Page 62
AURA
It took my body a moment to completely calm down, but once it did, my mind was clear again. I sat down behind my desk and opened the book, flipping to one of the bookmarked pages.
Lycan heat.
I tipped my head back against the chair and heaved a loud sigh. Would I ever get used to this?
Lycan heat occurs every three months. The symptoms start 1 to 2 weeks before the Heat cycle begins: increase in libido, frequent sweats—particularly at night, restlessness, reduced appetite, increase in—
I groaned at this one.
Increase in vaginal discharge (slick).
“Fucking gods …” I mumbled. That explained a lot.
Beginning of or increase in nesting behavior. This is characterized by the lycan creating a safe space for mating.
Mating. It was all so animalistic. So … primal. I laughed despairingly at the thought. Ironic for a Primal Born vampire, I supposed. With another sigh, I continued reading.
A Heat cycle begins with a surge in estrogen and progesterone. A lycan in Heat seeks copulation with a partner or a mate first and foremost. In the days leading up to copulation, the pair may find an increased desire for proximity in preparation.
A lycan in Heat may find it disorienting, as instinct takes the forefront while rational thought is suppressed.
At the time of copulation, the penetrating lycan will tie themselves to or knot** the receiving lycan in Heat. This is for the purpose of increasing the chances of conception. (See lycan conception preventatives.)
Gods, I would need to make sure to take my preventatives. I turned my attention to the footnote at the bottom regarding knots.
A knot is the engorgement or swelling at the base of the lycan’s penis during sexual intercourse. This locks the mating pair together for 5 to 30 minutes.
“Excuse me?” I clutched the neckline of my dress like one of those high society human ladies. “Fucking gods …” I mumbled again. “Fucking lycans.” I tried not to think of Sylvan standing right here in my office with his fist around his … No, Aura. You just calmed down. Get it together!
I shut the book perhaps a little too hard and pressed my palms over the top. As horrified as I was, I’d experienced these symptoms at one time or another. They were never consistent, and as a hybrid, I never expected my body to function as a normal vampire’s would anyway. Vampires menstruated quarterly as well.
Pushing all thoughts from my mind, I stood and shoved my chair in.
The alchemy workshop was a welcome distraction as I shut the door behind me and inhaled deeply. I had a few salves to create, but I got to work purifying the antivenom instead.
Just two to three days until Heat. Gods save me.
32
BEFORE I CAME ALONG
SYLVAN
Dangerous.
What I was doing with Aurelia Nygaard was dangerous and stupid. I paced my room at the inn, unable to stop thinking of the pleasure on her face, the movements of her hand, and the scent that’d swirled around me, gripping me with the force of something concrete.
Her struggle was clear, but even in the midst of it, she was hard to resist. How I’d managed to keep my hands off her, I didn’t know.
But we both needed to focus.
More so, I needed to figure out how to get my mind back into pack mentality. I would have to return to Sublune Creek soon. I was expected to claim and mate with Clover. Except now the thought made my stomach turn. Not because she was unattractive. She was beautiful. Her hair was like pure gold, lips full, skin beautifully tanned, but when I thought of climbing into her nest, it was Aura’s crimson eyes that filled my mind.
It was the feel of Aura’s overheated skin against mine. The sound of her voice without the anger, overtaken by bliss.
Was it just her impending Heat affecting me so? Because even around omegas in Heat, I’d seldom had such a strong reaction. Now I couldn’t stop worrying. It probably didn’t help that I knew her mother was no better than my father had been. The bruise and the marks on her face, her fear and sadness. That incessant urge to protect her nudged at me, but she would be fine eventually. She was fine before I came along.
