FOUR

Alvaro POV

She's dying in my arms. Not literally, but close enough. Her body is burning up, shaking so violently I can feel it through my shirt. The scent of her heat is driving my wolf insane, clawing at my insides, demanding I do something, fix this, claim what's mine.

But she doesn't want to be claimed. She made that clear to us.

"We need to move her," Luciano says, his voice tight. He's standing by the window, deliberately not looking at us. Smart. One wrong move and we'll all lose control.

"Where?" Javier eyes are pure gold now, his wolf too close to the surface. "Where the hell can we take her that's safe?"

"The cabin." I shift Amaya in my arms, trying to ignore how perfectly she fits against my chest. "It's private. Warded. No one can get in so easily and that is the safest place for her, at least for now.."

She makes a small sound against my neck, half whimper, half purr. Then her lips press against my throat, hot and soft, and my entire body goes rigid.

"Alvaro," she breathes, and I nearly drop her.

"Don't," I grit out, forcing myself to move toward the door. "Don't talk. Don't, just don't."

But she's not listening. Her fingers are tangled in my shirt, her face buried in the crook of my neck, breathing me in like I'm oxygen and she's drowning..

We make it three steps into the hallway before I smell them, other males. At least a dozen, drawn by her heat like moths to a flame. They round the corner ahead of us. Eyes glowing. Postures aggressive.

"That's the new girl," one of them says, nostrils flaring. "She's in heat. Unmated."

"Back off," Javier snarls, stepping in front of me. His body is already shifting, claws extending, canines lengthening. "She's ours and ours alone. We don't share."

"You haven't marked her yet." Another male steps forward, older, probably a senior. "That means she's fair game for everyone here."

Fair game. Like she's prey. Like she's something to be hunted. The rage that explodes through me is unlike anything I've ever felt. My wolf surges forward and I let him, still holding Amaya against my chest with one arm while my other hand extends, claws ripping through skin.

"Touch her and I'll rip your throat out and make you watch."

My voice isn't human anymore. It's all wolf, all alpha, all murderous intent. The males hesitate. They can feel my power, we're Alpha Heirs for a reason. Our bloodlines are ancient, our wolves stronger than most.

But her scent is strong too. Intoxicating. They're weighing their options, deciding if claiming her is worth dying for or not.

Luciano doesn't give them time to choose. He moves like liquid, slamming the first male against the wall hard enough to crack stone. "She Is Ours, touch her and you are no more than dead meat."

That breaks the standoff. Two more lunge forward. Javier meets them mid-charge, all fang and fury.

I can't help. Can't put Amaya down. Can't risk someone grabbing her while I'm distracted. So I run, cradling her against my chest, taking the back stairwell two steps at a time while my brothers handle the fight behind me.

She's kissing my neck again, little desperate sounds escaping her throat that are making it impossible to think straight.

"Stop," I beg, kicking open the exit door. "Amaya, please stop."

"Can't," she whimpers. "Hurts. Everything hurts."

The cabin is across the courtyard, tucked into the tree line where the school grounds end and wild forest begins. It's ours, a sanctuary we claimed years ago when the dorms became too suffocating, too full of politics and posturing.

I cover the distance in seconds, shouldering through the door just as Javier and Luciano catch up. Luciano's knuckles are bloody. Javier has a cut across his cheek that's already healing.

"Lock it," I order, carrying Amaya toward the back bedroom. "Ward it. No one gets in."

The bedroom is dark, cool, the bed bigger than necessary because we're all too large for normal furniture. I lay her down as gently as I can, but she won't let go of my shirt.

"Don't leave," she gasps, pupils blown wide. "Please don't.."

"I have to." I pry her fingers loose, hating myself for it. "You asked us not to claim you. So we won't. But that means we can't stay in here with you, not while you're like this."

"Alvaro.."

I'm out the door before she can finish, closing it between us. My hands are shaking as I turn the lock. Javier and Luciano stand in the main room, both looking as wrecked as I feel.

"This is insane," Javier mutters, running both hands through his hair. "She's our mate and we just locked her in a room alone during her heat."

"She doesn't want us." Luciano voice is flat, but I can hear the pain underneath. "She asked us to reject her."

"She's scared." I lean against the door, trying to slow my racing heart. "Whatever they did to her in that facility, it broke something. She's terrified of being owned, of being used."

"We wouldn't.." Javier starts.

"She doesn't know that." I close my eyes, but that's a mistake because all I can see is her face, her eyes, the way she looked at us like we were the monsters.

Maybe we are..

A sound comes through the door, soft at first. A whimper. Then another. Then a cry that makes my wolf howl in response to the sound,this is really awkward..

"Alvaro," she calls, voice breaking. "Please..."

My hands curl into fists. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to go to her, to comfort her, to give her what her body needs. But she said no.

"We should mark her," Javier says quietly. "It would help. The bond would ease her heat, make it controllable."

"She doesn't want the bond," Luciano counters. "Doing anything now would be going against her wishes. I want her to like us not see us as people who took advantage of her "

"She doesn't want to suffer either." Thorn's eyes are desperate. "Listen to her. She's in fucking pain. Only the Moon knows how many agony she is in."

The cries are getting louder now. Desperate. My chest feels like it's being ripped apart.

"We can't," I force out. "Not without her consent. Not when she's not in her right mind. That would make us no better than the bastards who hurt her."

"So we just let her suffer?" Javier voice rises. "That's our mate in there, Alvaro. Our mate. And she's.."

He cuts off as the crying suddenly stops. The silence is worse than the noise. My heart stops. Literally stops for a beat before slamming back to life double-time.

"Amaya?" I call through the door.

Nothing. Nothing at all.

"Amaya!"

Still nothing. My hand is on the lock before I can think. Javier grabs my arm.

"Don't. She could be sleeping. The suppressant might have.."

"She's not sleeping." I can feel it through the bond, that thin thread connecting us. Something's wrong. "Move aside."

I twist the lock and throw open the door. Immediately a blurry figure tackles me before I can react. One second I'm standing, the next I'm on my back with Amaya straddling my hips. And she is...naked. Completely, devastatingly naked. Her skin glowing with heat, eyes wild and gold, her scent so strong it's choking me.

"Please," she breathes, hands pressed against my chest, trembling. "I can't fight it anymore. I tried. I tried so hard but it hurts and you're right here and I need.."

Her voice breaks. A tear slides down her cheek. She leans down, her hair falling around us like a curtain, blocking out everything else. Her lips hover over mine, so close I can feel her breath, hot and desperate. Our hearts are racing, beating in sync.

"I need you," she whispers. "All of you. Please."

Her mouth brushes mine, the barest touch..