Page 20 of Marked By the Alphas

What was happening to me? I couldn’t ever remember feeling this way before. I blinked rapidly, hoping to clear the disorientation that had begun dancing in front of my eyes, but it did very little to help me.

A whimper escaped my parched lips. The sound was foreign, raw with a desperate need I couldn’t even identify. There was a sticky feeling between my thighs, and the pain that bloomed inside my abdomen soon began to feel different. It was replaced by a primal desire that bloomed between my legs and which was intensifying with alarming speed. I could feel my core pulse with a rhythm that was both agonizing and alluring.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and my sensitive nose picked up on Rose’s scent. The maid hummed very softly as she moved around the room. I tried to call out to her, but only a whimper escaped my lips. It sent a vibration through my body that felt too intense, so I decided not to try to talk or move at all. I listened as she moved into the bathroom, and soon, the sound of running water filled my ears. It was followed by the sweet smell of lavender-scented bubble bath.

I could remember how I had told her about lavender being one of my favorite scents and she had bought all my essentials in that scent. I had felt grateful for it at the time, but at this moment, I hated it because the sweet smell felt sickening to me.

Rose walked out of the bathroom, and she pulled the drapes open before turning in my direction. I watched as her face contorted into shock at the sight of me. She backed away from me and in the next second she was flinging the door open and running out of the room.

The frantic bang of a door reached my ears, and I blinked, fighting the black spots that had begun dancing in front of my eyes again. The door swung open again, and Kai’s scent hit me. The potent blend of pine and rain made my traitorous body thrum with a potent response. The yearning in my abdomen threatened to consume me.

Kai’s face came into view, and the concern that was etched across his features would have been funny if I could find humor within me. His usually cold grey eyes were now filled with a storm of emotions that I couldn’t decipher.

“Elara,” he said, his voice rough with sleep. He kneeled down beside me, reaching out a hand to touch my forehead. I immediately recoiled, his touch sending a jolt of electricity through me. “What’s wrong?” he groaned, and I moved closer to him, moaning when I caught a whiff of his scent.

I wanted nothing more than to bury myself within him and inhale his intoxicating scent,

Kai let out a growl when I got close to him and he quickly pulled himself to his feet, shaking his head as if to clear it. His pupilswere blown wide, and it seemed like he was also starting to sweat.

“Go downstairs and wait for Anyah. Lead her here as soon as she arrives. Shut the door completely behind you,” Kai said to Rose, and the girl nodded, giving me one last worried look before exiting the room.

Kai moved into the bathroom, and a few minutes later, he came out with a bowl and a towel. He moved to settle by my side. His scent caused even more arousal within me, and I felt myself growing wet for him. When he began running the towel around my face and neck, the urge to press closer and bury myself close to him was overwhelming.

“Are you all right?” he asked gently, his eyes the softest shade of grey I had ever seen. I simply moaned in response, my voice still strained.

He worked in silence for a while, and the cool water helped to take away some of the burning that I felt within me, but it did nothing to help the desire that filled me. The bedroom door creaked open again, and this time Anyah walked into the room with her leather satchel slung over her shoulder. Relief filled me as she approached my bed, and I couldn’t wait for her to take away the pain and discomfort that I felt.

“Anyah,” Kai called from the door, the relief in his voice my own now that she was here.

“I came as soon as I could, Alpha Kai,” she said, and Kai nodded rapidly, ushering her closer.

“What’s the problem?” she asked, pulling out a thermometer from her bag to stick in my mouth.

“Rose found her like this and came to get me. She’s burning up, and her…her scent is everywhere. She can’t seem to speak, either,” Kai explained, his eyes not leaving my face as he spoke.

“Can you open your mouth wider?” Anyah asked, and I managed to do as she asked, wincing when she pulled out the thermometer. She then fed me a liquid from a vial.

Almost immediately, I felt a reprieve from the fire within me, and the physical discomfort lessened. The burning between my legs, however, didn’t stop and I still longed to be touched. I could feel that whatever Anyah had given me was making me feel sleepy.

“She needs to be relieved,” I heard Anyah say.

“What do you mean?”

“She has gone into heat. Her close proximity with you, Rhys, and Rowan, as well as the amount of pheromones that she has been exposed to this past week could be what has triggered it,” Anyah revealed and it finally dawned on me what was happening.

But how could that be possible? I had never experienced a heat before in my life, courtesy of Silas’ severing my connection with my wolf. I had heard about heat cycles, but the information had merely been whispered stories that spread through the Siren’s quarters. None of us had ever experienced it before, and that was because we had no wolves to trigger our heat.

So how could it be possible that I was having a heat now? I could still feel my wolf’s faint presence at the back of my mind, but it was not stronger than usual.

“Is there anything you can give her to stop it?” Kai asked, and I whimpered slightly at the sound of his voice.

“Why would you want me to give her something Alpha? You’re her mate, along with Rhys and Rowan. It’s your responsibility to take care of her at this moment. Besides, there’s nothing I can really prescribe to stop her heat. She’s an Omega, so she is sure to experience very intense heat cycles. It’ll be best if she receives treatment and attention from her mates.”

I couldn’t bear to keep my eyes open anymore, and I barely registered when a towel was placed back on my forehead to help keep me cool. The last words that filtered into my ears were, “The longer you let her suffer this way, the worse it’ll get and not just for her—for all of you.”

Chapter 12

Kai

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