Freda Pov
The heat hit me three days early, and I knew immediately something was very wrong. Heat was supposed to build slowly over a week. You got warning signs like restlessness and warm skin, and heightened emotions. This one slammed into me all at once like I had been hit by lightning.
I was walking back to my room after avoiding Urdon all day when the first wave hit. Pain exploded in my chest, and my skin got so hot I thought I was burning alive. My legs gave out, and I barely made it to the nearest guest room before I collapsed.
"Not now," I gasped and locked the door behind me. "Please not now."
The pain got worse fast. It felt like my bones were breaking and reshaping over and over. Like my body was trying to tear itself apart from the inside. I curled up on the floor and bit my lip hard enough to draw blood.
I should have called for Urdon. That was what mates did during the heat. The Alpha was supposed to help his Luna through it. His presence and his touch made the pain manageable. Made it almost pleasant instead of agonizing.
But I could not face him. Not after he accused me of cheating with Kyran. Not after he told me to go to Kyran if I wanted him so much. The mate bond between us was already damaged, and I did not know if Urdon even cared about helping me anymore.
So I suffered alone on the cold floor while the heat burned through my body.
The pain brought visions with it. Flashes of memories that were not mine. I saw a woman who looked like me running through a dark forest. She was bleeding from deep cuts on her back and arms. Her clothes were torn, and she was crying.
"Please," the woman screamed. "I did nothing wrong. I am innocent."
Behind her, I heard laughter. Male voices that sounded cruel and excited. Rogues appeared from between the trees. Five of them are circling the woman like wolves cornering prey.
"Yolande the betrayer," one of them said. "The Alpha said we could do whatever we wanted with you before you die."
"I did not betray anyone," the woman cried. Yolande cried. "My sister lied. She wanted my mate for herself."
"Your sister is Luna now," another rogue said. "And you are nothing."
They attacked her all at once. Claws ripped into her skin. Teeth tore at her arms and legs. Blood went everywhere, and her screams were so loud they made my ears ring even though this was just a vision.
I watched her die slowly while the rogues stood around laughing. Making jokes about how weak she was. How pathetic. How did she deserve this for trying to steal an Alpha that was never hers?
"No," I screamed, and the vision shifted.
Now I saw Yolande's body being dragged back to the pack grounds. They threw her corpse in front of the Alpha. Blood pooled around her, and her eyes were still open, staring at nothing.
The Luna stepped forward. She looked almost exactly like Yolande. Sisters. But where Yolande's face was twisted in pain, the Luna's face showed only cold satisfaction.
"Justice is done," the Luna said.
Then she spat on Yolande's body. The whole pack followed her lead. One by one, they spat on the corpse of the woman they had once called family.
The vision ended, and I was back in the guest room screaming. My throat was raw, and my whole body shook. I did not know how long I had been trapped in Yolande's memories, but it felt like hours.
Someone pounded on the door hard enough to rattle the frame. "Freda," a voice yelled. It was Kyran. "Open this door right now."
"Go away," I tried to say, but my voice came out as a broken whisper.
The door crashed open. Kyran must have kicked it. He ran in and dropped to his knees next to me.
"You are in heat," he said. "Why are you alone. Where is Urdon?"
"Could not go to him," I managed to say. Another wave of pain hit, and I grabbed Kyran's arm without meaning to. "Hurts so much."
"I know," Kyran said gently. He carefully picked me up and sat against the wall, holding me. "The curse is making your heat worse than it should be. It is attacking the bond between you and Urdon."
"Make it stop," I begged. "Please just make it stop."
"I cannot," Kyran said, and he sounded sad. "Not yet. The ritual is still six days away. I have to wait for the new moon, or it will kill Rex."
The pain got worse. I saw more flashes of Yolande's death. Her claws scrape against the ground, trying to crawl away. Her blood is soaking into the earth. Her last breath whispered words I could not quite hear.
"Tell Urdon," I said and dug my fingers into Kyran's shoulders. "You have to tell him everything about the curse. He needs to understand what is happening to us."
"I cannot tell him yet," Kyran said. "If I tell him now, he will confront Rex. He will demand answers. And Yolande will make Rex kill himself before Urdon can get the truth. I have to wait until I can do the ritual safely."
"Rex is going to die anyway," I said. "We are all going to die if you wait too long."
"I know," Kyran said. "I know the risk. But if I move too soon, Rex dies for certain. At least this way he has a chance."
Another massive wave of pain hit. This one was worse than all the others combined. My wolf side took over, and I lost control completely. My teeth sank into Kyran's shoulder before I even realized what I was doing.
I tasted blood. Felt his muscles tense under my jaw. But he did not pull away or push me off. He just held me tighter and let me bite him until the worst of the pain finally started to fade.
When I came back to myself, I saw what I had done. Blood was running down Kyran's arm from where my teeth had punctured his skin. The bite was deep and shaped incorrectly.
"I am sorry," I said and pulled back. "I did not mean to do that. I lost control."
"It is okay," Kyran said, but his face was very pale. "The curse makes you lose control. It is not your fault."
I looked at the bite mark more carefully. It was not shaped like a normal attack bite. The pattern of the teeth marks was too deliberate. Too perfect. It looked almost like a claiming bite. The kind you gave when you were marking someone as your mate.
"What did I just do?" I whispered.
"We will figure it out," Kyran said, but I could see fear in his eyes. "Just rest now. The worst is over."