Chapter Two
CHAPTER TWO
LOGAN
Even with the shower running, I can't escape it - flowers and frost and something uniquely her that's driving my wolf crazy. I press my forehead harder against the window glass, watching snow pile up outside. The cold does nothing to ease the fever burning through my blood.
This isn't happening. I don't do attachments. Don't do mates. Haven't let anyone into my territory, let alone my den, in years. And now there's a woman - a frustrating, fascinating woman - in my shower, and every instinct I have is screaming at me to...
No.
I push away from the window, pacing the small space. Her notebook sits on the table where I left it, and I force myself not to touch it again. Bad enough I scent marked it the first time. My wolf is too close to the surface, making me act on impulses I've spent years controlling.
The water shuts off.
I freeze, every muscle going tight as her scent intensifies. Without the flower pollen masking it, I can smell what she really is. Wolf. Definitely wolf, but... different. Like moonlight through trees, familiar but somehow altered.
"Logan?" Her voice is muffled through the door. "I need clothes."
Clothes. Right. Because she's naked in there, and...
"Logan? Are you still conscious?"
"Barely," I mutter, but I make myself move to the dresser. "Give me a minute."
My hands shake as I pull out a flannel shirt and sweatpants. The fever is getting worse, making it hard to focus on anything except her presence, her scent, the way my den will smell like both of us after...
I drag in a ragged breath. "I'm leaving clothes by the door."
"Thank you." There's a pause. "How are you feeling?"
Like I'm burning alive. Like my wolf is trying to claw its way out. Like I need to touch you so badly it hurts.
"Fine," I lie, dropping the clothes outside the bathroom. "Just hurry up."
Her soft laugh does something to my chest that I refuse to examine. "You're a terrible liar, alpha."
The way she says 'alpha' shorts out my brain for a moment. My wolf surges forward, and I have to brace myself against the wall, claws scraping against wood as they emerge without my permission.
"Don't," I manage. "Don't call me that right now."
The bathroom door opens just enough for her hand to snake out and grab the clothes. I catch a wave of her scent, stronger now, and my vision bleeds gold at the edges.
"Your resistance to the flowers' effects is remarkable," she says, and I can hear her sliding fabric over skin. "Most alphas would have completely lost control by now. I should be taking notes on-"
"If you pull out that notebook, I will burn it."
"That would be extremely counterproductive to my research."
The door opens fully, and whatever retort I had dies in my throat. She's drowning in my flannel shirt, the sleeves rolled up several times, my sweatpants tied tight at her waist. Her dark hair is damp, curling against her neck, and seeing her in my clothes does something primal to my already frayed control.
"Stop looking at me like that," she says softly.
"Like what?"
"Like you want to eat me."
I laugh, but it comes out more like a growl. "Trust me, eating isn't what I'm thinking about."
A blush creeps up her neck, but she maintains that clinical distance in her voice. "The flowers are designed to trigger mating responses. It's perfectly natural that you're experiencing-"
"Could you not?" I cut her off, running a shaking hand through my hair. "Could you not analyze this for five minutes?"
She takes a step toward me, and I immediately back up. Her eyes narrow.
"You can't keep fighting it," she says. "The fever will only get worse if you-"
"I know what happens during a mating fever." The words come out sharper than I intended. "I've seen what it does to alphas. How it strips away everything but instinct until they're nothing but-"
"But what? Animals?" Now there's heat in her voice. "Is that what you think is happening here?"
I meet her eyes, trying to ignore how the fever makes everything about her sharper, more enticing. "I think you have no idea what you're dealing with."
"No," she says, taking another step forward. This time I can't make myself retreat. "I think you're the one who has no idea what I'm capable of handling."
Her confidence should irritate me. Instead, it pulls at something deep in my chest, makes my wolf strain toward her. She takes another step closer, and I can see the subtle shift in her stance - she's not backing down, not giving an inch.
"You're shaking," she observes quietly.
"You should be too." My voice is barely recognizable. "You should be terrified right now."
"Of you?" The corner of her mouth lifts slightly. "The alpha who's fighting so hard to protect me he's making himself sick with it?"
The observation hits too close to home. I close my eyes, trying to center myself, but that only makes her scent stronger. "Mira..."
