Chapter 5 — Prisons

Dmitry opened his eyes and knew he was no longer in the waking world.

It wasn’t the first time.

That luxurious hall, with its ancient architecture and silent opulence, had welcomed him before. A distorted reflection of reality, perhaps. Or an ethereal plane that only existed in the intersections between mind, soul, and instinct.

But that night… something was different.

The heat coming from the fireplace in the corner wasn’t comforting. It was dense. Almost oppressive. Charged with raw, primitive electricity. As if the fire wasn’t burning wood, but the veil between worlds.

“She is here.”

His Lycan’s voice echoed inside him, tense.

“This time… she pulled us. Hard.”

And then he felt her.

Even before seeing her, he knew. Her scent, subtle and indecent, a mixture of honey and temptation. The presence that dragged itself through his mind, numbing everything that once made sense.

Dmitry turned and saw her just a few steps away.

Different from the previous confusing, faceless visions. Now, Susan was really there. As real as the blood in his veins. As dangerous as the instinct roaring beneath his skin.

She had her back to him, but his body reacted before his mind could process it. His muscles contracted. The beast vibrated under his skin.

“She found us… Finally.”

Susan turned slowly, as if she felt the same weight pulling at her bones, and her gaze locked onto his.

Seeing those green eyes there, in that plane… It was like being dragged into a spell.

“You brought me here.” His voice came out lower than he intended, hoarse, too heavy. But true.

She shivered, and Dmitry knew: this wasn’t an illusion created by him. It wasn’t projected desire.

It was her. Real. Dreaming. Calling.

Susan tried to respond, but confusion mixed with fear. He saw it. And it hurt. More than it should.

“Dmitry… What are you doing here?”

He took a step forward. The energy in the room pulsed with the movement, and something inside him roared in approval.

“Touch her. Feel her. Mark her. Claim her.”

He ignored the hunger, or at least tried. He needed to understand what this was. How she was pulling him. And why the hell, even in the dream, he felt on the verge of submission.

“You know,” he said firmly. “I didn’t come to you, malyshka (little one). You pulled me here.”

He felt her falter. His instinct roared again.

“She wants us. Even when she doesn’t understand.”

Susan tried to deny it. She lied. Dmitry saw it in her eyes. He heard the hesitation. And he knew.

“Don’t lie to me. Not here.” His voice dropped, deep and dense. “You call me even when you don’t know it. Your body calls me. Your mind. Even in your sleep… you want me.”

She stepped back, but her feet remained fixed to the dream floor. As if the plane around them forced them to face what, in the real world, they both still pretended not to see.

“Dmitry… This is just a dream…”

“No, milaya (beautiful).” He moved closer. He could smell her even there. His soul vibrated with the proximity. “This is you. It’s what you hide. And here… you can’t run from me.”

The touch was light. But it detonated hell inside him.

His fingers brushed her bare arm, and Dmitry almost lost control. The heat of her skin was like a lightning bolt shooting down his spine.

“Ours. She is ours. The female made for us. Take her now. Tear through time and space. Enter her.”

He clenched his teeth, trying to hold back the growl.

Susan closed her eyes, her entire body trembling under his touch. She felt it too. This wasn’t just a meeting. It was the beginning of a rupture.

“How can someone so small…” he whispered, his voice thick with the desire burning under his skin, “manage to toy with my sanity like this?”

She didn’t answer. She didn’t need to. Dmitry saw it in her eyes: Susan knew she held this power over him.

That she carried within her a primitive, ancient call. An ancestral code that shattered all his defenses from the very first touch.

“Touch her more. Kiss her. Throw her on the floor and make her scream your name.”

But he couldn’t. Not yet.

He wanted to touch her for real. In the real world. In the right bed. At the right time. He wanted to see her green eyes dilate with pleasure, not fear. He wanted to earn every moan, every surrender.

When Susan closed her eyes, Dmitry leaned in, unable to resist the impulse. He almost touched her again. Almost pulled her against him.

But she vanished, and he was ripped from that plane as if thrown out of himself.

The dark bedroom of the mansion received him with silence. But his body… burned. His heart beat as if he had been fighting. His skin tingled. And his soul… bled.

“She opened us. She saw us. She felt us. Now, either we have her… or we die trying.”

Dmitry ran a hand over his face, cold sweat trickling down his temples.

He knew what that had been.

