Avery's POV

I'd felt all of it. Every waking second of excruciating pain feeling like every nerve was being pulled apart strand by strand.

I felt River pushing against my boundaries, in an effort to ease the pain, but even when she offered me enough strength to feel numb for at least one second, a new wave of pain pulsed through me, drowning me in a deep Black Sea of pain, and even worse: bloodlust. And I hated myself for it. I remembered everything that happened in my short stint of the battle. The death. Bathing in the blood. And Matthew... The scene just kept playing in my mind over and over again. His pleas for me to stop were no match for the strength of the blood. The feelings were both fighting for dominance: the pain of the dagger and the pain from the memory.

I think the latter hurt more.

The worst part was that I didn't even know if he were okay. And it had been torture for me to not know over the three and half days that I'd been out.

Suddenly, I felt the pain disappear within a breath. I shot straight up with a gasp, my eyes desperately trying to take in my surroundings as confusion over took me. I realized that I was in Greyson and I'd room. "You woke up fast," Atonya said from across from me. "Record time."

"What happened?" I tiredly asked as I ran my hand over my chest where the dagger had been. Smooth with no trace of trauma or disturbance. If I was awake then that means-

"We won," she said with a small grin. "Phoenix's pack is no more."

My jaw literally dropped. "What? All of them?"

"Those who fought, yes. Those who surrendered and those who are still in his pack are being looked after by your pack."

"And Phoenix?"

"Alive. Greyson kept his promise."

At the mention of Greyson I looked around. "Where is he?"

Atonya let out a chuckle as she shook her head. "Greyson, always had a flare for the dramatics, that one."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"In order for Greyson to put Phoenix down, he had to let Phoenix put him down. So, long story short, he broke Phoenix's neck, Phoenix ripped out his heart, and Greyson's body was found at the bottom of the cliff." A shudder moved down her spine. "It was a traumatic sight. The way his body just-ugh." She shook her head. "I wish I could unsee it."

My jaw clenched. "I'm gonna kill Phoenix."

"Not right now you're not," Atonya said as she cautiously stopped my efforts to advance.

"You need something to tide you over. I know your hungry and I know you've been...tempted. We need to fix that before you accidentally kill somebody."

At her words, Matthew popped into my head. "Oh my Goddess, Matthew! Where is he? How is he? I-Is he okay?"

"Don't worry, Avery. Greyson saved him."

"I need to see him. I need to apologize. And oh my gosh, what about Natalie? I need to-"

"What you need to do is relax. At least until Greyson wakes up then he can show you how to control yourself. That is, if the Heat spell doesn't wear off first. Then we'll have to wait even longer until after you...you know."

I blushed as I broke eye contact. "How much time do we have until the spell breaks?"

"At best, a day or two. At worst, an hour or two. Based how your lycan is fighting inside of you, I would say an hour is gracious."

At the mention of her, River restlessly stirred within me. Her want for blood and Greyson tearing me in half. "How much longer until Greyson is awake?"

"I'd give him a few more minutes and he should come around," a deep familiar voice said from behind me. I turned around and nearly screamed at the sight of my mate slightly battered but still as perfect as ever. His chest was bare, revealing the still healing scar on his chest from Phoenix ripping out his heart, and he was wearing a pair of sweatpants that were hanging dangerously long on his hips. There was nothing more that I wanted than to let him have his way with me in that moment.

I wasted no time running to him and wrapping my arms around him. His strong arms secured around my body as he buried my head in my neck and held me tight. "I missed you," he softly said. "I'm so so sorry I did this to you."

"Don't be," was all I could say. "Thank you for protecting the pack from me. I'm the one who should be sorry."

He pulled away and looked me in the eyes. "You didn't do anything, okay?" He pressed his lips to mine, soft and intimate. River fought for control but I held her down, much to her dismay but she lessened her push. I held him close before he pulled away and rested his forehead on mine. "Do you feel that?" He said, his voice tight with restraint. "The push, do you feel it?"

"Yeah," I breathlessly said. "I feel it all the time. It's torture but...I want it."

Greyson swallowed. "I do too...all the time."

It felt weird yet comforting talking about our sexual desires with one another. Yeah it was upfront and intense but it made me feel less weird. Less alone.

"I love you," he softly said. "Just wanted to let you know."

I smiled as I pressed my lips to his as a low weight started filling my lower stomach once more. I had at most an hour before I succumbed to River's wants. "I love you too," I whispered, meaning every syllable of it.

Greyson smiled. "Say it again."

My smile grew. "I love you too."

He held me tighter. "I know." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, this is all cute and everything, but Avery needs some help before she goes off the rails," Atonya bluntly interjected, causing me to blush a bit. I'd forgotten she was there.

"Thank you Atonya," Greyson said. "I'll catch up with you in the morning." Atonya nodded before she walked out without another word. "As Atonya so adequately put it, we don't have a lot of time. We can make some dinner and I'll start teaching you the basics of...all of this." He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear with a chuckle. "But first I need to make sure you're okay. Both of you. How is she?"

