Gwen Hayes - Dreaming Awake

Praise for

Falling Under

Falling Under is a lush, romantic, and captivating novel. It took my breath away.Sarah Beth Durst, author of Ice

Falling Under is absolutely irresistible. A lush, dark fairy tale full of magic, intrigue, and love. Genuinely scary and swooningly romantic in all the best ways, once I fell into this book, I couldnt stop reading. Theia and Hadens story utterly enthralled me, and I cant wait to read more about Serendipity Falls.Rosemary Clement-Moore, author of The Splendor Falls

Hayess first YA novel seasons its Romeo and Juliet theme of separated lovers with horror and languid eroticism... a satisfying story that hints at more promising dreams to come.Publishers Weekly

In an eerie, intriguing YA debut that is sure to have some crossover appeal for Twilight fans of all ages, Hayes has spun a magical, sometimes terrifying tale of teens caught at the intersection of the human and demon worlds and their struggle to save their souls and escape the evil threat that could destroy them both.Library Journal

Twilight fans will be tripping over themselves to read Hayess new series. This powerful love story will take your breath away as you are transported to the world of Serendipity Falls.RT Book Reviews

A plot that leaves you guessing until the final page, a mysterious boy who could give Edward Cullen a run for his money, and writing that brings the characters to life in front of you as you read.Chapter Chicks

Loved it... I totally got wrapped up in this one.Forever Young (Adult)

A new, sexy take on demons and the battling of lust versus love.Scarrlet Reader

Fascinating.Genre Go Round Reviews

Beautiful, lyrical writing.Fiction State of Mind

Falling Under has some similarities to books like Twilight, but it whomps all over them... lush, evocative, and incredibly creative.Errant Dreams Reviews

A gripping tale of demons and the Underworld... Falling Under just about ticked all the right boxes.Nice Girls Read Books

BOOKS BY GWEN HAYES

Falling Under

Dreaming Awake

DREAMING AWAKE

GWEN HAYES

NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY

N EW A MERICAN L IBRARY

Published by New American Library, a division of

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,

New York, New York 10014, USA

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)

Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)

Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India

Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:

80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

First published by New American Library,

a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

First Printing, January 2012

Copyright Gwen Hayes, 2012

All rights reserved

REGISTERED TRADEMARKMARCA REGISTRADA

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA:

Hayes, Gwen.

Dreaming awake/Gwen Hayes.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-101-55942-0

[1. DemonologyFiction. 2. SupernaturalFiction. 3. LoveFiction. 4. High schoolsFiction. 5. SchoolsFiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.H31458Dr 2012

[Fic]dc23 2011032112

Designed by Alissa Amell

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

PUBLISHERS NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the authors rights is appreciated.

For Harrison Johnalready a hero in so many ways

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The care and feeding of a writer is a complex endeavor that necessitates a special kind of patience and, most important, a good sense of humor. Without the support of my friends, family, and colleagues, there would be no bookjust a strange woman in the corner talking to the voices in her head.

Id like to thank my editor, Anne Sowards, for never letting me settle until Ive written my best, even when I whine and complain about how hard it is. Also for letting me borrow Kat Sherbo from time to time because she is super smart. Id also like to thank Jan McInroy for wrangling all the commas, and Erin Galloway and Kayleigh Clark for keeping publicity fun. There are a lot of other people at NAL/Penguin who work behind the scenes on my book that Id like to thank also. I really appreciate all they do even though I dont get to work with them directly.

Thank you, Jessica Sinsheimer, who is the most professional, savvy, witty, classy, and fiercely fun woman I know. Shes also my agent and represents everything I love about publishing and being female. She is a positive force in not just my career, but my life.

This book would not be if it werent for: my readers, my Twitter friends, the YA book bloggers who keep me excited about not just my book but all the books, Michael Graham for letting me borrow his duck, Bob and Janet Hayes for my name, and the Zone 91.3 (special shout-out to Jeremy, Pol, and Jon because I told you I would). Thanks to my inner circle of writer friends who send me encouragement, critiques, advice, and sometimes NSFW pictures.

And, as always, my deepest gratitude to my family for always believing in me. And for being understanding when I spend too much time on the computer.

And to my husband, Travis, thank you times one million still doesnt cover it. You are my world.

Contents

HOMECOMING

D anger doesnt always greet with bared fangs. Sometimes it seduces with a willowy caress, a sigh of pleasure, and then turns carnivorous with whipcrack intensity.

Falling in love is the same.

Love had seduced my heart and soul, changed me forever, and then, in one promise made under duress, jeopardized my very humanity. And yet I couldnt regret it.

These were my thoughts as I cartwheeled back through the supernatural veil that separated two worldsthe one I was supposed to live in and the one from which I was escaping. The place called Under.