Uncontrollable Heat

OLIVIA

“Liv!”

Crap.

She put on her best smile as she waved to her friend, trying to hide the twitching of her lips.

She didn’t even make it five seconds without getting spotted. How was she going to get that info from the computer if she couldn’t even walk in undetected? “Hey.”

“Are you okay? Katie told me you ran out pretty fast last night and then you didn’t answer your phone. We were pretty worried about you.”

She nodded. “I—I think…it’s ahm, the flu? Honestly, I shouldn’t even be here. I—I left so fast I forgot my wallet.”

Andie quirked an eyebrow. “The flu?”

“Chills, fever…” This was the best she could do? It was embarrassing. Then again, it wasn’t a complete lie. She felt turned upside down.

Even if she came to work, there was no way she could focus. At least not until she learned more, until she could make sure she was safe.

Plus, it wasn’t the biggest lie, most of the symptoms of the flu she did feel during her heat. Though it had ~never~ been as intense as last night.

“You do look a little pale…”

“I’m sorry,” she said as she turned around, trying to avoid Andie’s glance. She’d make it up to her, take extra shifts…none of it mattered now.

She wanted to get to the computer, find out what she could about that mystery man, and leave before she had to lie to anyone else.

Even though she had to lie about a part of her life, she’d never grown comfortable with lying.

She was a horrible liar before becoming a werewolf, and she remained that way. After the initial transformation, she remained holed up, all alone for quite a bit of time.

Will was her only contact for a long time.

There was no need to lie to him; she could entirely be herself when she was around him. It took her a long time to learn how to be a fake human, acting every day, playing a part so she could remain in the human world.

She shook her head; that wasn’t important. She swerved through the crowd of rushing people and managed to reach one of the equipment storage rooms.

There was one computer—albeit an old one—and she could use it to access the information. It’d be slow and minimal, but it would work.

Plus, no one would think of checking this one and she might raise fewer eyebrows this way.

The fact that an alpha had been there…it was careless, to begin with…

Who knew what else he might have done and how it might be tied to her? No, she couldn’t afford to take any extra risks.

She took the keys from her ID card, unlocked the door, and quietly closed it behind her. If anyone saw her here, outside of her scrubs, she could get in trouble. Was it worth risking her job?

They might think she was a junkie trying to snatch pills. She bounced on the tips of her toes, staring at the computer.

What was worse? Junkie or werewolf? Maybe it was her paranoia, maybe it was all in her head, right?

She rolled her lips together, turning them white from the pressure, and she sighed before sitting down on the chair.

She already made the mistake of coming all the way here. What was one more thing at this point?

Olivia swiped through, and then her fingers hovered over the keyboard. What room had it been? She tried to close her eyes, remember the details, but all she could think about was him.

His scent, his hands...the way his eyes had pierced through her soul.

Why couldn’t she get him out of her head? She had sex with Will, and she’d never felt like that the next day, and she definitely didn’t feel that way now.

She wasn’t jealous that he had a girlfriend; she was his friend.

So how come this stranger was occupying her every stray thought?

103.

That was the room.

She typed it, scrolling through the long list until she found the time and date she was looking for.

She groaned. Of course. No name provided. There was nothing.

He hadn’t given insurance paper, he hadn’t given an address...nothing. Patient left. A classic John Doe.

He hadn’t paid for the care, he hadn’t stayed long enough to see a doctor.

That could only mean one thing; he left the second she ran away. Then again, could she blame him? The last thing she’d want as a werewolf is someone prodding around, or finding out too much about her.

Not only that, but he probably had a pack to protect—or destroy—but that was another subject matter.

He wasn’t as careless as she thought.

Now that it left her with no lead, she didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

Olivia leaned back into the chair, running her fingers through her bangs. She came all the way here, risked her job—for this?

She pinched her lips together as she rubbed the back of her neck. Fuck. She was a damn idiot. She should have listened to Will and stayed away.

What the fuck did you expect, Olivia? His whole private life served on a platter?

The thought of a pack, an alpha; it was scary and overwhelming.

