She squirmed under the person's touch, getting uncomfortable when she didn't feel the sparks. This wasn't Riven. This wasn't Riven!

She tried to cry out but her throat felt clogged again. She tried to move but her hands were trapped between her body and the stranger. She shut her eyes as his hands moved over her body, dipping into the curve of her waist and resting on her hips. He was still for a while.

Then she felt his lips on her neck, trailing up to her collar bone. Despite herself, Layla shivered. A soft sound left her lips and she strained under his arms. His lips moved towards her jaw and continued until he got to the corner of her lips.

"Mine...",he whispered.

Layla tried to turn away but he had her in a tight embrace. She whimpered, feeling her body responding to his touch. She felt his lips again, this time in the valley between her breasts. His hands tightened around her hips and pulled her close and Layla couldn't take it anymore. She began to struggle.

His voice whispered in her ears again.

"Mine..."

...

Layla trashed around in the bed, trying to come awake. Her legs were tangled in the sheets and she cried out in fear when she felt strong hands around her.

"It's okay my love. I'm here",Riven whispered to her. "It's just a nightmare. I'm here with you. You're safe"

Layla ceased her struggling when she heard Riven's deep voice and felt the sparks as he touched her and pulled her close.

"It was just a nightmare",Riven repeated and kissed her cheek.

Layla slowly opened her eyes and looked around the room. It was morning already but the curtains were still drawn. She could hear the chirping of the birds and she closed her eyes with a sigh.

It had been a nightmare but it felt so real. The slow touches, the burning kisses, the husky voice. His voice sounded strangely familiar and she racked her brains to remember where she had heard it before. His voice echoed again in her head and she shuddered.

"What are you thinking of, my sweet Layla?",Riven asked, noticing the frown between her brows. "The nightmare? You want to talk about it?"

Layla shook her head and rolled into his embrace. She wrapped an arm around his waist and pushed her face into his shoulder.

Riven chuckled lightly and curled her hair in his fingers. He dropped another kiss on her cheek and placed his hand on her waist.

"My love, there's a place I have to go this morning. And I want you to come with me",Riven told her quietly. He wasn't about to leave her all alone in the mansion and let something happen to her before he returned.

Layla looked up at him with a frown. "Where are we going?",she asked softly. She was glad Riven wouldn't leave her alone in the mansion and she hoped they were going to somewhere interesting.

"We're going to see someone called Magnus Reinhart",Riven said while one hand played with her hair. "The trip will be a bit long because he lives at the end of the island. I don't want to leave you that long"

"What is he? Is he a shifter like you?",Layla asked.

"No",Riven said slowly, gauging her reaction. "He's a dragon. A dragon shifter"