Dreams of the Forgotten (2 page)

Tiamat
—A primordial Goddess of salt water, consort and queen to Abzu. She is identified with images of a sea serpent or multi-headed dragon. When she was slain by the God Enlil, the Heavens and the Earth are formed from her divided body. She is known as a chaos monster and gave birth to dragons, serpents, scorpion men and merpeople. The twelve signs of the zodiac are attributed to the children she created before she battled with Enlil.

Uttu
—Known as the Spider, the weaver of the web of life. Goddess of Weaving and Clothing. The child of Enki and Ninkur. Keeper of the histories of the Gods.

Verethragna
—[vYrYθraγna]—is the principle companion and protector of Mithra. Called "Victorious Fire". He's an archangel in constant battles with daemons and men. He has ten forms in which he can appear.

Zal the White Haired
—He was considered cursed and was abandoned by his father and raised by Simurgh but later welcomed back by his father, the king of Sistan.

The sun was warm on my naked body, white haze over my closed eyes. The grass was slightly itchy against my skin but I didn't care. I, Tristan Janick, felt whole. I hadn't felt like that in such a long time. Not since my former Twin Flame had claimed me, then refused me in return. The euphoria from the orgasm, and the effect of the bonding bite had quickly dissipated with his denial. I didn't find the promised peace and was forced to break the bond. Even with my husband, Ushna Ahura-Yzda, the man who meant more to me than life itself, I was less. Breaking the tie with my Twin Flame took something vital that left me incomplete.

Sometimes I wondered if that was the reason my predator, that primal part of me, desired to claim Ushna. I felt it, the possibility of being completely whole with him. The temptation to reach out and grab it was always there. Then I'd see Brian's handsome youthful face, and I was reminded that Ushna would never be wholly mine. All Lycans were blessed with a Bashert, a destined Twin Flame, someone who would love them and be their balance, and eternal companion. Brian would've been Ushna's Twin Flame—if he'd survived to adulthood. My consort would've never considered me as a potential partner because he would've had his Bashert. Why would they need me?

But here and now, I felt wonderful. It was a gift and I basked in it. I didn't know when this feeling would go away. I breathed in the clean, warm salty air as I listened to the water trickle close by. A hand landed on my flat stomach and stroked, petted almost. I refused to open my eyes and break whatever spell I was under. Mentally, I followed the hand down my stomach to the nest of pubic hair. The fingers ran through the curls, not touching me anywhere else, even though I steadily grew hard. Hot breath blew in my ear, sending shivers down my spine, and I smiled with closed eyes.

Footsteps approached before cold water started sprinkling down on me. The contrast between the cool droplets and sun-warmed skin made me inhale sharply and sit up with a yelp. Deep, soothing laughter sounded at my side. I ignored it as I gazed into the blue eyes of a huge, wet, white wolf. His nose touched mine, tongue lolling to the side as he regarded me in return.

