Just like he’d promised, Nate climbed down into the crack and the cave beneath. Luna followed him, letting out a small exclamation of surprise when she caught a glimpse of our hiding spot. “Wow. This is amazing.”
“Not so much,” Nate replied. “It’s just a shelter, something we’ve had to build for ourselves during the time we were away.”
Luna fell silent, and I mentally cursed Nate for his tactlessness. Usually, he was better at gauging what to say, but it looked like no matter how hard we tried, we kept making her uncomfortable and reminding her of things she would have wanted to forget.
Rowan clenched his jaw, visibly uncomfortable with the exchange, or better said, with Luna’s reaction to it. He slid into the crack without a word and showed no sign of the pain I knew he had to be feeling.
I took one last look around, checking for any signs of intruders. No one had seen us sneak into our small hiding spot. So far, so good. Now, it was time for us to get some rest and help our new friend. Or whatever Rowan was.
By the time I made my way down, my brother had already helped Rowan to a cot and was ruffling through our supplies. He produced a bottle of clear liquid. We were no healers, but we could make simple energizing potions that pushed our bodies to the limits.
“Here,” he said, offering the bottle to Rowan. “It’s not as good as what you’d get in the Wolfsbane Pack, but it will help you. Fair warning, though. It might hurt.”
Rowan snorted. “I’m not afraid of pain. I just want to be back on my feet. This is pathetic.”
“Don’t say that,” Luna chastised him. “You were injured while protecting me. Nothing about that is pathetic. Don’t ever call yourself that again.”
The fire in her voice reminded me of all the time we’d spent together as young werewolves. It was reassuring to see. I’d been afraid that living as an Omega had completely crushed her spirit, but I should have known better. Luna was stronger than that.
Rowan was just as captivated by her as we’d always been. He drank the energizer more or less on automatic pilot, all the while staring at her. Luna ignored it. “Any idea how long it’ll take for the potion to work?”
“Hard to say, really,” Nate answered. “It depends on Rowan too, and on how strong he is.”
“If it takes too long, you might be better off leaving me behind,” Rowan blurted out, finally saying what had been on his mind ever since we’d reached our agreement. “The chaos might delay my brother, but that won’t last forever. They’ll be able to track our scent.”
“Yes, they will,” I replied, since sugarcoating things was useless. “The canyon will buy us some time, but we have to be realistic about it. The only way to escape is to leave the valley.”
Luna opened her mouth, maybe intending to ask something else. No words came out. Instead, she let out a tiny, choked gasp, clutching her throat as if she was suffocating.
“S-Something’s wrong,” she stammered. “I-I don’t feel… I need…”
I instinctively reached for her, aching to comfort our mate. The moment I touched her arm, I knew. Luna was in heat, and it was just as dangerous and intense as the poisoning Rowan had to endure.
Six
Chapter 6
Rowan
She was in heat. Luna was in heat again. It shouldn’t have happened, because she and I had already mated. But things were obviously not going as planned with Luna and me, and the twins’ arrival had torn everything asunder.
The circumstances couldn’t have been worse. Earlier, when Luna and I had bonded, we’d thought we were more or less safe, or at least as safe as we could be. But now, I was still in a lot of pain, and as much as I was trying to hide it, Luna could sense its echoes.
“I need you,”she whispered in my head.“I need your pain, just like I need the pleasure you gave me. Don’t push me away.”
It was easier said than done. My instincts screamed to protect my mate, and the last thing I wanted was for her to experience any kind of discomfort. But hiding from her was just as bad, since it was hurting her in another way.
She was shaking, tremors running through her body, clashing with the high temperature the heat induced. Nathaniel and Samuel hugged her close, and their proximity seemed to help. Her breathing evened out a little, and her heart stopped beating so quickly. But it was not enough.
“You need to claim her,” I told them. “This chaos… Whatever’s going on, it’s not normal. At this rate, she’ll get hurt.”
I didn’t point out that Luna was an Omega and naturally more fragile than us. The twins knew that, having been her childhood friends, and Luna didn’t need the reminder. Even so, the whole situation left a sour taste in my mouth.
It shouldn’t have been this way. I’d spent many nights imagining how my relationship with my mate would be like, and I’d never thought I’d one day be lying helpless and hurt in a cave, while I watched her be fucked by someone else. And yet, that was exactly what was going to happen. There was no other way. She needed them, and I wouldn’t begrudge her for that.
Grief and guilt echoed through me, stemming from my connection with my beautiful mate.“I’m so sorry, Rowan. I… I wish I could be the mate you need. The mate they need.”
“You’re perfect,”I rushed to assure her. “It’s just the circumstances that are a little unusual.”