"River?" I asked. He nodded.

"She's..." River was pushing for him, but not just River. Gavin too. She knew what she wanted and I knew what I wanted. Only she was more bold about it. "She wants to meet him." Greyson's eyebrows furrowed. "Gavin," I clarified. "River wants to meet him and so do I."

Greyson shook his head. "I don't know if it's safe, Avery."

"We have nothing to be afraid of. Gavin only wanted his equal. He has her now. There's nothing to be afraid of. Please."

Greyson looked at me for a moment, conflict brewing in his eyes before he sighed. "Okay." He took a deep breath before he closed his eyes, channeling Gavin. His body tensed and his muscles popped and flexed as Gavin's power flowed through him before his eyes popped open.

"Gavin?" I softly asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Avery," he said, his voice low and vibrant. I found myself cupping his face as I looked at him. The coldness was gone from his eyes and his hard exterior had fallen away. There was no trace of the blood thirsty beast that once was.

"Show me your eyes. Your real ones."

He nodded before his good irises were revealed that matched mine. "They're beautiful," I breathed.

"I am sorry," he said before he bowed his head to me. "Equal."

"Equal," I whispered as he straightened up.

"River," he asked, calling her to stir within me. I closed my eyes and slowly lowered my barriers, reminding her not to act on her desires. At least not yet.

I felt her power course through me as she took over. "Gavin?" She asked, raw emotion and joy in her voice.

He smiled as he embraced her, tight, possessive, and intimate before he kissed her. It was intimate yet hot.

And at that moment, I knew that our dinner plans were out the window. But I couldn't complain. Gavin pinned River against the wall, pressing his body against hers. She smiled against his lips as she playfully bit his bottom lip and firmly placed her hands on his rear. He let out a growl of arousal. He liked it when she was dominant just like how Greyson liked it when I was.

I felt Greyson tugging at me through the link, asking me to take control as Gavin started feeling River up under my shirt. I felt the Heat egging on, it's intensity quickly becoming greater and greater every passing millisecond.

If this was going to happen, it was happening my way.

I regained control the same time Greyson did. I saw my reflection in his black and gold eyes. My eyes matched his. I looked at him, breathless from the intensity River and Gavin has been going at it with. He wasn't any better. "Do you want to do this, little wolf?" Greyson lowly asked, the huskiness in his voice making my core quiver and ache for his touch.

"Yes Greyson," I whispered. "I'm yours."

He smiled before his lips were on mine once again. I felt an intense hunger over take me and within a moment's breath, I had Greyson pinned against the wall, his arms pinned above his head. He let out a growl of arousal and I had to stop myself from taking him then and there. I wanted everything to be slow and perfect. I slowly trailed my hands down his toned body, my lips never leaving his as I effortlessly untied his sweatpants and let them fall to the ground. Greyson momentarily broke the kiss to pull his shirt that I was wearing over my head before he picked me up and threw me onto the bed. His lips instantly found my mark, causing me to gasp as there was a spasm between my legs as he kissed and licked it. It was pure heaven.

"I love you," he said, his hot breath lapping at my neck, making me weak. "I want to make sure you're ready." He straightened out so we were eye to eye and cupped my cheek. "Are you sure you're ready?"

I nodded. "I want you to take me," I lowly whispered. "I want you to show me how much you love me. I want to feel you. Take me." A shadow casted over his eyes and within moments we were both bare beneath one another, the moonlight casting a blanket of light over us.

We started off slowly with soft touches and sweet words, but we quickly threw self-consciousness out the window as our animalistic nature took over. Greyson was gentle and patient with me through the tears of pain all the way up through the screams of pleasure as our names spilled from one another's lips. It felt good to make him lose control. Make him beg for more and watch his eyes roll back with pleasure. But what we did wasn't out of lust. It was love in its most intimate form. Every touch, every kiss, every thrust of passion had a motive behind it. Even the way Greyson gently ran his fingers through my hair as I laid breathlessly on his chest had a motive behind it.

River and I were on cloud nine and my body was slightly shaking due to the intensity and passion. But I wouldn't have traded it for the world. "Is that what you want to do all the time?" I softly asked Greyson into the night.

"Nonstop," he admitted.

"I can see why," I said with a chuckle. "I wouldn't oppose if we did it more often."

He smiled before he craned his neck down and kissed me once more, his tongue that had explored every inch of my body was back where it belonged: battling mine. I found myself kissing down his jawline until I landed on his mark, causing him to suck in a sharp breath. Through everything I'd done to him that night, I'd found that the way I kissed his mark was his favorite. "You better stop little wolf before you can't walk tomorrow," he lowly warned, his chest vibrating beneath me.

"I'm stronger than you think, Grey," I teased, placing another kiss on his neck just to prove my point.

"Ready for round two already?" Greyson semi-teasingly asked as his grip on me tightened. "Are you sure you wanna go there?"

"I'm stronger than you think."