Her pulse quickened, throbbing in her throat, as she hurried to close the page and stand to her feet. She had to get out of here before her luck ran out.

Olivia pressed her ear to the door, listening for any oncoming traffic.

When she decided it was quiet enough, she hurried to slip out. She locked the door back behind her and began to speed walk out of the hospital.

She bumped a few shoulders on the way, but she never turned around.

She didn’t want to see anyone—she couldn’t. Guilt swirled through her, but she knew it was for the best.

She wasn’t in any state to face anyone or answer any questions. She had to go back home, get her shit together, and clear her mind from all of this.

It was a one-time thing.

She was never going to see him again.

She was going to move on with her life and never think about this again.

Cold air wrapped around her face as she pushed the doors open and she inhaled deeply, the feeling of suffocation that had been growing in her chest finally dissipating.

She wrapped her arms around her body, huddling for warmth as she headed back toward the street. It was over now. Finally over. The alpha was gone—for good. She wouldn’t see him again.

Her eyes were on the ground, barely aware of the cars trying to pull out of the parking lots and the people walking toward the emergency room.

“Alexander.”

At the sound of that voice, she froze.

Her brown eyes were locked on her shoes, her heartbeat echoing in her head. She had barely heard that voice, but she recognized it. Her whole body recognized it.

A shiver ran through her spine, her bottom lip quivering as she became deaf to the sounds surrounding her.

She couldn’t move—she forgot how to breathe. The grip she had on her arms loosened, and they fell by her sides.

Her eyes darted left to right as she tried to will her body to glance up. She took a few quick breaths, vaguely aware of the sweat building up on her palms and the tingly feelings pulsing in her fingers and toes.

Then she did it; she looked up.

It was him; it was unmistakable.

He stood tall, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

His position strained the fabric of his long-sleeved shirt across his broad figure, the blue fabric molding the stupidly insane amount of muscles he had underneath.

She remembered what they felt like—but it wasn’t the time for that.

He was here. The room had been dark and his face was the last thing she remembered but now in the sunlight, she could see his features much clearer.

His brown hair was tousled by the wind, his blue eyes shining while a smirk adorned his face. He was leaning against a car, one leg in front of the other as he forced her to meet his gaze.

The wide grin displayed across his features led her to guess he found this a lot more amusing than she did.

~He thought this was funny?

It was one thing to trap her in a dark room during her heat, it was another to stalk her in broad daylight with no excuse.

“W-what?”

“Alexander. That’s my name,” he replied as he peeled himself away from his vehicle.

“I assume that’s why you’re here.” He took a step forward, his feet thumping on the ground one at a time. He looked like a predator tracking a prey, waiting for it to dash away at the first sound of a crackling branch.

There was only one reason he’d be at the hospital at the ~same~ time as her. Somehow she didn’t think he waited here all day. “You were at my apartment,” she accused, pointing a finger at him.

It hadn’t been in her head; she had been right.

He quirked an eyebrow, his head flinching back as if her tone didn’t sit right with him. “You left quite a trail. I thought it was an invitation.”

Olivia scoffed. “An invitation? Are you kidding me? Why would I invite a crazy creeper to stalk me?” she spat out.

“Then why did you make it so easy to follow you?”

She tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips. “What are you talking about? What trail? Why would I ever want you to find me?”

His tongue pressed the back of his teeth before he brought a hand to his mouth, covering the smile trying to form.

Though he seemed to find her answer amusing, she easily spotted the tension in his jaw, as if he was clenching it. She couldn’t figure him out.

“Get in the car.”

She blinked a few times, as though she was processing his request. She brought a hand to her chest, an incredulous stare shining in her eyes. “Excuse me?”

“I said get in the car.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you. I’m sure as hell not getting in your car.” Her voice trembled more than she probably intended, but he ignored it. “Now leave me alone.”

She turned around, ready to put distance between them when a strong grip stopped her.

She glanced down as his fingers wrapped around her wrist. He wasn’t squeezing hard enough to leave a mark, but there was enough strength in the gesture to keep her locked in place.

