Chapter Eight
Viktor
I wake up alone.
Reaching across the bed, my fingers find nothing but sheets. When I open my eyes, the bed beside me is empty. I look around, realizing with a start that Duncan’s clothes are gone.
I place my hands over my face, letting out a long groan. I rip my mask off my face, tossing it onto the ground where my own clothes are wrinkled and clumped in a pile.
Last night had been more wonderful than words can describe. I truly thought I had something special with Duncan. I truly thought he felt the same about me. So why the fuck did he run out this morning? Where the fuck did he go?
I try not to let myself get too worked up without knowing what’s going on for certain.
For all I know, Duncan popped out to grab coffee or breakfast and he’ll be right back.
Or maybe he had to run off because of an emergency and he left me a note.
The kind, soft man from last night wouldn’t just ditch me the morning after without a reason.
My phone buzzes somewhere on the ground and I groan as I get out of bed.
I crouch down and find it, sending off a text to the group chat, letting everyone know that I’m okay.
I tell them I’m going to take a quick shower and then meet them downstairs for breakfast so I can tell them all about last night.
I pull all of my clothes off the floor, tossing them onto the bed. There’s no notes on the desk or by the bed. Because it’s such a cliche to miss a note, I make sure to check the pillows, just in case. When I don’t find anything, my heart starts to properly sink.
Fuck.
Was I really that off about Duncan? Did I really think things were more serious than they were?
Jumping into the shower, I quickly wash off the leftover makeup and the smell of sex. The last thing I need is my shifter besties grilling me because their super noses can smell cum on my skin. I’m willing to share a lot with them but that feels just a little too much.
Once I’m clean, I get out of the shower and towel off. I look in the mirror and frown. I made sure to leave marks against Duncan’s skin, but I don’t have any myself. Running my finger over my throat, I suddenly wish I had something to remember him by.
No, I’m not falling down that hole of despair.
Not yet, anyway. Despite not finding any evidence, I still can’t help but hold onto hope that this isn’t the end.
I’ll see Duncan again, I just know it. Call it intuition or destiny or fate or whatever.
The feelings in my chest for him are stronger than they have any right to be.
Duncan is mine and I’ll do whatever it takes to convince him of that.
Going back to the main room, I frown again. Shit. I don’t have any spare clothes in here. I left them all in the shared room with my friends. Looks like I’ll be doing the walk of shame this morning.
Fuck. Could this morning possibly get any worse?
I grumble to myself as I get dressed in my rumpled clothes.
I double check that I haven’t left anything behind.
I essentially tear the entire room apart, just making sure one last time that I’m not missing a note from Duncan somewhere.
The longer I look, the further my heart sinks.
Finally, I give up and make my way to the door. Just as I’m closing the door, I freeze.
“What?”
I see a flash of white moving with the door and my heart skips a beat. Leaning down, I pick up the business card that’s perfectly stuck under the door in a way that’s nearly impossible to see.
“Oh thank Christ,” I say to myself, reading the name across the top. Duncan left me his card. He didn’t just dip out without waking me up.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt relief quite this sweet before. I stare at the business card for a long time, my eyes prickling with unshed tears. Fuck! I knew he wouldn’t just leave out of nowhere! I knew there had to be a reason!
I flip the card over, finding a handwritten note. Duncan had to run out because he has a family emergency but he wanted me to contact him.
I immediately pull out my phone, adding his number as a contact before slipping the card into my pocket. I shoot him a quick message, telling him I had a lot of fun last night and that I hope everything is okay. Then I make my way downstairs to the lobby where breakfast is being served.
“There he is,” Ellie says, her voice bright. She waves me over towards their table.
“Let me grab some coffee,” I murmur, moving over to the counter in order to get myself a waffle and some coffee. I’m going to need some caffeine if I’m going to get through everything that happened last night.
I’m glad my friends came with me. I can’t imagine doing this without their love and support. They mean the world to me. I hope they like Duncan as much as I do. I can’t wait for them to meet him.
Is that moving too quickly? Introducing Duncan to my packmates?
Nah.
