2. The Heat

Alicia’s POV

I feel everyone’s eyes on me as I sit down on the empty chair next to my younger brother. This meal is only between the Alpha and his direct descendants and the guests from the other pack, The Nightreapers.

"Alicia Elrod," Henry Elrod, Alpha of the Lightcrest Pack, greets me with a sour face. "How can you have the guests waiting at the table? Apologize to the Alpha of The Nightreapers Pack for the inconvenience you caused!"

I hold my head high and face my father. "My apologies for my lateness, Dad. It took me some time to prepare to look perfect in front of the guest. Can you blame me for making efforts for this?" I turn my head and look at the infamous Alpha of The Nightreapers Pack. My heart skips a beat when my eyes meet his. Those blue eyes feel familiar. "...very special guest," I mutter and keep staring.

"Stop it," Herrick, my younger brother, whispers as he nudges me with his knee. "You’re doing something embarrassing again," he adds, sighing.

The boy knows nothing about beauty in the world. He has no idea that the person in front of us could be one of the few most handsome men he could meet in his lifetime.

"You shut up, little wimp. You have no clue at all," I reply softly before stepping on his foot. I wiggle my heel on his shoe until I hear him whimper in pain. "Behave," I mouth at him.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss. I’m Alistair Carlisle of The Nightreapers Pack." Alpha Alistair stands up and takes my hand gently. His eyes remain on mine as he kisses the back of my hand. "You’re as pretty as the moon fairy, just like the rumors say," he adds, and he sweetly smiles at me.

My brow furrows in response to his comment. I answer by pulling my hand away. "I can't believe you're so fond of rumors that you remember what they say about me," I said, putting my palm over my mouth. "On the contrary, the rumors about you are difficult to believe; how can they say bad things about someone who looks like an angel descending?" I place my hand on my side and grin at everyone.

It’s faint, but my body reacted to his touch. I can’t stay here anymore. I need to leave before I do something out of my control.

"As much as I'd like to join you all for this sumptuous meal, I'm afraid I'll have to return to my room because I'm not feeling well," I say to my father, who is angry. After having them wait and then departing, he must be itching to beat the sh*t out of me. "Thanks for inviting me today, Dad."

My father scowls at me, but I’m determined to leave the table. I can’t afford to show anyone my disgraceful side.

"Alicia, what do you think you’re doing? Stay there. My father uses his Alpha tone, but my determination is stronger than his authority. After all, my life and future are at stake.

"I’m sorry, but I can’t be here, Dad." I look at him briefly before turning my heels away.

"Alicia!"

"It’s okay," I hear Alpha Alistair say. He’s probably taken notice of how my complexion changed when we were conversing.

Thank goodness. I’ll be sure to pay you more respect when we meet again, Alistair. I owe you one.

I rush to my bedroom, lock the door, and take off my clothes. My body feels like it is burning from within, and I need to release the heat. The temperature inside my room feels like winter, but the cold is not enough to suppress the heat in my body.

I don’t understand. This should only happen during the full moon. Did meeting a good-looking man arouse a stubborn desire in me?

"Alicia, what are you doing? Open the door!" Elliot calls out from outside my room. He sounds mad as he continuously pounds on the door.

"This guy. Today’s not the right time to face him." I trudge to the bathroom for a cold shower. It’s not going to solve my problem, but I'd rather soak my burning body in ice than do it with another man. For some reason, I can’t bear to think of sleeping with another man after giving my first to that man.

"If only he comes again tonight," I mutter before stepping into the tub.

A faint fog is coming from the ice cubes poured into the tub. It was a good thing to order someone to fill the tub with ice before meeting the others for breakfast.

When I come into contact with water, my body relaxes slightly. I breathe a big sigh of relief as the ache gradually fades, albeit it remains. If I don't want to writhe in anguish all day, I'll have to stay like this for a few hours. With that in mind, I close my eyes and go to sleep because there is nothing else I can do right now. At the very least, I should conserve my energy.

