A terrifying scream woke Lucas abruptly. He sat straight up and his bloodshot eyes widened as he noticed he was not alone in his bed.

"Oh fuck." He groaned as he looked at the naked body of the woman next to him, she was still fast asleep. He grabbed his phone to look at the time and groaned a second time when he noticed it was only 4:30 in the morning. A second, less loud but more tortured scream erupted from the room next to his.

"Fuck this a second time." He grunted as he got up and put on a shirt and a pair of boxer-briefs. He looked over his shoulder to the woman in his bed to make sure she was still sleeping and then left the room.

Before opening Azura's door he listened closely. He could hear her distress; talking and mumbling and some soft shouting came from the other side. It was not the first time she had a nightmare so bad she had woken him and it hadn't been the first time he had woken her up. The intensity of how often it occurred though, had increased significantly since their talk at the hall a week ago.

Her hair was clammy and she was covered in sweat. The blankets lay on the ground and she was tossing and turning on the bed. Lucas walked towards her and as he grabbed her shoulder, she suddenly gripped his wrist and stared at him with her eyes wide open. He could swear his heart skipped a few beats.

"Fuck me a third time! You scared the shit out of me!"

He could feel the intense heat that radiated from her hand as he gently tried to pull back. She wouldn't let go, just stared at him with an ever tightening grip.

"Azu? You can let go now." He gently nudged her, but she didn't respond.

As he grabbed her wrist, she in return grabbed his other hand so quickly he almost didn't see it happen. Lucas flinched as he felt her fingers dig hard into his wrists. Her hands started to burn into his skin.

"Come on, Azu! You have to wake up." He tried to pull back but she wouldn't let him. Instead, she jerked him in even further till his face was next to hers. A hint of fear flashed across him as he felt the unnatural heat brush past his cheek.

A soft unnerving whisper emerged from her lips. "We will make the world burn."

She let go and Lucas immediately backed away, almost tripping over his own feet while rubbing his wrists. Her hands had left big red prints. He could feel his pulse racing as he tried to regain his composure.

Azura had fallen back onto the bed with her eyes closed, she was back to soft mumbling in her sleep with a look of anguish on her face. Her brows furrowed together and her mouth convulsed as if something was hurting her. It took a short while for him to decide whether to leave or not but as she started to look more pained and about to scream again, he had to act. This time it was a not-so-gentle approach. He firmly grabbed her shoulders and shook her body a few times while calling out to her.

"Azu! Wake up. You're having another nightmare!"

Azura's eyes flung open. Still a bit dazed, she tried to free herself from being pushed down but soon realized she was no longer dreaming. Her breathing was ragged and her mouth felt completely dry. She blinked a couple of times as silent tears ran down her cheeks. It lasted only a minute before she pulled him in for a hug.

He felt her body shake from the sobbing and her heart was racing. He stroked the back of her head with care as she clung to him.

"I'm sorry..." It was so soft he could hardly hear her. "I woke you up again. I didn't mean to."

"Don't worry about it. You did give me quite a scare though."

He let go of her and showed his wrists. Her eyes widened in surprise and she got out of the bed.

"In my nightmare, I saw... Something... The voice...it talks to me but now it felt different. It said: We will-"

"-make the world burn." he finished her sentence in one fluent go. Azura stared at him with her mouth open.

"H-How did you know?"

"Because you whispered it in my ear." He gestured to the door. "Want to sit for a while?"

She gave him a weak, nervous smile and headed off to the living room. It was not their first time doing this. He had woken her up from her nightmares often and they would usually just have a little chat in the living room.

Spaghetti legs. That's the way Nora had described this feeling. Azura felt like her legs could fail at any time. No strength left in them whatsoever. Lucas actually had to support her as they descended the stairs.

"You didn't get much sleep?" her voice was still shaky but almost back to normal. She had noticed his bloodshot eyes.

"Three hours max." Lucas rubbed his eyes and yawned as he sat her down.

"Sorry... Again."

"Don't be. I'd rather be here than in my own bed right now anyway."

She raised an eyebrow as he left to the kitchen, wondering what he meant by that. It didn't take long to figure it out though as a high-pitched female voice came from the stairs.

"Who the hell are you?!"

At the top of the stairs stood a scarcely dressed woman with long curly chestnut hair, wearing one of Lucas's old t-shirts and a skimpy thong. She had beautiful curves and surprisingly perky breasts for their size. Compared to her, Azura was a flat-chested stick with barely any curves at all. The woman almost ran down the stairs looking angry as hell. Azura quickly got up and made sure there was something in between them.

