Chapter 6 (Riley's pov)

Chapter 6

Riley’s pov

.........

Struggling awake, groggy and slow, I leaned into a sweet but familiar warmth that pulled me in. Unaware of my surroundings, I nudged the warmth with my head.

The feel of a hand or arm grabbed my waist and caressed my hair, which made me freeze.

"Awake?" a voice asked. 

I launched myself backward. The duvet twisted around my feet as I hit the floor hard, the side of my head cracking against the wood. 

‘’You ok?’’

The voice asked, "I heard movement from the other side of the bed, and then a pair of hands carried me to the bed before I could protest." Unwrapping the duvet around me. 

"Da…Darius?" I stuttered

"Are you ok? I think I heard your head hit the floor hard; let me see,'' he added as he towered over me to inspect my head.

Quickly, I snapped out of my daze and pushed him away

"How did I get here? Did you kidnap me? I questioned 

His eyes frowned in confusion before he replied.

‘’You.. Riley, you had your first heat.''

‘’Heat?’’

"It was so bad that we had to bring you here to get better." He explained. 

"We," I muttered.

‘’ You don’t remember last night?’’

"Last night?" 

Then, all of a sudden, memories of the previous night started to flow in

"No… I didn’t do that. No!" I repeated, holding my head and grabbing my hair

‘’Careful, you are going to get hurt if you do that,'' he tried to warn, but I was lost in my head

"You were a wildcat last night," my wolf added

‘’ No .. I didn’t do that; that wasn’t me. I denied it.

‘’Sure…. "Oh, Cassy...kiss me...Cassy," he mocked

"RILEY!" Darius called, trying to get my attention

Turning to him,  the memories became clearer as I remembered myself doing things I would never do

"You did something to me…that's why I was like that yesterday. YOU DID IT! YOU MADE ME THAT WAY!"

Calm down, please calm down. I promise it was your heat….I promise.''

I clutched tight to the duvet as I closed my eyes, trying to calm my racing heart, my hands shaking, and my head banging

"Shh, it’s ok, it’s ok," he said. I was trying to calm myself down as he slowly but carefully patted me on my back before hugging me.

I tried to listen to his voice as he continued to tell me it’s ok and it’s not my fault.

‘’That wasn’t me, that wasn’t me, that wasn't…'' I repeated over and over.

Ok, ok, breathe in, out, in, out. You are doing well

"I didn’t do it." 

‘’Quiet now.''

I allowed myself to lean on him even though I didn’t want to. His scent felt soothing and familiar, like it was meant for me. And I hated the feeling. 

The sudden sound of someone clearing their throat made me snap my eyes open.

"We heard you shouting. Are you ok, sweetheart?"

Another distant but familiar face showed up in front of me as they stared at me with worried glances.

I could feel my face flushing and burning up; seeing Cassian and Kieran, my heart started to beat fast as I looked away.

"What is it? Are you scared of something? Kieran asked

"Yeah, I can feel your heart beating fast? You getting sick again?’’

‘’Is your heat not over?’’

Cassaian added as he moved forward to grab my hands in his, Kieran checking my temperature by placing his hands on my forehead, while Darius kept his eyes on me.

‘’Please stop, don’t touch me.’’

I pleaded as I tried to back away from them.

I could see the hurt in their faces, and Kieran was clenching his fists, but they kept their distance.

"Last night…what…what happened?" I gathered the courage to ask

"Oh, sweetheart..." Cassian tried to say

‘’Don’t call me that; it’s Riley. Riley’’

"Habits, tch...I apologize," Cassian said.

"You had your first heat, Riley, and you did exactly what an omega in heat would do. I know you are scared, but it’s natural, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of," Darius explained. 

"It's not natural…it's not. At least to me. I was disgusting and out of ...''

‘’ Don’t call yourself that!’’  Kieran warned

"You are not dirty," Cassiann added

You are our mate, our beloved, and we are lucky to have you here with us.''

"It's normal to act that way, especially around us, and it’s our duty to help you out and make you comfortable," Darius commented.

‘’It still doesn’t make any sense.’’

‘’We can’t make it make …’’

''No, I want to leave, and I want you to stay away from me.''

"What, no, we just got you here," Kieran protested. 

‘’ Well, I don’t want to be here; I want to leave.’’

‘’Listen..’’

"You can leave, but you can’t avoid the bond forever. It will hurt, and we will know," Darius advised. 

"I can endure it. I was able to stay away from you before," I retorted. 

"Yeah, but it’s quite different now that you have had your heat. Cassian said

"I don’t want to hear it," I argued. 

"What do you want? Darius asked

 ‘’I told you I want to leave.’’

‘’Sweetheart, ’’ Cassian reached out

‘’Stop it!’’

‘’OK..calm down, we will let you go.''

Darius said as he made subtle eye contact with the rest

"Fuck no, who knows how his heat works? He needs to be in sight; we need to understand his patterns." Kieran argued

"But he doesn’t want to be here; let’s not go there now, Kieran," Darius replied. 

Kieran stomped out in response, leaving the door wide open. The silence after was cold.

"When can I leave?" I asked as my eyes were glued to the door kieran just left through

''Anytime.''

"Please," Cassian begged. 

I looked away to avoid his gaze

‘’I will leave now.’’

‘’Ok, we will get out of your way and let you get dressed.’’

Darius said as he walked towards the door, pulling Cassain, who kept his eyes on my figure as they disappeared through the door.

Feeling relieved and embarrassed that I have been left alone, I jumped off the bed while still wrapped up in my duvet and walked towards the closet to grab my clothes.

The clothes in the closet looked new but were perfectly my size. Feeling weird that they got clothes in my size, I quickly put on something and stepped out.

I stepped out into a passage that looked like it was made of gold, with the doors included. I took a glance and noticed a set of stairs leading down and an elevator.

Taking the stairs, which was quite a long process, I got down and bumped into Cassian.

‘’Sweetheart, please, can’t you just stay?''

I didn’t say a word, walked past him, and left through the door without looking back.