“I’m going to kill him.” Aedan was already moving, gathering his things, pulling me to my feet. “I’m going to actually kill him. The idiot. The absolute idiot.”
“Aedan, WHAT IS HAPPENING?”
I tried to stand on my own. My legs buckled immediately. Aedan caught me, cursed again, and swept me up into his arms.
“You’re going into heat,” he said grimly.
“I’m going into WHAT?”
“Heat. It’s a wolf thing. After a claiming bite, the mate usually goes into heat within days. Sometimes weeks. It’s the body’s response to the bond being sealed. The need to... complete the connection.”
“Complete the connection,” I repeated weakly. “You mean...”
“I mean your body is demanding your mate. And without him here...” He shook his head. “It’s intense for normal wolves, but for you? You’re not just any wolf. You’re a dormant wolf who just awakened. Your body is reacting even more strongly because it’s trying to fully integrate the wolf and the bond at the same time. And without your mate here to help you through it, you’re going to keep getting worse.”
“Worse how?”
“Fever. Pain. The heat will keep building until...” He didn’t finish.
“Until what?”
“Until it becomes too much for your body to handle.”
Eventually. That was the word he didn’t say. Eventually, it could kill me.
“How long do I have?” I asked.
“I don’t know. You’re unprecedented. A dormant wolf awakened by a claiming bite? It’s never happened before. I don’t know thetimeline. I don’t know anything except that you need your mate, and you need him now.”
My body was getting heavier, colder, even as that strange heat built inside me.
Aedan grabbed a blanket, wrapped it around me, and headed for the door.
“Where are we going?” I managed.
“To your idiot mate. Before you die from his stupidity.”
And then Aedan ran. Not jogged, not hurried. Full sprint, me clutched against his chest, blanket wrapped around me. I could barely keep my eyes open, but I was aware of the world blurring past. Streets, then trees, then forest.
Being carried like a damsel in distress by a man I barely knew while dying from supernatural horniness. My life had really taken some turns.
“How long,” I mumbled.
“The portal is in the woods. Twenty minutes if I push.”
Twenty minutes was forever. The heat was getting worse, pulsing under my skin in waves. But I was also freezing, shivering in his arms, teeth chattering, completely contradictory sensations assaulting my body.
“Your scent,” Aedan said through gritted teeth. “It’s getting stronger.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean...” He took a breath, adjusted his grip on me. “Heat makes you... attractive. To male wolves. It’s a biological thing. Your body is putting out pheromones designed to attract a mate. I’m trying very hard not to be affected.”
Oh. Well, that was horrifying.
“Sorry,” I managed.
“Not your fault. His.” Aedan’s voice was tight with strain. “When I get my hands on that idiot...”
