Eve couldn’t sleep.
She lay in bed swith Damon and Damien by her side, both of them sleeping peacefully, They had made the decision days ago that Silas should move back to his room pendingthe ti they wait for Cain’s final bonding.
But her mind wouldn’t quiet. Her mother was dying. The Seraphim Court existed sowhere she couldn’t see. Her uncle was watching. Enemies she’d never t were planning her death.
And she was supposed to just....sleep? Pretend everything was normal?
Eve carefully extracted herself from the tangle of limbs, not wanting to wake the brothers. They’d been so supportive, so protective. They deserved rest.
She moved to the window seat, staring out at the estate grounds bathed in moonlight. Sowhere out there, her uncle was watching. She could feel it...that familiar presence that had beco almost comforting.
I wish you’d just reveal yourself, she thought, knowing he couldn’t hear. I wish you’d stop hiding and help understand what’s coming.
Eve’s eyes grew heavy despite her racing thoughts. The pendant around her neck felt warm against her skin, pulsing gently with power she was still learning to understand.
She didn’t an to fall asleep. But exhaustion finally claid her, pulling her into unconsciousness right there on the window seat.
And that’s when it happened.
Eve opened her eyes to find herself....sowhere else.
Not the bedroom. Not anywhere in the estate. She stood in a vast library filled with books that seed to stretch infinitely in all directions. The air shimred with a quality that wasn’t quite real, and when she looked down, she realized she was glowing softly.
"What...." she started, then saw him.
Silas.
He stood among the bookshelves, running his fingers along spines, his expression peaceful in a way she rarely saw while he was awake. He wore simple sleep pants and nothing else, his muscled torso bare, his dark hair slightly mussed.
"Silas?" Eve called out.
He turned, his eyes widening with surprise. "Eve? How are you....this is my dream. You shouldn’t be able to....."
"Your dream?" Eve looked around with new understanding. The library made sense now....Silas loved books, loved knowledge. Of course his dreams would be filled with infinite wisdom to explore.
"Dreamwalking," Silas breathed, moving toward her. "One of the succubus abilities ntioned in the grimoires. You’re actually here. In my dream. You’re not just a dream-version of yourself.....you’re really here."
Eve touched her own arm, feeling solid despite the unreality of the space. "I didn’t an to. I was just thinking about everything, worrying, and I fell asleep and....and now I’m here."
"Because you were thinking about ," Silas said, understanding dawning. "The bond. You were connected to emotionally, fell asleep while focused on , and your subconscious reached out through the bond and.....entered my dreams."
"Can all succubi do this?" Eve asked.
"According to the texts, yes. But it requires strong emotional connection and usually a lot of practice." Silas studied her with fascination. "You just did it accidentally on your first try. That’s....that’s remarkable."
Eve looked around the impossible library. "So this is what you dream about? Books? Knowledge?"
"Usually," Silas admitted. "My dreams are often like this. Searching for answers. Trying to understand things. It’s how my mind processes the day."
"It’s beautiful," Eve said honestly. "Peaceful. So different from...."
"From what?" Silas prompted.
"From waking life," Eve finished. "Where everything is complicated and dangerous and overwhelming. Here it’s just....knowledge. Pure and simple."
Silas moved closer, and Eve noticed that in this dream space, she could sense his emotions even more clearly than through the bond. Could feel his peace, his contentnt, his deep affection for her.
And beneath that....desire. Always desire when she was near.
"I should probably leave," Eve said, suddenly aware of the intimacy of being in soone’s dreams uninvited. "This is private. Your subconscious. I shouldn’t....."
"Stay," Silas interrupted. "Please. I want you here. Want to share this with you."
He took her hand, and the mont they touched, the dream shifted.
The library was still there, but now there were comfortable chairs, soft lighting, a fireplace crackling with warmth. The space molded itself to accommodate both their desires....knowledge for him, comfort for her.
"The dream responds to us both now," Silas explained. "Because you’re really here. It’s not just my dream anymore.....it’s ours."
Eve sat in one of the chairs, and Silas sat across from her, their hands still linked.
"In my dreams, I don’t have to be in control all the ti," Silas admitted quietly. "Don’t have to manage Cain, don’t have to be the analytical one, don’t have to have all the answers. I can just....be."
"Is that why you dream of libraries?" Eve asked gently. "Because here, all the answers exist sowhere? You just have to find them?"
"Probably," Silas said with a slight smile. "My subconscious isn’t subtle."
The dream shifted again, and suddenly Eve could see deeper....see layers of Silas’s psyche that he never showed while awake. His fears, his insecurities, his desperate need to protect her warring with his terror of Cain’s claiming.
"I can see you," Eve whispered. "Really see you. All of you. Not just what you show the world."
"I know," Silas said. "That’s what dreamwalking does. It strips away pretense. In dreams, we can’t hide. Can’t pretend. We just....are."
Eve saw it then....the depth of his fear. He was terrified that when Cain finally claid her, the wolf would be too rough, too dominant, would hurt her in ways Silas couldn’t prevent. Terrified that she’d never look at him the sa way after experiencing Cain’s absolute dominance.
"You’re afraid I’ll be afraid of you," Eve said, understanding flooding through her. "After Cain claims . You think I’ll see you differently. Fear you."
"Won’t you?" Silas asked quietly. "Cain is.....he’s not like Kane or Rex. He won’t just mark you. He’ll....consu you. Dominate you so completely that you’ll have no choice but to submit. And I’ll be watching, unable to stop him, unable to help you. How can you not fear after that?"
"Because you’re not Cain," Eve said firmly. "You’re Silas. The man who watches with such tenderness. Who teaches patience. Who dreams of libraries and knowledge and peace. The wolf is part of you, yes. But he’s not all of you."
The dream shifted again, responding to the emotional intensity. Now they were sowhere more intimate....a bedroom with soft sheets and moonlight streaming through windows.
"My subconscious is really not subtle," Silas muttered.
Eve laughed despite everything. "Neither is mine apparently."
She could feel it....the desire building between them. Enhanced by the dream state, by the complete emotional honesty required in this space. They couldn’t hide what they wanted. Couldn’t pretend to be anything other than two people desperately attracted to each other.
"If I kiss you in a dream," Silas asked, "does it count as real?"
"Let’s find out," Eve said.
He crossed to her, and when their lips t, Eve understood the difference imdiately. This wasn’t physical kissing....it was deeper. Soul touching soul. Desire eting desire without the barrier of flesh between them.
It was intense in ways physical intimacy could never be.
When they finally pulled apart, both were glowing brighter, the dream responding to their combined energy.
"I want to...." Silas started.
"Yes," Eve interrupted, knowing what he was asking.
"But would it....I an, in a dream, can you actually...."
"Only one way to find out," Eve said, pulling him down to the bed.
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