🍆Heat - serenya (pov)

I pace the edge of the outcast camp, the wind tearing at my hair again and again. My chest is tight, restless. Sunset is behind me, but the heat is a weight , doesn’t leave.

“Are you going somewhere?”

I freeze.

“Oh—Alpha . It’s you?”

“Yes. Rauth,” he says, eyes sharp, steady.

“Okay. Alpha Rauth,” I spit the words with a faint smile. polite.

His gaze drift to my feet. “You’ve been moving constantly.”

“I… don’t know. Space feels small. . That’s why I walk.”

“May I?” His steps close in.

“No!” I snap. “That’s why I chose to be alone. Standing near someone… it feels like a cage.”

He studies me for a long moment. “How many months?” He ask picking speck off my hair.

I lower his hand gently. “Two. I’ll be fine. Just finish with the builders—I need the biggest bathroom.”

“I’ll build one with a river,” he says, and smiles. A small, soft thing that shouldn’t hit me as hard as it does. His smiles beautifully, My heart aches for the man he is not.

“Be careful,” he says, leaving.

I walk the path. Each step is sharp, intentional. The farther I go, the lighter I feel. My chest opens, lungs stretching. The wind catches my hair, brushing the skin it’s refreshing.

The path bends west. Toward Varyn’s lands.

I pick up pace, letting my legs take me faster. Lungs burn. Blood hums. Something inside pulls—hormones, pup, instinct. I run too fast, too far, but I can’t stop. My chest tightens, warning me, but I don’t listen.

Where am I?

The earth rotates to a stop.

Trees twist.

The Blue Woods.

My heart clenches.

I search . My senses flare. I knew this heart drew me to ruin .

Yes babe!

A shadow steps from the dark. The scent is unmistakable.

Varyn.

“What are you doing here?” I spit the words.

“Same as you.” His breath hits my face. “Babe.”

I feel the hammer of his heart. I don’t resist.

His hands cup my face, steady, pleading. I know that touch. That pause.

“Kiss me.”

He obeys. Hunger sharp as claws, fire pressed to my chest. Desire rips through reason. Our hearts hammer in sync.

“Listen,” he hisses. “I’m taking you home.”

I let him. Grip tight on my wrist. Together, we slice through the woods, silent, predatory, certain.

“Are you sure?” I breathe, shadowed behind him.

“Shhhhh.”

The west castle rises through the trees. He guides me inside. “Your father’s room.”

“Yes. Tonight.”

He takes down my robe, eyes tracing every curve, every shift. “Your body’s changing,” he murmurs, fingers on my nipple light, exploratory.

“Does it hurt?”

“No.”

“Go wash. I’ll be back.”

I step into the bathroom, heart racing, nerves alive. The tiles are cool under my feet, it’s still me , no pacing . Water runs, warm and scented. Steam curls around me. I wash carefully, every motion aware of this body, this life growing inside me.

When I step out, he’s waiting—tray of food in hand. “Sit. Eat.”

“I’ll shower,” he says, already turning toward the bathroom.

I nod.

The tray in front of me is absurdly full. Everything a pregnant woman could possibly want—warm meat, fruit, bread soaked in broth. Careful. Thoughtful.

The outcast lands are fresher, wilder. But this—this is deliberate.

I pick up a piece of meat, sniff it. “Boar,” I murmur. “Nice.”

“Is it alright for your taste?” he asks.

I glance over my shoulder. He’s leaning against the doorframe, watching me too closely.

“Mmm.” I nod. “It fits.”

I reach for more, eyes still on the plate.

This is the part where I ask questions.

Varyn has always been unpredictable.

A man whose actions cannot be trusted.

Yet when he speaks… should I listen to his words, or watch his actions?

I’m too scared to ask.

Is it the answer that terrifies me—or the dream I don’t want to wake from?

Why couldn’t I stay steady in the Outcast camp, insisting I didn’t want anyone near?

Why did this bond drag me miles, only to find myself in the Blue Woods?

And… why was he there ?

The shower hisses to life.

And just like that, my appetite dies.

Heat floods me again—too sudden, too familiar. My skin prickles. My breath shortens.

I rise and drift toward the bathroom.

He isn’t under the water. He’s standing just out of it, waiting.

“Why did you turn the water on if you’re not using it?” I ask.

A slow smile curves his mouth. “Because I knew you’d come running.”

Caught.

I smile despite myself.

“Come in, babe,” he says, reaching for me.

“I miss you,” I whisper.

“I miss you more,” he breathes back. “You don’t have to leave my side anymore.”

“I don’t want to,” I say. And I mean it.

“Turn around,” he commands.

I turn before he can repeat it. “Are you sure you don’t need a hand?” I say glancing back, already dripping wet.

“No,” I was already hard back in the Blue Woods.”