Chapter 58: Second Heat

ALEXANDER

“...Are you ~hiding~?”

Swallowing felt like a chore, a lump forming in his throat. ~Maybe I am hiding~. He was just one man, after all, and it was a lot of sex.

Incredible, mind-blowing, addictive sex—~but still, a lot of sex~.

He had zero self-control, and he wasn’t alone in that. He savored every moment of her unexpected second heat.

Despite exhaustion taking over more than once, despite his body protesting, he rose—literally—to the occasion each time.

Once her skin cooled down and her sleep deepened, he saw his chance to create some distance.

And to take a shower.

God, he needed a shower!

But using the one in his bedroom was out of the question. She was too close, and her scent was too enticing.

So, he found himself in the hallway.

And that’s where Jason found him.

Leaning against the wall, in his underwear.

“No,” he finally responded.

Jason gave him a look, glanced around the hallway, then looked back at him. “~Sure~.”

“I’m not.”

“Okay.”

He ran his fingers through his hair, irritation flaring. “I—”

Jason raised a hand, cutting him off. “I—~heard~. No worries.”

He hadn’t fully realized until he woke up. No one had disturbed them, but he didn’t know how it had affected the others. “Did—you? How bad was it?”

The pack’s reaction would give him an idea of how other packs might react. It would help him understand the severity of the situation and how much the mating had amplified her heat.

He didn’t dare hope for good news, and he braced himself for the worst.

Jason rubbed the back of his neck, eyes dropping to the floor. If he couldn’t meet his gaze, it wasn’t a good sign.

“It was worse at first… I’d never felt something like that.” Jason sucked in his left cheek, likely biting the inside. “It took me a moment to remember…”

“That she wasn’t yours?”

The words came out more strained than he intended. Alexander scratched his palm, fighting the urge to snarl.

“I-I-I didn’t think of ~her~ like that. It was a physical reaction—I didn’t… I wouldn’t. It was brief,” he stammered.

“I stayed in my room. Didn’t want to risk anything. I think everyone else did the same. I heard Maya moving around, but she didn’t seem too pleased either.”

So his pack had controlled themselves out of loyalty, but would they have done the same without any allegiance to him? And how much did proximity play a part in their reaction?

Would it have been the same if they were miles away from the pack house? The only thing he knew for sure was that she was still a temptation, albeit a manageable one.

All he could do now was hope it didn’t happen again soon.

“C-can…” Jason cleared his throat. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah?”

“Is it normal…for her to have another heat?”

His first instinct was to shake his head. “No.”

“So, do we know ~why~?”

He shook his head again. “No. I don’t know.”

Jason nodded.

“Why don’t you…” He gestured at him, his finger moving up and down, likely referring to his sweat-soaked body.

“Take a shower, clean up? I’ll start researching. Maybe we can find something.”

“Yeah.”

Olivia was still sleeping, so he didn’t plan on waking her. Maybe he’d ask Maya to watch her and let him know when she woke up. He did as Jason suggested; he took a shower.

He could have used Olivia’s shower—although, was it still her room, or had she moved into his? They hadn’t clarified.

Regardless, he didn’t trust himself in a space that smelled like her.

He needed to be in a neutral space for the time being, at least until he could shake off the intoxicating scent of her heat.

She was his addiction, and he was all too willing to indulge.

He quickly rinsed off and began to search through the drawers and closet, looking for anything that had been left behind.

He’d been listening, but he hadn’t heard any noise from his room; she was still asleep. That was a good sign.

He made his way downstairs, where he found Jason, Graham, Elijah, and Mason lounging on the couch.

Jason was working on his laptop, and books and notebooks were strewn across the coffee table.

Alexander joined them, picking up the first book from the pile. There wasn’t a specific ~lore~ guidebook.

Most of their knowledge was passed down through generations, packs, and families. Everyone knew what they needed to know. Some of it was written down, some of it ~humans~ had correctly discovered.

To them, werewolves were just a myth, something that ~probably~ didn’t exist. A few die-hard believers and sighters thought it was the truth, but there was nothing substantial enough to expose them.

Still, it was always interesting to peruse their ~compilations~ on werewolves. Sometimes it was informative, sometimes it was just amusing.

“Did you say anything to her?”

“Like what?” Alex responded to Graham without looking up.

“You know—the voice.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I don’t use that shit on her for fun. And I don’t need to ~command~ her to sleep with me.”

Firstly, he didn’t even know if he could force a heat on her, and he had no desire to find out how much he could control her. Secondly, he would ~never, ever~ do that to her.

That would be a total violation of her trust and would make him a complete asshole. No way.

Graham raised his hands in surrender. “Maybe accidentally?”

“I would have accidentally told her to ~get horny~?”

“Did you want her to get pregnant?”

He rubbed his forehead with his hand. “~Not now~.”

Their lives were different. He was born this way. He was almost thirty… He had a pack. She was formerly human, in her early twenties.

He’d lived his life expecting that he would likely meet his mate one day. She didn’t even know that was a possibility.

He meant it when he said he was okay with it. He just wanted to make sure ~she~ was ready.

It was more about her. He wanted her to be healthy and comfortable first.

Had he messed up?

Was this his fault?

“So I did this?”

Mason chimed in with a shrug. “Maybe you did. Maybe you didn’t.”

He ran his fingers through his hair, his frustration mounting. Why did he always screw up when it came to her? He never seemed to know when to slow down and when to speed up.

Maybe they’d find another explanation. Maybe there was something else that could cause this besides him.

Otherwise, he was going to have to be ~extremely~ careful around her.

Maybe if he could get them on a more normal, ~mate~ rhythm, it would be better. He might be more aware of his words and actions.

That was easier said than done because he seemed to lose control when it came to her.

~Damn~.