He was beautiful.
"Did you have to do that, Nikita?" asked the laughing voice. I glanced to the left at the man lying next to me on the grass. Tall, broad, and dark with arresting green eyes, the man watched me with heat as he stroked my naked hip.
I'd know this man, this soul, anywhere. I wasn't sure how but I did. The man was unfamiliar but it was as if I could sense his Flame, his soul, and recognized it. I glanced back at the white wolf in time to see him transform, falling into his human body. Nikita wasn't dark but golden. Sunstreaked dark blond hair, piercing blue gaze and a firm, aroused body. I knew him as well. I could practically feel the connection between their Flames. But it wasn't the man next to me who Nikita regarded with desire. He gazed at me as if he would devour me in front of his Twin Flame. My fight or flight response kicked in.
I quickly crab walked backward to place distance in between us.
"Look, Angelo, Seth thinks to run from us," said Nikita, his voice deep and husky. His gaze held mine as he prowled seductively toward me, growling low.
Why did he call me Seth? I should've been terrified. I should've been running. Angelo had touched me intimately mere moments ago. He wasn't my Flame, he wasn't bonded to me but to Nikita. The growl from Nikita didn't scare me though. I was hard and aching, and Gods help me, I wanted him to touch me.
Angelo grabbed my ankle with a hot hand before I went too far. I shivered with his touch. Nikita and Angelo crawled toward me with heated looks of passion. They stroked and petted as they crawled up my body. Nikita licked from my thigh to my navel. I clamped my lips shut to keep from moaning aloud. This was wrong. Bonded Flames didn't take on a third. Did they? I had problems thinking when Angelo licked and nibbled a nipple. Nikita slid a hand in my hair and clasped tightly, directing my gaze to him. I was confused and not sure what was going on. Why were they treating me this way?
"You cannot run from us, Seth. We've already talked about this." Nikita's blue eyes held mine steadfast. The desire was there, but so was another emotion that added softness to his brilliant blue gaze. "We want you, both of us. We want you to be with us. You know this. Do you not love us, Seth?" Nikita's eyes clouded with worry. "Do you not want us?"
I opened my mouth to apologize, and tell Nikita I was sorry, but my lips didn't speak those words. "You know I love you and Angelo with everything I am. I just worry… the Gods, they didn't mean for this. Twin Flames are a sacred gift from Shamash. What if I ruin what is between you and Angelo? The priests say there can only be two."
"When was the last time the priests have actually spoken to the Gods? What if the Gods aren't all-knowing and omnipotent? What if there is more than Twin Flames? You need to claim us. I can sense your wolf struggle against you. He knows what must be done, but you don't trust him because some priest says it's not the will of the Gods. The Gods only have as much power over you as you give them, Seth. Can they perceive the love that I or Angelo have for you? I say no, they cannot! They hide in their paradise and forget we're here. They don't form families so how can they know what a family is supposed to be, how love is supposed to be? Our love isn't empty, or fleeting, like what's offered in the desecrated temples of Inanna. Her followers only know the love of the flesh of the body. Angelo and I, we love all of you. Your Flame belongs with us; you only have to believe in it. Have faith in us. Claim us, Seth, and bind us together. You know it's the right thing to do."
"Nikita." His name came out of my mouth with longing. His eyes blazed as they gazed at me, his hand tightening in my hair. Angelo sucked on my collarbone and before I knew it, they bore me to the ground, their bodies covering mine. Nikita took my lips as if to conquer me. My mind screamed about the sanctity of the Flame's bond, but my body burned from their touch. I didn't know what to do. Nikita released my lips only for Angelo to take over as someone took my shaft in hand and squeezed. My hips bucked. Moans escaped me no matter how I tried to hold them back.
"Tell us, Seth. Tell us what we want to hear," Angelo whispered in my ear.
I shook my head. No. Oh, Gods, no, I couldn't say it.
"Tell us. Say it." Nikita nipped my earlobe.
Overwhelmed with sensation, the smell of the two of them was so familiar, so much like home. The beast within pushed forward to answer their call, to do what I was afraid to do.
"You know what I want to hear," Angelo said in my ear, his emerald green eyes so like Ushna's gave me a look I couldn't resist.
Suddenly I wanted to give up, to give them whatever it was they desired. I longed to lose myself in them. I remembered the sorrow of before, and I had no desire to go back to that. I needed them, wanted them, and yearned to bond with them. Today. Tomorrow. Always. I never wanted to be without Nikita or Angelo. They were my home.
They had always been there with me and I understood then. The incarnations, all the lives, the experiences, these two were there, always with me, always watching, always wanting, always inviting, and needing me as much as I needed them. But something always tore us apart, and we were running out of time.
It was me who held back, afraid and scared. I had believed they weren't meant for me. And yet, all I needed to do was reach out and take them, to bind them to me. Then something would happen to keep us apart. I felt a new urgency. The scenery wasn't as sharp and the time slipped away from me, from us, and I had to stop it. I had to claim them, to bond with them.
To save them.
"I love you," I whispered. I desperately clutched them to me only for them to slip through my fingers! No! Not yet! I needed more time! Please! I screamed into the void, calling all the names I'd ever known them by. I prayed for the Gods to please give them back to me. "I love you!" I bellowed into the dark. "Wait for me! I will come for you!"

