I blink my eyes open to a sleeping Ili. We're entwined on the bed reeking of heat and sex. I swallow, my mouth dry, and carefully untangle our limbs without jostling her. I know she's hurting. Virgins are not supposed to have heat-induced sex. All of the elders warn against it for just this reason.

"Sean?" she rasps out, clutching a hand to her sore throat. Her eyelids flutter, bruised and swollen, to reveal her piercing grey gaze. My wolf blinks at her in absolute silence. I think the psycho may even be holding his breath. He's utterly entranced with his mate. It may be the only soft moment he's ever had.

"Shh, babydaisy. Let me run you a bath and then I'll make some breakfast, OK?" I try to hide my worry, my fear. She's bruised up, covered in small marks that I made on her skin last night. I'm scratched to hell too, but damn if those welts don't make me smile.

I fill the tub. I can feel those solemn grey eyes watching me from the bed. I hear her curse softly, then a sharp, "ouch!"

"Hey, don't move, babylove."

"Stop, please, with the petnames, Sean," she breathes out. Her eyes tighten in pain.

"Ili, let's get you into the bath and you'll feel better." I pick her up and carry her to the filling tub and puts her in the fragrant water. I force myself to say the next words, "this was just for your heat, Ili," I say. "I promise that I don't expect your acceptance of our bond just because of last night."

She relaxes, so I don't add the 'yet,' on the tip of my tongue. I let her soak while I scrummage in the kitchen for breakfast. They have a lot of options for a cabin that's rarely used. Still, I would love to be able to offer Ili something fresh. My wolf wants to hunt for her, to bring his female something dripping and healthy to eat.

I didn't bring my drugs to the cabin with me. I never forget to bring them with me, but when Gerald called me I panicked and ran here as fast as I could. My wolf is more alert than I've ever felt him be, but he's not acting like a feral ass as usual. Maybe being alone with Ili is what he really wants and needs.

As if to mock my words, I hear a car approach the cabin.

My hand tightens on the package of bagels. Son of a bitch, who the fuck is here? Part of me is worried about Conner figuring out Gerald invited me out here. I've ignored every phone call and text, but I check again. Nothing from my alphason. Conner cutting off most communication with me is actually working in my favor today.

I open the shutters, hearing Ili sigh with relief as fresh air and sunshine pour into the cabin. Looking out of the window, I see a head of blond hair and feel my heart thud as anger and dread fill me. Not Georgina. Fuck my life, what a disaster! Another blond head emerges and I feel my jaw drop. Georgina brought her mother. She brought Ili's mother. Shit.

"Ili, baby?" I call out. A soft murmur is my only response. "Your mom and sister are here," I sound as pissed and stunned as I feel.

I would be enraged as it is, but what really gets me going is that yesterday, Gerald left so abruptly because Georgina was in a car accident. I got the same text from the perky blonde liar prancing up to the cabin. Yeah, she looks awfully healthy for someone who was supposedly in the clinic for her injuries less than twenty-four hours ago.

"What?!" Ili shrieks in horror.

I glance at the front door. Still locked up tight. Time for me to help Ili get dressed. I wouldn't answer the door at all if her mom weren't here. "Don't move, babydaisy. Let me help you." I run back to her, only to find her standing in the tub, a look of frustrated pain on her face as she gingerly starts to step out. I reach her with one of the fluffy bath towels I brought just as the knocking started on the door.

"How the hell did they know about this?" I angrily mutter.

"They know about my heat, Sean," Ili moves into the towel, weak and trembling. "I'm pretty damn sure that mom doesn't know about..." she waves her hand between us, "this."

"This?" I question. I know she means the supposed "rejection," but what does that have to do with right now?

"You know, the fact that you're the one who just screwed me sideways, literally," she says sourly as she inches along like a crab back towards the bathroom door.

I can feel a smile cross my face at her well-timed joke.

"You can wipe the smug look off your face," she says in a wry tone. "Mom will love it if she sees that just after my heat."

I wink at her when she glares at me. I can't help it. I'm giddy from last night. My wolf keeps flashing fang, strutting back and forth, fluffing his coat like a prima donna. I'm not even sure how to take his behavior, even if mine is an echo of his.

Ili huffs and starts to shuffle faster out of the bathroom. I scoop her into my arms, ignoring her soft sigh of frustration. "I told you I'll help you, babydaisy," I admonish her as I move back toward the bed. Shit, we practically destroyed the bed. There are claw marks in the headboard, where I distinctly remember holding on while pounding-

"Down, boy," Ili snickers. "My mom and your girlfriend are here, remember?"

I frown at her. "She's not my girlfriend, babylove." I snatch the soft silk pants that she is pulling out of the dresser right out of her hands. I kneel and help her step into them before sliding them up to her soft whimper of pain.

"Sensitive?" I ask her softly. I hear the knock on the door, but ignore it.

"Yeah," she says quietly. "I wish those damn drugs worked on me, Sean."

