11. Roen
ROEN
Pampering Nova for a whole afternoon—touching her without triggering the next heatwave—felt like a dream. I’m happier than I’ve ever been. And that terrifies me. I fiddle with the wood I’m craving and look at my hands. Will I end up destroying her?
The audiobook I wasn’t really listening to fades out as my phone rings. Olivia’s name appears on the screen.
“What’s wrong?” I bark, adrenaline spiking.
“Calm down,” she replies. “Nova’s lab came in. She wanted you to be here when I explain the results.”
I take a deep breath. “Should I head over now?”
“That would be great. She’s just finishing up an appointment.”
I hang up and pocket my phone. That doesn’t sound like good news, but I hope I’m wrong.
I jump in the truck, instead of shifting like I want to and running to the clinic as fast as my paws can carry me. The last parts for Nova’s car arrived earlier in the week, and it’s the first day she drove herself to work. I already miss our trips in the morning.
Her scent hits me like a thick cloud of perfume before I even enter the clinic.
My chest tightens as I walk down the hall and catch a glimpse of her standing next to one of the dental chairs, nodding while an older member of the pack drags out a story I’ve heard a million times. She belongs here, with us.
I turn toward Olivia’s office, not wanting to interrupt, but Nova spots me and politely explains that she has another appointment and would love to hear the rest another time. I suppress a snort. She just opened a can of worms and doesn’t even know it.
Then I stiffen as I sense her through the bond. Something’s not right. My suspicions are confirmed as she walks over and melts into my side. My dick swells instantly at her touch.
“It’s good to see you,” she murmurs.
I bring the back of my hand to her forehead. “You’re running a fever.”
She slumps. “I’m fine. I can still focus.”
After our last training session, she probably thinks she can wait it out, but that’s not happening. I’m getting her home as soon as possible.
“I already suggested that she take the day off.” Olivia pops out of another room and leads us into her office.
Nova nuzzles my neck, then inhales sharply. I barely manage to catch her before she doubles over. “Woah…maybe I shouldn’t have done that,” she mumbles.
I growl and wrap my arm around her side to get us through the door. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going into heat?”
“Her heat doesn’t function like normal,” Oliva says while clicking through several files on her computer. “I assumed a human would be more sensitive to an alpha, similar to an omega, but it’s the opposite.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Nova’s fever is rising too fast, bleeding through our clothes. I take the nearest chair and pull her into my lap. She stifles a gasp, tilting her hips to rub against me. Fuck, I need to be inside her.
“The lab came back with traces of a second set of DNA—she’s a chimera,” Olivia explains. “Only part of her can respond to the mate bond, so she needs strong, consistent pheromones.”
Dammit. I should have checked on her this morning. Nova whines and curls into me, licking my neck. I clench my jaw as her hot tongue glides over my skin.
“Nova, did you ever have a blood or bone marrow transfusion?” Olivia asks.
“What?” Nova tries to sit up with a flash of embarrassment. “Um, no. I haven’t.”
I wrap my hand around her neck and settle her back on my shoulder. She relaxes against me with a shudder. If her heat’s been repressed, then this wave will be worse than I thought.
“You must have absorbed another set of DNA while in the womb,” Olivia mutters, turning to look at several numbers and charts on the screen. “It’s a known phenomenon, but incredibly rare.”
Nova tenses. “I was adopted as a baby,” she whispers. “One of my birth parents must have been?—”
“A lycan.” Olivia finishes. “There are no half-breeds, and unfortunately, some packs disown their members for breeding with a human.”
Shit, that’s a lot to take in. Nova shouldn’t find out like this that she was abandoned by both her parents and her pack. I’m her alpha now, and I’ll protect her no matter what.
“We need to get out of here,” I interject, scooping her up.
“Wait.” Nova puts her hand on my chest. “We can have babies? I didn’t know it was possible.”
My heart stops beating. I haven’t even thought past keeping her alive. Her last heatwave was so distracting that I came inside her without thinking...
“Yes,” Olivia answers with a soft smile. “You, in particular, could have either lycan or human children.”
The bond surges with an emotion so strong that I stumble backward. It’s not the disappointment I expected—it’s joy. She wants kids. With me.
One look at her is all it takes. She needs my knot, and I’m going to breed her. Now. Olivia calls something as I almost break down the door, but it doesn’t register.
Nova clings to my neck while I buckle her in the passenger seat of my truck. “Don’t let go,” she pleads.
“I’m not going anywhere, I promise.” It takes all my willpower to pry her off. My pulse thuds from the pull of her heat. I rip off my shirt. “Here, take this.”
She buries her face in the fabric, and I race to start the engine. I just need to keep it together long enough to get to the house.
“Everything aches,” she whimpers. “I need you inside me.”
“I know. Hang on a bit longer.” I reach over to rub her clit through her clothes. Her pussy flutters against my fingers, thighs swallowing my hand. By the time I skid into the driveway, my pants are about to split.
I hit the brakes so hard that we jolt forward.
“I don’t know how long I can wait this time,” she pants, desperately grinding against me.
“I can’t wait either,” I growl, dragging her in for a kiss and pinching her clit. Her orgasm ricochets through us both, stealing my breath and pulsing through my veins.
I can’t lose her. Not when I’m just realizing how much is at stake.
“I want you in my bed,” I rasp. She nods, and I carry her up the stairs on the side of the house. As soon as I lay her down, she nestles in and takes a deep breath. A part of me wants to keep her like this forever—fuck her until the heat fades and there’s not a worry left in her soul.
I bend to kiss her forehead. “I’m sorry about your birth parents.”
She sighs. “I grew up in a loving home—it was probably for the best. And I found the pack I’d rather be a part of.”
“This will always be your home,” I murmur. “I need to grab a few things. Can you stay here for five minutes?”
She looks up with dilated eyes. “I never want to leave.”
“You never have to.” Ever . The fever is working its way inside me, too, and it lashes out as I pull away.
I grit my teeth and try to focus as I go to the main floor. I never really lived down here. It used to be an open space for the pack with a few spare beds just in case. Now, I can’t picture it without Nova’s touch.
I grab the bag of toys from her bedroom and frantically search her shelves. Where did she put the tranquilizer? I throw open the dresser drawers, finally finding the white box inside her nightstand.
When I barge back in with the supplies and bottles of cold water, I stop dead in my tracks. Nova is naked on top of the sheets, brown skin glowing in the daylight. Her hair fans out around her face like a dark halo as she straddles one of my pillows.
She rises on her knees and crawls toward me. I drop everything.
We meet each other at the end of the bed, her hands running down my chest and popping open the button of my jeans. I’m wound so tight that I hiss as she strokes me through my briefs. “Careful,” I warn.
“If I wanted to be careful, I wouldn’t have fallen for a werewolf,” she sasses. My dick springs out—but before she can touch it, I fist the hair at the nape of her neck and force her to look at me. I need her to know who’s in control before she loses herself to the heatwave.
“You’re mine ,” I snarl. “If I want you to come ten times before you get my cock, then you wait and thank me for each orgasm. If I want to tie you up and bruise every part of your body until you’re soaked and ready to take my knot nice and deep, then you offer your hands and feet.”
Her mouth drops open. “Fuck me. However you want.”