I woke up with a jolting start, hands clutching at someone, something that wasn't there. My heart pounded like a drum in my chest.

A dream.
It was only a dream and the images faded fast. Groggily, I tried to catch it, and bring it back, as I struggled to remember. It was important. There was something I wasn't supposed to forget, something I needed to do. I nearly growled in frustration as the contents of the dream, like smoke, drifted away from me until all I remembered were a pair of piercing blue eyes, hopeful, and pleading.
I scrubbed my hands over my face in frustration. These dreams plagued me every time I closed my eyes. I always woke with a sense of urgency but remembered nothing when the fuzziness of sleep cleared. If I could remember, then maybe I could do something, but as it was, I always woke frustrated and sad.
Some mornings the sense of loss was so overwhelming I hid from Ushna until the mood subsided. I didn't know how to explain why I was so affected by my dreams. Those mornings I needed to conceal myself, I'd sit in my dark office. The sorrow was so strong it felt like my chest had been cracked open. I hoped he would never see me in those minutes of consuming grief. What could I say to make him understand when I couldn't comprehend it myself?
This time, I had awakened with the impression of a task incomplete. No sadness to steal my breath but with a purpose. I had something more, names my mind seemed to pluck out of the air but it was somewhere to start. I needed answers, and I had a hunch they were to be found with these new clues from my dream, Angelo Giannis and Nikita Minoas. I didn't know who they were but given time I'd find out.
The sun hadn't breached the horizon. I lay in bed, warm and cozy next to my lover, and listened to the soft inhalations of Ushna's breathing as I stared at his beautiful masculine face. Long dark eyelashes brushed the tops of his cheeks, lips pink and slightly pouty in rest, his blue-black hair sweeping across his brow and getting caught in the dark stubble along his cheek. His sun-darkened skin glowed with his vibrancy, even in his sleep.
Dreams aside, I loved waking up before Ushna so I could watch the sun paint the face of my consort with the colors of dawn. I'd listen to his breathing, watch his chest rise and fall, making the iridescent scales of his albino Caduceus appear as liquid silver. Being with him in moments like these, I knew where I was supposed to be.
Much had happened in the three months since I found out that I, Tristan Javed Ksathra Janick, was not only Lycan royalty but the last and only Prince of the Enkidu bloodline. This jolting revelation changed my life forever. I went from being an insignificant alpha with a tribe of two, to having one of the fastest growing tribes, with the largest contingent of Lycan warriors outside of the hearth tribe back home in Georgia.
Changes were made to our ranch as a part of the infrastructure we were setting up before Ushna and I would step from the shadows and reveal our identities to all Lycans as the royal couple, and me as the future king. Having security in place before going public with the announcement was imperative because assassins had murdered those who came before me. Recent events with the Magi College made us question who to trust, especially after Caspian MacCuill, a member of the governing Magi Triad, attempted to kidnap my consort, Ushna, as well as our childhood friend and Magi, Gregori Borchetta.
If I only had myself to care for, I'd disappear. But I had Ushna and now our children to watch over and protect. My people needed us and I couldn't find it within myself to abandon them. Even though there were dangers to both of us, and the family we planned to have, if we backed down, if we left, if we acquiesced to safety, our race wouldn't survive the forces striving to destroy us.
Even with my firm resolve, I worried about how I'd be able to protect Ushna, my partner and consort. He believed it was his job to protect me but shouldn't it go both ways? There were forces that would harm him for associating with me. They'd murder him if they knew he was my husband.
I ran my hand down over my large, full, and swollen stomach. Nine weeks into my sixteen week pregnancy and I was already huge. No, I was no longer the last of my line. Once the assassins found out I was alive, life would get infinitely more dangerous than it'd ever been.