Get rid of her.

Out of nowhere, it was there again. The voice from her nightmares.

"You're not supposed to be here! Get lost you black-haired freak!" The woman glared at Azura with contempt.

Do it! She's a threat.

Azura tried to shake the voice out of her head while trying to form an answer. This was going so fast and she had no idea what to do, and that voice was not making it easier to react in a proper manner. Azura tried to see if there was any sign of Lucas, but he wasn’t there.

"I live here." It was the only thing that came to her head, and it didn’t sound very convincing.

She needs to go. Get rid of her or I will!

Azura flinched as the voice became louder and stronger. With it, she felt something growing inside her. An all too familiar feeling of anger and rage confusing her to the point she was just frozen to the spot, unable to react.

"You're here for him, eh? Well, Lucas is mine! You mean nothing to him! It was me who comforted him so get out!"

The woman put her hands on her hips, standing there like she was protecting her property. Azura tried to separate her own racing thoughts from the voice almost screaming in the back of her head. She wanted to move forward, felt her muscles trying to move without her giving instructions. It was like something was slowly trying to take over her body.

You're taking too long! I will take her out!

The anger rose and she curled her fingers into a tight fist trying to maintain control.

"No!" she whispered, fighting her own body.

Stop resisting me. This is what you are. Let me show you.

She dug her nails into the palms of her hands fighting the newfound urge to attack.

"No!" She resisted again, her blood boiling in her veins.

Azura had no idea how she managed to sound so calm as she addressed the woman in a last attempt to stop this absurd situation. From the inside, she was raging and fuming, but she managed to sound cool and collected.

"I suggest you alter your tone. I live here, Lucas is my roommate. You can do whatever you want with him. Now calm your tits before I kick you out."

Azura grit her teeth as the woman closed the distance between them. She came to stand in her personal space, shorter than Azura, but didn't seem the least bit impressed by her. The woman threw a quick glance past Azura and a dirty smile crawled across her face.

"Don't think you can steal my man from me, little whore. He is mine."

The woman almost spat the last few words at her. Azura closed her eyes trying to control herself. Her nails drew blood, her hands were trembling and every fiber in her body was on the brink of exploding.

Do it! Let yourself go!

"Fine... " Azura stopped resisting. The build-up anger filled her body and mind. Her eyes almost turned red and the heat inside her came rushing out. She could feel her pulse picking up the pace, pumping more blood to all her muscles. Her breathing became deeper but ragged.

The woman never saw it coming and Azura never felt it coming. It happened in the blink of an eye. The moment she lost control was the moment a piercing cold strong grip grabbed her arm and about the waist, preventing her strike.

Lucas had grabbed her arm in mid-air in a split second before she was able to do anything. He quickly grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back so Azura was unable to attack the other woman. She was fighting him heavily, trying to wiggle her way out of his iron-like grip but he would not budge.

The brown-haired woman stepped back with a jolt of pleasure, clearly enjoying the fact that Lucas was defending her from Azura. She was grinning victoriously and batted her eyelashes at the man who tried to control the raging female.

"Bethany," his voice was bitter and angry as he addressed the woman. "I suggest you go up, pack your stuff, and leave."

Bethany blinked in surprise as he told her to leave. "But Lucas. She’s crazy!" Her protest was weak as she knew it was no use.

"I think you misinterpreted this whole thing. I'll make it clear to you," he was almost snarling. "Sometimes I get drunk and make mistakes. You are one of the biggest. To me, this night never happened. Now please leave before I lose my hold on Azura. Either you leave on your own, or she will force you to."

He felt Azura start to fight less, allowing him to relax a bit more as Bethany scurried away like a beaten dog. He forced Azura to the kitchen by putting her arms down behind her back and guiding her like an inmate. She struggled and growled as he did so but he managed to eventually get her to move. She eyed him like a wild animal as he pushed her back to the kitchen counter. He tried to ignore her death stares but couldn't help feeling a bit intimidated by her whole change of persona.

He had heard Bethany come down and made out some muffled talking. It was as if his guts told him to look, so he had quietly entered the living room. The tension between the girls was sky high and he could feel Azura's anger boil over. How Bethany had been so oblivious to it was a mystery to him but he couldn't care less, especially after she had noticed him and cast him the most sickening smile he had seen from her yet. For a very short moment, Lucas thought about not intervening, but let that idea quickly pass as he felt Azura explode. For a moment the thought crossed his mind that she would actually try to kill Bethany.