"After you eat something you can take a little and see if it at least helps the sensitivity." A female's skin is hyper-aware of every tiny bit of friction during heat and afterward, her skin will become super delicate, almost like her entire body is bruised. The silk-cloth clothes are lightweight and extremely soft for just that reason. She won't be able to wear anything else, including underwear, for a couple of days. Her state of mind will also be a little off. She'll be extremely tired and her wolf will be prepping for the pup that won't be coming.

"Here," I help her into the shirt. "Shoes?"

"No, thank you," she murmurs. Another knock on the door makes her flinch. "What am I supposed to say to my mom, Sean?" Her worried grey eyes blink up at me.

"You just went through heat, babydaisy. Let me handle our very unwelcome guests."

"It's my problem, Sean. I'll handle it." That stubborn glint is back in her eyes.

I smirk at her. "I'll let you start the explanation, babydaisy," I compromise. I have no intentions of letting Jackie or Georgina upset Leelee any more than their presence here already does.

"Stubborn," she mutters. I nod in agreement before realizing she's talking about me. I carry her to the couch and settle her down with a plate of bagels and muffins and some coffee. "I'll just start the hashbrowns," I say to Leelee as another knock, this one more insistent, sounds at the door. My wolf snarls, bristling at the attempted intrusion into his temporary den.

"Mmm, hashbrowns ?" Leelee says dreamily. "Do we have bacon? Or waffles?"

I push my wolf away as I chuckle. Excitement rips through me. My mate is eating breakfast. Finally. "We have waffles, beautiful babydaisy. No bacon or eggs, though."

She wrinkles her nose at me, "Nice alliteration, now stop it. Give me some waffles with butter and strawberries."

I just shake my head, adding waffles to the toaster and getting out the strawberries. Another knock, this one pounding, rattles the doorframe. I just know that this time it was Georgina who knocked.

"I'll get it," Leelee sighs, ready to heave herself out of her spot.

"No, babydaisy. I'll get it when I am damn good and ready to deal with more bullshit."

She nods, eyeing the door with trepidation mixed with frustration. "Why would my mom think this is a good idea?" she muses outloud.

"They look like they had supplies. Maybe they have bacon and eggs already cooked," I tease her.

Leelee looks at the door with a hard glare. "But did they bring the sausage?" She smiles at her own joke. I choke before I start to laugh. My babydaisy is fresh.

After the waffles are finished and heaped with strawberries and cream, I go to open the door. Ili doesn't seem too concerned about her mother and sister. She's too busy stuffing waffles in her mouth to pay too much attention to the two females at the door. Her eyes are glazed and her movements are sluggish. Her heat is on a down cycle, but judging by the strength of it yesterday she's in for a rough week or two.

When I swing the door open I purposely made myself seem bigger, more powerful, and hungry. "Jackie, Georgina, what brings you here this beautiful morning?" I say it with a harsh, stern voice.

"B-beta?" Jackie gasps in a faint voice, a look of pure shock on her face. I guess Gerald didn't tell his mate who he called to help Ili out.

At the same time, the smug look on Georgina's face drops into a pale glare, two blotches of anger the only color on her cheeks. Did she not realize that Ili's male 'helper' would be me? Did this insane female really believe that I would allow some other male to touch my mate? My pure, virgin mate?

"Yes, Jackie?" I prod her. If I have any luck then these two will just turn around and go home. After handing over the meals in their hands.

"Is... is Ili here?" Jackie's voice is small and uncertain.

"Of course." When she takes a tentative step forward, I step back, allowing her inside the cabin.

My wolf curls his lip. He and I were looking forward to having breakfast with our mate. As far as he is concerned, this is our den, with our vulnerable, hurting mate. Jackie might mean well, but she is intruding. I hold out my hand, stopping Georgina from entering the cabin at all. "You don't come inside," I growl at her. My wolf and I ignore her small gasp of hurt, all of our attention focused on the older she-wolf moving towards our mate.

"Hi, mom," Ili says between bites. She doesn't greet Georgina at all.

I walk over to the couch and pull over a small table so Jackie can put the meal on it. When I sit next to her, Ili shoots me a glare, which I ignore completely. I can smell the faint scent of her desire under the smell of breakfast. I pretend to inhale over the food, but really I'm taking in the heady scent of Ili.

"So-" Jackie sets out a couple of covered dishes.

"Did you make eggs benedict?" Ili interrupts her as Jackie opens the first dish. A soft growl meets my ears when I grab the ladle. Chuckling, I heap one on Ili's plate.

"Hungry?" I tease her as she smiles at me sheepishly.

"How are you feeling this morning, Ili?" Jackie interjects, wringing her hands helplessly.

"Fine," Ili keeps her answer short as she stuffs the eggs benedict into her mouth.

I take my own bite, watching Jackie look bewildered. Georgina, I see, is pacing behind us just outside the door, her eyes going toward the wrecked bed in the alcove over and over. What the hell did these two females think when they drove up here?

"Why are you here, Sean?" Georgina blurts out suddenly.