A call.

If she knew what she had done… If she knew he was on the verge of complete surrender…

She might run. Or maybe… she would call him again. And next time… he wouldn’t have the strength to return.

…

The smell of strong coffee filled the dining room, but Dmitry barely noticed the aroma. His eyes fixed on some point on the table while his mind insisted on wandering elsewhere. To another person.

“What will she be wearing today?”

He clenched his jaw as he realized the direction of his own thoughts.

Susan.

The damn redhead with green eyes wouldn’t leave his head, and to make matters worse, that dream had only made everything worse. He had spent the entire night dealing with his rebellious mind, conjuring forbidden images. First in his office, then in his bedroom.

Dmitry imagined her completely naked in his bed, her fair and inviting skin begging to be marked. Her full lips slightly parted, the shine in her green eyes as she looked at him, the defined curves of her body.

Ah… And those generous breasts, begging to be devoured without restraint. He felt his cock pulsing, desperate to explore her hot depths.

His Lycan growled in delight and Dmitry gripped the cup tightly.

He knew this desire was a dangerous trap. Not only because Susan was his employee, but because her mere presence made something in his core roar for freedom. And that was unacceptable.

A noise in front of him brought his attention back to reality. He raised his gaze and met Natalia’s blue eyes fixed on him.

“You’re distant,” she stirred the spoon in her cup, her voice soft but with a calculated inflection. “Thinking about work?”

Dmitry nodded slowly, keeping his expression blank.

“Among other things.”

Natalia rested her elbows on the table, her head slightly tilted.

“The council members asked about us yesterday. They want to know when we’ll have an heir.”

He let out a light sigh, not looking directly at the woman in front of him.

“They always ask.”

“And they always get silence in return.” Her smile was serene, but her eyes observed every nuance of him. “Dmitry, we both know this will eventually happen.”

He tightened his grip on the cup more than necessary.

“Maybe. But not the way they expect.”

She tilted her head, trying to decipher his words.

“You speak as if you had a choice. The clan needs continuity.”

Dmitry slowly leaned back in his chair, his voice low and drawn out.

“The clan needs balance… And I need peace.”

Natalia held his gaze with trained serenity.

“Peace can come with stability. With an heir.”

He kept his eyes fixed on her for a moment before answering, his tone measured:

“Peace is not born from obligations. And you know that.”

Natalia looked away for a brief moment, then met his eyes again.

“People talk, Dmitry. They say we’re… cold. Too distant.”

“And when we got married, they said we were perfect together.” He raised an eyebrow, the sarcasm almost imperceptible. “People always talk.”

“This can’t continue like this forever. You have responsibilities, and so do I.”

“I fulfill mine,” his voice sounded firmer, but still controlled. “And you, Natalia, have been doing what you deem necessary to keep up appearances.”

She lifted her chin slightly.

“Is that an accusation?”

“It’s merely an observation.”

Natalia took a deep breath, as if trying to maintain her composure.

“I am your wife, Dmitry.”

He stared at his cup for a few seconds before replying.

“You are part of an agreement, Natalia. This was never about feelings. It never was.”

She hesitated, her face impassive, but her fingers discreetly tightening the napkin betrayed her discomfort.

“Perhaps, with time, things can be different.”

Dmitry looked at her, his eyes slightly narrowed.

“Some things don’t change, no matter how much we want them to.”

She stood up slowly, picking up her bag with a smooth movement.

“Don’t be late for your meetings, Alpha.”

He simply nodded, watching as she left. The sound of her heels echoed down the hallway, leaving behind a dense silence — an icy relief that fell over him like a winter blanket.

The Lycan inside him stirred with impatience.

“She is not ours. Her presence hurts us. Her scent repels us.”

Dmitry brought his fingers to his forehead, massaging his temples.

“But Susan…”

Her image surged in his mind with almost violent force.

“She… She is heat. She is truth. She is desire. Our desire. Touch her. Lick every curve. Mark that pale skin. She wants to be taken. She wants to be ours.”

He clenched his teeth. That obsession was getting out of control. Every thought, every dream… The mere idea of meeting Susan’s eyes made his body respond treacherously.

And after that dream, even his Lycan refused to pretend anymore.

“Susan feels it. And she belongs to us.”

Dmitry growled lowly, only to himself. He wouldn’t reject her. But he also wouldn’t surrender.