The hair on the nape of her neck rose and her shoulders tightened. “Let me go,” she whispered.

“I wanna talk, that’s all.”

His voice was different now.

He’d been so demanding, so pushy—the perfect alpha image that Will had painted. This time, he’d sounded…softer? Like there was an ache in his chest but it didn’t make sense. Plus, it didn’t matter what he wanted.

They didn’t want the same things and nothing good could come from trusting an alpha.

“I don’t wanna talk to you. I don’t know you.”

“Liv…”

There was a faint growl that accompanied the nickname, but she ignored it; she barely registered it. Hearing him call her that? She filled her lungs with air but never emptied them. She couldn’t let out her breath.

He couldn’t have guessed it, he couldn’t have guessed her name…

So why was he calling her that?

“That’s what he called you, isn’t it?”

How could he be so casual about this? How could he stand there and act like any of this was normal?

“What’s your name?”

She didn’t answer. He had all the answers, didn’t he? Why bother asking her?

“I asked you a question.”

Gone was the softness in his voice, and it was replaced by a stricter tone—one that didn’t leave much room for freedom.

“Olivia. My name’s Olivia.” She didn’t mean to answer, but the urge was stronger than her self-control.

Maybe it was the recent heat. Her head wasn’t screwed on right. She needed to shake it off.

“Olivia,” he repeated as if he was testing how it felt when it rolled off his tongue. “Olivia, I wanna talk.”

“And I don’t.”

She tried to tug her arm free, but she was unsuccessful.

“Whatever happened yesterday, it was a mistake. I didn’t want it to happen.” She couldn’t control herself, much like he hadn’t been able to stay in control either.

“Please leave.”

Once he’d realize what a mistake this was, once he let go of the thrill of the chase, he would come to his senses and conclude that he didn’t want this either.

“Fine. I’ll let you leave if you answer one question.”

“I’ve already answered one of your questions. I don’t owe you anything.”

But he ignored her words. It felt like a habit with him. “Why don’t you have an alpha?”

“Because I don’t need a selfish, murderous, egomaniac telling me what to do.” That should be enough to show him how little she wanted to be involved with him.

As an alpha, he was probably not used to anyone defying him or disliking him. Will had told her the heavy consequences of going against one’s alpha. Good thing they had nothing to do with each other.

He chortled, the sound of his laughter vibrating through her. “That’s quite an opinion you have. Who used to be your alpha, sweetheart?”

Why was his first instinct to assume she had let someone hurt her?

Didn’t he know their reputation preceded them? She didn’t need to be someone’s prey to know he was a predator.

“I never had one,” she hissed. “And that’s two questions. Can I go now?”

His fingers were warm, his whole body was radiating a heat that she couldn’t escape. Each heartbeat in her chest was painful. Why wasn’t he letting go?

He never answered her question. Instead, he opted for silence.

The grip on her arm tightened, and her mind flooded with Will’s words. Alphas were bad. She should be trying to get away from him. She shouldn’t have gotten herself in this situation in the first place.

She should have listened to Will.

“My arm,” she reminded him, a wince painted across her features. His fingers loosened, and as soon as she sensed that, she snatched her arm away.

“Then why do you hate alphas?”

“Because I know what you are,” she replied, rubbing her palm where his fingers had been mere moments ago. There was no mark, no bruise, but she couldn’t get rid of the feel of him on her.

“And what is that?”

“Monsters.”

There was a hand on her hip, and then she was spun around. Her chest collided with his, and she held her breath. His cheek was pressed to hers, warm lips touching her ear. He was close—too close.

She kept telling herself to push him away and wait, she never did it.

“And did your little friend tell you that, or did you decide that yourself?”

His fingertips were grazing against hers, barely applying pressure, as he held her in place. He didn’t need to do that; she couldn’t move.

She wanted to find the words to answer, but any reply she might form got caught in her throat. Will told her, and she trusted him. There wasn’t anything else to it.

