Chapter 44
ASHER
I avoided Reed for three days.
It wasn’t hard. He was avoiding me too.
We passed each other in the hallways and he looked right through me. In the cafeteria, he sat with his back to wherever I was. In shared classes, he chose seats as far from me as physically possible.
It was exactly what I’d asked for but deep down it was killing me.
My body was getting worse, the pills were completely gone now. I’d taken the last one yesterday morning, and I could already feel the difference. Everything was warm and sensitive.
I sat in Alpha Dynamics, trying to focus on Professor Williams droning on about pack hierarchies and territorial disputes but my skin felt like it was on fire. My clothes were too rough, too tight, and every shift in my seat sent sparks through my nerve endings.
Reed was three rows ahead and two seats to the left, I could smell him from here. Pine and smoke and with something that made my mouth water. Something that made my body respond in ways I had no control over. Heat pooled low in my stomach, and between my legs.
No.
I shifted in my seat, trying to adjust myself but the movement only made it worse. The friction sent a jolt of pleasure through me that made my breath hitch.I was getting hard, and in the middle of a fucking class and I was getting hard from Reed’s pheromones alone.
Panic flooded through me, I quickly grabbed my textbook and held it in my lap, covering myself. My face was burning, and my heart was hammering so fast I thought it might burst through my ribs.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. The suppressants were supposed to prevent this, it was supposed to keep my body from reacting to Alphas, and it was supposed to keep me safe but Ms. Chen’s pills were weaker than the injections, now they were gone completely, and my body was betraying me.
Reed shifted in his seat ahead of me, the movement sent another wave of his scent washing over me, and my cock twitched in response.
I bit down on my tongue hard enough to taste blood, using the pain to ground myself, to focus on anything other than the way my body was screaming for something I couldn’t have or need.
The rest of class was torture, every breath brought more of Reed’s pheromones, and every minute made the heat worse. By the time Professor Williams dismissed us, I was sweating and shaking and so hard that it hurt.
I waited until everyone else had left before standing up. I kept the textbook pressed against my lap as I hurried out of the classroom and straight to the nearest bathroom.
The stall door slammed shut behind me, and I quickly locked it and leaned against the wall, gasping for air.
My whole body was trembling, the heat was unbearable now and the ache between my legs was so intense I wanted to scream. I fumbled with my jeans, shoving them down just enough to free my cock.
The first touch of my hand made me bite back a moan. My cocj was so hard it hurt. I was leaking and desperate and completely out of control.
I stroked my cock roughly, hating every second of it. Hating the way my body responded. Hating the images flooding my mind.
I pictured Reed’s hands instead of mine. Reed’s mouth covering the tip of my cock. Reed’s voice in my ear saying my name.
“Fuck,” I whispered, my hand moving faster.
The orgasm tore through me, intense and overwhelming and wrong. I came with my other hand clamped over my mouth to muffle the sound.
So fucking wrong.
I slumped against the wall, gasping for air, my whole body shaking. What the fuck was happening to me?
That night was worse. As I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, my body still thrumming with need that one release hadn’t satisfied.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Reed. Reed fighting beside me in the woods. Reed sitting across the fire, looking at me with those intense gray eyes. Reed reaching for my face with something soft in his expression.
Reed saying he was tired of hating me. My hand slipped under the waistband of my boxers before I could stop it.
I hated myself for it. Hated the way my body responded to just the thought of him. Hated the way pleasure sparked through me as I touched myself again but I couldn’t stop.
I stroked myself slowly this time, drawing it out. My other hand fisted in the sheets. I imagined Reed’s weight on top of me, his hands pinning my wrists and his mouth on my neck.
His voice calling me his, and saying crazy things that drove me insane. The thought sent me over the edge. I came with Reed’s name caught in my throat, biting it back before it could escape.
Afterward, I lay there in the dark, shame washing over me in waves. I was developing feelings I couldn’t afford. Feelings for an Alpha who’d made it clear I meant nothing to him.
Feelings for an Alpha who’d humiliated me in front of everyone. Feelings for an Alpha who would destroy me if he ever found out what I really was.
My body was betraying me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
The next day was even worse. I woke up drenched in sweat, the sheets tangled around my legs, my skin was hypersensitive just the fabric of my shirt brushing against my chest made me gasp.
I stumbled to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. My reflection stared back at me. Flushed cheeks, dilated pupils, and a sheen of sweat on my forehead.
I looked like I was going into heat because in actual truth I was fucking going into heat. The realization hit me like a fist to the gut because without the suppressants, my body was reverting. The heat cycle I’d been suppressing for months was coming back, and I had no way to stop it.
I checked my phone and pulled up the calendar. Full moon in three days.
Omega heat cycles were tied to the lunar cycle and the full moon was when they peaked.
Three days.
I had three days before my heat hit in full force. Three days before every Alpha on campus would be able to smell what I was. Three days before Reed found out.
Panic clawed at my throat. I held the edge of the sink so hard my knuckles turned white.
I needed more suppressants, I needed Ms. Chen or my mum to give me another injections or dose, or something or anything that could help me but Ms. Chen had warned me that switching back to injections after taking the pills could trigger organ failure or could kill me faster.
I was trapped, and my body was spiraling out of control, and there was nothing I could do to stop it, and that afternoon, I had to partner with Reed in Combat Training.
Professor Martinez paired us up before I could protest. “Jackson, Graham. You two worked well together in the field. Let’s see if that translates to the mat p>
Reed’s expression was unreadable. “Fine p>
We faced each other on the training mat. The rest of the class formed a circle around us, watching.
“Standard sparring rules,” Professor Martinez said. “First to pin wins. Begin p>
Reed moved first, he was fucking fast, and aggressive. Coming at me with a combination of strikes that forced me back.
I blocked and dodged, my body moving on instinct. We’d done this before in the woods. Fought side by side, moved together but this was different.
Every time Reed got close, his pheromones washed over me. Every time our bodies made contact, heat sparked through me. I was getting hard again, and in front of everyone.
Terror mixed with the arousal, making my movements sloppy. Reed took advantage immediately, sweeping my legs out from under me, and I hit the mat hard, the air knocked from my lungs.
Reed followed me down, pinning my wrists above my head with one hand, his body pressing mine into the mat, and our faces were inches apart. His eyes were dilated, and his breathing was rough.
I knew at once that he could smell it, the sudden change in my pheromones. The arousal, and the heat starting to build in my system.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Reed’s voice was low, and dangerous.
“Get off me,” I said through gritted teeth.
“You smell—” Reed stopped. His nostrils flared. “You smell different p>
“I said get off p>
Reed’s hold on my wrists tightened. His eyes were searching my face. “What are you hiding, Asher p>
The use of my first name sent a jolt through me,and it made the heat worse.
“Nothing,” I said. “I’m hiding nothing p>
“Liar.” Reed leaned closer. His nose almost touching my neck. “You smell like p>
“Jackson! Graham! That’s enough!” Professor Martinez’s voice cut through. “Jackson wins. Next pair p>
Reed pulled back slowly, and released my wrists but his eyes stayed on me as I scrambled to my feet and off the mat.
I could feel his gaze following me as I grabbed my bag and fled the training room. I could feel his suspicion growing, and I could feel everything starting to unravel.
Three days until the full moon, three days until my heat peaked, three days until everyone found out what I really was, and there was nowhere left to run.