Chapter 80 Heat
Vanessa
A sharp, mind-numbing pain wakes me one week after.
No, it isn't the lingering ache of bruises, or the stiffness that settles into muscles after extreme exhaustion. This particular one feels different.
It's sharp, blinding, and rips through me like fire that has been poured straight into my veins with no remorse.
My eyes snap open, but for a second, I don’t even recognize where I am. The ceiling above me blurs, twisting as another wave crashes through my body.
My lungs lock and panic starts to set in.
Fuck, I can’t breathe.
“What—?” The word barely escapes my lips, strangled and broken and pitiful.
My hands slam into the mattress as a sudden, but familiar instinct takes over. The sheets twist beneath my grip, fabric stretching and twisting between my fingers, until a sharp, ripping sound echoes throughout the room.
I freeze.
Then looking down at my hands clutching the sheets for dear life, I notice my fingers are now being replaced by black, curved, deadly claws pushing through my fingertips and slicing through the fabric like it’s nothing.
Well, shit, I snort. Amusement filling me even as my heart pounds rapidly against my chest.
There's something very wrong here.
Very, very wrong.
I shift almost all the time and this isn't how it goes. Normally, the transformation comes like a tide, steady and sure like a smooth wave rolling through bone and muscle until there’s nothing left to resist it.
But this? This feels like drowning in the middle of a storm.
The shift surges violently up my arms. My bones stretch with a sickening pull and the pressure builds, a scream tears out of me, raw and uncontrollable, my back arching violently off the bed as pain rips through every nerve like lightning. My claws shred deeper into the mattress.
My vision flickers wildly between gold and blue as my wolf fights against something I can’t see. Something is locking her in place and I can't even tell what, not even my magic is reliable at the moment.
“Ahhh—!” I cry out. It feels like something is clawing its way out of my bones.
My jaw snaps forward slightly as fangs force their way through my gums, the pain doubling instantly.
My breathing turns ragged, uneven, completely out of my control.
I can’t stop it. I can’t slow it.
What the fuck is happening to me?!
The bedroom door bursts open. “Vanessa?!” Trish’s voice slices through the chaos.
For a moment, she just stands there. Frozen for a moment. Her eyes widen, horror flooding her expression as she takes in the sight of me – Half-curled on the bed with claws embedded deep into the mattress. My body shaking violently as the shift spasms through me in broken waves.
"Trish!" I scream. That seems to wake her up, spurring her into action. She zips over to me and reaches out but I snap my teeth at her without thinking.
She jumps back, a look of hurt crossing her features.
"Don't touch me. I don't think it's a good idea," I try to say softly but it only comes out as a sound between a growl and a whimper.
She nods in understanding then spins toward the door instantly. “I’m going to get his Highness!” she shouts and runs out.
I hear her footsteps pound down the hallway, fading too far, too fast. The seconds stretch and the burning inside me only gets worse with every breath.
My wolf stirs inside of me and she's fucking furious.
She claws at the inside of my mind, restless and desperate, pacing like a storm trapped behind glass, demanding for me to let her out.
What the fuck is she getting mad at me for? This isn't easy for me either.
My claws rake across the mattress again, shredding more fabric.
That's when I notice it, instantly. The scent in the room has changed. It's mine all the same but now, it's stronger, thicker, and rolling off my own skin in wild, primal, and dangerous waves. It curls in the air like smoke, heavy and intoxicating, filling my lungs with every breath.
Heavy footsteps thunder down the hallway and the door bursts open again.
Xander storms in with Max right behind him. They both stop the moment they see me.
I barely recognize the sound that leaves my throat - it's a broken mix of a snarl and a cry.
“Vanessa…” Xander whispers, taking a step forward, but that's just it. One step.
The moment my name leaves his lips, I pounce.
I wrap my body around his, trying to mould us together as one. Then I start to pepper his face with kisses, sucking and biting and licking whatever parts of flesh my mouth comes in contact with.
Trish's gasps and giggles can be heard in the background but I pay her no mind as I focus on the task at hand.
I'm a little shocked at my unusual wanton behavior with my mate especially with other people around us but it seems the rational part of my brain is currently having a rest while the most primal urge is the one directing my body to do as it pleases.
I want to stop...but I can't. Even my wolf keeps encouraging me and what other choice do I have?