Though, if she were honest with herself…he hadn’t hurt her or done anything yet. He wouldn’t leave her be, and he asked too many questions, but outside of that…

“I have to admit, I’m a little hurt. I feel like I’ve been a gentleman.” His nose tickled the side of her face. “A little out of control last night, but—I couldn’t help myself.”

“You couldn’t help assaulting me?” she croaked out, her eyes closed.

“Harsh word coming from someone who said yes.”

Fuck. Asshole.

Even now. He was holding her, touching her, and she was staying. What was wrong with her? She had blamed her initial reaction on her heat, but now?

What was holding her back? Why couldn’t she walk away from him? Why couldn’t she leave as she had initially intended on doing?

“It’s not like that.”

“Then tell me, Olivia. I wanna know.”

“I want you to leave me alone. Please.”

The last word was a lost whisper on her lips, as if she’d used the last of her strength to say it. She could tell him, she could yell at him, but ultimately he knew too much.

He could show up at her apartment, he could stalk her workplace. There was nothing she could do about it.

How could she get rid of him when he seemed to know everything about her?

She’d never have the upper hand physically, and she wouldn’t put Will at risk. He’d already paid a hefty price when it came down to alphas, and she’d never put him in that situation.

She knew all too well what it was like to lose and to have your life taken from you.

“How about this? You get in the car, you come with me. Two hours, and if you still wanna go, I’ll let you go.”

He had to be insane.

There was no other explanation for this. Could he hear himself when he spoke? Did she give him the impression that she wanted to be alone with him and completely at his mercy? Had she not run away from him the previous night?

“I’m not gonna get in a car with you and go God knows where.”

“You don’t trust me?”

“No.”

“Are you saying that because I’m an alpha?” he asked, putting a bit of distance between their bodies. “Is it really how you feel?”

He lifted his hand, grabbed hers with it, and brought both of them to her chest. “If you think about it, really think about it…do you trust me?”

It was an insane question. Of course, she didn’t. She couldn’t.

He was an alpha, a stranger, a stalker. She couldn’t possibly trust him… Right? She could never trust him. Why did he have this insane notion stuck in his brain? Had she not spelled it out for him? What more did he need?

“I don’t.”

“Liar,” he replied as he pulled away from her, releasing her hands from his grip. Her arms fell back to her sides, and she fought the urge to clasp her hands together.

“Fine, that coffee shop over there,” he added, flicking his tongue against the back of his teeth.

“What?”

“It’s public, it’s outside. Sit with me for two hours. If you don’t like what I’m saying, you can go and I’ll leave you alone.”

He wouldn’t touch her there, he wouldn’t ~kidnap~ her in public. What was his end game here?

“Why do you need to talk to me?”

She was a human-born.

She was a nobody. She didn’t even live like a werewolf. She was as human as her new body allowed her to be.

“Because I do.”

“If you want me to answer questions then you need to answer them too.”

“Fair,” he replied with a grin.

“I have excellent self-control. Yesterday I didn’t. It’s never happened to me before. I wanna know why.”

Her glance shifted between him and the little coffee shop a few meters from them. Back and forth. Back and forth.

Was he telling the truth? Or was he lying to her so that he could get his way? But then, this was public, right? A werewolf would never dare to reveal himself to the world. He wouldn’t gain anything from that.

“You swear you’ll leave me alone?”

It felt silly to even ask; how could she know if he’d keep his word? He’d stalk her all the way here. Were a few meaningless words really going to stop him?

One needed to have honor and integrity to respect a promise, and from what she had heard, alphas didn’t have either of these things.

His lips were pinched together, turning white, as his gaze pierced through her.

Lines were bunching by the side of his eyes, and she saw his nose twitch. He wasn’t happy. “Yes,” he answered, the word strained.

He didn’t say anything else, he didn’t move. He waited for her to answer. No was the right answer.

But much like the previous night, that word was never verbalized. Instead, she gave him another response while ignoring the rushing of her blood in her ears.

“One hour.”

“Shall we?” he said as he offered her his hand.

She didn’t take it. Instead, she walked past him.

One hour with a stranger—an alpha.

Had she lost her mind?