I’m losing consciousness when suddenly, the bathroom door opens, making me unfold my eyes in an instant. Elliot looks at me in bewilderment. His mouth gapes at the sight of me as blood rushes to his face.

"Alicia, what in the hell?"

"What are you doing!?" I glower at Elliot, who stands frozen at his feet. He must be wondering why I’m soaking my body in ice. "Out! Get out!"

I don’t care what he thinks, but he shouldn’t be here. Getting close to any man right now is bad news. And of all people, why is it, Elliot?

Elliot doesn't say anything, but he removes his coat and tosses it over my shoulder. When I push him away, he softly slides his arms behind my back in an attempt to carry me out of the tub.

"I told you to leave. Don’t touch me!" My vision darkens as he gets closer. "You shouldn’t be here!" I hear my voice echo through the bathroom walls. I’m having a hard time breathing as I raise a finger and point at him. "Leave." I make sure my voice is firm to intimidate him.

But who am I kidding? It’s Elliot. He knows when something is wrong with me just by looking at me. He is one of the few people who can read my mind, and I hate how he knows me so well.

"I don’t need you here. Just leave," I repeat when Elliot refuses to move. "Can’t you hear me?" My voice cracks as I yell at him. I feel a pit in my stomach when he doesn’t move, ignoring my words.

"I'm not sure what's wrong with you," Elliot says, bending down to level our faces. "But you should get out of the tub now because it's not good to expose your body to the cold when you're so easily ill these days," he says, caressing my face with his calloused hand.

"So, what?" I roll my eyes at him.

Maybe it’s my pride that keeps me from talking to him properly, as I always yell or mock him whenever we converse after they assigned him as the new Beta of the pack. Or maybe I’m just childish and can’t accept defeat and rejection, so it’s hard to live on like nothing happened between us. Either way, I don’t feel like treating him the way I used to when he was still my dear friend and lover.

"You don't have the right to care about me when you're one of those who hurt me, Elliot. Stop acting like you care and just leave me alone." My lips twitch when a thought comes to mind."Or do you want to see me naked in front of you? If not, get out of my way right now."

I hear Elliot clicking his tongue before he gets up and turns his back to me. "Do whatever you want, Alicia. As long as it’s not something to tarnish the pack’s name, I will try not to hold you back."

"You always try to get in my way, Elliot. Whether it’s for the good of the pack, you’re always against me."

He says nothing and leaves the bathroom. A few seconds later, I hear the door in my bedroom close. I let out a sigh of relief when he was gone. I’m just thankful he didn’t stay longer.

"Ugh! I don’t know what to do," I mutter between clenched teeth. "It seems like I feel my body getting hotter now."

It was getting better earlier until Elliot showed up. He couldn’t have arrived at a worse time.

Groaning, I get off the tub and walk to the sink. There’s always Plan B in every plan, and this time, I have to execute it. I grab the blade I prepared beforehand just in case I can’t find any other solution to this situation. As much as I don't want to get hurt, I have to do this to keep my sanity in check. Pain is better than going insane over unsatisfied lust.

"Ah!" I jump in surprise when the bathroom turns dark. It’s still daytime, but my room is initially dark without the lights on. "Is it a power outage? Seriously?" I crouch down to look for the blade I missed. "Damn it! Where is it?"

Roaming my hands on the floor, I touch the blade with my fingertip when, all of a sudden, a firm hand snakes around my waist from the back.

"Who are you?" I stutter at the end of my sentence. "Answer me!"

"Shh!"

A familiar scent and gentleness calm my nerves. There’s no doubt. It’s him. But why? How can he be here when it’s only daytime? I know he’s skilled enough to get in and out of my room without anyone noticing, but to come here in the daytime, isn’t he being too careless?

"Why did you come?" I ask, turning to face him. Just like before, I can’t see his face clearly except for his beautiful bluish eyes. "Are you sure you’re supposed to be here right now? You’ll get killed if they find out."

He moves his face closer to mine and smirks. I can feel his warm breath fanning my skin. "It doesn’t matter," he replies, putting a frown on my face.

"I have this hunch that you need me, so I came, Alicia."