Evan vaguely sees through his closed eyelids and deduces that there is something bright overhead. There is warmth surrounding his body, making him sleepy. Turning over onto his side, his cheek brushes against something wet and rubbery. Water suddenly falls from atop the rubbery item and hits the omega in the face. Jolting up and wiping at his face before taking a casual look around, all he can see are plant stems and large leaves. There is a path, which he was laying in the middle of, leading off to the right. The dirt feels damp as if it had rained recently. Of course, it had rained, why else would the water have pooled on top of the leaves.

Slowly standing, the brush moved past Evan's eye level to reveal larger bushes and tall trees. Where was he and how did he get here? Evan knew he should be panicking, concerned, and worried. Instead, curiosity floods his veins; the urge to explore is strong. Walking down the path is easy enough with nothing underfoot. It's as though the path was put there to help people trek through the brush. Or was Evan put there for a reason? Who put him there?

Continuing to make his way down the path, an opening appears up ahead, letting the sunlight through the thick treetops. It is the first spot where he can see the sun clearly streaming down. How the sun's light had hit his face and woken him in the first place, is a fleeting thought. There hadn't been a hole in the trees, had there?

Emerging from the greenery and into the light makes Evan feel energized. He is solar-powered, sucking up the sunlight. His arms start to move on their own accord up and above his head. Evan stands with his hands clasped together, arms outstretched above his head for a moment as though he were stretching. As they lower, the sunlight falls over his skin like a glittery, silken cloth. It was soft and warm as he wrapped himself in the blanket of light. In an instant, the soft fabric changed to gentle kissing. As he looked down, Evan was surprised to see golden butterflies clinging to his body. His gasp scares the gentle creatures as they fly away in a flight pattern similar to birds swarming. They swirl and flutter around him until they disappear and fade into thin air.

Still mesmerized by the act he'd just witnessed, the presence of several men only a few feet away escapes his attention. Although, how Evan didn't notice them at first he can't explain. Their breathing is deep, heavy, and loud.

One man makes a sound, as if cooing, which startles the omega. Where did they come from? The men are dressed in minimal clothing, loincloths, and carry spears. Their dark skin with brightly painted drawings catches Evan's eye first. Are they natives of this forest?

The look on their faces is that of astonishment. They seem to be as taken with Evan as he'd been with the butterflies.

"Hi?" he says, moving closer to one of the men. Evan is about to ask where he was when the man reaches out to grab his arm. The man starts to speak furiously fast with the others before they come to an agreement of some sort. The entire time that they're speaking, Evan just stands there, understanding nothing that's being said.

A second passes before he's being dragged through the brush, deeper into the forest.

"Hey! Where are we going?" He asks in an irritated tone. For some reason, the knowledge that he should get angry and attempt to fight them comes to mind But he doesn't.

They approach a cliff and Evan is finally able to see that this isn't a small forest, but more like the Amazon. Nothing but treetops is visible until the edge of his vision. Where was he?

The pause to take in the scenery doesn't last long before they are hurdling down the cliff-side, dodging trees and large bushes along the way. They almost smash into a tree and Evan instinctively closes his eyes. Keeping them closed, he allows the men to guide him. It dawns on the omega that he shouldn't put his faith in these reckless men, but something prevents him from stopping it. They continue to run down the cliff when my foot snags on a tree root, the man's grip on Evan's arm is gone and he begins to tumble down the hill, rolling and somersaulting all the way to the bottom.

It takes a moment to realize that he's reached the bottom of the hill when the men return and start rambling. What is wrong with them? They didn't fall down the hill...

Evan starts to push himself up and begin dusting off his legs and arms when he hears a new voice. Turning around slowly, it is his turn to be astonished. A group of men stands before him, all dressed in similar attire. There must be fifty of them all gathered here.

But what astonishes Evan is a tall, Caucasian alpha, dressed in gold, talking with the natives. He has a few yellow drawings painted on his chest but is sporting a cloth made of gold around his waist. His dark hair supports a golden and blocky headdress and he wears no shoes.

