Aidan.
I had finally retired to my chamber to rest, even though the word rest felt like a joke right now. My meal still hadn't been delivered, but food was the last thing on my mind.
Hunger didn't claw at me, heat did.
A slow-burning fire simmered under my skin, slithering into my bones, coiling low in my stomach. It was that time again.
That cursed, blessed, maddening time of the year.
The Alpha's heat—raw, primal, merciless.
"Shittt," I hissed, dragging a rough palm over my face.
My wolf purred in my mind, stretching like a beast freshly woken, ready to prowl.
I couldn't go to Vanessa, not yet. I hadn't chosen a maiden for tonight. Hadn't even sent for one.
My brothers, those overconfident idiots, had likely already prepared.
They always did.
But I… I'd lost track of everything tonight.
The heat rolled through me again, hotter this time, sharp and demanding.
Breathe. Focus.
