Chapter 5: Heat

Elliot POV

I woke up feeling awful.

For a few seconds, I just lay there staring at the ceiling.

My body felt strange.

Heavy.

Weak.

Wrong.

A dull headache throbbed behind my eyes.

My stomach churned uneasily.

Even sitting up made the room spin.

I pressed a hand against my forehead and groaned.

“What’s happening to me?”

My wolf stirred restlessly inside me.

Not sick.

Something else.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and immediately regretted it.

Dizziness hit me hard.

The room tilted.

I grabbed the mattress before I could fall.

After several deep breaths, the feeling finally passed.

But something still wasn’t right.

The scent of laundry detergent from my sheets suddenly seemed overwhelming.

The faint smell of flowers from outside drifted through the window.

Even the scent of wood from my furniture felt too strong.

Too sharp.

Too much.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Every smell felt amplified.

Like someone had turned all my senses up too high.

Then realization hit me.

Heat.

The symptoms were familiar.

The dizziness.

The sensitivity.

The restlessness.

But that couldn’t be right.

I grabbed my phone from the bedside table and checked the date.

My stomach dropped.

No.

No way.

My heat wasn’t supposed to start for another month.

At least another month.

I checked again just to be sure.

The answer didn’t change.

My heat cycle wasn’t due yet.

So why did it feel like this?

A nervous feeling settled in my chest.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

By mid-morning, I found myself sitting in the pack clinic.

The waiting room was nearly empty.

Thankfully.

The last thing I wanted was an audience.

Dr. Carter entered a few minutes later.

She smiled warmly.

“Elliot.”

I managed a weak smile.

“Hi.”

She sat down across from me.

“What seems to be the problem?”

I explained everything.

The dizziness.

The headaches.

The scent sensitivity.

The restlessness.

The strange feeling inside my wolf.

She listened carefully.

When I finished, she nodded thoughtfully.

“Your heat is probably arriving early.”

I blinked.

“What?”

“It happens sometimes.”

“But I’m not due for another month.”

She folded her hands.

“Extreme emotional stress can occasionally trigger an early heat.”

My face immediately heated.

Because I knew exactly what emotional stress she meant.

The humiliation.

The rejection.

The public embarrassment.

Not in this lifetime.

The words still hurt.

Dr. Carter gave me a sympathetic look.

“I know you’ve had a difficult week.”

I looked away.

“I’ll be fine.”

She handed me a small bottle of supplements.

“Take these.”

Then her expression became serious.

“And avoid unnecessary contact with Alphas.”

My stomach tightened.

“Why?”

“Because if this really is an early heat, your instincts will become stronger.”

Great.

Exactly what I needed.

More problems.

I thanked her and left the clinic.

Unfortunately, the day only became worse.

Every hour brought new symptoms.

My thoughts felt scattered.

Concentrating became impossible.

I tried reading.

Failed.

Tried studying.

Failed.

Even watching television didn’t help.

My emotions swung wildly from one extreme to another.

One minute I felt anxious.

The next I felt angry.

Then lonely.

Then sad.

Then anxious all over again.

My wolf paced constantly inside my head.

Restless.

Agitated.

Searching.

For what, I didn’t know.

By evening, I was exhausted.

The Alpha House felt unusually crowded.

Voices echoed downstairs.

Doors opened and closed.

People moved through the hallways.

Every scent felt stronger than before.

The smell of food.

Wood polish.

Coffee.

Wolf scents.

Everything.

Then the front door opened.

My entire body froze.

Damon.

I knew it instantly.

His scent hit me before I even heard his voice.

The effect was immediate.

My pulse jumped.

My breathing became uneven.

A strange warmth spread through my chest.

What the hell?

I pressed a hand against my heart.

Trying to calm it.

Trying to make sense of what was happening.

Downstairs, I could hear Damon speaking with his father.

Normal conversation.

Nothing unusual.

Yet every instinct inside me was suddenly focused on him.

His scent seemed stronger than ever before.

Richer.

Warmer.

More intoxicating.

My wolf immediately became alert.

There.

I frowned.

What?

There.

I rubbed my temples.

The reaction made no sense.

This wasn’t normal.

I already had a crush on Damon.

That was embarrassing enough.

But this?

This felt different.

Much different.

Dangerously different.

I hurried upstairs before I could accidentally run into him.

The last thing I needed was to embarrass myself again.

Once inside my room, I locked the door.

Then I locked it again.

Just to be safe.

The walls suddenly felt too close.

The room felt too warm.

I opened the window.

That helped for about thirty seconds.

Then the heat returned.

I paced back and forth.

My wolf refused to settle.

Something’s happening.

“I know.”

Something important.

“What?”

But my wolf wouldn’t answer.

Only restless pacing.

Only growing agitation.

Hours passed.

The feeling continued building.

Outside, dark clouds gathered across the sky.

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Rain began falling against the windows.

Soon the entire house shook beneath a violent storm.

Lightning flashed.

Thunder cracked.

Wind howled.

I sat on the edge of my bed hugging my knees.

Trying desperately to stay calm.

Trying desperately not to think about Damon.

Another wave of heat rolled through me.

Stronger than before.

My breathing quickened.

The storm outside grew louder.

Then suddenly—

Everything went dark.

The lights went out.

The power had failed.

The entire Alpha House fell into darkness.

For a moment, the only sounds were rain and thunder.

Then it happened.

A scent drifted through the darkness.

Rich.

Powerful.

Dangerously familiar.

My entire body froze.

My wolf stopped pacing.

Stopped breathing.

Stopped everything.

Alpha.

The scent wrapped around me like an invisible hand.

My pulse thundered.

My skin burned.

My wolf lifted its head.

And for the first time all day, it spoke clearly.

One word.

One name.

One impossible truth.

Mate.

A shiver ran through my entire body.

“No…”

My voice barely came out.

My wolf didn’t care.

It repeated the name again.

Certain.

Certain in a way I had never heard before.

Damon.

My heart stopped.

Thunder exploded outside.

But it wasn’t nearly as loud as the realization crashing through me.

The Alpha my wolf had chosen.

The Alpha destined for me.

The Alpha who had rejected me in front of the entire pack.

The Alpha who hated me.

Was Damon Blackwood.