Lycan's First Heat

LIANA

The rest of the day drags by in agony. I keep breaking out in hot sweats and have to block my door off early to try and contain my scent. Every now and again, Zeke taps on the door to check that I’m okay before once again leaving me in peace.

I stare up at the clock on the wall and begin counting down the minutes while I shiver through my sweats like I’m going through withdrawal. The tears start to fall from my cheeks and splash onto my knees, huddled into my chest.

~Five, four, three, two, one.~

At the stroke of midnight, the clock chimes sweetly, but it feels more like a death knell. It’s the start of a new day. The day of the full moon…

I groan and roll down onto the floor, doubled over by the cramping pain in my stomach. The flush of heat spreads through me from the inside out. As I sob quietly, I hear the thud of Zeke’s footsteps outside the door—and then he knocks.

“Liana,” he murmurs, and I can hear that his own pain has started to increase now too. “You okay?”

I whimper and nod, although he can’t see me. I hear him slide down the door to sit on the floor on the other side.

“I’m so sorry,” he groans, and it just makes me cry harder.

What if this doesn’t work? What if he breaks the door down? Or worse, what if my wolf does?!

This is my first heat as a lycan. I have no idea what to expect or how strong I will become.

“Mother of all things, watch over me tonight; hold me in your arms until the morning light. Blessed be the mother Goddess, by all her names.” I utter the words quietly and in a continuous loop with every minute that passes.

I know Zeke is sitting on the other side of the door, listening to me over the hours that pass. He doesn’t move unless a wave of pain flows through him too, and then I hear him hiss through his teeth or growl with the flood of heat.

I don’t expect the scream that comes out of nowhere from way down deep, and I feel the wetness flow like a faucet between my legs. The pain is excruciating, and the roar that comes from the other side of the door makes me tremble, fear gripping my veins with ice.

“Do something!” Zeke bellows, and with my eyes emptying a river down my cheeks, I force myself to crawl over to the pile of glass and kneel on the shards, screaming as they slice through skin and bury themselves.

“Goddess! Liana! I can’t do this!” Zeke roars.

His thudding footsteps fall harder with every step as Zeke marches around the living space, growling.

“Please! Keep trying!” I cry out through the otherworldly pain I’m going through.

“Agh!” he roars, and a heavy fist lands on the door, followed by an utterly terrifying silence. But his following sentence scares me more. “I can smell you…” he murmurs into the door.

I whimper quietly and try desperately to stop sobbing.

“Open the door, Liana.”

“No!” I snap, and his growl rumbles through the room.

“OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!” he shouts, and I jump. “I’ll break it down…” he adds, his voice deathly quiet now—and somehow more threatening than ever. His words send a shiver down my spine. With another growl, he starts hammering on the door with a fist, and I begin to shake.

Grabbing my contraption, I slide the blades over my thighs, upper arms, and stomach, screaming out in pain as the blood starts to gush from the cuts.

The banging abruptly stops, and I hear Zeke whine from behind the door.

“Liana! What are you doing?! I can smell your blood! Liana, stop! What’s happening?!”

“It’s okay…it’s working,” I hiss through my teeth, and roll the contraption over the same areas again.

“Goddess! Liana, stop! I’m okay! Stop, stop! Please!” he cries from behind the door—and I pause. I look down through misty eyes at the seeping wounds that aren’t healing and the puddle of blood pooling around my knees. Then I fall forward onto my hands, barely catching myself.

My breathing slows, and my heart rate drops as I relax. I can hear Zeke pounding on the door and calling me, although he sounds very distant in my calm state.

“I’m okay…” I mumble, slurring, but the pounding continues. Then comes the sound of wood beginning to splinter. I breathe out a sigh of relief, although I’m not sure why. Zeke will break through any second now and do what he must—but for some crazy reason, I’m relaxed and at peace as I lie in a puddle of my cooling blood.

Sound becomes distant but I do hear the door break through. Then thick arms wrap around me protectively. I inhale Zeke’s scent and smile to myself.

“It’s okay… Do what you must, but please…tell Lucian I love him,” I whisper, but all I hear in response is the strange static of Zeke’s voice trying to talk to me. Then his warm body is holding me close.

For a brief moment, everything is peaceful, and I mentally beg for Lucian’s forgiveness as I slip away.