Heat awakens.

Warmth.

That was the first thing I felt as consciousness slowly returned. A suffocating, pulsing heat radiated deep inside me, and it was slowly burning me from the inside out. I tried to move but found myself weak and sluggish; my limbs were too heavy for me to carry.

The scent in the room was different. Thick. Sweet. Intoxicating. Almost…embarrassing.

My vision was blurry at first, but I became conscious of my surroundings after a while. Soft sheets were beneath me. Dim lights above. The hum of an air conditioning unit somewhere in the distance. My mind had a hard time connecting the dots.

Where was I?

‘’Easy.’’ I heard a familiar voice say. “You fainted. Just breathe.”

I turned my head and saw him. Thorne sat on the edge of the bed, close, too close—his sharp eyes studying me, and I could see both concern and confusion in them. His suit jacket was off, sleeves rolled up, and tie loosened. His usual perfection was there anymore.

“What... happened?” I rasped, my throat dry.

“You passed out at the party.” He said, raising a brow. “You’ve been burning up ever since. I had my driver bring you to my private suite upstairs.”

Private suite?

Panic emerged inside me. I tried to sit up, but my head was spinning, and I immediately became dizzy, so much so that I collapsed back onto the bed.

“Careful,” Thorne said, steadying me with one hand on my shoulder. His touch was electric, like my skin was hypersensitive to every touch of his.

“I need to go”.

“No, you need to stay still,” he cut in, voice firm but not unkind. “You're... not well.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but the words were caught in my throat as another wave of heat washed through my body. My penis throbbed with a foreign ache I couldn’t understand. My skin became hotter, and my breathing grew shallow again.

Thorne ’s nostrils caught a whiff of something, and for the first time, I could see a flash of something deep stirred within his gaze.

His alpha instincts were reacting.

To me.

No—no, that was impossible.

I am an alpha. I can’t be on heat.

I pressed a hand to my abdomen, trembling. “What... what’s happening to me?”

Thorne ’s jaw tensed. He stood abruptly, pacing for a few seconds before turning to face me again.

“You’re… going into heat,” he said carefully, as if the words were strange in his mouth.

The world stopped moving for a split second.

“That’s not possible,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I’m an alpha.”

“You were an alpha.”

The way he said it was soft; it was as if he was mocking me and my current situation. This made the room spin faster.

“No... No, that can’t be. That pill, it wasn’t supposed to do this.” My voice cracked as my chest tightened in horror. “It was for you. I meant to…”

I cut myself off, realizing too late what I’d admitted.

Thorne ’s sharp gaze darkened, his eyes narrowing. “The drink,” he murmured, piecing it together. “You tried to drug me.”

“I didn’t mean to.” My breathing quickened, panic rising along with the unbearable heat building between my thighs. “It was a mistake…’’

But he wasn’t listening anymore. His focus was fixed on me, and at that moment, his alpha was in control as the room thickened with the unmistakable scent of omega heat. My omega heat.

“You drugged me,” he repeated, voice rough. I could hear the anger in his voice. “But you drank it instead.”

Shame, fear, and humiliation collided inside me. My body betrayed me with every shiver and helpless moan that escaped my lips. My legs instinctively rubbed together, seeking friction, desperate for something or someone to ease the pressure growing inside me.

“Goddammit...” Thorne muttered, running a hand through his hair. His voice deepened.

 “Your scent... It’s too strong.”

His reaction terrified me almost as much as my loss of control.

“Get away from me,” I gasped, but my voice lacked conviction. My body screamed for the opposite.

“I should,” he agreed, but didn’t move.

The tension between us was suffocating. My omega pheromones filled the air like a drug, intoxicating both of us. My heat cycle was in full bloom now, triggered by the very pill I had intended to use against him. Irony had never been so cruel.

I tried to shift away from him, but my body refused to cooperate. My limbs trembled, and every movement sent jolts of unbearable arousal through me. The instinctive pull toward the nearest alpha was overwhelming.

Thorne .

The one I hated most.

“I called a doctor,” he said, his voice tight. “But they won’t arrive for another hour. You need suppressants. We need to hold on until then.”

I whimpered, biting my lip to suppress the pitiful sounds I was making. Every second that passed made it harder to think, harder to fight the primal urges that were tearing at my sanity.

Thorne swore under his breath and turned away, clenching his fists.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” I sobbed. Tears rolled down my face as humiliation swallowed me whole. “I didn’t want this. I never did.”

His voice was strained when he cut me off. “Neither of us did. But right now…” He exhaled shakily. “Your scent is driving me insane.”

Silence filled the room, except for my ragged breathing.

His voice dropped to a whisper. “If you don’t get relief soon, your heat will only get worse.”

“I can’t…” My voice cracked as the pressure in my abdomen twisted tighter. “I can’t take it anymore.”

Thorne ’s eyes locked onto mine, fil

led with lust and desire.

And in that moment, we both understood what would happen next.