Chapter 15 Her Wolf’s Fever
Elena’s trembling fingers slipped from the phone, letting it clatter lifelessly to the ground. Drops of sweat rolled down her body. Heat burned her alive from the inside. She hugged herself, but it felt like fire pressed against her flesh.
Her vision blurred. Her wolf howled.
Then, a voice cut through the haze. Drake’s voice. It echoed inside her head like a command.
Didn’t you say it yourself? You still owe me a wish.
I’ll get someone to take you home.
Elena pressed her eyes closed, her head drooping in surrender. Both her mind and body withered. Her fangs ached. Her claws trembled.
She hugged herself tighter, sobs breaking loose. Her body burned hotter.
She needed ice to calm herself.
She remembered. When she booked the den-room, she’d told the omegas to prepare buckets of ice and fill the tub with freezing water.
Right.
She could endure this. Like last time.
Using what little strength she had left, Elena forced herself up. Her legs barely obeyed, but her wolf pushed her forward.
Stumbling toward the bathroom, she moved like prey on broken legs.
Her ears caught the sound. Water. Ice cracking.
She dropped into the tub with a weak splash.
On the other side of the phone, Dolphus listened. He heard the water.
Without a word, he cut the call.
“Open the den-room door,” he growled at his assistant. “Bring the car to the front.”
Richard nodded and vanished.
Within minutes, the hotel’s manager and his crew arrived. Keys jingled as they forced the lock open.
Dolphus’s gaze flicked toward Lucian, who stood frozen with fear.
“Send him to the pack’s enforcers,” Dolphus ordered coldly.
Lucian’s voice cracked. “Mr. Farrington! Please! I’m Drake’s younger blood. I swear, it wasn’t deliberate. I was merely following instructions. If you don’t believe me, check room 808! Drake’s there!”
Dolphus’s jaw tightened.
“Send this fool to Drake,” he growled. “Tell him he owes me an explanation.”
Without waiting for a response, Dolphus stormed into Elena’s room. The heavy door slammed behind him.
His sharp eyes scanned the room. Then his eye caught the scent of Elena.
He found her.
Her body lay half-spilled over the frozen tub’s edge, trembling fiercely. Her soaked body wore a down jacket. Her face drained of color, lips darkening to blue, as her claws bit deep into the icy rim of the tub. Icy water lapped at her, scattered with broken slivers of melting ice.
Dolphus’s wolf snarled inside him. He moved fast.
With strong arms, he pulled her out of the tub. Her skin felt icy, her body limp.
“Damn it,” he growled.
He pulled the sodden jacket from her trembling body and discarded it. Cradling her as if she weighed nothing, he strode from the bathroom.
Elena stirred in his hold. It seeped through her broken senses.
Her wolf responded before her mind could stop it.
Desire.
It ignited inside her once more.
She needed him.
Now.
Dolphus placed her gently on the bed. His clothes were drenched from holding her. Without thinking, he stripped off the wet fabric, tossing it aside as his wolf paced beneath his skin.
Elena’s golden eyes opened, but they looked empty.
Yet even in her daze, her wolf’s gaze locked onto him.
She could see him.
The lines of his jaw.The sharp cut of his throat.
The rise and fall of his bare chest, muscles tight with tension.The scent of him. It drove her wolf mad.
Her breathing grew ragged. Her claws scraped the sheets.
Dolphus leaned over her, catching the wildness in her eyes. His wolf knew the signs.
She is losing control and she wants him.
He cursed silently, struggling to push back his own beast’s instincts.
“Elena,” he said low, voice deep as thunder. “Fight it.”
Dolphus leaned forward, ready to pull the thick fur blanket over Elena when, without warning, she gripped his collar. Her claws scraped his skin slightly as she yanked him down and, driven by something raw and wild, she pressed her lips clumsily against his.
His entire body locked up.
Beside her, his hand closed tightly, knuckles straining as he fought himself. He did not breathe.
Elena’s kiss was messy, desperate. There was no skill in it. Her mind had slipped away and her body now ruled by the fire raging inside her veins.
His name escaped her lips like a whimper.
Dolphus shuddered. His body betrayed him as heat crawled over his skin, his blood burning. His control cracked.
“Elena...” A growl rumbled from his throat.
Still, her body leaned into his, guided by primal instincts craving his touch for relief.
Wet tears slid slowly along her pale cheeks.
She was breaking.
Struggling against himself, Dolphus gripped her jaw with a firm yet careful touch, easing her down onto the bed. His hold pinned her, not out of cruelty, but to keep her still.
Without warning, she turned and kissed his fingers. Her lips brushed his skin as her hands wrapped around his arm, holding on.
Dolphus’s veins bulged. Where her lips touched, his skin burned hotter. His beast clawed at him from within.
“No...” he snarled, jerking his hand away, locking her small wrists with his clawed fingers. He pressed her deeper into the mattress.
“Elena!”
Her fogged eyes blinked slowly. She heard her name. She looked up at him.
Under the soft golden light, his face appeared above her. His sharp nose, strong jawline, and thin lips were inches from hers. His scent surrounded her.
She whimpered his name in a cracked voice. “Dolphus... I feel so terrible…”
The sound of his name falling from her lips broke something inside him.
“I’ll take you to the pack healer now.” His voice was sharp. He forced himself to think.
He released one of her wrists just long enough to wrap her tightly in the fur blanket. His big hands moved quickly, controlling her trembling form.
“Please… Dolphus… help me…”
Dolphus froze.
His dark eyes blazed as he gazed down at her.
"Elena..." His voice came out raw, strained by the weight of restraint. “I’m not Drake. Look at me.”
At the name Drake, Elena flinched as though stabbed. Her heart ached, raw wounds reopening.
But her body didn’t care. The poison inside her worked deeper, dragging her down.
The fever burned hotter.
The way his name left her lips, pleading and soft, coiled around his heart like a chain.
He swallowed hard.
Her glazed eyes begged him.
“Elena… don’t…” he whispered, but his voice cracked.
She shook her head weakly. “Please… Her words broke into a sob.
He could no longer tell if it was her desperation or his own crumbling control that dragged him past the edge.
Elena melted into his touch, her body wrapping around his warmth. His scent washed over her.
Her lips reached for him in blind need, her voice breaking.
Her hands quivered as she tugged at his clothes, her skin desperate against his, drinking in his heat.
His mouth claimed hers in a fierce, sudden kiss.
She answered without a second thought.
A sudden stab of pain tore through her, pulling a ragged cry from her throat. Her fingers dug into the fur, her voice cracking as she called his name.
“Dolphus...”
Their lips found each other once more, tongues entwining as the night closed in around them.
Elena felt herself fall like a lone raft tossed in a stormy sea, her body sinking and rising… lost in the night.