Chapter 21

Selene

I make it only one hour into work before the symptoms of my heat become too much, and I feel like I'm going to pass out right at my desk. The room seems to spin, and I decide to quit for the day and head home to get back in the bed.

This was a terrible, terrible mistake.

I call Zack to cancel our date for tonight. "Hey, Selly. What's up?" he says when he picks up, his voice cheerful.

"Hey. I think I'll have to cancel our date tonight. I'm not feeling too well," I say, trying to sound as normal as possible.

For some reason, I leave out the fact that I'm in heat. It's not an important detail, anyway, I tell myself.

"Aww, I'm sorry, babe. We can reschedule for tomorrow night if you're feeling up to it," he suggests, his voice filled with understanding.

"Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow then," I say before hanging up, grateful he doesn't press for more details.

As I gather my bag and prepare to leave, I jump when I look up to see Phoenix leaning against a my file cabinet. He's dressed in jeans and a grey v-neck with his leather jacket over it. He looks ridiculous being here, like a terrifying clown showing up to a child's unicorn-themed birthday party.

"What are you doing here?" I hiss, looking around to notice all my coworkers looking over at us.

He cocks his head, his face deadly serious. "What are you doing here?" he parrots my question.

"Working," I retort, my annoyance growing.

He breathes in deeply, his nostrils subtly flaring. "But you're still in heat, and if I can sense it, other males can too."

I roll my eyes. "Oh really? Because I've been around other males today and they didn't notice. Maybe you're just really sensitive to smell."

Or he's just making shit up to have a reason to be possessive and controlling.

He stares down at me, his eyes darkening. "Let's go. I'm taking you home," he grits out in a stern, gravelly voice that makes me want to beg him to bend me over my own desk and fuck me until I scream his name.

A wave of heat rolls through me, and I stifle a groan.

Okay, banish the dirty thoughts. You're making everything worse, I chastise myself.

"Yeah, I don't think I'm getting on your bike, now or ever," I argue, my voice strained as I attempt to stifle a moan.

"You're not. We're taking your car," he replies calmly.

I furrow my brows. "What? How'd you get here without your bike?"

"Does it matter?" he asks, his gaze never leaving mine despite the other women in the room openly eye-fucking him.

Nervously biting my lip, I stand up, and another wave of heat hits me.

Okay, the suppressants aren't working as well as they should.

I close my eyes, trying to push the feeling away, making me sway slightly. Phoenix's calloused hand is on my arm, steadying me. His touch causes a jolt through me, intensifying the heat radiating through my body. My eyes snap to open to find his worried expression staring down at me. "You okay?" he murmurs, his voice soft.

I nod. "Yeah, just tired," I mutter.

And extremely horny.

He clicks his tongue, shaking his head. "What am I going to do with you, little wolf? Come on, let's get you out of here."

He takes my arm and leads me out of the building to my car. My heart pounds as he drives back to the packhouse, more waves of heat crashing into me. The car ride feels like an eternity, each second marked by the aching need growing inside me.

I try to distract myself from the pain by talking to Phoenix. "Uh, so how is life at the palace? I wish you would've told me you were leaving," I say quietly, playing with my fingers in my lap.

"I tried, but you were asleep," he replies, his jaw tensing as he gazes at the road ahead.

"Why have you come back then?" I ask, my words coming out harsher than I intended them to. "I thought I wouldn't see you anymore, that you just up and disappeared into the night."

"You're still my little sis. You'd think I'd abandon you?" he teases, his lips twitching with amusement.

Ugh, I'd wish he'd stop doing that.

"I would be pretty pissed if you did," I reply honestly, my voice softer.

"Good."

The rest of the ride to the packhouse is silent, the tension between us palpable. When we arrive, Phoenix surprises me by carrying me into the house, his strong arms cradling me against his chest. He ensures that I've bathed and eaten before he finally leaves, his scent lingering in the room long after he's gone.

As I lie in bed, the ache of my heat lessening but still present, I can't help but feel grateful for my stepbrother's care. Yet, a part of me yearns for me, a forbidden desire that seems harder to ignore the more we spend time with each other.

---------------------------------------------------

The next morning, I feel a lot better. As I get up to get ready for work, I find a plate of eggs, potatoes, and toast on the nightstand. I prod at the eggs, discovering that they're still warm.

What the hell?

There's a note next to the plate: You better not go to work if you're not feeling well. I will find out, and I will bring your ass right back home -Nix

I feel my lips twitch into a full-out grin.

I don't doubt that he'd do it either.

I spend my entire day of work thinking about Phoenix. His sudden kindness and protective nature are confusing, but also strangely comforting.

After confirming dinner plans with Zack, I drive to his place after work. It feels weird to return to my previous pack's lands, but I don't know why. Nothing has changed, except for me, of course.

Arriving at his house, he lets me in, and I follow him to the kitchen. His house is pretty nice, cozy and neat for a guy living by himself. He's definitely grown a lot; I expected his entire place to be some kind of video game shrine or something.

On the kitchen table, there is a large dish full of sushi and two cups of water. "I hope you came with an appetite. I made dinner," Zack says with a prideful grin.

Although I'm not a fan of sushi, I appreciate the effort he put into cooking dinner when going out would've been simpler. So I smile and sit down at the table, diving right into my plate.

As long as I don't throw up, this night won't turn into a huge disaster, I tell myself.

As the night progresses with dinner and some cheesy rom-com, it seems like our relationship is evolving. Talking about work changes to us discussing what went wrong in our relationship and how we would do better this time. Of course, words are just words. We will both have to put in actual effort to make this work if we want to start over.

By the end of the night, we're sitting on the couch and Zack is inching his hand up my thigh. My legs fall open, begging for him to touch me. Just one orgasm and I'm sure my pulsating clit will calm down and stop acting like a needy little whore.

Zack's eyes turn gold and he climbs on top of me, his grip tightening on my arms as he gazes down at me with his wolf's eyes. My lust immediately shifts to panic as he clasps my hands together in one of his and holds them above my head.

"W-What are you doing?" I whisper, my voice trembling with fear.

His nostrils flare with rage. "I keep smelling another male on you. I don't like it," he growls.

I frown. "Huh?"

"I can tell you're in heat. Why didn't you tell me? Did you let him fuck you?"

Fuck. I think his wolf is taking charge now that his mind is clouded by anger and jealousy. He could end up marking me without consent just to make a point. That's the problem with our inner-wolves, they're extremely territorial.

"What are you talking about? I haven't had sex with anyone," I retort, trying to buck him off of me, but he doesn't budge.

"You're in heat, Selly. I need to take care of you."

"Zack, you're being too rough," I whisper in a pleading voice.

But he doesn't listen.

His canines emerge. Shit. Shit. Shit.

"Get off of me, Zack!" I shriek, and that manages to snap him out of it.

He immediately lets me go, and sits back, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he says in a low, strained voice, "Leave, Selly. Before I do something I shouldn't."

Confusion surges through me. I thought we were having a good time, but I guess our night is going to end on a bad note.

Zack plants a kiss on my forehead. "I'm sorry. I just want to take things slow with us. You being heat almost made me do something I would've regretted."

I nod, though I'm still confused and a little dissatisfied, thanks to my heat.

"I guess I'll call you later then," I mumble before scrambling up from the couch and storming to my car.