Dawn before Darkness!!...

**Proserpina**

*"Life will end," I said. "Love doesn't," he responded!!...

Hades tucked me tightly in his embrace. I closed my eyes, and once again, I got lost in my nightmares.
*I was in Vlad's lair!*
I was running from Vlad. He was covered in blood after just consuming his latest prey.
"Stop!" He roared at me. The clanking of his armour sounded like a war drum thundering behind me as he ran after me. I grabbed what I could nearby, throwing it at him, but everything got deflected before it touched him. He was like an unbeatable force. I sucked in a sharp breath as I felt his gauntleted hand hold me from the waist. I knew I was caught.
"This is my favourite part," he whispered, his voice so close to me that it made me tremble. He swiped his tongue over my cheek, taking in my essence.
"You're a sick man," I hissed.
"A sickness that will soon consume you," he whispered.
"No! I will never let you take me!" I shouted, breathing hatred into every word. He held my neck tightly, and all I could feel was a sharp sting on my neck. "Aaah!" I screamed as his fangs pierced my skin. My only thought went to Hades.
"Hades!" I uttered his name like a prayer.
"Open your eyes, Kora, for God's sake." Hades' voice came. I was struggling to escape from my nightmare. Hades shouted in panic, "Open your eyes now!"
I gathered my strength, took out my dagger, and slashed Vlad's exposed knee. He was shocked as he never anticipated it. His grip loosened briefly, so I kicked his groin and ran through the passage before he reached me. I opened my eyes and jolted out of my nightmare.
"You are safe now..." Hades spoke, pulling me to him and cradling my head against his chest. He pulled me closer and kissed me.
"You can breathe now," Hades whispered over my lips after the kiss.
"Hades, I made a terrible mistake of threatening Vlad. He won't spare us! We'll die!" I spoke, unable to stop the flow of my tears.
"If we die, then we die! He can either let us live or kill us, but he can't separate us, neither in life nor death!"
"But-" I started to speak, but he stopped me, "In this moment, just celebrate the fact that we are together now like a gift. A gift from the Gods," he said, holding out his hand for me to take.
"Kora, do you trust me?" He asked. I nodded, placing my hand on his as a sign of trust.
"Close your eyes, and let me enter your dreams." Hades spoke softly.
"But how?" I asked.
"Just relax and crash the walls that guard your subconscious."
I did as he told me, and now I can see Hades in my dream.
"Hades, is that really you?" I asked with disbelief, fearing that this was all a trick.
"It's me, Kora!" he said.
"I can't believe it! How could you invade my dream?" I asked, wondering if that was how Vlad invaded my nightmares. But then Vlad is a mate. Does that mean-.
My thoughts took a backseat when I looked around.
"Where are we?" I asked in astonishment.
"You like it?" he asked before pulling me down and making me sit between his legs so he could wrap his arms around me from behind, leaning my back against his chest.
"It's beautiful!" I said, basking in the view of the sand dunes going as far as the eyes could see. The firish tint of the sand grains was sparkling like diamonds.
"What is this place?" I asked, making him lean closer to me so he could whisper, "This is one of the memories of my past." I sucked in a startled breath at this admission.
"Memories of your past?" I asked, leaning my head back, slightly resting it on his shoulder. He tightened his arms around me.
"Ancient Turkiye, the Dunes of Hellfire." He replied.
"What!? How old are you?" I asked in disbelief.
He laughed before telling me, "You are the most curious person I have ever known."
"Err, no offence, handsome, but do you blame me?"
"But do you want to know my childhood memory?" he asked, leaning closer. When Hades mentioned his childhood, I tensed, holding myself still, not wanting to distract him from telling me about his past.
"I do," I said in delight, making him smile against my neck before commenting in an amused tone, "Of course."
He took a deep breath and allowed all his emotions to come spilling out. He buried his fingers in my hair and gently stroked it. Gods, but I wanted to remain like this forever. It felt like taking the first breath of fresh air after spending years suffocating in a cloud of dust.
"He used to tell me his little wolf prince," he said, looking silently at the vast sand dunes. His hands clutched tightly on mine.
"The man who was impaled by the Queen soul's weed?" I asked, remembering Hades once mentioning him.
