Claws

Chapter Thirty-Eight

My head began to spin as Zale's pheromones pulled me closer to him. I took deep breaths, glancing at the medical box next to Zale, who was breathing heavily. His cheeks were flushed from his fever, and his blue eyes hungrily focused on me. He wouldn't be out of it for long until he would start to draw me in. I couldn't help but release some of my pheromones, feeling myself slowly lose the ability to resist the temptation of throwing myself at him. Being forced into heat by Zale wasn't painful like the others who had done so in the past. Part of me was freaked out by it, and another part of me was grateful to be free of the pain and feel a rush of ecstasy instead. I clenched my jaw and forced my gaze to the medical box again. I needed to think. Maybe he had some sedatives or something. Most likely, there weren't, but I had to check.

I bit down on my tongue until it started to bleed as I rushed to the other side of the table where Zale was facing away from and grabbed the medicine box, frantically rummaging through it. I immediately found some syringes and, not long after, liquid Midazolam and a rut inducer. I came across several other heavy drugs and aphrodisiacs as well that were usually used in surgery or minor medical procedures. Confusion washed through me. Why did he have all of this?

My hands were shaking as I filled up two syringes with the light dose of sedatives and one with a rut inducer. I bit my tongue again as I stuck myself with one of the syringes with the sedative in it, then slowly dragged myself closer to Zale. I was barely able to inject him with both of the shots, with my hands shaking so much that I ended up taking a full two minutes to inject both of them into his shoulder. Luckily, he was still in a dazed state, so he didn't move much.

Crap. It'll take a minute for the drugs to take effect. I thought after a few moments of tasting my own blood, closing my eyes. We were more tolerant of drugs when at the beginning our heats and ruts. I was losing it.

It only took a couple more seconds of drowning in Zale's pheromones for me to fully give in to the temptation to go to him. I took a shaky breath out as I walked weakly in front of Zale, who had his eyes closed and his head hung in a state of exhaustion.

"Zale," I quietly mumbled, leaning down as I slid my hands on the top of his broad shoulders. I nuzzled his neck, and his eyes immediately opened. He reacted in seconds, standing up, slipping both of his hands around my waist, and kissing me. His lips were rough against mine, hot to the touch. I felt his tongue gently brush against mine, tasting my blood and tensed. "Mae. It's okay," Zale sighed, burying his face in my hair. "Don't leave me."

"I won't," I mumbled in reassurance as we kissed again, toppling our way into the living room with wandering mouths.

When we stumbled into the living room, I slipped my arms around Zale's neck, brushed my lips on his throat, and then moved them up to the corner of his mouth. I wanted to pull him closer. I wanted to kiss him. I wanted him to bite the back of my neck and pour all of his pheromones into my body, marking me as his own. I wanted to be his mate.

I closed my eyes, feeling my fangs come out, and tilted my head to the side when I felt Zale brush my white hair over my shoulder, letting it topple down my back to expose my neck. Everywhere he touched was hot and tingly.

Suddenly, I was lying face up on the couch, staring into Zale's overwhelming, gorgeous blue eyes. He held himself up by his good arm and tucked his other hand behind my neck. He studied my face, then brushed his fingers against my cheek and lips. "So beautiful," he mumbled, brushing his nose downwards against the bottom of my ear.

I cried out when I felt Zale's fangs enter the side of my neck, a fiery sensation burning coursing throughout my body. My brain short-circuited, and an overwhelming wave of pleasure engulfed my body. I clutched onto his hair with one hand and gripped the side of the couch with my other, closing my tear-filled eyes as I felt him suck the blood that had begun to trickle down my neck and collarbone.

Almost right after his teeth fully sunk into my neck, I felt his body shift off of me, and his fangs left my skin. After that, I lost consciousness.

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Zale jolted up in his bed after opening his eyes. He felt so disoriented. How did he get in his bed again? He looked beside him when he felt a slight shift of movement, his eyes widening in horror. Mae was lying next to him halfway under his covers, her white shirt and neck stained with blood. As the previous night's events played back in his head, he rolled out of bed in horror, stumbling on the floor. Luckily, he caught himself with his left hand, covering his mouth with the other.

"Frick," he whispered, feeling himself begin to tremble in fear as he stood up to look at Mae again. Luckily, she was breathing peacefully, asleep on his bed, but she had a large bite mark on the side of her neck and was covered in sweat. It didn't seem to be bleeding anymore. The blood was crusting on her skin, scabs forming where he bit her.

Zale inched towards the bed and carefully sat next to her to examine the puncture wounds. He lightly brushed his fingers against the bite, then gently pressed around the wound, searching for any signs of internal damage. He closed his eyes with a sigh, relieved to find that everything had healed properly inside. She didn't seem to have a horrible fever, but her skin was slightly hot to the touch. Zale closed his eyes, lifting his hand off Mae's skin.

Then, he mentally cursed himself out.

He'd forced her into heat and then temporarily marked her. There seemed to be more pheromones than venom since he did it during his rut, so she was going to be pretty weak when she woke up, especially when it was her first time being bitten like this. He was such a scumbag! How could he have done this? He'd gone into his rut early, too. It was supposed to come in a week and a half, so why, of all times, did it have to happen when Mae was near him? Was it the influence of her pheromones?

He looked down at his bare arms and shoulders, which were covered in shallow bite marks and red splotches. There were probably some on his neck, too. His cheeks grew hot.

"Geez. Where did that kid learn how to do this?" He wearily thought. She was a good kisser, too, which Zale found slightly concerning. How many guys had she kissed to become that good?

Looking at the silver lining, it didn't look like they did anything past making out and temporary marking, for one thing. Mae must have found the sedatives and rut inducer in his medical kit. She was smart.

Zale slid out of his bed again and stood up, sliding his hands around the back of his aching head. From the stinging he felt around his neck, he could tell she'd definitely bit it several times. His whole body had holes in it. She was a freaking savage.

Zale clenched his jaw. He was going to be in so much trouble. Of course, he wasn't scared of what was coming his way. It was just the thought of Mae hating him even more than she already did that he was afraid of. He was just getting somewhere with her to where they weren't bickering with each other every second, and now he most likely ruined that.

Zale clenched his fists in his hair as he pressed his back up against his bedroom wall and sat down, placing his forehead on his knees. "I'm such a scumbag."