"Your temperature is still climbing," she says, and suddenly she's right there, her small hand pressing against my forehead. The contact sends electricity down my spine, and before I can stop myself, I've caught her wrist.
"Don't." But I don't let go.
"The fever won't break without contact." Her pulse races under my thumb. "You know that. I know that. So, stop being stubborn and let me help you."
"You don't understand what you're offering." I force my eyes open to look at her. "What this will mean."
"I understand exactly what I'm offering." There's that scientific certainty in her voice again, but underneath it, something softer. "And I can see you fighting this like it's a battle you have to win alone."
"Stop analyzing me." But my grip on her wrist gentles, turns into something more like a caress.
"Stop giving me a reason to.”
She steps fully into my space, and my free hand moves to her hip without my permission. She's so small compared to me, but there's nothing fragile about the way she meets my gaze.
"Let me help you, Logan."
My wolf howls in triumph as the last threads of my control snap.
A growl rumbles through my chest as I pull her closer, burying my face in her neck. Her scent here is intoxicating - clean from the shower but undeniably wolf beneath that. My wolf. The thought should terrify me, but the fever burns away everything except the need to claim, to mark, to...
"Logan," she gasps as my teeth graze her pulse point. Her hands fist in my shirt, not pushing away but pulling closer. "Wait- we should- the notes-"
"No notes." I back her toward the bed, some distant part of my brain still careful with her smaller frame despite the fever rage coursing through me. "No science. Just..."
"Just what?" Her voice shakes slightly, but her eyes are steady when they meet mine.
"Just feel."
Her scientific mask cracks, just for a moment, and I catch a glimpse of something vulnerable underneath. "I'm not very good at that part."
"Then let me show you." I press my forehead to hers, trying to gather the last scraps of my control. "Tell me to stop. Tell me you don't want-"
She cuts me off by rising on her toes and pressing her lips to mine. The kiss is tentative, almost shy, and it breaks something in my chest. My wolf surges forward with a need to protect, to cherish, to...
The fever spikes, and everything goes molten.
"Mira," I manage to rasp against her mouth. "Last chance to run."
She pulls back just enough to meet my gaze, and there's nothing clinical in her expression now. "I'm done running."
This time when I kiss her, I don't hold back.
The first real brush of skin on skin - her hands sliding under my shirt - sends a shock through my system. The fever-haze recedes just enough for me to think clearly, though my wolf still prowls at the edges of my control.
I break the kiss, panting. "That's... different."
"What is?" Her scientific curiosity bleeds through even now, her hands stilling against my ribs.
"The fever." I press my face into her neck again, letting her scent ground me. "It's not as... consuming with contact."
She hums thoughtfully, and I can practically hear her mind working. "Fascinating. The flowers must create a feedback loop that's interrupted by direct..." She trails off when I nip lightly at her throat. "Sorry. Science brain."
"You're impossible." But I'm smiling against her skin, the fever's burning edge dulled enough that I can appreciate her inability to turn off her analytical mind.
"It's relevant data," she protests, but her breath catches as I run my hands down her sides. "The more we understand about the effects-"
I silence her with another kiss, gentler this time. When I pull back, her eyes are slightly unfocused. "Less analyzing. More touching."
"Touching helps your control," she points out, sliding her hands up my back. The contact sends pleasant shivers down my spine rather than the desperate need from before. "See? Your eyes aren't even gold anymore."
"Mira."
"Right. Less analyzing." But there's a smile in her voice as she presses closer. "Though I should note-"
This time when I kiss her, we both laugh into it, and something shifts between us. The fever's still there, still pushing, but it feels less like drowning and more like floating.
At least until she rolls her hips against mine.
The instant her lips meet mine again, something shifts. The fever's still there, burning under my skin, but the frenzied edge dulls. My wolf settles, just slightly, like her touch grounds us both.
I break the kiss, breathing hard. "What's happening?"
"Interesting." Her voice is breathless, but I catch that familiar analytical tone creeping back in. "The flowers' effects seem to be moderating with direct contact. Your pupils are less dilated, and your skin temperature..." She presses her palm to my chest. "It's still elevated, but not as severely."
"Doctor Parker," I growl, but there's no heat in it. I can think clearly for the first time since the symptoms started. "Are you taking mental notes right now?"
