Chapter 10
POV: Amara
I skipped breakfast.
There was absolutely no universe where I could sit across from Riven after waking up tangled around him like some emotionally unstable octopus.
No.
Absolutely not.
So instead, I escaped to the laboratories before sunrise like the mature professional scientist I claimed to be.
Which unfortunately did nothing to solve the actual problem.
Because the second I stepped inside the lab, the ache inside me returned.
Not fully.
Not yet.
But enough.
Enough to make my skin feel too tight.
Enough to make my thoughts drift constantly toward dark hair and blue eyes and rough hands wrapped around my waist.
It was becoming ridiculous.
I tried to work anyway.
And for a while, it almost helped.
Almost.
Michael arrived not long after carrying several revised reports from yesterday’s stabilization adjustments.
“You’re here early,” he said.
“So are you.”
“I work with silver extraction systems. We don’t sleep.”
“That’s fair.”
I accepted the papers from him carefully—
And intentionally brushed my fingers against his hand.
Nothing.
Not even the smallest flicker.
I frowned slightly.
Michael either didn’t notice or politely pretended not to.
God.
This was getting worse.
Later, while reviewing another extraction sequence beside him, I leaned slightly closer than necessary when reaching for a report.
Again—
Nothing.
No relief.
No calm.
No quieting of the storm inside me.
Meanwhile one accidental memory of Riven’s arm around my waist nearly made my knees weak.
I was losing my mind.
Completely.
By midday, I’d already finished the rest of the medicine Lyra gave me.
The entire bottle.
Which should’ve terrified me more than it did.
Instead, I stared at the empty glass container in disbelief before swallowing another small sedative just to take the edge off.
For maybe twenty minutes, it worked.
Then the heat came back worse.
I ended up in the training grounds afterward out of sheer desperation.
Maybe physical exhaustion would help.
Maybe impact would help.
Maybe literally getting punched would somehow reset my nervous system.
At this point, I was open to experimentation.
Guards sparred across the massive outdoor arena while cool air brushed against overheated skin.
I joined three separate matches.
One with a younger patrol wolf.
One with an older guard captain.
One with a broad-shouldered soldier who nearly apologized every time he blocked my attacks.
I touched all of them.
Hands.
Arms.
Bodies colliding during combat.
Nothing.
Nothing helped.
Nothing stopped the ache.
Nothing calmed my wolf.
And underneath the growing frustration—
Something terrifying became impossible to ignore anymore.
It wasn’t touch I needed.
It was his.
By the time I finally stormed toward Lyra’s office, I was exhausted, sweating, frustrated, emotionally unstable, and one minor inconvenience away from biting someone.
I barely even knocked.
“Lyra, I need your help, this isn’t—”
The words died instantly.
Because Riven stood inside her office.
One hip rested casually against her desk.
Arms crossed over his chest.
Dark shirt rolled slightly at the sleeves.
God.
The sight of him hit me like physical impact.
My body reacted instantly.
Heat surged violently beneath my skin while relief crashed through me at the exact same time.
Every instinct inside me screamed at me to go to him.
To touch him.
To breathe him in.
To make the ache stop.
I actually took half a step forward before my brain caught up.
Oh my God.
Mortification flooded me instantly.
“I’m sorry,” I blurted. “I didn’t know—”
I turned immediately toward the door.
“Amara,” Lyra called.
I kept walking.
Then—
“Wait.”
Riven’s voice.
Low.
Firm.
Impossible to ignore.
I stopped instantly.
Which honestly made the humiliation worse.
Slowly, I turned back toward them.
Lyra’s expression had already shifted from surprise to concern.
“It’s okay,” she said gently. “We were actually talking about you.”
My stomach twisted.
My eyes snapped toward Riven automatically.
Did he tell her?
Did she know he slept in my bed?
That I woke up wrapped around him?
That my body practically purred every time he touched me?
But Lyra continued before I could spiral further.
“What happened?”
I exhaled shakily.
“I finished the bottle.”
Silence.
Lyra blinked once.
“…The entire bottle?”
“I know how that sounds.”
“That bottle was supposed to last over two weeks.”
“I know.”
Concern flooded her face immediately now.
“What are you feeling?”
I hesitated.
Because saying it out loud somehow made it more real.
More embarrassing.
And Riven stood right there listening.
“I tried running,” I admitted quietly. “Training. Sedatives. Working.” My voice cracked slightly in frustration. “Nothing helps anymore.”
Lyra looked genuinely alarmed now.
“How often are you taking the medicine?”
I stared at the floor briefly.
“…Every thirty minutes.”
“Amara.”
“I know.”
“You could make yourself sick.”
“I already feel sick.”
Silence stretched heavily through the office.
Then Riven spoke quietly beside me.
“She told me my presence helps.”
Heat flooded my face instantly.
Oh my God.
I looked up at him in horror.
Riven’s expression remained controlled—
But there was tension everywhere underneath it.
“I stayed in her room last night,” he added.
Lyra went completely still.
“You what?”
“It calmed the pain enough for her to sleep.”
The room fell silent again.
I suddenly wanted the floor to swallow me whole.
Lyra stared between us slowly like she was trying to solve an impossible equation in real time.
“That doesn’t make sense,” she murmured finally.
Riven’s jaw tightened.
Lyra looked back at me carefully.
“I don’t know why his presence helps,” she admitted. “It’s not like you could be mates or anything.”
The words hit harder than they should have.
Of course we couldn’t.
I already knew that.
I was twenty-five.
Our packs had known each other for years.
Even with delayed heat cycles, mate bonds should’ve surfaced long ago.
Still—
Hearing someone else say it out loud hurt unexpectedly badly.
Lyra continued thinking aloud now.
“You’ve attended five Moon Balls already. Oak territory borders your pack. If there was a mate bond, one of you would’ve felt it before now.”
I stared quietly at the floor.
That ache in my chest had absolutely nothing to do with heat anymore.
“Maybe your hormones are just reacting strongly to Alpha proximity,” Lyra continued carefully. “Or maybe your delayed heat is confusing your instincts before the Moon Ball.” She sighed softly. “Your mate could still appear there this year.”
Something ugly twisted painfully inside me at the idea.
Another wolf.
Another man touching me instead of—
No.
I forced the thought away immediately.
Lyra looked toward Riven then.
“I know how you feel about this,” she said carefully.
My head lifted slightly.
Something about her tone felt layered.
Meaningful.
Riven’s expression hardened immediately.
But Lyra continued anyway.
“If your presence is the only thing helping her pain…” She exhaled slowly. “Maybe you should stay near her until the Moon Ball.”
Silence.
Heavy silence.
Only five days left.
Five more days of this.
My pulse hammered unevenly while I looked between them.
Riven didn’t answer immediately.
But his eyes found mine across the office.
And for one terrifying second—
I saw the exact same desperation living inside him too.
Lyra exhaled slowly before rubbing both hands across her face.
“This is getting worse faster than I thought.”
“I noticed,” I muttered weakly.
Her eyes shifted toward Riven again.
“Or…” She hesitated carefully. “We send her back to her pack until after the Moon Ball.”
My head snapped up immediately.
“No.”