“Okay,” I say, sitting down with my waffle and coffee. That’s when I finally notice how rough Avery and Brock look. “What’s up with them?”
Ellie grins. “They thought they could outdrink me,” she says proudly. “They tried to match me glass for glass last night and it ended with them shit-faced and now they’re hungover this morning.”
I shake my head at my friends. Avery groans, leaning his face against his hands. Brock looks like he might actually throw up.
“I’m glad you guys had a fun time.”
“Fuck off,” Brock says with a whine. “Why do you have to be so loud?”
“I guess I can just keep everything that happened last night a secret, since you guys are too hungover to properly appreciate it.”
“Don’t you dare,” Avery says, putting his arms against the table like a pillow and leaning his head against it. He looks up at me with wide eyes and a wobbly bottom lip. “Please tell us everything? It would make today more tolerable.”
“Fine,” I say with a soft chuckle, tucking into my breakfast. Brock wrinkles his nose at me but I ignore him. I have a feeling Frost and Aiden are going to have a field day with these two once we get back home.
“I met someone.”
Ellie rolls her eyes. “Duh! We already knew that! Why else would you have stayed in the extra room last night?”
“Maybe I just wanted to sleep in my own bed?”
“Wow,” Brock says dramatically. “You’d rather sleep alone than with three grown adults in the same bed? Just admit that you hate us.”
I shake my head, overwhelmed with how much I love these three. I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world.
“His name is Duncan. He’s an artist. He’s wonderful,” I say with a wistful sigh. I don’t even care that I sound lovesick. There’s no hiding the truth. I have somehow fallen for a man in a single night. It should be impossible, but somehow it feels right.
Now, I just need to find the alpha behind the mask. I need to find him so I can look into his eyes and see him.
“Where is he?”
I wince at that. “He had to leave right away this morning. Don’t worry, he left me a note,” I quickly add when Brock starts to growl. The growl cuts off with a groan as he holds his aching head between his hands.
“So you’re going to call him, right?” Ellie asks, practically vibrating with excitement. “I can’t wait to meet him, Viktor. I bet he’s handsome, right? Is he some sort of shifter? Or maybe he’s a mage like you?”
“He’s a wolf,” I say softly. “And I assume he’s handsome?”
“What do you mean you assume?”
“We all had masks on and there was magic that kept us from really perceiving each other.”
Avery perks up at that. “That’s kinda hot.” Brock shoves his elbow into Avery’s side. “What? You’re telling me that’s not hot to you?”
“Yeah, okay. It’s kinda hot.”
My phone vibrates in my pocket and I pull it out, smiling softly when I see Duncan’s name on the screen.
From Duncan: I’m glad you found my note! My dad fell down some stairs and my mother asked me to come be with her while he was in surgery. He’s out now and doing well!
To Duncan: I’m so relieved to hear that, Duncan!
From Duncan: Can I see you again? Sorry if that’s too forward but I already miss you.
To Duncan: Not too forward. I miss you too. <3 I’d like to see you very much. When are you free?
“Oh my gods! Look at that smile! Are you talking to Duncan right now!”
I look up from my phone, my cheeks heating up as all three of my friends stare. “You guys are the worst.”
“Already ditching us for him. We see how it is,” Ellie says with a giggle. “What did your dreamy new man say?”
“He says he wants to see me soon.”
“Awwww,” all three of them say at the same time. I wipe my sweaty hands on my pants and unbutton the top couple buttons.
“Yes, yes. Get your teasing in now because once you meet him I expect you all on your best behavior!”
“We promise,” Avery says, giving me a mock salute that makes me chuckle. Brock sticks his pinky out towards the middle of the table. Avery and Ellie do the same. I let out a sigh and copy them. “Pinky promise.”
Ellie grabs my hand, feeling my wrist. “Jesus, Viktor. Are you okay? You feel like you’re burning up.”
“Just a little warm,” I say, pulling my hand away. Something about her touch doesn’t feel right. It makes my skin feel all prickly and angry.
Brock straightens, looking at me with clear eyes. “Something’s wrong. Your scent is going all wonky.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing bad,” he says, pulling himself from his puddle of hangover despair. He stands up. “I think we should get going.”
