Selene''s words echo in my mind for a long time.

    Is that why you took so long to come to me?

    She sighs. It was a consideration, she says, and leaves it at that.

    For the first time, I think I''m truly grateful that I was a defect. If I''d had Selene—if I''d gone into heat like this in the pack...

    The life I would lead makes me shudder.

    Thankfully, thinking about it helps with the symptoms of heat, too. Nothing like an instant turn-off even in the face of Lycan reproductive urges.

    Wait a second. Why aren''t you affected by my heat, if it''s because of the Lycan part of me?

    Selene''s silence has me narrowing my eyes at the empty air. Selene!

    I am not as young or as inexperienced as you, child. A heat does not overcome me in that way.

    So, I''m young and inexperienced, and therefore I become a slutty ball of desire when I go through heat? Not fair.

    Be careful, Selene says out of nowhere.

    I look around, but I''m alone. My heat isn''t out of control. What?

    He''s going to come through the window. Your guards are unaware.

    Shit.

    What do I do?@@@@

    I need to tell the nurse.

    Mating with an alpha would help your heat. You can do it without a claiming, if you want. You don''t have to be fully mated just because you mate once or twice.

    Um.

    What?! I wish Selene was here so I could stare at her. I thought you didn''t want me to mate with Clayton. He''s not our fated.

    Selene huffs. You can mate with whoever you choose. I don''t think you need to be loyal to a fate who didn''t recognize what he had. I just think you should choose it when you''re more clear-minded.

    Oh.

    I guess that makes sense.

    But do I want that?

    I can almost feel his hands on me, his touch like a brand against my feverish flesh. The memory of our encounter in the garden flashes through my mind, vivid and torturous. The way he held me, the way he kissed me, the way he made me feel like I was the only thing that mattered in the world.

    A desperate, keening sound escapes my lips as the need intensifies, coiling tight in my core. I crave his touch, his scent, his claiming. Every fiber of my being yearns for him, craves the completion that only he can provide. But he isn''t here.

    My hands slide down my body, my fingers diving between my legs.

    There.

    It throbs.

    Ava, listen to me, Selene''s voice cuts through the haze of desire, sharp and insistent. You have to fight this. This is your last chance.

    But her words are lost in the maelstrom of want that consumes me. I''m drowning in it, suffocating under the weight of this primal need. The moment I touch my clit, I explode beneath the water with a harsh cry.

    My legs tremble. It''s hard to continue standing.

    I weep beneath the spray of water, unable to fight anymore. The heat has consumed me, burned away every last shred of resistance until all that remains is an insatiable, primal need.

    My fingers work furiously between my legs, seeking a relief that remains ever elusive, each wave of pleasure crashing over me only to be swept away by the next punishing surge of desire.

    Selene''s voice echoes in my mind, but her words are garbled, lost in the haze of lust that clouds my every thought. I can''t focus on anything except the aching emptiness inside me, the desperate yearning for a claiming that will finally quench these scorching flames.

    Ava, you have to try. Don''t give in.

    But I''m powerless against the force of my heat, against the instincts that demand to be sated. My hips rock against my hand, chasing that elusive release, that fleeting moment of reprieve before the inferno rages anew.

    The water does nothing to cool my fevered skin. If anything, it seems to stoke the flames higher, every droplet a torturous caress that sends fresh waves of want spiraling through me. I''m drowning in it, suffocating beneath the weight of this all-consuming need.

    Lucas... His name is a breathless plea on my lips, a desperate invocation for the one my body craves above all else. I can almost feel him here, almost taste the heat of his skin, the salt of his sweat. Almost feel the hard planes of his body pressing against me, pinning me, claiming me as his own.

    A ragged sob tears from my throat as another climax washes over me, as hollow and unsatisfying as the ones before it. The pleasure is fleeting, a mere ripple against the tidal wave of desire that batters me relentlessly.

    He''s here, Selene warns, her voice cutting through the fog.

    I sag against the tiles, boneless and trembling, my fingers still buried deep as the aftershocks roll through me. But even as the last vestiges of my orgasm fade, the heat flares brighter, hotter, more insistent than ever.

    It''s never going to end.

    A low, rumbling growl reaches my ears, cutting through the haze of lust like a bolt of lightning. My head snaps up, my gaze locking onto the figure stepping into the bathroom, his eyes blazing with a feral hunger that mirrors my own.

    Clayton.

    He''s here, just like Selene said. And he''s already shirtless, his bronzed skin glistening with sweat, the hard planes of his abdomen rippling with each harsh breath he takes.

    Our eyes meet, and the world seems to grind to a halt.