She flushes but doesn't move her hand from my chest. "Force of habit. But this is fascinating. The texts mentioned contact might help, but I didn't expect-"
I silence her with another kiss, softer this time. When I pull back, she blinks up at me, looking adorably dazed.
"What was I saying?"
"Something about fascinating research." I trail my fingers down her arm, marveling at how each touch both soothes and inflames. "But maybe we could focus on the practical application?"
"Right." She sways closer, then catches herself. "But we should document the progression of-"
The fever spikes again, sharp and sudden. I grip her hips, pulling her flush against me. "Mira. Please."
She must hear something in my voice because her scientific facade cracks completely. Her hands slide up my chest, and the simple touch sends sparks through my system.
"How bad?" she whispers.
"Getting worse." I press my face into her hair, trying to ground myself in her scent. "Need... need more contact."
Her breath hitches. "Then take it."
My hands flex on her hips as I fight for control. "If we do this..." I drag in a ragged breath. "If I touch you like I need to..."
"I know what I'm agreeing to." But there's a tremor in her voice that makes my wolf want to soothe, to gentle.
I force myself to pull back enough to see her face. "Do you? Because my wolf... he recognizes something in you. Something that makes this more than just fever relief."
Her eyes widen slightly. "You can sense that too?"
"Too?" My thumb traces her jawline, and I feel her shiver. "What aren't you telling me?"
"It's just a theory." She presses closer, and the contact sends another wave of clarity through the fever haze. "But the way the flowers affected you, and how the contact helps... it shouldn't be this effective unless..."
Another spike of fever cuts through me before she can finish. I growl, lifting her easily and settling us both on the bed. She makes a small sound of surprise but doesn't tense, even when I cage her with my body.
"Unless what?" I manage, fighting to focus on her words and not the way she feels beneath me.
She reaches up, traces my face with careful fingers. The touch is so gentle it almost hurts. "Unless there was already a connection. Unless we're-"
"Don't." I catch her hand, press my lips to her palm. "Don't say it. Not... not like this. Not with the fever making everything complicated."
Understanding floods her features. "You're right. Scientific method. We should gather more data before forming conclusions."
The clinical words contrast so sharply with the way she's looking at me that I can't help but laugh. The sound seems to surprise us both.
"Data gathering?" I lean down, letting my weight press her deeper into the mattress. "Is that what we're calling this?"
Her attempt at professional distance crumbles as my lips find her neck. "Logan..."
"Yes, doctor?" I nip gently at her pulse point, rewarded by her sharp intake of breath.
"I think..." Her hands clench in my shirt as I continue my exploration. "I think we should proceed with the experiment."
"Call it an experiment again," I growl against her throat, "and I'll make you forget you ever went to college."
Her laugh turns into a gasp as I find a sensitive spot under her ear. "That's not possible. I have multiple degrees-"
I silence her with a kiss, slower this time, deeper. Her scientific facade cracks further as she arches into me. When I pull back, her eyes are dark, unfocused.
"What was that about degrees?"
"I..." She blinks, then narrows her eyes. "Are you using the fever symptoms to win an argument?"
"Is it working?"
Instead of answering, she shifts beneath me, bringing our bodies into fuller contact. The movement sends a fresh wave of fever through me, but it's different now - less frenzied, more focused. My wolf isn't fighting for control anymore, content to let me savor this.
"Your pupils are dilating again," she whispers, and I catch her hand before she can reach for her nonexistent notebook.
"Mira." I press her hand into the mattress above her head. "Stop analyzing."
"I can't help it. It's how I..." She trails off as I mirror the position with her other hand, holding her gently but firmly in place.
"How you what?"
"How I stay in control." The admission seems to cost her something. "How I handle everything being... different."
The vulnerability in her voice cuts through the fever haze. I release her hands, frame her face instead. "Being different isn't always bad."
"Says the alpha who can actually shift," she mutters, but there's no real bite to it.
"Says the woman who's handling an alpha in full fever better than anyone should be able to." I lean down, rest my forehead against hers. "You're stronger than you think."
Her breath catches. "Logan..."
The fever surges again, stronger this time. I feel my claws emerge, pricking slightly where I'm touching her. "I need..."
"I know." She tilts her head, baring her throat in a gesture that makes my wolf howl. "Take what you need."
