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NO DREAM LIKE FOREVER: Book 1 of The Descendants
released
June 12, 2026
formats
ebook
A talented event planner catches the attention of a pack of immortals, some of whom are INCREDIBLY unpleasant. But one of them might win her heart if he plays his cards right.
When Viyana Sephri pulls off a complicated party for her company, she didn’t expect to get a promotion that has her running part of a partnership. She also didn’t expect the other company to pair her with Cory Griffin, with his distracting leading-man looks. It doesn’t help that he’s surprisingly kind, and is surprisingly interested in her.
Which is a problem, since Viyana has sworn off romance.
Cory didn’t think he could fall in love again. It’s been over a century since he felt something like this. But his clan has done terrible things, to humans and to him, and he needs to protect Viyana from them… if the dynamics between him and his colleagues didn’t make that almost impossible.
Between Cory’s interest and navigating the tense – and strange – dynamics of the two companies, Viyana finds herself uncovering more and more disturbing aspects of her colleagues. Including Cory.
Once Viyana knows who she’s working with, she needs to figure out how to survive the clans she is trapped between. How will she escape – and will she be alive or undead?
NO DREAM LIKE FOREVER is a standalone story, with an ending that leads us into the overarching tale of the series.
Content Warnings
This book contains explicit descriptions of physical violence, body horror, torture, murder, death and dying, emotional abuse, kidnapping / abduction, and mind control. It also mentions and/or references child abuse, domestic violence, murder of a spouse, murder of a priest, and sexual assault, but none of these are explicit.
None of the above occurs between the two main characters.
There are brief instances of magical nervous system manipulation that occurs between the main characters. It also contains copious descriptions of food, brief references to disordered eating, and references to consuming blood.
This book contains several explicit open-door sex scenes without vulgar language. There is significant cursing outside of the sex scenes.
Sample
From Chapter 2, “A Party To Remember”
Her watch vibrated: 15 minutes before midnight. Almost time to head to the floor. She checked the list on her tablet; everything seemed in place.
As she switched back to the monitors, she could see clusters of people heading towards each side of the stage. Collecting by stage left was the Aventura team. Simon, in his gray plaid suit, was waiting next to Edaro Aventura’s lithe, slender form. His long, coal-black hair looked striking against his celery-green blazer.
Next to Edaro was Jolie Miron, her chestnut hair twirled into an elaborate chignon, wearing a simple silk column dress in emerald green. She was chatting with three other people, two blonds and a redhead, each in their own elegant green outfit. Viyana nodded to herself – Jolie would go first, then pass it on to the ZL Holdings Head of Partnerships, then the negotiating team would take the stage for a round of applause. Then the two CEOs would ascend and clasp hands, and the stage manager would give a go for pyro.
On the monitors, she could just see the gathering of people on the floor by stage right. She searched for the honey-blond head of Orlea Chance, the ZL Holdings representative she’d met the prior evening. Chance had been the only ZL person who had shown up for the rehearsal, but she’d assured Viyana that everything would work perfectly, with a tinge of condescension that had made Viyana uncomfortable.
Viyana didn’t see her among the cluster of blue-clad people waiting by the ramp. She bit her lip as the podiums were readied in the downstage wings and the guitarists started to conclude their song.
A quick motion across the stage caught her eye. A tall blond man in a white button-down shirt and black silk pants stood in the center right wing, arms crossed, frowning at the guitarists. Her stomach dropped when she noticed he was standing directly next to one of the paint fountains, on the wrong side of the splash screen. If anything went wrong with the fountain, his clothes would be ruined, and she’d likely be the one to catch hell about it.
Her heart thumped as she pressed the button on her headset. “Pause until my mark,” she whispered, and slipped gently behind the backstage curtain. She wanted to run, but she couldn’t even walk at her normal pace, for fear of rippling the backdrop and distracting people. She trusted her stage manager to wait for her, but the delay chafed in her brain.
They’ll notice. They’ll notice something is wrong.
She pressed her lips together as she took slow, deliberate steps.
Breathe, Vi. The last song isn’t half done yet.
After what felt like an eternity, she reached the area where the man stood, his shoulders radiating tension. She halted, a spike of frisson in her gut.
It’s okay. He’s not tense at you. He doesn’t know you’re there. You’ll be helping him.
She shushed her internal monologue and laid her fingers on his elbow, the touch feather light.
“Excuse me, sir,” she murmured. “You can’t be here.”
He turned and stared at her, his dark blue eyes widening. Her heart skipped as she took in his astonishingly attractive face.
Holy hell it’s like someone blended Austin Butler and young Simon Baker. Where the fuck was this guy when they were casting Lord of the Rings?
“I think you’ll find I can be,” he replied. His voice wasn’t a whisper, and yet it didn’t seem to carry past the space they occupied. As if he was talking just for her.
Shake it off, Vi.
“I’m the partner lead for ZL,” he continued. “You can check your list.”
Just get this guy away from the pyro. Deal with the politics later.
“I’m so sorry, sir.” She smiled, increasing the pressure of her fingers slightly. Something in his eyes shifted, and the skin of his arm under her fingers hummed like the crowd did, like he was shimmering with electricity. “I understand you are our first ZL speaker, but you’re standing next to the pyrotechnics, and I wouldn’t want your beautifully-tailored shirt to be damaged.”
He startled and looked behind him at the boxy device, then turned back to her. “Well damn,” he said. “You mean I can’t do my Johnny Storm impression?”
Viyana snorted, then covered her mouth in chagrin. “Please don’t make me laugh,” she said as she drew him away from the fountain. “They’ll hear me all the way to Cleveland.”
The man grinned as he followed her to the stairs that led to where the cluster of blue-clad people were gathered. “Someday I’d like to hear that. Cory, by the way. Cory Griffin.”
Viyana’s watch buzzed. 5 to midnight. She had just enough time to get to her assigned spot.
“Lovely to meet you, Mr. Griffin. I’m Viyana Sephri. Please enjoy the rest of your evening.”
As she slipped down to the floor, she swore she could feel his eyes on her, even after she knew he could no longer see her.
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