Eryx POV
My body jerked upright before I was even fully awake. A scent slammed into me so violently my vision blurred for a second. Heat. A female’s heat. The female’s scent flooded the room like a punch to the chest, sharp and sweet, so powerful my wolf went feral instantly.
Realization hit raw and hard.
She was in heat. My female was in heat.
I was on my feet before I had time to think. This—this was why I’d ordered the guards off the upper floors, why I’d kept them stationed below. I had known it would happen eventually but I hadn’t expected it tonight. I hadn’t expected the scent to be this strong. Or to hit me this badly.
My wolf lunged inside me, claws scraping, desperate to get out but I shoved it back with everything I had. My body reacted anyway, my pulse quickening, my bloo