The permission shatters the last of my restraint. I bury my face in her neck, letting her scent wash over me as I nip and suck at the delicate skin. She makes a sound halfway between a gasp and a moan, her hands coming up to tangle in my hair.
"Logan," she breathes, and the way she says my name sends a shudder through me.
I rock against her, the friction both soothing and maddening. She meets me halfway, her hips lifting to chase the sensation. The fever burns hotter with each touch, but it's tempered now by something deeper - a need to claim, to mark, to make her mine in every way possible.
My hands find the hem of her borrowed shirt, slipping beneath to trace the soft skin of her stomach. She arches into the touch, a whimper escaping her as my fingers skate higher.
"Off," I growl, tugging at the fabric. "Need to feel you."
She sits up just enough for me to pull the shirt over her head, leaving her bare except for a simple cotton bra. The sight makes my mouth go dry, my wolf surging forward with the need to touch, to taste. I lean down, trailing my lips along her collarbone as my hands map the newly exposed skin.
She gasps my name, arching into me as I find a particularly sensitive spot. Her hands slip under my shirt, nails scraping lightly down my back in a way that makes me shudder. I nip at her shoulder in retaliation, soothing the sting with my tongue a moment later.
"Logan, please..." Her voice is breathy, needier than I've ever heard it.
I raise my head to look at her. Her hair is a wild tangle against the pillow, her lips parted and swollen from my kisses. But it's her eyes that catch me - pupils blown wide, but still so full of trust and understanding. Like she knows exactly what this is doing to me and she's ready to face it head on.
My brave, brilliant mate.
The thought slams through me, shaking me to my core. I freeze above her, caught between the fever's demands and the sudden, terrifying realization of what this means.
"Logan?" She cups my face, concern creasing her brow. "What's wrong?”
I shove the thought aside, burying it deep. I can't think about that now, not with her soft and willing beneath me, not with the fever burning through my veins demanding I claim her in the most primal way.
I capture her lips in a searing kiss, pouring everything I can't say into the press of my mouth on hers. She responds eagerly, her fingers tangling in my hair to pull me closer. I let my hands roam her body, mapping every curve and dip, committing them to memory.
She arches into my touch, a breathy moan escaping her as I palm her breast through the thin cotton of her bra. I growl against her lips, the sound vibrating through my chest. I need more, need to feel her skin against mine with nothing between us.
I break the kiss just long enough to strip off my shirt, tossing it carelessly aside. Her hands immediately come up to explore the newly bared skin, tracing the lines of my muscles with a reverence that makes me shudder. I lean down, trailing open-mouthed kisses along her jaw, her throat, the swell of her breasts.
She whimpers my name as I reach behind her, deftly unhooking her bra and tossing it aside. I pause for a moment, taking in the sight of her bare before me. She's exquisite, all soft curves and smooth skin just begging to be touched, tasted.
"Beautiful," I murmur, reverence in my voice. "So beautiful."
A flush spreads across her chest at the praise and I lean down, trailing my lips along the swell of her breast. She gasps, arching into me as I take a hardened nipple into my mouth, swirling my tongue around the sensitive bud. Her hands fly to my hair, holding me in place as I lavish attention on first one breast, then the other.
"Logan," she pants, writhing beneath me. "I need... I need..."
"I know." My voice is rough, barely recognizable to my own ears. "I've got you."
I kiss my way down her body, nipping and licking at every inch of skin I can reach. She's trembling by the time I reach the waistband of her borrowed sweatpants, her breathing shallow and fast. I hook my fingers into the fabric, pausing to meet her eyes.
"Yes," she breathes before I can even ask. "Please."
I tug the pants down her legs, taking her underwear with them. She kicks them off impatiently, leaving her completely bare beneath me. I sit back on my heels, letting my gaze roam over her body, taking in every perfect inch of her.
She flushes under my scrutiny, a hint of shyness creeping into her expression. "Logan..."
"Shh." I lean down, pressing a kiss to her hipbone. "Let me look at you."
She squirms as I trail my lips along the inside of her thigh, my breath ghosting over her most sensitive area. I can smell her arousal, heady and intoxicating, making my head spin with the need to taste her.
"Please," she whimpers, her hips lifting off the bed in a silent plea.
