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He’d watched her fall asleep.

Then… nothing.

Nothing at all, until the dream.

He was a vampire… he wasn’t supposed to dream at all.

But Tai had known.Howhad Tai known? How could she know anything at all about Nick’s dreams unless he’d shared those dreams with her? Had his sleeping mind really leaked into hers? Had he given the kid nightmares just from sharing a roof with him?

The only times he remembered dreaming before now, he’d dreamed about Wynter, his mate. He’d dreamed of her as Dalejem.

He’d also dreamed of her as she was now.

He’d even had fear dreams about her, of her being in danger.

He’d had sex dreams about her.

Whatever the dream, Wynter always featured in there somewhere.

He’d never dreamed about anyone else.

Never. Not once since he’d been turned.

Yet the person he’d dreamt about this night definitely wasn’t Wynter, or Dalejem.

It wasn’t the kid or Mal or Kit or any of his police buddies, either.

What the hell was wrong with him?

Why did he feel that presence with him, even now?

Was he poisoning this house? Poisoning his wife? Tai?

Nick.

Nick flinched.

He turned his head sharply.

It wasn’t Tai who called him. It wasn’t Wynter, either.

Tai no longer sat there. The voice coming from the couch altered, twisting into a dark, deep, cold, warped, stretched out, disjointed growl.

Nick… can you hear me? Can you see me? Are we… real? Even without a soul?

Nick’s focus sharpened on the being sitting there.

Tai was definitely gone.

The being that replaced her was large.

Broad shouldered. Wearing all black.

Male.

Roughly Nick’s size.

Black bandages wrapped around the lower part of its neck and part of one shoulder. But those bandages had slipped in parts, leaving gaps.