Jackie is still, staring at us. What she must be thinking, with her older daughter's former lover here with her middle child? There is no hiding what Ili and I have been up to. It must be disturbing to know that one male has had sex with two of your daughters.

If what-ifs and wishes were dollars, I'd be filthy rich.

"He's helping me through my heat, Georgie," Ili's sarcastic answer has her sister bristling. Ili watches her sister with cool amusement. Georgina is posturing aggression and I tense, ready to intercede if she tries to come inside.

"He's my boyfriend, you bitch!"

I stand abruptly as rage washes over me, turning my vision red. My wolf snarls and growls insanely. He wants a throat between his teeth and blood trickling down his gullet. He imagines the slowing of his prey's heart, then locking up his mate, deep inside the den, safe and protected.

Leelee shrieks, wobbling at the abrupt motion. "Shit! Babydaisy, you OK?" I ask her, scooping her into my arms. "Did I hurt you?" I look her over frantically.

"How can you do this to me, Sean? With my sister?" Georgina snarls.

I glare at her in stunned amazement. She is literally out of her mind.

"Shut up, Georgie," Ili snaps from my arms. "He's not your mate." Her heat is rising again, the last little oomph. She shifts in my arms, her thighs rubbing together. She turns her face into my chest with a tiny whimper, hiding in her vulnerability. I hear her gag and pray she can hold down everything she just ate. She desperately needs those calories. I should text mom to bring some protein shakes, maybe they would settle her stomach more.

"You two need to leave. Now," I order.

Jackie has to practically drag Georgina away while my former lover glares at me balefully. I shut the door behind them without another thought, Ili still cradled in my arms. "It hurts so fucking much," she sobs, breaking from the pressure of her heat. I think her mom and sister showing up was the final straw. Turning her head, she vomits up all of the food she just ate.

"Shh, babylove." I take her back to the couch and give her a bucket again so I can whisk away all of the food and air out the space. When she finally seems like she's done, I gently pick her up and take her to the bathroom.

Mechanically, Ili cleans herself up while I hover, useless. It's almost routine and with a jolt of pure shock, I realize that it may be normal for her. My fists clench at my sides. My wolf claws at my insides, my organs bleeding from his frustrated rage. I breathe out slowly and meet wary grey eyes in the mirror.

My smile looks more like a pained, angry grimace. "I'm going to clean up." I straighten the bedding. My claws rip through one of the pillows by accident, but I just flip it over. Ili comes over in that slow, scuttling walk.

"I would have brought you back," I growl. My voice is muffled from my canines filling my mouth.

"I can do it," she snaps back at me.

I wait for my wolf's anger to explode. I try to contain him, the effort making me dizzy. He snaps and snarls, but Ili's scent surrounding us makes him calm enough to finish the task.

Ili crawls into the bed and lays down. "My heat isn't as bad now," she murmurs.

"Good," I rasp out. I manage to stalk away to clean up the couch. By the time I'm done, Ili is sleeping.

I crouch down in the corner of the room, just staring at her beautiful face like a creep.

---

My heart is in my throat when I smell it. Sex. Heat. Fucking. My Ili with another male. My wolf howls, insane, in my head, drowning out the warning shouts from Orion behind me. I reach the small cabin, tucked deep into the ClearHowl forest. The scents of other males litter the clearing around the cabin. They are all gone. A good thing for them. My wolf and I would eat them.

I can barely pull in enough oxygen to think clearly. I poured on the speed over the last ten miles. Orion wasn't able to keep up. He's yards away, his wolf's paws churning up the dirt. My heart is racing. I feel like I'm swallowing down my own blood with each erratic beat.

We don't like smelling males around our female. We especially hate the stench of another male inside our Ili. We will rip this cabin apart to get to her.

The solid door is reinforced steel. There are claw marks around the jamb and the lock. It's painted a pretty dark purple color. Did my Ili pick this cabin because of the color? It collapses inward, yielding without a struggle. I have only one spare second to wonder at the ease of it when I'm met with claws and teeth.

My momentum carries me past the other male, flipping around so that I am closer to the female sitting up in the bed without any effort at all. The male locks his jaw around my left hind leg and drags me mercilessly to the ground. I snap at his muzzle, twisting my form around. We meet in midair with murderous intentions leaching from us both.

Orion is through the door and on top of the other male, distracting him with the uneven fight. My ears flicker and everything shuts off except the sound of snarls. Harsh breathing. A female's scared cries. The engines approaching. Voices shouting.

I sink my teeth into my female's pretty shoulder.

Everything fades but her. She smells wrong, but her blood is sweeter than anything my wolf and I could have ever imagined. Moaning, we sink into her, grabbing every bit of her that we can. Her purity, still so beautiful, her gentle soul, an artist's soul. Her fight and her love and her hate; we greedily suck it all down. It falls onto our soul, washing it clean, drowning our pain and fear. She buries our weak heart, still racing too fast, under a layer of silkened, dark silt.

We release her and collapse, face-first, into bedding that reeks of the other male. Everything has gone dark. My heart and chest are fiery with pain. I entwine my fingers with hers. It's the last bit of energy I have.