Xander tries to pry me off of him but the more he tries, the more clingy I become and eventually, he gives up, letting me have my way as he runs a hand up and down my back.
Max steps forward slowly, his gaze sharp, calculating, taking everything in. Then something shifts in his expression. Recognition.
“Heat,” he mutters, watching me closely like he's studying a test subject.
The word barely reaches me through the chaos raging in my mind.
“What?” Xander asks, turning to look from me to Max.
"This is your first full moon since your first shift, so it only makes sense that your heat would be happening right now," he explains.
The words don’t make sense. Not fully anyways. They bounce around uselessly in my head, drowned out by the fog swallowing my thoughts and the burning heat between my legs.
I start to dry hump Xander and he lets out an animalistic growl of his own, jerking up his hips to mine once.
"Uh, yeah no. I'm definitely not watching you two get it on right in front of us," Max rushes over to us, trying to rip me away from Xander, the latter who's hands start to tighten around me.
"C'mon, Patricia, a little help here?" Max yells.
Trish looks lost, unsure of what she's supposed to do but when Max calls once more, she launches herself at us and it becomes a battle of limps and growls and half-shifts between the four of us.
Eventually, they manage to throw me off of Xander. Max glances at Xander with a grimace. “Oh shit. She’s in full heat mode now.”
My body is drenched in sweat and I'm trying so hard to hide the slippery feeling of my wetness rubbing against my thighs, but I doubt anything can be done about my arousal.
Max curses under his breath, his eyes flash a quick hazel hue and I know he's trying not to get affected by me. “This is bad. Her wolf is trying to force the heat shift at the same time, and unless you're both ready for the last stage, I'll advise we do something.”
“What does that mean?” Xander demands.
“It means her instincts are fighting her control and if her wolf fully takes over during heat…” He hesitates, but says it anyway. “She won’t be able to stop herself.” A look of understanding passes over Xander's features and I feel like I'm missing something here.
Xander doesn’t look away from me, only clenching his hands into tight fists like he's restraining himself with everything he has.
Another wave crashes through me and my vision flickers gold again. The creature inside me presses harder and closer to the surface. The room spins violently.
Mine. The thought that surfaces isn’t fully mine. It’s hers. Her hunger is so raw it's actually terrifies me, but I can control it - even if that control is fast slipping away from my grasp.
“Vanessa.” Xander’s voice cuts through the haze of my heat, anchoring something deep inside me. So I grab onto it. Desperately.
“Stay with me, firecracker.” He whispers, moving to press his forehead gently against mine.
"She needs to be restrained right now, Xanny," Max says.
Wait, what?
"Why?" I ask, my voice hoarse due to the constant screaming.
"This is your first heat, Nessa and unless you're sure you're ready to take the last stage which is the 'marking exchange' it's best to have you restrained until you can think clearly."
That's right. I've heard of that before. A marking exchange is when two new mates mark each other during their first heat together. It's the werewolf symbol of a wedding ring exchange but more soul-bound. It's not something that should be done in a spur of the moment.
"But is it really necessary to tie me up?" my voice is small and we all know the reason why.
They exchange a look. "No, Vanessa. You won't be tied up, but you'll be kept here in and watched just until it's over. Okay?"
"Okay." I nod, rubbing my cheek against Xander's hand cupping my face.
I look up into his dark eyes and a look passes between us.
I hear Max murmuring something to Trish who nods continuously.
"Xanny, let's go," Max says, but Xander ignores him, his eyes fixed on me.
Max tries again drawing a growl from Xander's lips. His eyes widen. Suddenly, Xander's eyes start to flash between emerald green and his usual dark eyes and I instantly know he's currently fighting his wolf for control. His arousal spikes and a hungry look clouds his features.
What brought that about?
Max notices this too and curses under his breath, understanding dawning on his features.
"What's happening to him?" I inquire.
Max sighs, running a hand through his hair. "I think your heat just triggered his rut," he explains.
"What the–" as if confirming Max's words, the crescent moon sigil glows brightly, our bond also flaring to life with a new kind of power but Xander still doesn't make a move to touch me.
He must really be putting up a lot of fight for this. "Take me out of here," he tells Max without looking away from me. "Now." His voice no longer sounding human like it was seconds ago.
But the moment Max touches him, he turns sharply and slams his beta against the wall. Hard.
"Sorry," he says, but doesn't release him.
"I'm seriously not getting paid enough for this shit," Max wheezes.