Giving him a once-over, Evan feels his eyes on him, doing much the same. The men who found him are still yammering to this man when they stop and the alpha smirks.

Approaching Evan with the grace of a gallant gazelle, he stops short.

"Hello. I'm sure this is shocking for you," he says while watching Evan with a kind expression. It is shocking as he was expecting more gibberish from the alpha, not the perfect English that was spoken. The longer he stares at the alpha though, the more he swears he's seen him somewhere before now.

The alpha continues to move toward him to close the distance between their bodies. Once he's within arm's reach, the alpha turns and wraps his arm around Evan's thinner shoulders. There is a warmth that blooms through his upper body at the contact.

"Come, let's get you into something cleaner." And with that, the alpha smiles wide. All Evan can do is nod his head, very much aware that he should say something back. But words are too challenging as he is led away with a puzzled face. If there were ever a worse time to have your tongue feel as though it were dried up and shriveled, it wasn't now.

They would come to a large, stone pyramid. It wasn't a pyramid exactly, but the exact word for the structure is lost to Evan. In the middle is a dark doorway that they start to walk through. The omega expects to keep walking straight and instead stumbles slightly as the terrain changes to stairs. The alpha catches Evan as he stumbles, keeping a firm hand on his shoulders as they descend. It's odd, but the warmth blooms again but isn't simply warmth anymore. It is also a blanket of safety.

It must have been ten minutes of stairs before a bright light appears ahead of them. In reality, it was only seconds of stepping down stairs before the pace quickens at the bottom. Evans looks down as his feet feel that they have a mind of their own. Did they know where to go?

The moment they exit the darkness of the staircase blinds Evan, He reaches up and begins to rub at his eyes. As soon as the brightness settles, the first thing to notice is the sparkling lights glancing around the area. The buildings aren't just stone and have jewels embedded in them. There are rubies and emeralds, sapphires and diamonds among the golden walls. There are so many jewels in colours he'd never seen before.

"Wow," Evan rasps out, clearing his throat as if it would help. The alpha chuckles beside him, the feeling of this rumble is felt in Evan's side.

"Welcome to paradise." The arm is still around Evan's shoulders as he is pulled even closer and toward an eerie jeweled city. The deeper they go, the more people start to emerge from the shadows. As he turns his head to look back at them, it's easy to notice the crowd of people now following them.

They walk through a set of golden curtains when the arm leaves his shoulders. "Why am I saddened by this?" Evan asks himself.

The alpha begins rummaging through a casket in the corner of the room when Evan starts to feel awkward. He trusted this alpha so easily. Was it misplaced?

"Here, these should be much better." He hands Evan some long, golden sashes and scarves. His gaze raises to shoot a strange and silent questioning look at him.

"You're covered in dirt. Don't you want to change?" he asks Evan.

"Where can I change?" Evan asks though his throat still feels dry. The alpha gestures over to a screen. With a nod of his head, Evan moves over and behind the screen. It's only after he's behind the screen that his thoughts become baffling. How was he supposed to wear sashes? Fiddling around with the fabric, Evan manages to make a makeshift toga of sorts before he emerges slowly. It feels awkward to be wearing something that could fall off so easily.

"That's better," he says while walking up to Evan. As the alpha stands face to face with Evan, he looks up and asks his question.

"Do I know you?"

"Not yet," he replies in a cryptic manner.

"Come, let's greet the people."

Evan looks at him skeptically but nods his head. Did he really accept that answer at face value?

The crowd of people gathered around the stone hut was enormous, having tripled in size. They all stare at Evan and the alpha expectantly. Evan is looking around at everyone before with a subdued aura before the alpha starts to speak in the foreign language again. But this time it sounds jumbled in a different way; almost as though his mind is slowly able to process the words just after they're spoken.