I can't deny her, not when she's spread out before me like a feast for the taking. I dip my head, running my tongue along her slit in one long, slow lick. She cries out, her hands fisting in the sheets as I press closer, licking and sucking at her sensitive flesh like a man starved. She writhes beneath me, her cries of pleasure spurring me on. I slip one finger inside her, groaning at the slick heat that greets me. She's so tight, her walls fluttering around my digit as I pump it slowly in and out.
"More," she gasps, her hips rocking in time with my hand. "Logan, I need more."
I add a second finger, then a third, stretching her gently as I continue my relentless assault with my tongue. She's trembling now, her thighs quivering on either side of my head. I can tell she's close, her cries pitching higher with each pass of my tongue over her clit.
"That's it," I murmur against her, the vibrations making her shudder. "Let go for me, Mira. Come on my tongue."
My words are her undoing. She shatters with a cry of my name, her body bowing off the bed as waves of pleasure crash over her. I work her through it, gentling my touch as she comes down from her high.
I press tender kisses to her inner thighs as she slowly comes back to herself, her chest heaving with each shuddering breath. When she finally opens her eyes to look at me, the dazed satisfaction I see there sends a fresh wave of desire crashing through me.
I crawl back up her body, bracing myself above her on my forearms. She reaches up to cup my face, pulling me down into a languid kiss that quickly turns heated. I can feel her tasting herself on my tongue and it makes me groan into her mouth, my hips rocking against hers almost of their own accord.
She breaks the kiss with a gasp, her nails digging into my shoulders. "Logan, please. I need you inside me."
The words send a bolt of pure lust straight to my core. I reach down to fumble with the button of my jeans, my hands shaking with the force of my need. She reaches to help, our fingers tangling clumsily in our haste to rid me of the last barrier between us.
Finally, I kick the jeans off, settling myself between her thighs. The heat of her, slick and ready, pressing against my aching length is almost too much to bear. I grit my teeth, fighting for control as the fever rages through me, demanding I claim her, mark her, make her mine in the most primal way.
"Mira," I rasp, my voice strained. "Are you sure?"
She rolls her hips, coating me in her slick heat, and any semblance of restraint snaps. I surge forward, burying myself inside her with one hard thrust. We both cry out at the sensation, her walls clenching tight around me as I stretch and fill her.
I pause, giving her a moment to adjust, my entire body trembling with the effort of holding still. She's so tight, so perfect, like she was made just for me. The thought sends a possessive thrill through me, my wolf howling in satisfaction at finally claiming our mate.
Mira shifts beneath me, wrapping her legs around my waist and drawing me even deeper. I groan, dropping my forehead to rest against hers as I start to move, each thrust slow and deliberate. I want to savor this, to memorize every hitched breath and breathy moan, every flutter of her muscles around me.
She meets me thrust for thrust, her hips rising to take me deeper, harder. I can feel the heat building between us, the fever urging me on. My thrusts turn frantic, my control slipping as the need to claim her overwhelms me.
"Logan," she gasps, her nails raking down my back. "Don't hold back. I can take it."
A snarl rips from my throat at her words. I surge forward, pinning her hands above her head as I drive into her, fast and deep. She cries out, her back arching as I hit a spot inside her that makes her see stars.
"Yes," she pants, straining against my hold on her wrists. "Just like that. Don't stop."
I couldn't stop if I wanted to. The fever has consumed me, burned away every thought except the primal need to make her mine. I can feel my knot starting to swell, catching on her entrance with every thrust.
She must feel it too because her eyes fly open, locking onto mine. There's no fear there, only a raw hunger that matches my own.
"Do it," she demands, her voice low and urgent. "Knot me, mark me, make me yours."
My wolf howls in triumph as I let go of the last shreds of my control. I slam into her, burying myself to the hilt as my knot expands, locking us together. She throws her head back with a keening cry, her body convulsing around me as her orgasm crashes over her.
The feeling of her clenching rhythmically around my knot is too much to bear. With a roar, I let the ecstasy take me, wave after wave of pleasure surging through me as I empty myself inside her. I feel a sharp sting as my canines elongate, the urge to mark her, claim her, overwhelming in its intensity.
"Yes," she hisses, baring her throat to me in submission. "Do it, alpha. Make me yours."
I surge forward, sinking my teeth into the juncture of her neck and shoulder, marking her as mine for all the world to see. She cries out, her body shuddering through another release as the bond snaps into place between us.