I stilled.
Was she touching someone else?
Every muscle in my body turned stiff. I felt close to rupturing.
No, no, she wouldn’t do that. Panic and fear vised around my throat. I struggled to drag in a few breaths.No, she wouldn’t do that.
Once I shut the shower off, I slid the glass door to the side and grabbed the towel to dry myself. I rubbed the cloth across my chest and grabbed my phone. I hadn’t heard it ring, but it was worth?—
ALEX: She’s here, but give her some space, she’s asleep.
She went toAlex? I gritted my teeth, and a crack opened along the phone screen.
Fuckspace, I’d go get my mate.
I couldn’t give her the space she wanted. There was no fiber of my being that could be away from her.
Not bothering with dressing, I strode down the stairs and to the front door. Alex lived several miles south of my house. I’d reach his place within the hour on all fours.
5
Since waking from a dead sleep, I kept tossing and turning. The large round clock over the fireplace told me it hadn’t even been two hours since I’d first lain down. Wind rattled the window near the front door. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Alex had said; Stools had been low-key since retiring from the force, but he’d reached out to someone who may know where he could be found.
I tucked the blanket under my chin, shivering. My brain had reached an unlimited exhaustion level. Now that I remembered everything, I couldn’t stop dwelling.
It was a blessing I’d forgotten who I was while in prison; the tearful, crying girl I’d been wouldn’t have survived. Not having my memories allowed me to endure the event—a bullshit silver lining.
I could pinpoint the differences in pain when he’d been touching other women, but there was a second pain. Less frequent and much more difficult to get through. Now I knew what that meant. I was an Alpha’s mate, which came with a few special aspects that were attached to that. The main one was Heat Seasons. All Alphas’ mates suffered a heat. Maybe it wasbecause the Moon knew Alphas could be such fucking assholes, so they needed to put in a fail-safe that made females so horny, they sought out their mates.
I squeezed the blanket tight to me.
Well, I’d survived multiple heats already; I’d survive them all. They started as a dull throb that made me want to touch myself and morphed into excruciating pain when it wasn’t satiated.
I’d gone through heats alone. There was once where Tate asked me if I had a fated mate on the outside, and I’d responded ‘no’ with such conviction. Each time I felt it coming, I started a fight so I could be thrown into confinement. At least then, I could writhe in pain alone.
Bitterness coated my tongue.
What utter bullshit my life had been?—
The door jiggled, and I shot upright so fast the blanket pooled around my waist. My instinct to run in the other direction battled with my fight response. I exhaled slowly and tossed my legs over the couch to stand. The dark blue blanket pooled at my bare feet. I licked my lips nervously, eyes fastened on the door. It jiggled again, and a growl echoed from the other side of the door.A very familiar growl. The wood around the doorknob splintered, andheflung the door open. Lucian stepped in, naked and sneering. His eyes immediately pinned me. I sucked in a breath, all of my body clenching.
“You’re wearing another male’s clothes?” he snarled, charging at me at full-force. I lunged to the side, and his fingers grazed the shirt Alex had let me borrow. I screamed, hopping to put the couch between us. His fingertips grazed my arm, and I yanked away so fast. I gripped the back of the couch, staring at him standing on the other side. His shoulders jerked, his mouth curled in a sneer. He was furious.
“Lucian,” Alex shouted from the entrance of the hall. Lucian growled.
“Not a good time, Alex,” I croaked. Lucian narrowed his eyes on his brother, and I could see his intention to lunge for him. I intercepted his charge. My hands slapped on a muscled chest, and I pushed at Lucian. A smidge of reason invaded his eyes as he settled them on me.
He grabbed my nape in a strong grip and refocused on Alex, his eyes spitting rage. He’d gone too still. His intention to kill was clear in his eyes. Instead of fighting to get away, I pressed my hand against his abdomen.
“Joey—” Alex started.
Lucian bursting forward cut him off. I slid my arm around his waist and dropped my weight, doing my best to hold him back. It was clear Lucian was trying not to harm me because he could have easily shoved me off.
“Just go, Alex,” I shouted.
“Donotspeak to him,” Lucian hissed. He looked demonic from how angry he was.
I kept his gaze in a clear challenge. His upper lip curled into a sneer.
