**CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE.**
I tried ignoring my cat tingles while my eyes stayed glued to Draken as he bent down to pick up Topper’s shoe, before heading into the bathroom. A moment later, I heard the low sound of the toilet flushing. When he came out, his face was unreadable as he strode across the room, pulling the curtains close in one swift motion. He took the box I’d been clutching from my hands, the weight of it transferring easily to his grasp. Meanwhile, I stood rooted to the floor, my heart picking up a pace, unable to completely shake the predatory glint I'd caught in Draken’s eyes earlier.
“Is everything okay, Eline?” he asked, his voice low and calm, as he gently nudged me towards the door. “The blood on the bathroom floor is all cleaned up, and I flushed the used tissues down the toilet. Made sure to leave no evidence of a dead body behind. Are you sure you’re not forgetting anything?”
I stared at him for a moment, my thoughts were everywhere. Draken couldn’t possibly be a threat to me—he was my boyfriend. He had promised to love me, to protect me. I knew deep down that my cat tingles was probably just leftover fear from the horrifying scene earlier—the dead body of the girl I’d stumbled upon in my own bathroom. Maybe...just maybe, I had misread the look in his eyes. Yes, that had to be it.
“Eline?” Draken's voice pulled me back to the present as he shook me gently, his expression questioning.
“Yeah, I’m here,” I responded quickly, forcing a smile. But then, as my eyes went to the small drawer near the bed, something clicked in my mind. “Oh, my diary. I haven't grabbed it yet.”
I moved to the drawer, fumbling with the handle for a moment before retrieving the yellow leather-bound book. With that in hand, we both left the room together, Draken’s presence close at my side.
By the time we stepped out of the dorm, the sky had begun to transition into hues of fire red and orange. The air carried a chill which signaled that nightfall was fast approaching. The streets of Brooklyn were a bit quiet. Topper and the others were nowhere to be seen, likely having already left with the body.
Draken tossed my box into the backseat of his car with ease, the sound of it hitting the leather seats barely audible. We both slid into the car—me in the passenger seat and him behind the wheel—and as he started the engine, a heavy silence settled between us. Neither of us spoke as the car hummed down the road, headed for his apartment in Tribeca, the tension in the air was palpable. My mind was spinning, but not about the dead girl anymore. That frightful discovery felt like a distant memory, overshadowed now by something more immediate, more personal.
It was the look in Draken’s eyes—those forest-green eyes that had darkened so intensely just moments ago. They had shifted into something primal, something that turned on my cat tingles. As much as I tried convincing myself that I had misread it, I couldn't. It had been brief, but undeniable. I was so sure that it wasn't a figment of my imagination.
I shot him a quick glance as he drove, my stomach twisting into knots. Should I say something? I wasn’t even sure what to say. But the quiet, the unsettling silence, was becoming too much for me to bear.
“Draken…” My voice came out softer than I intended, barely louder than a whisper.
He didn’t respond immediately, his hands gripping the steering wheel just a little too tightly, knuckles white against the dark leather. He was acting differently. In fact, he was smelling different. Being in an enclosed space with him made me realize that. His smell was so overwhelming…it felt choking and…it was also making me wet my pants.
Was I horny? I brushed the thought out of my mind as soon as it came. No. I couldn't be horny, not when Draken had just looked at me like I was a prey…could that even be what had turned me on?
Damn, Eline.
The silence between us stretched on, and only the quiet hum of the engine and the rhythmic swoosh of the tires against the pavement could be heard as Draken continued to drive.
Finally, he spoke, his voice low and hoarse. Somewhat sexy. “Yeah?”
I hesitated, my fingers twitching in my lap as I tried to find the right words. I didn’t want to accuse him of anything. I didn’t even know what I would be accusing him of. But the way his eyes had changed…the way he’d looked at me... something was wrong. Or was it just me? Was it my imagination twisting things? And WHY THE FUCK WAS I GETTING HORNY IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS?!
“I… I just want to make sure everything’s okay,” I said cautiously, not wanting to provoke anything but needing to say something, anything, to break the tension and clear my doubts. “You’ve been quiet, and earlier—”
“Earlier?” He interrupted, cutting his eyes briefly toward me before returning his focus to the road. I saw his jaw tighten and he was beginning to sweat even though the AC was on. He was looking even sexier than usual…it was getting my panties even damper and I prayed it didn't leak into my trousers.
*WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO ME?!*
“I suppose you mean with the girl?”
I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry. He didn't feel like Draken…I mean, it was Draken, but something felt off about him. “No, not her. I mean, yeah, that’s…it’s awful. But I meant earlier, before that. When we were in the room alone. Your eyes…”
Draken was quiet again, his brow furrowing as if he was trying to piece together what I was getting at. After a long pause, he let out a sigh, his shoulders relaxing slightly. “Eline, it’s been a rough day for both of us. Trying to search for Tyler. Finding that body, dealing with the mess…you know I'd never hurt you, right?”
“Yeah, I know,”
But as I said the words, my mind betrayed me with flashes of that dark glint in his eyes, the primal edge that had set off every instinct inside me.
My cat tingles…it never lied.
“...and I'm starting my rut,” Draken added.
“Your rut?”
He nodded, eyes trained to the road. “Yes. It usually lasts for a week, but if it's really intense it lasts for like three days. I can use an injection to suppress it, but I've been suppressing it for about six months now…I don't think it would be right for me to continue relying on a suppressant.”
I had never seen someone in rut before…well, asides Topper, but I only smelt the aftermath of it. Male werecats did go through ruts, but it was a one in six months occurrence and it wasn't really intense. The aim of rut was for reproduction and to let our primal instincts out. On the other hand, female werewolves went through heat. Just like rut, it was also a once in a six months occurrence and it lasts for just two days.
Oh, wait, that could explain the predatory look I'd seen in his eyes. Oh my god! Draken was already in the throes of his rut and I didn't even know that.
Damnit.
“I plan on going over to my parents estate to spend my rut—”
“Why? I'm here, right? I can help,” I offered, cutting him off.
Draken looked away from the road and placed his car on autopilot as he shook his head. “I’m sorry, Eline, but you can't. I can't let you risk your life all because you're trying to help me with my rut.”
“Isn't it just sex? Big deal.”
“It’s not just about sex. I could knot you and get you pregnant. Besides, you stir my emotions within me…your scent makes me feel rogue. I won't be able to control my wolf during my rut, especially for three days straight. I'm sorry.”
I frowned as though him caring for me personally offended me. It did. “I'm not some weak werecat, Draken. Let me help. I'm your girlfriend.”
“You won't be able to leave the room even when you're tired, my wolf, Grey, would see you as a prey and not an equal. I wouldn't be able to control my actions and even if you try to run, I'd always know where you are.”
I chuckled at that. “Is that how you knew where my room was? Because I don't remember bringing you up to it.”
Draken didn't even crack a smile. “Right now, Eline, Grey sees you as a prey that's driving him crazy. And that's why I need to be at my parents house during my rut, otherwise I won't be able to control myself from hunting you down and doing anything despicable.”
“And like I said, it's fine,” though a small part of me wasn’t completely convinced. The rational side of my brain screamed that I was being ridiculous, and that I shouldn't agree. I should tell Draken to lock himself away at his parents house…but when did anyone ever listen to their rational side especially when they felt so damp.
Besides, I was confident Draken wouldn't hurt me.
“When would you rut fully kick in?” I asked as he took the car off autopilot.
He hesitated for a bit before answering. “It should be tomorrow.”