Page 69 of Ensnared by the Pack: The Complete Series (Destined Realms #3)

CYRUS

My wolf heaved against my control and I fought to hold him back as I marched after Knox and Bishop.

What the fuck was wrong with me? I’d had Audrey in my arms and all I could think about was kissing her. She was hurt and scared, the spell she’d put her faith in had failed — and it looked like it had been painful — and I was thinking about what her lips would feel like and taste like.

I’d been trying to do the right thing and convince her to accept Knox as her mate, and then she’d tripped and I’d lost my fucking mind.

Of course, it wasn’t really Audrey who needed to accept the mating bond, but she was the one who was going to get hurt the most. She needed to be prepared and understand that it wasn’t the end of her world. Because the thought of her continuing to suffer made my wolf howl and threaten to take over.

I didn’t want Knox to suffer, either, but no one, not even Bishop, was going to be able to convince him to accept his fate.

Unfortunately, the stubborn asshole’s inner battle was tearing a rift between him and his animal half, and I feared when I released the collar containing his wolf, the beast would take over and we’d lose him again. This time permanently.

It had taken everything I had to keep the collar intact when the spell had failed and the pressure of being inside the temple had become too much for my brother.

Next time, I might not get so lucky.

And without a doubt, there’d be a next time before we decided it was safe to let his wolf loose.

Which was why I’d sent Bishop to walk with him. Bishop could help calm him down as well as add another layer of compulsion to the collar which would hopefully keep Knox contained until we got back to Stonehaven and attempted Bishop’s next-to-impossible plan B.

But that had left me with shivering, too-pale, wide-eyed Audrey and the need to say something.

I wasn’t good at placating or telling sweet lies to make someone feel better. That was Bishop’s job. I was the practical brother. I saw problems and addressed them, and Audrey refusing to accept the inevitable was a problem that could shatter her burgeoning confidence.

If she embraced it, she could plan for it. The emotional blow wouldn’t be so hard, and she wouldn’t have to figure out her next steps while caught in an emotional whirlwind. Steps like where she lived and what she wanted to do with her life.

Just because she and Knox were mated didn’t mean they had to live together, at least not until they grew more comfortable in the bond and it compelled them closer.

But I had a feeling she wouldn’t think of that. Certainly not while she believed her life had been permanently turned upside down. I could even see her thinking that she belonged to Knox since power and strength had played a strong role in her old life. I’d gotten the impression that for her, the powerful owned the weak, and the weak had no say.

And then she’d tripped and every protective instinct I’d had surged along with my wolf’s determination that she was mine.

For fuck’s sake. I couldn’t be her mate. No matter what my wolf wanted.

She couldn’t ever be mine. I had responsibilities to my pack and they wouldn’t see Audrey the way I did, wouldn’t see the determined, resilient beautiful woman I’d caught glimpses of on our journey here. They’d constantly question and challenge her, and she’d retreat back into her shell.

No. I wouldn’t do that to her.

If she could accept the idea of multiple mates, Bishop would love and support her in ways neither Knox nor I could. Knowing he cared for her and was more than capable of protecting her would have to be enough.

I swallowed back a growl and rolled my shoulders, trying to loosen the tension in my body. I needed my wolf to calm the fuck down. He’d been going insane since the spell had ripped through her body, her expression locked in agony, and he hadn’t been able to do anything.

Nothing was going to happen with Audrey. Not now. Not ever.

Audrey gasped my name, her voice barely audible and strained, and the sound jerked me from my whirling thoughts.

I wrenched around to look at her and my pulse froze.

She was farther back than I expected, on her knees, and leaning against a rocky outcropping as if it were the only thing keeping her from completely collapsing to the ground. Her eyes were closed and even from this distance, I could see her breathing was short and shallow.

Shit. I should have paid closer attention to her.

I knew the spell had affected her. She hadn’t been able to stop shaking since we’d left the temple, and her complexion had been pale and hadn’t warmed up from the exertion of walking.

I rushed back to her and before I could even reach her, I was hit with the scent of her arousal.

Oh, fuck.

I was instantly hard, my balls aching and my wolf straining to break free. She was mine and she needed me.

My fear for her surged and I shoved it, along with the overwhelming desire to fuck her senseless, as far back as I could.

