Claws

Chapter Twenty-Nine

I felt hot. No. I was cold. No. That wasn't right either. Was it a cold sweat? I couldn't tell. All I felt was an uncomfortable sensation, spreading throughout my entire body, crawling through my skin, and sticking itself into my blood. My skin was burning, and although my ribs ached, I couldn't stop moving. I could barely breathe. I couldn't open my eyes either. It was dark, painful, lonely, and terrifying. I wanted it to end.

Suddenly, a warm aroma surrounded my body, and relief followed. It smelt of cinnamon and rich mahogany, easing my boiling blood and itching skin. My breaths began to steady, and I sighed. The warmth grew more intense as it surrounded me. I felt it solidify, clinging onto what seemed to feel like a soft but firm fabric. It moved up and down as I buried my face in it.

"Smells good," I thought. I think I faintly heard those words come out of my mouth, but I wasn't sure.

That was when I faded out of consciousness again.

When I came back, I was relieved to feel the gentle aroma was still there. That was when I realized that I was in someone's arms. At the moment, to me, it didn't matter who it was. As long as I could feel this good, anyone was fine.

I slightly shifted and forced my eyes open, curious to see who was holding me. Who could make me feel this good? At first, everything was blurry. I blinked a couple of times, shocked to see a familiar face right in front of me. Zale. Asleep, his face inches away from mine. His stunning, defined features were set in a calm, peaceful expression. I felt his chest against mine, our legs intertwined, his arm placed carefully around my waist, and his other under my head. His smooth, tan skin felt hot against mine. Feeling a bit incoherent, I frowned, unable to rationalize what was happening.

All I could think of was how great he smelled and how comfortable I was. My eyes traveled to his mouth, which was slightly parted into a thin, relaxed line. Although our bodies were intertwined, I wanted to move closer to him. But how?

I wanted to bite the back of his nape and mark him. I wanted to make him mine so no one else could have him. I wanted to make him my alpha for eternity.

Leaning forward, I brushed my nose past his and pressed my mouth against the lips of my alpha.

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Zale woke up the moment he felt something soft move against his mouth. Confusion rushed through him as his mouth instantly responded. Someone was kissing him. It felt good. Really good.

Wait. Where was he again?

It took a lot of effort to open his eyes, but when he did, the struggle was gone. His eyes grew wide. No way. This had to be a dream. Some sort of confusing dream that would drive him insane from embarrassment when he woke up.

His eyes widened as he struggled to process the girl that had her lips plastered on his was Mae. Was this a dream? It sure as heck felt real. He flushed as he smelt her pheromones mixing with his. Her fingers slid in his hair. She seemed frustrated that he'd stopped kissing her, so she attempted a French kiss. That's when he came to his senses. Oh gosh. This wasn't a dream. Mae had woken up, and she was obviously still in heat.

"MMMM!...Mae!" Zale gasped, gently pushing her away from him by her shoulders. His face grew even more red as he struggled to get her fingers out of his hair. When he got her at least slightly untangled from him, he looked down at her face and covered his mouth, hiding the massive blush that overcame his face. He didn't even know he could blush.

Mae was looking up at him with a glazed but seductive look on her face, breathing heavily, her cheeks flushed from the fever. When she leaned up and pressed her lips against his throat, he sharply inhaled and immediately untangled the rest of himself from her and fell off the couch. When he looked at her again, his eyes grew wide, and he swallowed.

Mae's hair was hanging off the edge of the couch, and one of the sleeves on her black tank top hung slightly lower on her shoulder than usual, making her look even more lewd than she already did. He closed his eyes and bit his arm as hard as he could until it started to bleed excessively. He wanted to kiss her so badly. He wanted to pounce on her, ravish her, and make her his. "Oh gosh. What have I done to deserve this?"

He took an inhibitor, but even with that and his high pheromone tolerance, he was struggling not to give in to her pheromones. They were intoxicating. This was bad. The last thing that was keeping him from losing his sanity was the pain in his arm.

"It hurts. It hurts so bad. Please, help me," Mae started to cry, reaching for Zale. "Zale." Even her tears were...Oh gosh, he needed to get out of the room, or he was going to do something he'd regret.

"Mom! Robin! Come here, please! Hurry!" Zale's voice came out in painful segments. He took a deep breath, biting into his arm again. "I...can't..."

A few seconds later, both Robin and Linda came bursting through the door. "What's wro--Oh my gosh!" Linda gasped, looking at Zale, his teeth clamped down on his bloody arm. "What are you doing?"

"I'll be right back with an inhibitor for the two of you. Mom, get him to stop biting his arm. He's going to bite into his ulnar artery if his teeth get any deeper." Robin had somehow immediately sensed the situation and rushed to get an inhibitor from the other room.

Linda rushed to her son, knelt down, and put her hands on his cheeks. "Honey, let go of your arm. You're going to puncture something if this goes any longer."

Zale looked up at his mother with watering eyes and let go with a staggering breath. "I..need to... get out...of here," he coughed, wiping blood off his mouth. "I don't want...to hurt her."

"It's okay, I won't let you. Robin's going to get you and Mae another inhibitor. Just hold on for one more second. He'll be right back. Let's look at your arm first," Linda sighed, grabbing her son's wrist. "Oh my gosh. What were you thinking? Robin was right. This wound is a centimeter away from your ulnar artery. You could have died!" She grabbed the blanket off the sofa behind her and pressed it against his arm. "Why would you do something like this?"

"I woke up, and she was...Her heat...Her pheromones are insane, Mom. I was about to..." Zale stopped, clenching his teeth together.

"I'm back!" Robin burst into the room with two syringes and a pile of towels in his hands before his mom could speak.

"Give me Zale's inhibitor. You get Mae," Linda sighed, rubbing Zale's back as she felt him shivering. He wanted to hold Mae so bad it hurt. She was right in front of him. If he just gave in, he could...No. He needed to calm down.

Zale gritted his teeth when he felt the needle enter deep into his bicep. His eyes immediately rolled in the back of his head, and for the first time in a long time, he passed out.