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Chapter One
Cadence
“You’re in heat.”
The words still echoed in my head every time I closed my eyes. I’d been denying that was the cause, and to have it announced out loud had me turning to vomit in the toilet again, but there was nothing left in my stomach to bring up.
Aelia had done as she promised, clearing the hallway so we had a open path to the door. Once I was sure my stomach was done turning itself inside out, Leo took me by the wrist and dragged me outside.
The cool air brushing over my heated skin was a relief, and with less of Leo’s pheromones clogging my lungs, I was able to shake off some of the fog that had taken over my thoughts.
“I need to get to my car.”
Leo’s brows were drawn when he turned to look down at me, but he didn’t stop moving. Placing a hand on the back of my head, he was folding me into the passenger seat of his car before I’d even realized we’d reached it.
His mother had said she’d send a car around for us, but apparently that wasn’t good enough for Leo.
He didn’t respond to my comment before leaning over to buckle my seatbelt, drowning me in his scent again. He shut the door and was around the car in a blink, sliding into his own seat.
A cramp ripped through my middle, making me gasp, and Leo peeled out of the drive, flying toward the closed gate ahead. I was just aware enough for my heart to flutter when he didn’t slow, but somehow it opened in time for us to pass through without becoming a tangle of metal.
When the cramp released and I could breathe again, I looked over at Leo. His face was set in a scowl, his eyes dark, nostrils flaring. He was clenching the steering wheel so hard his fingers had blanched, stealing the golden color of his skin.
“Leo.”
His name came out raspy, but his eyes still darted over to me before focusing on the road again.
“Leo, I have to go home. I—”
I was cut off by a high-pitched whine escaping my throat as my womb clenched, feeling as if some giant held my middle in its fist. My belly button tried to wrap around my spine, all the muscles of my abdomen straining, my diaphragm unable to move to let me suck in the air I desperately needed.
“No, Cadence. We’re going back to my place, where you’ll be safe.”
It took a moment before I could force out any words, sweat beading along my spine and between my breasts despite the cold air blasting from the vents. I felt like I had been out in the sun all day without using sunblock.
“I can’t— I can’t stay with you.”
His growl drowned out any chance of me speaking further, sending shivers down my spine that tightened my nipples into sensitive peaks. My core fluttered, slick gushing from my channel to puddle in the seat beneath me as I wrapped my arms around my middle. I found myself pressing against the door, as far from Leo as I could get, without consciously deciding to move.
“Cadence.”
He hissed my name between clenched teeth, the steering wheel creaking in his grip, and for a moment I wondered if he’d snap it.
Tears pricked my eyes as I stared at the circle with his fingers wrapped around it, driving me toward a fate I’d hoped to avoid.
I wasn’t ready for this.
The tears spilled over before I could stop them. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was supposed to feel my heat coming and have time to make an excuse to break things off with Leo. It wasn’t supposed to hit me while I was with him, when I couldn’t lie or hide what was happening.
“Please.”
It was the barest whisper that trailed off into a whine as my pelvis tried to implode from the pressure within. I’d been told heats were painful, that the cramps were worse than anything I could imagine, but I hadn’t realized how truthful that had been. I could have sworn my bones were being ground to dust inside me, and the warm liquid leaking from my core should have been blood.
The car stopped and Leo turned to stare at me, his eyes burning in a way that made me writhe on the seat, a wave of desire washing over my thoughts to war with the cramps. Each breath of whiskey and vanilla coffee made me dizzier, my body clamoring for the solution to my ailment.
“You need an alpha to get you through this. I’m not going to leave you in pain. You can’t ask that of me.”
I hiccupped a sob. I might be willing to admit that being with Leo hadn’t been anything like I’d expected, and I looked forward to seeing him now, but bonding was serious. Marriage could be reversed, but if he claimed me, we’d be tied together forever. Even if he never grew sick of me or resented being bound to someone so different from him, there was the very real chance I could lose him and end up like my mother.
