ASH'S POV
Ash woke to the scent of honey and lightning.
His eyes snapped open and his wolf went absolutely feral. Not hunting feral. Claiming feral. The mate bond was screaming through his entire body like his blood was on fire. His skin felt too tight. His heart was racing. Every nerve ending was screaming one word over and over.
Zara. Zara. ZARA.
He was out of bed and across the hall before his human mind caught up. He did not knock. Just kicked in her door hard enough to tear it off the hinges.
She was on the floor curled in on herself, shaking so hard he could hear her teeth chattering. Her skin was flushed red and slick with sweat. The scent coming off her was intoxicating. It made his wolf want to lose all control and claim her right there on the ground.
When he approached, she snarled at him.
Actually snarled. Her eyes flashed and she tried to bite his hand when he reached for her. Good girl. His wolf loved the fire. Loved that even burning up with heat, she was still ready to fight.
Ash did not force submission. He just wrapped her in a blanket despite her flailing and lifted her against his chest. She was so small. So fragile. But she fought him like she weighed the same as he did.
He carried her to his room and locked the door. Not to keep her trapped but to keep every other male in the packhouse away from her scent.
He placed her on his bed and forced himself to move to the far corner of the room.
Sitting down was torture. Every muscle in his body was screaming to claim her. His wolf was clawing at his skin demanding he go to her. Demanding he do what the bond was designed for. What every instinct was programmed to want.
He stayed in the corner.
Zara was curling in on herself, her body wracked with the waves of heat that were hitting her in increasing intensity. She looked at him across the room with eyes that were confused and terrified and desperate all at once.
Why are you not taking what you want, she gasped between tremors.
Because you have not given it to me yet, Ash said quietly. And I can wait.
His voice came out rough. Barely controlled. It took everything he had to stay in that corner instead of crossing the room and claiming what the bond was screaming belonged to him.
She shook her head like she did not understand. Like she expected him to be like every other Alpha. Like kindness was impossible and restraint did not exist. The heat was stripping away her rational mind but her fear was still there. Still fighting alongside the need.
Ash grabbed a cloth and soaked it in cold water from the pitcher by his bed. He stayed as far away as possible when he placed it on her burning forehead. She flinched but did not pull away. Just lay there shaking and suffering and looking at him like he was a miracle and a curse all at once.
The night was endless.
Hours passed while her heat intensified. Waves of need would crash over her and she would writhe on his bed, her body calling for his. The scent of her arousal filled the room until Ash could barely think straight. His wolf was losing its mind. Every second was torture. Every breath felt like drowning.
He wanted her so badly his vision had gone completely gold.
But he stayed in the corner.
He talked to her instead. Told her about growing up in his birth pack before the hunters came. About his sister who loved to run under the full moon. About the ten years he spent as a rogue learning to survive without needing anyone. His voice was low and steady and the only thing keeping his wolf from taking over.
She stopped fighting eventually. Stopped trying to attack him and just lay there burning with the heat that was consuming her. When he talked, she listened. Her terrified eyes would track him across the room. Her breathing would calm slightly at the sound of his voice.
As dawn approached, the waves of heat became more intense.
Zara started begging.
Leave, she gasped. Please, Ash. Leave before I do something we will both regret. I cannot control my wolf. I cannot control what my body wants. If you stay I will not be able to stop myself from taking what you are offering.
Her voice was breaking. Her entire body was shaking with desperation and shame at what she could not control.
Ash stayed where he was even though it was killing him.
I am not going anywhere, he said quietly.
No. You do not understand. Her eyes went wild as another wave hit her. If you stay I will claim you. My wolf will claim you. And you will be stuck with a broken Omega who was too weak to fight it. You will resent me.
His chest ached at the fear in her voice. At the way she thought allowing herself to be claimed would make her worthless.
Then claim me, he said.
She looked at him like he had gone insane. Her entire body was trembling with need and fear and the biological compulsion that heat created. The bond between them was pulling so hard it was almost visible, a golden thread connecting their chests.
My wolf wants to claim you, he continued quietly. Has wanted to since the moment I caught your scent. I am waiting for your wolf to be ready. I am waiting for your human mind to understand that my choosing you is not weakness. That accepting the bond is not surrender.
Another wave of heat crashed over her and she cried out, her body arching off the bed.
But I am afraid, she whispered and the words sounded like they were being torn from somewhere deep inside her.
I know, he said. I am afraid too.
And Ash realized with absolute clarity that he was telling the truth.