Now, he again was afraid Azura would not hear him. Lucas took one of the big glasses of water from the counter while restraining her with his body weight. The front door slammed shut, indicating Bethany had left, and at that moment he threw the ice-cold water in her face. She gasped for air and almost lost her balance from the shock.

"Lucas! You asshole!" Azura pushed Lucas away from her with all her might. He was happy to see it had worked so well and was almost grinning as he watched her shocked reaction.

"You are enjoying this way too much you jerk!" she snapped at him. He threw her a towel and his grin only grew bigger.

"Come on, Sunshine, get dressed. We're going on an early morning walk."

*

It was a clear sky again. The cold bit right through your clothes. Normally she would love the cold, but it was so intense Azura buried herself even deeper into her scarf. Lucas was a few meters ahead of her, walking with big steps as if the cold didn’t bother him.

They had been walking for maybe fifteen minutes and on the horizon, she could see the sky lighting up already. It was nearing sunrise.

He started climbing up a small hill and stopped at the top where he waited for her to join him. The moment she saw the view, a gasp escaped her mouth. He grinned at her reaction.

"Amazing, isn't it? The best place to watch the sunrise."

Before them was a deep valley with fresh, untouched snow and some lone trees scattered here and there.

Her breath formed small crystallized clouds as she took in the sight. The sky was slowly turning into a brighter blue and the birds started chirping louder. It was as if their surroundings came to life together with the light. It didn't take long for the first rays of sunlight to make their appearance. She forgot all about the cold as she relished in the beams hitting her face.

"This makes up for the four 'fuck-me-moments' you gave me in less than an hour." He broke the silence while keeping his eyes on the mountains.

"Four what-now-moments?!"

"The 'fuck-me-moments.' First one was when you woke me up by screaming and I noticed who lay beside me-"

"Partially my fault! Can't hold all of that on me!" she interrupted him with a snort. He ignored her and continued

"Second was when you screamed again and I knew I had to wake you up again. The third time was when you grabbed my wrist in your zombie state and whispered dirty things in my ear-"

"I never did that!" she gave him a playful push. "At least the dirty whispering part..."

He laughed and continued, undisturbed by her push.

"The fourth time was a bit more disturbing since I was a bit afraid you would actually try to kill Bethany."

Azura bit her lip and looked away from him.

"I lost it. The voice was too strong...but she had it coming!"

There was a short silence between them.

"Your count is off by one." She turned to him carrying a mischievous smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"What do you mean?"

"You had five 'fuck-me-moments', the last one is actually the first one."

"Please elaborate." He cocked an eyebrow.

"Your very first 'fuck-me' was the moment you took her to bed. For some reason, I can actually imagine you saying it. I hope it was good sex though." Azura snorted as she said it. Lucas just stared at her, still smiling.

"You really want to play this game with me, dear? Don't say I didn't warn you! Besides... At least I got laid! Can't say the same about you."

"Unlike you, mister, I can actually manage a time without sex. I don't depend on it."

Azura walked to a tree and leaned against it. He followed and stopped before her, then slowly leaned in, making sure his body was as close to her as possible. He caressed her cheek softly with his fingers while staring deep into her eyes. She just waited and let him come into her comfort zone.

He moved his head closer to her so they were almost touching. Finally, he placed his lips next to her ear and whispered.

"I'm guessing you haven't had any for a looong time then."

Azura gave him a rough shove, laughing hard as he fell and sank into the snow. She immediately grabbed a handful of the cold substance and rubbed it in his face. He retaliated straight away, throwing some snow at her head and took advantage of her being distracted.

The carefree moment felt exhilarating. For a short while, it was just a snowball fight without any other issues. Azura enjoyed every moment of it. The battle lasted for a while, both not giving up until they were exhausted, wet to the bone, and freezing.

They headed home, cracking jokes at the expense of the other and having a good dose of light-hearted talking. She hadn't felt this happy in a long time and it felt good. That was until Lucas froze and stopped. He was staring at the snow in shock. Azura joined him and gazed down.

In front of them were a couple of pawprints. They weren’t fresh, but there hadn't been a lot of snow the last couple of days. Her blood froze as she realized that those tracks were her own.