On Heat for The Cursed Alpha

Chapter Two

Lola’s POV

My eyes flutter open and then close again. I remember my dream vividly. I was back in that room, with the scene playing out before me. I felt the fire light up in my palm, but in there, I wasn’t scared of it.

Instead, I was angry.

I aimed for Saphira, eager to wipe that smirk off her face. Nothing happened, but I saw someone at the far corner of the room, watching.

“Lola?”

I open my eyes for the umpteenth time, the bright lights piercing my gaze. It takes a minute to get used to it, to make out Maren’s features vividly. She is standing next to me, her hands clutching mine, tears streaking the corner of her eyes.

I am back in my little room at the loft in my parent’s home.

“I thought we’d lost you,” she whispers, just as my parents appear next to her. They look relieved, their hands touching my hair at the same time. I would have laughed if the situation was any different.

“What happened?” My sister, Maren asks. “Your best friend called to tell us you had fainted at Callen’s house. When we found you, there was this… I don’t know. There was something in your palm. It was gone before we could touch it.”

“Fainted?” I scoff, changing the topic immediately. I know how Maren can get when it comes to something unusual. And that ball of fire definitely shelves in that category.

“Yeah,” Maren nods. “She looked pretty worried.”

I shake my head. “Saphira is a pretender, and so is Callen.” For the first time since my whole life changed, tears sting the corners of my eyes. “Maren, Callen rejected me as his mate.”

She pulls away from me at once, just as my parents exchange surprised looks. They all knew Callen. He has always been a staple in our family, right from when we started dating two years ago. And when we found out we were mates last year, I was just so excited about us being together for life.

But I guess Callen wanted more. He wanted something I couldn’t give him. And Saphira, my best friend, was right there to hand it over freely.

“I’m so sorry,” Maren whispers, pulling me into her arms. Nothing could have prepared me for the hollowness I feel in my chest. It hurts, way more than I care to admit.

“Can I be left alone?” I murmur, pulling away from her arms. A shadow of pain crosses her eyes, but Maren understands as she gets on her feet and walks out. My father follows behind, but my Mom lingers.

“Lola, I just… I know this is hard on you, with the heat and…”

“I don’t care about the heat season!”

“But you should,” she insists. “Now that you are a rejected and unmated wolf, everyone of the others out there will be drawn to you when your scent hits. I … I don’t want anything to be done to you.”

“Mom…”

“Just listen to me, baby. Stay back at home. At least, for now. Stop visiting that stream you always go to.”

“But that is the only place I feel at ease, Mom.”

“What about here, at home with us?”

“Mom, don’t do this,” I whisper, shaking my head. “The heat season is here already and I know how you and Dad can get. Maren no longer lives with us and she barely comes around during this time. Hell, we both know she wouldn’t be here if you didn’t get that call.”

“Your sister cares about you.”

“I don’t doubt that, Mom.” I sit up and look into her eyes. “I can see the heat lighting you up from inside. You want to be with your husband. My father. And I totally get it, Mom. Just like how Maren will be on her way to her mate soon. And then, there’s me…”

“We can watch some movie together,” she pushes, moving closer to touch my fiery red hair. “I got Romeo and Juliet.”

“It will only be a matter of minutes before you and dad…” Even the thought sends a wave of irritation through me. I hate this season. It is literally the worst in the pack.

My mother looks into my eyes and probably realizes that nothing she says right now is going to work, as she pulls herself to her feet and moves towards the door.

“I love you, Lola,” she says before walking out, closing the door behind her.

Finally alone, I allow the tears to roll freely down my face, my head buried in my hands. All the signs that I shouldn’t have ignored come back to me, when Saphira always went on dates with us, how she always knew things about Callen way before me.

I was such a fool for believing in the promise of the moon goddess. It is just as fickle as the mating season.

Getting on my feet, I change out of my clothes from school into a chiffon skirt and a plain crop top. The loft leads directly to the roof and then, the slide that leads out of the house through the back.

I take it, grabbing a note pad and a pen before bounding out. In the woods, I keep to the edge, careful not to attract unmated wolves looking for mates.

At intervals, I stop in the middle of my short journey, feeling the weight of the season pressing on me. I clench my thighs together just as the throb hits. My breath comes out in pants and I close my eyes for a fleeting second, waiting for it to pass.

While everyone experiences this season twice in a year, my mother has no idea that mine is more irregular and frequent. I cannot tell her about it, because she will only get worried.

The clearing comes into view and I release a breath I had no idea I was holding. The lake is the prettiest sight here, with the sun already setting above it.

It is easy to let go of the pain from Callen as I take a step closer, finding solace in the huge tree overlooking the lake.

But just as I get there, I hear splashes coming from the water. And in a split second, damp grey hair comes out from the middle.

“Oh My God!” I breathe, the sound coming out as a slight moan, the moment his full body gets out of the water.

He is half-naked, his torso on display as he shakes water out of his hair. He wades into the shallow part of the water, and then his eyes meet mine.

The world stops turning for a second.

“Don’t come closer,” I whisper, pushing far from him and closer to the trunk of the tree.

“You.” His voice travels through space. “It’s you.”