"This eman bi uta important. He bi the omega." As soon as it was said the people erupted in applause and whooping shouts. A moment passes before Evan turns to look at the alpha with wide eyes.

"Your what?" he stammers out as the dry feeling is suddenly gone.

"I have been searching for you," he says before pausing. But the alpha doesn't explain further as to the meaning of his jumbled words. Instead, he continues to talk about searching.

"I was told of the butterflies. It has to be you."

The butterflies? What did they have to do with anything?

"I think I should leave," Evans starts and tries to turn around to find his dirty clothes.

"Stay, please? I can explain everything," the alpha says with an apologetic expression. Evan immediately stops and waits on the spot. What kind of hold did this alpha have on him? Darren was the only alpha who had ever made him feel this way...

"Don't worry Evan, nothing bad will happen to you. You are safe." His tone is reassuring but evokes a familiar memory in Evan's mind.

"I'm what?" he asks after a moment. He was sure he'd heard that somewhere before now. Had they done this before?

"Come, we shall feast first." The alpha has a confident look on his face that makes his strong jawline look chiseled as he grins. Evan notices the dimples along the sides of his smile and his knees feel weak.

Before Evan can protest, the alpha has taken his hand in his own and leads Evan to a large table. They sit in the center of everything. The food is already on the table. It smells delicious!

There are large cooked birds on gilded plates, and fish the length of his entire arm that are seared and sliced up, among many other delicacies Evan had never seen before. Even though the food is foreign, it tastes as good as it smells.

Evan reaches for a leg of the bird when he sees the alpha watching him with an interested smile. Feeling self-conscious of being watched, he places the leg down and fidgets in his chair.

"What?" he asks.

"Nothing. I'm enjoying your company," the alpha responds.

"But I haven't said anything."

"You don't need to."

Evan looks at the alpha with a skeptical gaze before picking up the leg again. He takes a bite of the gamey meat before setting it down on his plate.

"You said you would explain," he starts to say just in time for the music to begin in the background. Before he can say anything else though, the alpha is standing and offering a hand to him.

"Would you care to dance?" he asks Evan.

The people who are also at the feast are now dancing in a tribal-like fashion. The table is gone and Evan is now standing. Had the food even been there in the first place?

"I want an explanation. Or a name, at least." Evan demands while crossing his arms. The alpha sighs and gives him another reassuring smile before offering his hand out for a greeting handshake.

"My name is Ryker."

The name didn't match the atmosphere. Why would this alpha look so out of place among the tanned natives? Why was he here in the first place? Nothing made sense here. And Evan knew that in the back of his mind but didn't make a fuss about this knowledge. In a way, he was relieved to have a name for the alpha.

Evan still hasn't accepted the outstretched hand for a handshake or to join in the dancing. Ryker's gaze hasn't changed though as he continues to attempt and reassure the omega.

"You said something before, about me being an omega. I have a mate you know," Evan said with hesitancy. Ryker sighed then and nodded his head.

"I know. I've met him."

It wasn't the response Evan had expected. In fact, he'd never met Ryker before and he knew all of Darren's friends.

"But..." Evan began to say as the scene started to change. Everything was fading again and Ryker placed his hands on Evan's shoulders with an urgent look in his eyes. It scared him.

"Don't be afraid. You are safe with me. I will help you, I promise," Ryker said in a rushed manner. Evan could feel the cool air on his face as he started to blink rapidly. What did that mean?

...

My eyes open and I'm greeted with the sight of my closet door. It takes a moment to realize I'd taken a nap. I must have as I'm lying in bed. Darren isn't behind me meaning he must be at work. As I lay here thinking about Ryker in my dream, the only thing I can ponder is what his words had meant. Help me with what? I can't think of what I could need help with while I was dreaming.

But the urgency in his voice echoes around my head. It was important to him, so there must be something I'm missing.

The sound of the apartment door opening catches my attention and I sit up. Darren is home. No time to be thinking about a fictional alpha in my dreams.