Chapter Thirty Three

"He's not even gonna kiss you until you make the first move." Marco suddenly whispered near my ear, startling me.

I leaped away from him in surprise and he let out a laugh. "Didn't mean to scare you. Sorry."

"What I was saying is that you need to take the wheel if you want any sort of action." He said, sliding closer to me again.

I kept my gaze at Nicolas - who had continued his training from before, while trying to ignore Marco.

"Never thought I would have to help our Alpha get laid." He whispered loud enough for me to hear.

"I would rather not discuss this with you, Marco." I tried to explain to him in annoyance.

Marco laughed again before continuing. "I'm sure you wouldn't, but I don't think there's anyone else over here willing to help you with this."

"That's because I don't need help. These kinda things are supposed to happen naturally. Whenever we are both comfortable enough for it." I explained further in a hushed tone.

"You two are perfect for each other." Marco whispered under his breath before turning to face me completely.

"Look, I am not trying to make you uncomfortable or pressurise you into anything. I just think that you should know-"

"Please don't." I hissed under my breath, before trying to shuffle away from him.

"Listen to me for a minute." He tried again.

"He'll hear you. Shut up." I narrowed my eyes at him before looking back at Nicolas to make sure he hadn't heard anything.

"Trust me he won't hear it even if I were to start screaming right now, and that's the point." He slithered closer again and I looked at him in confusion.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Marco sighed and continued right away. "Now that he has found you, he'll be experiencing heat sooner or later. You know about heat, right?"

He waited for my reply and I felt my mouth sealed shut in surprise. I nodded instead, urging him to continue.

"We don't experience heat until or unless we meet our mate. So, it'll be his first. It usually occurs within a month max, but his seems to be unusually late. I don't know the reason for that, but as an alpha I don't think he'll be able to go through it without your help, if you know what I mean."

It took me a moment to voice my question. "Uh, so, what do you suggest I should do?"

Marco stole a glance at Nicolas from the corner of his eyes. "He's going to kill me for putting this idea in your head but I think you should prepare for it. If only you want to. He's not going to expect you to and I shouldn't be getting in between the two of you, so it's just a suggestion."

"Prepare for… that?" I knew what he was talking about and just thinking about it halted my thought process.

Marco nodded. "Yeah, that."

Not knowing what to say, I turned my attention back to Nicolas.

"He has been physically straining himself a lot more than usual. He'd practice or run for hours on end. I talked to Maya about it. She thinks his heat is near and he knows it, so he's trying to exhaust himself to stay in control."

"Maya? Tobias' mother?"

"She's also our amazing pack healer. But that's all you heard?" His exasperated voice snapped my attention back to him.

"I should talk to him about it, right?"

Marco nodded, looking less annoyed than before. "Yeah, definitely. Your decision should be mutual."

"Okay. I'll talk to him." I nodded too, already trying to think how I'll address this issue in front of him.

"Don't delay it for too long. I don't think there's much time left." Marco patted my back as if trying to give me much needed courage.

"Okay. Thanks for letting me know this."

"I'm just preparing you for the future. When it's my turn and if it's half as complicated as this, you and Nicolas better help me out too."

His words eased my worries for a moment and I managed to give him a reassuring smile. "We'll try our best."

"You better." Moving his hand, he placed it on my shoulder and squeezed slightly before placing it back on his lap.

A loud and familiar growl snapped our attention back in front of us.

"If looks could kill I'd be dead right now." Marco hurriedly stood up on his feet and started backing away from me.

He moved his gaze between Nicolas and I before leaning a little closer to me. "That's another symptom by the way. The more possessive he is, the less time you have. See you."

Marco had disappeared in a second. I couldn't even spot his retreating back among the trees. Nicolas' loud footfall snapped my attention back to his. His face was devoid of any emotions as he made his way over to me.

I hurriedly stood up and walked to meet him halfway. His arms encircled me the moment I was within his reach and he tightened his hold on me with a long inhale.

"You okay?" I asked before wiggling my arms out of his hold to circle around his back.

I barely felt him nodding his head beside my shoulder and he continued to breath in the crook of my neck. His warm breath fanning my nape, made me aware of everything Marco had said before leaving. He was right. Nicolas might be going into heat sooner.

"Your heart… Are you okay?" Nicolas whispered beside my ear.

"Huh?" I frowned in confusion.

"Your heart beat suddenly got louder." Nicolas mumbled before loosening his hold on me.

Instead of letting go, I kept my hold on him. "I'm okay, just happy."

I heard him let out a sigh of relief as he once again held me close.

"Nicolas?" I spoke after a long while.

He hummed without lifting his face still snuggled in the crook of my neck.

"Your heat… When is it?" His body stiffened in my hold but I decided not to address it and rested my cheek against his shoulder again.

"I couldn't decide how to bring it up." He admitted after a long pause. "I think it'll be in a day or two."

"Oh. So, uh, have you thought about it? I mean, what are we going to do?" I was genuinely surprised how calm I felt while talking about it with him, unlike the way I had gotten flustered when Marco had mentioned it.

"Though I've heard about what it's like, it's still going to be my first. I don't know what to expect and I don't want to scare you in case things take an unexpected turn. So, I was thinking of spending it alone this time to figure out what it's like, so I can be careful in the future." His each word sounded carefully weighed and considered, as if he had practiced it countless times before.

"I wish I could've said that I won't be scared no matter what happens." I confessed truthfully.

Nicolas' hands moved on my back in comforting circles before he spoke. "It's alright."

"Would you have spent it with me if I was a werewolf as well?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Both of our heat would've made it impossible not to." He responded hesitantly.

I held back the urge to sigh. "Will you be okay? On your own?"

He nodded his head and answered immediately. "Yeah."

"How long does it last?" I asked as another question popped up in my head.

"Three to seven days."

I hummed thoughtfully. "And we can't meet until it's over?"

"Yeah…" He answered softly.

It took me a minute to finally get the words out of my mouth. "Can I stay over tonight? Only if you don't mind."

He let go of me instantly before trying to look at my face. "You want to?"

Dropping my head, I nodded. "If it's okay with you."

"I'd like that." He quietly confirmed before ruffling my hair.

"Uh, I'll go get my stuff then." I whispered without lifting my head and turned to leave as he lifted his hand off my head.

"You can use mine. I don't mind." He quickly suggested and gripped my wrist to stop me from leaving.

I nodded without another word, feeling my wrist heating up in his hold.

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