The Heat

RIVER

When my eyes finally fluttered open, a golden shaft of light was streaming in through a crack in the curtains and directly into my eyes. I threw an arm over my face and groaned. My body ached as though a freight train had hit me, and all I wanted was a strong cup of coffee.

Looking around the room again, vague memories came back to me. At some point before the sun came up, the male had taken me to the pack house to rest. I barely remembered getting there.

After hours of mating through my heat, I was too exhausted to make it back to my family’s house. I needed to get back though. Judging by the position of the sunlight in the room, it had to be around noon, and I was afraid my family would worry if I didn’t make an appearance soon.

My body felt extremely heavy as I pushed myself up from the bed and dragged myself across the floor of the spare room. I pulled at the massive T-shirt and sweatpants draped over my frame.

They smelled like pine and smoke. My cheeks turned pink.

One glance in a mirror across the room informed me that anyone seeing me might go running in fright. There were leaves and pine nettles in my hair, dirt on my skin, and I looked as if I hadn’t had a full night’s sleep in a year from the dark circles under my eyes.

Downstairs in the massive pack house kitchen, it sounded like there were dozens of people preparing for something. But I didn’t want to get caught here in the state that I was in. Sneaking down a back staircase, I was able to make it out of the house undetected.

The neighborhood was alive with action, and I snuck down the streets back to my aunt and uncle’s house, trying to avoid being seen. The man from the previous night could be anywhere, and I knew I wasn’t ready to run into him.

Arlene was waiting at the front door, and it swung open as I reached for the handle. Her eyes widened as they ran over my frame, and her mouth slowly dropped open.

“I know. I look like I was dragged through the woods behind a truck. Can you let me in?” Glancing over my shoulder, I was glad no one was around. I wanted nothing more than a hot shower and a few hours of sleep.

Arlene pulled me through the doorway and slammed it shut. I cringed at the sound, knowing my aunt would come running.

“Is that River?” Sure enough, Aunt Corrine hurried over from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her frilly white apron. “River, what happened to you? You need a hot shower to wash the woods off.”

“Sorry, Auntie. I got mixed up in the woods last night. By the time I made it back, it was so late I stayed at the pack house.” It wasn’t entirely a lie.

“Well, I sure am pleased to see you’re all right.” There was something akin to concern in her eyes, and it made me wonder just how much my mother had told her over the phone before I came down here.

Corrine fretted, casting one last worried glance over me before sharing a look with Arlene. “You girls need to get ready, you hear? The barbecue is in a couple of hours, and y’all have to be there.”

My face scrunched up. I had forgotten about the barbecue! Arlene nodded at her mother, then grabbed my arm and rushed us up the stairs. I was too tired to fight her.

“Ugh, I just want to sleep!” I groaned when we made it to the guest room and flopped onto the mattress top, ignoring my suitcase, which was still at the foot of the bed, untouched since the day before when I had arrived after driving halfway across the country. Staying up all night didn’t help my exhaustion.

“With the way you look, girl, I am not surprised.” Arlene sat on the edge of the bed and picked at her cuticles while watching me from the corner of her eyes. “So, are you going to tell me what actually happened last night, or you are sticking with your story about getting lost?”

A deep sigh escaped my lips, and I sat up and ran a hand through my rat’s nest hair. Some part of me didn’t want to think that last night actually happened, but the soreness between my legs told me it was absolutely no dream.

“I went into heat last night,” I admitted.

Arlene gaped at me like a fish out of water. “Well, that explains the few unmated males who went a bit stir-crazy last night. Are you okay?”

“Arlene, I don’t really know how I am right now.” I wanted to pull my hair out. “I mated with someone in the woods.”

“No way!” Arlene threw herself next to me and grabbed me by the shoulders. “Who was it?”

“I have no idea! He caught me when I was running and next thing you know, our instincts kicked in and he was mounting me.” I covered my face with my hands. Flashes of the male’s face flickered behind my eyes and my skin heated as I thought about all the ways he had me bent over.

“Wow. Okay. This is crazy. We need to find out who!” Arlene looked far too excited.

“No, I don’t want to know who he is. Maybe it’s better if I leave after the barbecue.”

“River, why?” My cousin pouted, and I felt bad about disappointing her over the prospect of leaving.

“It’s embarrassing! I haven’t gone into heat in a couple of years, Arlene. Had I known it was coming, I wouldn’t have gone out last night. Ever since leaving Ja—”

Arlene held up her hands. “No. No, it’s okay. You don’t have to say his name.” She wrapped her arms around me. “River, I promise you’ll be okay here. Please, don’t leave yet.”

“Can I think about it?” My heart was beating fast, and my mind was whirling too quickly with all my conflicting thoughts.

“Sure, as long as you stay with me through tonight. I’ve really missed you, cuz.” She sighed and pulled back, keeping one hand on my shoulder.

“I’ve missed you too. I’m grateful you guys are letting me stay here.”

“You’d do the same.” Arlene squeezed my arm and stepped back. “Now, go on and take a shower, and I’ll get you some coffee. I’m guessing you didn’t pack any cute dresses, so you’ll borrow one of mine, okay? We’ll get your mind off things tonight.”

Our eyes locked, and the furrow of her brow gave away her uncertainty about leaving me after what I had revealed about last night.

After all, she knew why I was here.