Running fingertips over the swell of Ushna's chest, I rested my palm over his heart. Ushna moved under my hand, moaning deliciously. I studied his sun-bronzed features and his solid muscular planes shaped by hard work. There were moments when I was amazed this man loved me. Only me. The knowledge humbled me even as it strengthened me.
Turning his head, Ushna moaned again. I wondered what kind of dream he had to elicit such a response. A wicked smile on my lips, I slithered down his body under the covers. I was determined to make a few of his dreams come true as I licked his semi-hard erection before sucking it into my mouth. I rolled my tongue around the flared head, loving the sensation of his shaft growing in my mouth.
I suckled, tonguing the ridge just how I knew he liked it. His louder moan was music to my ears as I released him and licked my way down, gently taking one of his balls into my mouth. With my hand, I stroked his stomach and felt the muscles quiver under my touch.
Taste, sight, touch, and smell. I gorged all my senses on him, sliding my arms under his legs. I wrapped my hands around his thighs and made my way slowly back up his hard length, swallowing him down to the back of my throat. Ushna writhed under me. His fingers carded through my hair before gripping it in his strong hands. My name fell from his lips as he bucked up into my mouth. Goddess, I loved to hear him speak my name.
I sensed Ushna was striving to keep control but I wanted him to lose himself in me. I rose up, the sheet sliding off me, lips sealed tightly as I ran my tongue along the underside of his shaft, withdrawing with a hint of teeth on the way up. I pressed hard on the bundle of nerves right under the head of his erection right before I sealed my lips again giving it long, strong sucks. I pumped my hand up and down his spit-slick shaft in tandem, knowing it would drive him crazy. I reached past his perineum, pressing and massaging the rim of his entrance. Ushna finally let go of his control, growling into the predawn as he fisted my hair and thrust, quick and sharp, into my sealed lips before he came in my mouth.
I moaned, swallowing around him. I wasn't remotely finished tasting his release when Ushna pulled me up to rest on my side next to him. He gazed at me with his beautiful emerald-colored eyes that were ringed in golden brown, bright and awake. I opened my mouth to protest but instead received Ushna's urgent kiss. His tongue darted in, taking over, tasting his own seed. I groaned into his mouth and threw one of my legs over his hip doing my best to rub against him. It wasn't working because my stomach was too distended. Ushna moaned into my mouth, the rumble vibrating against me.
I
loved
the sounds he made for me.
Ushna trailed wet hot kisses down my neck where he started to suck a mark on my collarbone, fisting my shaft with his large warm hand. He gave me long firm strokes as he made his way down to my sensitive nipples, licking, nipping, and sucking. I tried to hold back the moan but it escaped, garbled and low as he stroked me to completion.
With gentle care, Ushna kissed his way down my chest to my stomach. Watching him was so fucking hot, feeling his warm tongue lick up my essence, his gaze never leaving mine. His large hands skimmed over the not so small mound of my abdomen. His eyes took on a seductive and hooded look. I swear my growing belly turned him on. He placed butterfly kisses around my navel before he lovingly rubbed his face against me. His morning scruff and soft breath skittered over the surface, raising goose bumps on my skin.
I'd never admit it, but I loved how Ushna would run a hand over the evidence of our children in the middle of the day. The look on his face, like the one he wore now, was worth all the aches, pains, nausea, cravings, and mood swings. I wanted to make Ushna happy and the pups I carried made him very happy.
Voices were coming from outside the bedroom. Ushna stiffened and began to move back up my body when the door was flung open so hard it bounced off the wall. Two huge bodies rushed the bed with loud whoops filling the air. They bounced on the bed, jarring against Ushna heavily. He barely had time to curl around me before laughing voices and weighty bodies tried to crush us.