516- When the Wolf's Fury Surrenders to a Deeper Truth
POV Thalyndra Moonclaw:
I knew it was done, that all omegas did it when they were in heat and wanted to get pregnant—it was one of the acts of heat—but... I didn't know if I could force it; I always thought it should come from my wolf and not from me.
"I know you don't," he replied in a firm tone. "The thing is, I gave you the knot several times, and in none of them did your wolf open your womb. That made my beast irritated."
"I can't force her."
He let out a sigh and stood up, collecting the empty plates.
"You can't," he agreed, seeming biased. "But I think I know why she didn't do it."
"Then tell me, because I don't know."
He placed the plates in the sink and turned to face me, leaning against the counter. I observed the tensed muscles of his chest, admiring them as if it were the first time I was seeing them.
"Because I didn't mark you. I believe she brought forward the heat to force a mating, which didn't happen, and in response, she didn't open her womb to me."
I jumped off the stool, my stomach churning.
My wolf was completely insane—so much so that I should keep her asleep, as I had been doing when I lived among humans and kept my instincts inactive.
"That's madness," I whispered, thinking aloud. "I mean, all of this! Heavens, it's too much to process. Reading about it in books is so much simpler than living reality."
He laughed and nodded, agreeing with me.
"We are primordial beings, driven by wild instincts. You grew up learning to deal with humans, who don't even have instincts. This will all be strange to you for a long time, until you learn to get used to it," he clarified. "You need to understand that we are part animal, and it's these instincts that dominate us, that drive us, that make us act."
Still, my wolf had come with a factory defect. Forcing a heat, not opening her womb... heavens, was she testing Anton's limits? Or did she just want to get herself killed? He was an absurdly powerful wolf. Most had a survival instinct—unlike me, apparently.
I picked up the coffee cup from the counter and drank all the liquid, moistening my throat that had become immensely dry.
"Opening the womb means pregnancy, doesn't it?" I asked, circling the counter and placing the empty cup in the sink beside him. He nodded in agreement. "Then that's great, because it means I can't be pregnant after this heat."
He clenched his teeth so hard that the muscle in his jaw popped.
"You know that's precisely the purpose of heat, don't you?"
I shrugged.
"So what? Mine came out of absolute nowhere. I don't want children now, and neither should you. Besides, it's impossible with the Mercantes situation... and we don't even have anything serious," I spat out one excuse after another, stumbling over my words.
Anton didn't seem to agree with me, but he said nothing, just nodded.
"We went through your heat without mating, but I don't know if the same will happen next time."
"I hope there isn't a next time," I retorted.
He laughed without any humor, turning to the sink, ready to wash the dishes.
"Do you really believe your wolf won't find a way to bring forward the heat, Thalyndra? She won't give you peace, not until she's properly mated." He scrubbed a plate without looking at me, focused on his task. "My mother's wolf brought forward her heat because she wanted her to get pregnant; yours is doing it for a different reason and won't rest until she gets what she wants."
Wow, that was wonderful news.
Like him, I was also certain it would happen again, but I'd leave worrying about that for the future. If I really wanted to stay in Eldoria, as I'd been thinking about doing lately, I'd need to find a way to control it, since Anton would always be around.
Or I'd just accept it and mate with him. I pondered, biting my cheeks. I snorted, immediately pushing the thought away. I didn't even know if he wanted something like that; it was something that went far beyond anything we'd ever talked about.
I'd never been very interested in the subject, because I never thought I'd end up mating. I didn't even know exactly how it worked or how it was done.
I crossed my arms in front of my body and looked at the living room, ready to go tidy things up while thinking about how to return to Edric and Lunara's house and explain to them the reason for my disappearance.
"Your parents... know where I am?" I remembered to ask, feeling the food stuck in my throat.
"Yes, they know. Do you think you'd disappear and they wouldn't notice and worry?"
I was going to die.
"And... what did you tell them?"
"The truth. You were in a... sensitive period. If Aurelka or Lana approached, things could get out of control."
Yes, death seemed quite pleasant.
"Out of control?"
He nodded.
"When in heat, both tend to mark territory. If a male or female gets close to a couple during that period, things can end in death. It would be risky for any of them, so I told the truth."
Things could always get worse.
I considered running away from Eldoria for good, taking what little dignity I had left, but that was no longer a possibility, unfortunately.
I advanced to the living room, ready to occupy myself with tidying up the mess and thinking about how to react when I reunited with all of them. My eyes turned to a vase displayed on the back shelves. I hadn't noticed Anton's decoration until then.
I approached it slowly, not sure if I was seeing correctly. I ran my fingers over its smooth surface. It was a classical object, with a rounded base that narrowed gently upward, forming a slender waist. Handleless, its white background contrasted with the abstract designs in deep blue, which had always intrigued me. I already knew every detail of that vase, but the sensation of touching it for the first time fascinated me, after so many years of analyzing it only through the paintings in book pages.
I held my breath.
"You recognized it..." Anton commented, his voice sounding behind me. "It belonged to the Mercantes, but you must already know that."
I shook my head, denying it.
"It didn't belong to the Mercantes; it belonged to my father." I turned to him, seeing the shock in his eyes.
"What?"