“Why?” Avery says, looking between me and Brock. “What’s going on?”
“I have a feeling, but I don’t know for certain.” Brock leans down. “Viktor, I think you might be going into your first heat.”
My heart picks up speed and my hairline prickles with sweat. “What? No, I feel fine!”
“For now,” Brock says. “If I’m right, you’re going to be pretty miserable pretty fast. And you’ll want to be in your own home for this, not stuck in some hotel room that smells and feels wrong.”
Surely I’m just warm because I’m in my clothes from last night, right? I can’t be going into heat. I’ve never been in heat before, but I remember what the doctor said. He told me I would go into heat after meeting the person my body wanted to mate with.
Duncan.
Of course this is all happening now. Of course meeting Duncan would spark these instincts inside my body. Fuck. I wish he were here.
Ellie runs up to the room we all shared, packing everything up while Brock checks us out. Avery wraps an arm around my shoulder, leading me to the car.
“Even if they’re wrong, it’ll still be nice to be back home,” Avery says, sitting in the backseat with me. “I’m really happy you had such a great time, Viktor.”
“Me too,” I say with a soft smile, leaning my head against the seat. My phone buzzes again and I pull it out, my stomach doing flips inside of me.
From Duncan: Now that my dad is out of surgery, I’m free to come see you.
I quickly type out my address, hoping he’s not terribly far away. I still don’t even know where he lives. We have so much to catch up on, but that’ll have to wait because right now, I feel like I’m being burned alive from the inside.
From Duncan: I’ll see you soon <3
Good. This is good. This is totally fine.
Maybe I should warn him about what’s going on. I don’t want to completely blindside the poor guy. When I try to pull my phone back out, my fingers fumble. My hands are starting to shake.
Okay, so maybe typing is out of the question for now. I close my eyes, doing my best to keep myself relaxed despite the waves of heat washing through me. The car smells like Aiden and Brock which makes sense since it belongs to them, but I’m suddenly hit in the gut with wrong, wrong, wrong.
I should be surrounded by warm cinnamon. I should be smelling Duncan. I should be with my mate.
Shit, where did that come from? One night together and suddenly my brain has labeled Duncan as my mate?
My head is swimming in a fog of instincts and impulses. I need Duncan. I crave him in a way I’ve never experienced before. The longing in my stomach makes me feel sick with how badly I need him. I need his soft smiles and desperate whimpers and gentle hands. I need his scent all around me.
By the gods, I need his knot inside me.
Brock ducks into the driver’s seat. He looks in the rear view mirror at me with a frown. “Guess I was right.”
“Oh, fuck off,” I say. Despite all the feelings welling up inside of me, I still manage a grin. “Why do you always have to be right?”
Brock sticks his tongue out at me and I copy the gesture. Ellie finishes putting all our stuff into the trunk. Finally, once everyone is inside, we start driving back home.
“Jesus fucking Christ. You guys feel like this every time you go into heat? This sucks ass and I mean that in the most derogatory way possible.”
Avery giggles beside me. “It’s a lot more enjoyable when you’re not cramped in a car with your besties. Did you message Duncan?”
“Yes,” I say, just barely keeping a whimper from escaping. “He’s coming over.”
“Once you’re with him, you’ll have a much better time.”
My face turns bright red. “This is so awkward. You all know I’m about to have my back blown out! How do you not die of embarrassment?”
Ellie starts giggling. “It’s normal! We all go through it!”
I groan, covering my face. Avery nudges me with his elbow. “We don’t know anything. Maybe you’ll be the one umm… what’s the phrase? Laying bricks?”
“I’m gonna die. Just open the door and let me roll out onto the highway. Please.”
That has everyone laughing their asses off. It helps the trip go by faster. I feel like I might actually crawl out of my skin if I don’t get out of this car soon. Thankfully, it’s only a few more minutes before we’re blissfully back in town.
As we pull into my driveway, there’s a car already there. My stomach swoops violently as someone steps out.
Duncan.
It’s Duncan and I can finally see his face.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Avery says, shaking my shoulder. “Go get your man!”