Captive of The Beast Alpha: Drugging the CEO Was a Mistake.-Chapter 29: Naya: Echoes of the past.

I was running through a field of roses, their petals brushing against my legs as I moved, their sweet scent filling the air with every breath I took.

My lungs burned, but I was laughing, the sound coming out in breathless gasps as I tried to put distance between myself and the man chasing me through the flowers.

I could hear him behind me; he was getting closer with every second. My dress was a strange cloth made of rough fabric that felt nothing like anything I’d ever worn before. It suddenly tangled around my ankles, and I knew I wouldn’t make it much further before he caught me.

But the funniest thing was, I didn’t try to stand up after I fell because I wanted to be caught.

His hand closed around my waist, and I shrieked with laughter as we tumbled together into the soft grass. We started going down a small slope until finally he broke the fall and I found myself lying on top of him, my hair falling in a curtain around our faces as I looked down into eyes that were so familiar it made my chest ache.

Eyes that looked precisely like Hansel’s.

He stared up at me with so much love that it made my heart feel like it would burst right out of my chest, and I found myself staring back with the same intensity.

He rolled us gently to our sides, his elbow supporting his weight as I settled into the crook of his arm like I’d done it a thousand times before. His hand came up to stroke my hair, fingers threading through the strands with such tenderness that tears pricked at my eyes.

"My heart," he murmured, "my soul, my everything."

"Hazem," I whispered back, and the name felt natural on my tongue even though I had no idea where it had come from. "I love you. I’ll always love you."

He bent down, his tongue trailing along my jawline before capturing my lips in a fiery kiss. I kissed him back with everything I had, my hands tangling in his long hair, my body pressing closer as heat built between us in waves that made me dizzy with want.

His hand roamed my body possessively, slipping inside the piece of clothing I had on as he ground his hips against me. His free hand tangled in my hair, pulling my head back gently as he deepened the kiss, exploring my mouth with his tongue.

His other hand squeezed one of my breasts, pinching the nipple hard through the fabric. I gasped from the pain and the pleasure all at once as desire pooled low in my belly.

As if knowing how much I was affected by his kiss, his hands skimmed down my body, stopping to caress the top of my woman core, causing me to buck at the wave of pleasure that shot to my brain.

He ran his fingers along my folds, teasing my entrance with feather-light touches before circling my nub, eliciting a gasp from me. With a wicked grin, he plunged his hand inside me, filling me up in one swift motion while his mouth found an errant nipple.

I moaned with delight, gasping at the pleasure mounted higher inside me. His fingers found my pleasure spot, and he began to thrust into me rhythmically as if he was following a tune. He leaned in closer, hot breath fanning across my neck as he growled.

"You’re mine..."

He didn’t wait for my response. Instead, he slammed his hips forward, his maleness rubbing against my nub as he stretched me even farther. I feel a rush of pleasure wash over me, and my walls clenched tightly around his fingers.

His tongue left my breast and danced along my neck, leaving a trail of hot hisses as his fingers relentlessly pumped in and out of me.

That did it for me.

My pleasure heightened and hit me in hard waves. I lifted my hips mid-air, buckling under his torture as I came all over his fingers. He let out a low groan of satisfaction as I lay next to him, panting.

He leaned in to place a possessive kiss on my swollen lips as he murmured again. "Mine. You’re mine now."

I closed my eyes to bask in this euphoria when a loud voice rang out.

"THERE! The monster and his keeper!"

We sprang apart, and suddenly we weren’t in the field anymore.

The roses were gone, replaced by a village setting. The gentle sunlight had become torchlight flickering in the darkness, casting angry shadows across faces twisted with fear and hatred.

We stood in front of a mud house with a thatched roof, and there were people everywhere. Villagers, it seemed, holding torches high, showing their faces painted with fury.

I moved instinctively, placing myself between Hazem and the crowd, my arms spread wide to shield him with my body.

"Step aside, girl!" The leader of the crowd, an older man with a scar across his face, pointed at me with one gnarled finger. "Step aside or you’ll be punished alongside him!"

"No!" I shouted. "I won’t let you kill my mate!"

The leader scoffed, spitting on the ground near my feet. "Your mate is a monster. We can no longer tolerate having him among us. The full moon comes in three days, and who knows how many more will die when the beast takes over?"

"He’s not a monster!" I stamped my foot, anger flooding through me. "I can control him! I’ve been controlling him ever since our bond formed! The death of those three children was the fault and negligence of their parents, not his! If they’d taught their children to stay inside during the full moon like I warned them, those deaths never would have happened!"

The crowd roared with anger, their voices overlapping into a wall of sound that pressed against me from all sides.

"She defends the beast!"

"She’s as cursed as he is!"

"Kill them both! Rid the pack of this curse!"

They surged forward as one, torches raised high, and I screamed as hands grabbed at me, trying to pull me away from Hazem.

I clung to him desperately, wrapping my arms around his waist and refusing to let go even as they beat at me with their fists and tore at my clothes.

"Leave him alone!" I sobbed, pressing my face against his chest. "Please, leave him alone! He has done nothing wrong. It is not his fault."

Hazem wrapped his arms around me, sheltering me with his body even as the blows rained down on both of us. His voice rumbled against my ear, saying words I couldn’t make out over the roar of the crowd.

Somehow, they managed to tear us apart. My hands flailed as I tried to reach for Hazem, and then everything went dark with pain, and I was screaming—

My eyes flew open, and I found myself staring directly into Hansel’s face.

I screamed again, scrambling backwards across the bed until I hit the headboard with a thump. I grabbed the blanket, pressing it against my chest like armour. My heart was hammering so hard I thought it might break through my ribs.

"Naya," Hansel said calmly, raising both hands in a gesture of surrender and taking a step back from the bed. "Are you alright? I don’t want to hurt you. I promise."

That’s when my vision cleared enough to see him, not Hazem from my dream but Hansel Ward, standing in his guest bedroom in a black t-shirt and sleep pants, looking concerned and slightly alarmed.

I wasn’t in that village, nor was I about to be killed by an angry mob

I was in Hansel Ward’s penthouse. In his guest room, and it seemed safe too.

The realisation made me duck my head in shame, heat flooding my face as I imagined what I must look like—wild-eyed and panicked, clutching a blanket like a frightened child who’d had a nightmare.

"Naya?" Hansel called out to me gently again. "Are you alright?"

I became aware of several things all at once. My clothes—the ruined dress from the fundraiser that I’d fallen asleep in—was damp with sweat. My breathing came in harsh pants, like I’d been running. And there was an uncomfortable wetness between my legs that made my face burn even hotter.

A wet dream. I’d had a wet dream about a primitive version of Hansel Ward.

I’d never experienced anything like that as a teenager, never woken up aroused and confused from dreams about boys I liked. So why now? And why him? Why did it feel less like a dream and more like a memory of something that had actually happened?

"Naya?" Hansel said again, and I had no choice but to lift my head and meet his eyes.

I nodded quickly, trying to pull myself together. "I’m fine." My voice came out shakier than I wanted, and I cleared my throat before trying again. "What are you doing here?"

He sighed and took another step backwards, giving me more space. "You were shouting, or rather screaming. I thought something had happened to you or that someone had broken in and was trying to hurt you. Are you sure you’re fine?"

I was about to answer when I noticed the door.