This couldn’t be happening. Not in the middle of nowhere.

“Audrey,” I murmured, kneeling in front of her and cupping her cheeks between my palms, urging her to look at me.

Her scent wrapped around me, sweet and heavy, and my wolf heaved, straining to take control. Sweat slicked her too-hot skin, pasting loose strands of hair to her forehead and cheeks, and she shook as if she were freezing. Her eyelids fluttered, cracking partially open, and I could see her pupils were fully blown and she couldn’t focus on me. She probably couldn’t focus on anything.

All of that were signs of a strong heat fever.

Damn it. I should have refused to try the spell and kept her in Stonehaven, should have insisted she spend her heat with Wilder at the heat clinic. He would have been able to manage her heat and not let it get so bad that she succumbed to the fever.

The urge to claim her, relieve the pressure that I’d been told was tearing her up inside, squeezed my chest. It didn’t matter to my wolf that we didn’t have shelter or any other comfort — like a bed — his instincts said she was ours and she needed us. Now.

Bishop. Knox. Get back here, I mentally called to them as a snap of power escaped my control and rushed through our connection.

What happened? Bishop asked, his mental voice sharp with worry, knowing if my control on my power was slipping that it was serious.

Her heat. I dropped both packs and gathered her into my arms, heat radiating from her body and her scent suffocatingly strong. She’s got heat fever.

You said her heat was done, Knox snarled as he bolted toward me with Bishop close behind.

She said it was over, Bishop insisted.

But she’s never had a heat before. Realization hit me. If she’d never had a heat before and heats weren’t as strong in her realm, then she didn’t know that they ebbed and flowed. Sex helped to relieve the pressure, sometimes for a few hours, sometimes for a few days. Of course, her heat had been going since we’d left town ten days ago, so it would have made sense for her to assume no symptoms meant it was over.

Shit, Bishop hissed as if he, too, had figured out what had happened.

I turned and raced south, passing my brothers, knowing they’d grab the packs and catch up.

Heat fever was serious and only the strongest female shifters experienced it if they didn’t properly take care of their heat.

I didn’t know if this meant Audrey was actually strong and her powers were imprisoned by the curse or if this was a result of our realm changing her body. It could also be the lure of the mating bond or the spell we’d just tried setting it off.

Hell, it could have been none of the above or any combination thereof.

What I did know was that I had to get her safe and comfortable because a heat fever could last a few days and be rigorous even with two or three partners.

And given that she couldn’t have sex with Knox and hadn’t given me permission to help, it was going to be up to Bishop to see her through this.

How could you let this happen, Bishop? Knox demanded. You walked with her all morning. Even if you wanted to get the spell done, you didn’t say anything after.

I didn’t know, my brother replied as he and Knox caught up to me with our packs, and I picked up the pace.

“She was shaking,” I told them, “but I didn’t think it was a fever. I thought it was a reaction to the spell.”

“There’s no point in laying blame—” Bishoped started but Knox cut him off.

“ Yes, there is. If you’d been paying attention, we wouldn’t have left Kelna and she wouldn’t be faced with suffering in the middle of nowhere.”

He shoved Bishop into a boulder, drawing a grunt of pain, and bared his thankfully still-human teeth.

“ Control yourself.” I released a sharp snap of power, making Knox huff and Audrey whimper. “You can’t afford to break the collar. Not while she’s got the fever. You could barely control your wolf when she just had regular symptoms.”

“Fuck,” he hissed.

I glanced at him, trying to determine if he was angry that he had to stay in control or not. “If you want to try Bishop’s plan B then you need to keep your cock to yourself.”

Audrey moaned, her fingers clenching my shirt, and she buried her nose in my shoulder, instinctually seeking my scent.

Knox roared and rammed his fist into the rock beside him, making Audrey whimper again and curl in on herself.

“We might not be able to get the fever under control at our camp in the abandoned village,” Bishop said.

“We need to get to Kelna,” I replied. The village that had graciously given us a cabin the other night was the best place for her. We’d have privacy and access to food, water, and shelter. We wouldn’t have any of that at the abandoned village where we’d camped last night and there would be limited ways to bring her fever down at the camp as well.

The question was if Audrey would last the day it would take to run to Kelna.