"Yep. I don't remember much, but he used to bring me here, and I'd run through the dunes," he said, looking off into the distance with tears in his eyes. I turned and looked in the same direction. I sucked in a startled breath as I could see the shadow of Hades as a boy. The sight made my heart ache. I continued to watch as the shadow of that man chased the little boy before grabbing him under his arms and swinging him around. The echoes of laughter from them made me drop a single tear.
"Is he your father?" I asked again, like the last time.
"Nope, I don't remember who is he?" He confessed.
"Why don't you remember your childhood?" I asked.
"I had a memory loss, so I don't have any answers." Was all he could mutter.
I wonder about his origins and what could have happened to him to lose the memory. But to know that he shared his favourite memory with me felt like another gift. I don't know the right words to say in comfort, but I do know the right thing to do. So, I shifted behind him until I was on my knees and wrapped my arms around him from behind. Then I told him the only words that mattered at that moment.
"I Love you, Hades."
He reached up and put a hand on my arm, holding me to him as he released a contented sigh. He twisted his body and took hold of my arms to pull me over his shoulder and position me across his lap. Once there, he told me tenderly, "I love you more." After this, he kissed me, letting the childhood memory fade away as if carried away with the wind and back to the recesses of his mind. But as for me, being here with him and getting lost in his kiss, it was as if this nightmare world I had been running from quickly turned into heaven. He took hold of my waist and lifted me so I was straddling his lap. Then he started kissing my neck, making my head fall back and my hair cascade down my spine. I let out a soft moan at the feel of what his lips were doing to me. My body burned for him and ached to have him inside me as he created a pleasure pathway along my skin. I opened my eyes to see the sky above us. So, I could believe that this fantasy was real, that it wasn't just our minds connected, but our bodies.
"One day, Kora, I will take you to the dunes. I will find this exact spot, and I will make love to you, and at that moment, it won't just be a dream," Hades told me as if he were reading my thoughts. I let out a breathy one worded sigh, "Yes."
"But for now, we will have to get out of the fantasy," he said, fisting a hand in my hair and lowering me down for a dominating kiss. Then, he made love to me. With his lips on mine and his hands entwined with mine. I feel so loved, owned and cherished.
Despite how beautiful this dream was, we knew we had to break the spell and move ahead.
Hades shifted into his wolf, Cerberus. The deadly spiked fur covered his body and massive head. His slanted eyes glowed yellow as he rumbled. I had some insane urge to reach out and touch him, wanting to know if those jagged strips of smaller spikes were as hard as they looked. Unlike the last time I had seen him in his wolf form, he didn't look as threatening. Instead, he looked like he was trying to put me at ease by crouching lower to not intimidate me. Even the spikes that covered his large frame seemed less deadly as they lay flat and closer to his body, making me wonder if he could control this side of him. Like another defence element, turning his fur into a weapon when needed. I hesitantly stepped on him and sat on his back as his spikes curled around my body for a firm grip, making it not exactly the most comfortable ride of my life. I was at least thankful that my ass cheeks fit in the curved groove. But the smaller spikes dug into my skin, behind my knees and at my back. I wasn't sure how I would survive much of the ride. He was jumping through the woods, taking giant leaps.
We reached a point where it felt like we were stepping through some hellish portal. The air was heavy with fog with a strange kind of chill that sent the shivers to the bones. The sun seemed lost somewhere, and the sky abruptly darkened in midnight black. The darkest hour of the night unfolded, coating the surrounding wilderness with eternal blackness. It seemed as if we had entered a completely opposite time zone, crossed the veil and stepped into the dimension of evil spirits and dark energies. Woods ended, and now we enter the deadly zone of dangerous and dark mountains where the creepiest secrets lurk.
"What is this place?" I asked.
"Shadowlands of the Carpathians," Hades spoke as he shifted back into his human form. I gave him a questioning look. He took a deep breath before saying those nightmarish words, "Beyond the enemy lines! The first territory of Transylvania! Kingdom of Vlad!"

*Am I walking into something I should be running away from?!!...*