Ashen's POV
Got home after the date.
No. No. No.
Not again.
I gripped the edge of my dresser, my entire body trembling as the unbearable heat surged through me. My skin burned, my muscles ached, and the familiar pressure built deep inside me—too fast, too strong.
I'd convinced myself the first time was a mistake. A freak reaction. A fluke.
But this?
This was not a mistake.
I ripped open the drawer where I kept my suppressants, hands shaking so badly I could barely grasp the bottle. When I finally did, I nearly dropped it. My fingers twisted at the cap, desperate, frantic—
It was empty.
A strangled sound tore from my throat.
No. This wasn't happening.
I tried to breathe through it, tried to force my mind to think, but the haze was already seeping in. The room was too hot, my clothes too constricting, my body betraying me in ways I could not allow.
I clenched my jaw and stumbled toward my bed, searching for my small burner phone. My hands curled around it, but my vision blurred for a second.
The heat was getting worse.
I squeezed my eyes shut and did the only thing I could.
I called him.
The phone rang once—twice—before his deep, cocky voice came through the line.
"You miss me already, little wolf?" Dominic teased, amusement thick in his tone.
I sucked in a sharp breath. "Please—" My voice cracked, raw, desperate. "Get here. Now."
Silence.
Then, all amusement vanished from his voice.
I barely heard his response before the phone slipped from my fingers.
I curled in on myself, panting, willing the fire inside me to die down.
It didn't.
It
The second I heard his voice—strained, desperate—every teasing thought vanished from my mind.
I was already moving before I even processed it, shoving my phone into my pocket and sprinting for my bike.
"Ashen," I barked into the receiver as I sped off, my wolf on edge. "What's wrong?"
A sharp inhale. A ragged breath. Then—
"I don't—know," he forced out, voice wrecked with something I knew wasn't just pain. "Please—just here
I barely registered the sound of my phone hitting the floor.
The fire under my skin grew unbearable, like it was trying to consume me from the inside out. My breathing came in short, ragged pants, and my vision blurred at the edges. My body ached—no, throbbed for something I didn't want to acknowledge.
I clenched my fists against the sheets, fighting it, but every movement sent another wave of agony through me. My body felt wrong, as if it didn't belong to me anymore.
I needed to make it stop.
I didn't know how long I lay there, battling the heat that coiled in my gut like a living thing, clawing at my control. Minutes? Hours? It all blurred together.
Then—
The door slammed open.
I barely had the strength to flinch.
Heavy footsteps. The scent of cedarwood and dominance filled the space, cutting through the haze, grounding me just enough to recognize him.
Dominic.
I let out a shaky breath, my body instinctively reacting to his presence. My fingers twisted in the sheets as my head snapped up.
He stood in the doorway, his golden eyes locking onto mine.
His jaw was tight, his expression unreadable, but his scent his aura rolled through the room in a commanding wave.
My body betrayed me completely.
A sharp, needy whimper escaped before I could swallow it down.
Dominic's eyes darkened.
"Shit," he muttered, slamming the door shut behind him.
I squeezed my eyes shut, humiliated beyond belief. I didn't want him to see me like this. I shouldn't want him near me.
But the moment he stepped closer, I breathed easier.
"Your heat," he said, his voice lower now, rougher. "Damn it, Ashen. I told you this would happen."
I forced myself to glare at him, even as my body trembled. "I—I took my suppressants," I gasped out, my fingers digging into the mattress.
Dominic exhaled sharply, his golden eyes scanning me, assessing.
"Not enough," he murmured. "And now look at you."
I turned my face away, my breathing uneven. "Just go," I bit out, even though part of me ached for him to stay.
He didn't move.
Instead, I felt the bed dip as he sat beside me. His warmth was close, too close, making my body react in ways I couldn't control.
A firm, calloused hand brushed against my cheek. I flinched—but didn't pull away.
"Do you want me to leave?" he asked softly.
The words caught in my throat.
Did I?
The fire under my skin screamed no.
I clenched my jaw. "I—I don't know."
Dominic let out a quiet, knowing hum. His fingers moved down, skimming the side of my neck, lingering just over my frantically pulsing scent gland.
My breath hitched.
"Let me help you," he murmured, his voice like a dark promise.
I shuddered, torn between defiance and the desperate need clawing through me.
His thumb brushed my pulse, slow, deliberate.
"Why do I keep having this heat?" I gasped, my body trembling against the mattress. "Dominic… why? This is the second time. Why aren't the suppressants working?"
Dominic's golden eyes flickered with something unreadable as he moved closer. "I have a few theories," he murmured. "But right now, that doesn't matter."
I shivered as his scent wrapped around me, grounding and overwhelming all at once.
"I hate this," I gritted out, even as my traitorous body responded to him.
"I know," he murmured.
Then, before I could protest, his lips brushed against mine gentle at first, coaxing, before deepening into something far more dangerous.
I clenched my fists, trying to push him away. But when his hands slid down, slipping under the waistband of my trousers, I sucked in a sharp breath.
No. Not again.
I should stop this. I should shove him off, demand that he leave.
But then his fingers wrapped around me, his touch slow and teasing, and a choked sound escaped my throat.
"Fuck," I gasped, my head falling back against the pillow.
Dominic hummed in satisfaction, his grip tightening just enough to make my thighs twitch. "That's it," he murmured, his lips brushing against my jaw. "Just let me take care of you."
I hated this.
Hated how easily he unraveled me.
Hated how my body craved him, how it leaned into his touch despite every ounce of resistance in my mind.
"You're—" I sucked in a breath, my fingers clenching the sheets beneath me. "You're manipulating me."
Dominic's lips curled against my skin. "No, sweetheart," he said, his voice smooth, confident. "I'm giving you what you need."
And the worst part?
I couldn't even deny it.
It went on for hours.
I lost count of how many times I came undone beneath his touch, my body betraying me over and over. Every time I thought it was over, the pain would creep back in, unbearable and relentless, and Dominic would start again—his hands firm, his strokes calculated, wringing pleasure out of me until I was nothing more than a trembling, gasping mess.
I hated it.
I hated how he knew exactly how to touch me, how to ease the ache that no one else ever had. I hated that I needed him for this.
By the time the heat finally dulled into something bearable, I was completely spent. My limbs felt heavy, useless. My breaths came in shallow gasps, my body wracked with exhaustion.
Dominic hovered over me, his golden eyes scanning my face with something almost… gentle. It should've made me angry.
Instead, I barely had the energy to glare.
"Tired?" His voice was teasing, but there was a softness beneath it, like he actually cared.
I wanted to snarl at him. To curse him out. To shove him away.
Instead, my body betrayed me one last time.
My eyes fluttered closed.
And before I could summon the strength to fight back, I slipped into unconsciousnes