I woke up in the dead of the night, naked and in a pool of sweat. I found my nightwear discarded at the foot of my bed. I must’ve ripped it off while I slept. I felt my temperature and observed myself for further signs of fever or flu, but nothing seemed out of place except the persistent heat coursing through me.
The bedsheet looked like a bucket of water was dumped on it, and some of it seeped into the bed. I unsheathed the bed and pulled the standing fan close to dry it off while I hopped into the bathroom for a cold shower.
The water helped cool me down a little, but as soon as I was out, I felt the unfamiliar heat creeping back into me. It didn’t feel like a fever,and I wasn’t hot or shivering. It felt like someone had taken out my blood while I slept and replaced it with hot molten fluid.
I managed to get through the night with both the AC and fan on full blast. They did not quench the heat inside, but they helped with the sweating.
Dawn arrived with mild cramping in my lower abdomen. Coupled with the heat, I was convinced I needed to seek out the palace nurse.
The walk to the infirmary was the most torturous journey I’ve ever embarked on. My senses were incredibly heightened and every scent in the palace was suddenly delicious and mouth-watering.
Sharp jolts of electricity and cramps shot through me every time my thighs brushed together. The heat persisted, and my skin was coated in a light sheen of sweat.
Every male I encountered on my way either took multiple steps away from me or looked like they were resisting the urge to pounce on me and eat me up. The weird part of it was how their desire to eat me up didn’t scare me. If anything, it encouraged me to want to get closer to them. Even the gardener I saw every day suddenly seemed more attractive. I stared with an open mouth as his muscles rippled while he worked the soil, a combination of heat and sparks thrumming through me and urging me to take a step forward for a closer look.
He took a deep whiff of the air before turning to me, his eyes dark and hooded, and for some reason, that excited me, and I felt my legs moving on their own free will. It took the shattering of glasses somewhere to snap me out of my haze, and I raced the entire way to the infirmary.
“You’re fine, Mira. Your vitals are perfect, and everything seems to be working in the optimal state.” The nurse said, settling into the seat close to me.
“But I don’t feel good. My abdomen is cramping, and it seems to be getting worse with time. I’m sweating buckets, and I’m this close—I put my index and middle finger together—to jumping into a pool. There’s this annoying spark like someone set off a live wire inside me. Even my senses are heightened, and for some reason, every male smells like chocolate fudge.”
She let out a small smile when I was done.
“You’re going into heat, dear.” She said, and I felt my heart drop.
Every female wolf of mating age went into heat after they were supposed to mate but failed to do so for whatever reason. It was the goddess’s way of encouraging us to procreate. While I had yet to experience it or know any female who had gone into heat, I’d heard stories of how the feeling sent them into some sort of sex haze that was often relieved by their mate or any close male of their choosing.
It was also said that every male within a five-mile radius could sense a female in heat and was increasingly drawn to her. No wonder every mated male I passed bolted from me, and the single ones looked at me like I was a piece of meat.
She continued. “I’ll give you something to help with the symptoms, but it won’t make it go away.”
I swallowed the thick lump that suddenly clogged my throat. “How long will it last?”
“Between three to seven days.”
“How bad does it get?”
She paused.
“Really bad.”
As if to drive the point home, a sharp cramp rippled through me, causing me to almost keel over. The movement had my thighs brushing together, and I felt a rush of sticky fluid squirting from my vagina and dripping down my legs.
“I’ll inform Mrs. Anderson of the situation so she can relieve you of your duties.” The nurse said, reaching for the phone on her desk.
“Can I use the bathroom?” I croaked, hating the sticky feeling between my thighs.
“This way.” She pointed her neatly manicured nails to the door by the right corner of the room.
“And Mira,” her voice halted my step. “You’re free to do whatever you want.”
I nodded, taking in the message behind her words. I was free to give into the call of nature and mate with any male I found worthy to relieve myself of the feelings, but I didn’t want to mate with any wolf that wasn’t my fated mate, so I took the pills she prescribed and resolved to struggle through the pain.
The cramping only got worse, and my walk back to the palace was a lot more eventful than my journey to the infirmary, with almost all the males sending looks my way. A young boy who seemed to have just grown into adulthood almost pounced on me but was restrained by the older males around. I was confined to my room after that.
My wolf fought me, scratching at my ribs to let her out, but I kept her tucked. She was a mindless beast giving in to the primal urges of nature. It was my duty to keep us in check before we made a huge mistake.
Mary brought my breakfast and lunch, alongside a portion Mrs. Anderson said would help with the squirting. While the pills and portions helped with the cramp and squirting, nothing seemed to soothe the heat and ache coursing through me.