Page 19 of Betrayed By the Alpha Wolf

Another pain rippled through my entire body this time, and it went straight through the barrier the natural painkillers I was using created. It racked me from top to bottom, a dagger point piecing my head as the same sharp sensation flowed from my center down each leg.

God, this is so much worse than normal.

“Hey,” Grayson was right by me now, his hands up like he was approaching a wounded animal, “MacKenzie, I think you’re—”

“Go away!” My tone came out harsher than I’d intended, but before I could apologize—if I even wanted to—another wave of sensation sent me curling into a ball. “I just need to eat. Go. If you still want to help.”

“MacKenzie, you need to listen. I think you’re—”

“Ugh!”

I doubled over the roar ripping through my body as my own scent perfumed the space around me so intensely I could taste it—salty ocean and the aged vanilla scent of old paper. Why was my scent so strong right now?

Instinctively, I started circling around in the bed, trying to get comfortable. I still clung to Grayson’s shirt, but it was only because I couldn’t bring myself to let go that the action would take too much effort.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Grayson step forward, raising his hip so that he could sit on the bed.

“No!”

I lashed out at him, swatting him away as a rumbling growl echoed out of my chest. Grayson cursed, scooting back until he was standing just to the side of the bed again.

Wait. That…

Another wave hit, and my eyes met Grayson’s in shock, my mouth falling open slightly.

“You built a nest, MacKenzie.” He shook his head, looking down at the floor before he returned his intense stare to me. “You’ve got my shirt. Your scent is…”

He breathed in deep, and the expression on his face was like the last time I’d seen him that worked up over it.

“So fucking strong.”

I shook my head.No. No. This is impossible. It’s too far away.

“I…” My voice wavered. “I don’t…No. It’s too soon.”

But like it was trying to prove a point, another wave hit me—hot and desperate and all-consuming—and I fell to my knees. The pain was so profound, and I cried out before Grayson was there in front of me, gripping me by the elbows and trying to get me up.

“MacKenzie, I think you’re…”

He let the words hang, letting me be the one to finally say it. I looked into his icy blue eyes. His blonde locks were still mussed from the fight, and his scent was flaring brighter, making the ache in my womb worse and better in equal parts.

I squeezed his arms, my eyes wide and a nauseating terror crawling up the back of my throat. It took me so long to say it; my stare locked on his as I waited for the pain to dull slightly. When I finally opened my mouth to speak, my voice was rough and thick, pained and…aroused.

“In heat.”

Chapter 8 - Grayson

This could not be happening. There were literally no other things in this entire world that would be worse than MacKenzie going into heat right now.Goddamn it. This is a fucking problem.

But my wolf surged beneath my skin, my entire body thrumming with desperation and lust. I’d never felt it so strong like this, and I had to assume that because of the reignited mate bond, my wolf—my hormones—were that much more insistent that I claim her.

I am not going to fuck her. We need to get out of here.

My wolf just growled in my head as he paced back and forth. The combined power of Kenzie’s and my scents was doing nothing to make this easier. My fingers itched to touch her more, to move my grip from her elbow to her breasts, to her p—

No, stop. We need to leave.

And yet, I wasn’t moving. I was standing right there, still holding Kenzie up by the elbows, and she looked…rough.

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