Chapter Seventeen

Willow

No matter how far Kane goes, I can smell him. Every breath is like a hot wave rolling over me. Every reminder of him is agony.

I’m too early.

My last heat, in the village—it happened right before the attack. I know this because those monsters swore they could still smell it on me.

And it only turned them more feral.

My heats have always been intense. Mother insisted this was a badge of honor, proving my fertility. Her pride was almost enough to take away from the excruciating, cramping pain, as slick drenched my inner thighs and my body caught fire.

For the first time since I left, I’m stuck by her absence. And Alfie’s. Without them to help me through this, I … I …

My stomach lurches.

I might actually die.

***

At first, I can tell when Kane is nearby—normally to leave food and water outside my door. I never find the strength to take it, so maybe he gives up.

Or, more likely, I’m not lucid enough to tell the difference.

I don’t even care if he hears me anymore, groaning and whining as I twist in the sheets. Where the hell is Kane’s cloak ? my hazy brain asks, close followed by my inner omega’s demand— Where is Kane ?

I’m lucky when sleep takes me, then exceptionally unlucky when it wakes me back up. Every time I open my eyes, it somehow hurts a little more.

Maybe it’s hours, maybe it’s days, before I’m aware of Kane again. Someone knocks at the door—the noise a hundred rooms away—until I hear his voice, and it’s like he’s standing right in front of me.

“ Omega!” he calls. “ You’ve gotta let me in. ”

I try to whine, but my throat is too hoarse.

“ You need to eat. Or at least drink.”

Eat … drink. That’s right. He’s been leaving offerings at my door. Back when I was still aware of hunger and thirst as separate entities from the pain, I considered getting up to grab them. Now I can’t fathom it.

“ Let me help you,” he says—no, begs. “I’ll close my eyes and block my fucking nose if that’s what it takes.” He takes a breath. “ I won’t touch you.”

My inner omega is almost outraged. Alpha would dare come in here, during my heat, and not devour me?

I’m not sure what convinces me more: that I really truly might die if I don’t let him in, or that when I see him … this pain might end. Maybe he’ll claim me. Make me whole. No matter how much my brain screams at me not to give up, my body knows what it’ll take to survive this.

Aren’t I a survivor?

Finally, I chirp. It’s enough for Kane, who barges in, his scent billowing forth. Fire ignites in my stomach. Slick pours out of me like molten lava.

Alpha smells so good …

I hear him rummaging around the fireplace, muttering under his breath. When he finally peers his head into the bedroom, he’s got his cloak pulled up to his nose.

I feel his eyes first. Searing. Hungry. He prowls closer, arousal thick in his pheromones.

“Here.” He holds up a mug, waiting for me to accept.

Just like that, I’m aware of my body again. I tore my dress off—I don’t even know how long ago. My hair feels tangled. The sheets are drenched.

I can’t see much of Kane’s face above the cloak, but those crimson eyes are pained as he offers the mug again. “Omega,” he grits out, “ drink. ”

I try to sit up, feeling even weaker now he’s here—my inner omega giving me every reason she can think of to submit. I make it to my elbows before something gives out. Suddenly I’m staring up at the crooked ceiling, breathing hard.

“Shit,” Kane mutters.

Want him, my omega sobs. Want him want him want him.

“Alright,” he exhales. “Bear with me.”

Before I can wonder what he’s talking about, I feel hands on me, sitting me up. My blood sings. He’s so strong. So steady. I want him to touch me more—harder, lower .

He brings the mug to my lips. I take a couple sips, then cough. Cursing, he pats between my shoulder blades. “Too fast?”

Oh god, his hands. More. More. More!

“No,” I whisper—not sure if I’m talking to him or myself.

We go again, between sips of water and small bites of fish. My body groans at me to just accept him . He’s already feeding me, literally, out of the palm of his hand. Would it really be such a leap to have him fuck me, too?

“Fucking hell,” Kane rumbles, adjusting himself.

I’m past the point of being embarrassed. I know he can smell me—my slick, my desire, my every blood cell screaming out for him to please, god, slam his knot all the way inside.

Unable to take another bite, I turn away. The sheets are a disheveled mess, making it impossible to settle.

“Omega,” Kane says. His voice, the vibrations—I swear I can feel it all the way down to my clit. “Tell me what you need.”

I need him . Need him to stay. Or to get away, quickly.

Our eyes meet. His tortured expression softens. Rising, he says, “You can, uh, kill me for this later.”

With that, he gathers my body like it weighs nothing, sweeping me into a princess carry.

“Easy, bunny. It’ll be over in a second.”

I don’t see what he’s doing, too busy shoving my face into his half-cloaked chest. How far would my hand need to wander before it found his cock? How tight would I need to hold on before he thrust it inside me?

He puts me down too soon. I almost claw at him to keep me longer when I realize … the sheets are fixed.

“Better?”

Hazily, I look up. Kane is flushed and breathing hard. No longer covering his nose. Hands fisted at his sides. Tent bulging out of his pants.

My core clenches painfully.

I open my mouth to say something— yes, alpha , or please fuck me, alpha— when it happens. Kane standing there, above me … and his face isn’t what it should be. He’s staring down, overpowering in every sense of the word, and all I can think is—

“ You’re ours now, princess.”

Fuck.

I shrink, sharply aware of my nakedness. He could claim me right now and take all the pain away. But what would be left?

An empty vessel. Only good for fucking.

I curl into the sheets. I didn’t run away from my fate just to find it again. I refuse.

“Omega …” Kane’s voice is both too close and too far away. “Shit, I can’t—”

His broken snarl sends a shiver down my spine. I feel him closing in, and in, until I’m certain he’s about to pounce on me. I know he wants to—those pheromones never lie. My muscles tense with dread. My pussy throbs with excitement.

And then I hear a door slam.

My head shoots up. My heart drops.

Kane is gone.