Chapter 14: Evelyn: The Heat Is Coming Back

Chapter 14: Evelyn: The Heat Is Coming Back Evelyn~ What kind of woman would believe a man after he said he’d make her bleed down there? "I’ll count to three," he growled, lowering his voice dangerously. "If you don’t crawl back to me by the time I reach three, I swear I w—" SLAP! He got slapped again, but this time, it wasn’t me who did it. He got slapped by his own hand. Yeah, I know how weird that sounds, but that’s exactly what happened. I didn’t fully understand it either, but from the way his body started trembling and fighting itself, I realized that Theron was trying to fight back. He was trying to take control of his body again, from that terrifying wolf inside him. "Stop it!" he shouted, grabbing his own wrist as it tried to strangle his neck. "STOP IT, YOU—!" Suddenly, he lost consciousness and collapsed off the bed. What the hell just happened? Just a second ago he was yelling at himself like a madman, and now ... he’d passed out? Honestly, this whole thing had completely ruined the mood. Whatever passion we had moments ago? Gone. Maybe it was best if we delayed the whole marking thing for later. "I ... I don’t even know what to say," my wolf mumbled. She sounded like a disappointed mom whose daughter just brought home a street beggar instead of a respectable future husband. Well ... actually, that comparison was kinda unfair. Theron was rich, wasn’t he? Alright, bad metaphor. Forget I said that. Put that aside, was Theron even alright? I slowly crawled across the bed and peeked over the edge at Theron, who was lying on the floor. "Theron ..." I reached out and nudged his shoulder gently. "Are you still alive?" My eyes drifted down, and I hissed under my breath when I saw that thing—his not-so-little friend—was still standing proud like before. He’d passed out, so how the hell was that thing still alive?! Before I could even call his name again, Theron suddenly opened his eyes and sat up straight like someone waking from a nightmare. I blinked, hesitantly asking, "Are you ... alright?" I wasn’t even sure if it was Theron or his wolf, but the moment our eyes met, I knew it was him. "Theron?" "Yes." He let out a long sigh of relief after scanning me from head to toe, maybe to make sure his wolf hadn’t done anything irreversible. "Evelyn ..." he called gently. "I’m sorry for everything I did or said earlier. Please believe me, that wasn’t me." I gave a small nod. "I know." I paused for a few seconds, trying to find the right words. "He ... acted very differently from you." Theron groaned and rubbed his face with both hands, clearly frustrated. "It’s my fault. I couldn’t control my excitement." His eyes widened a little, like he just realized how that sounded. He looked like a man who accidentally admitted he was turned on just by seeing me naked. "No, I mean ... I couldn’t control my ..." His voice trailed off, stuck between shame and confusion. I laughed softly at how awkward he looked. "It’s alright," I said gently. "I know what you meant." I gave him a small smile, not too bright, but just enough to let him know I wasn’t upset. "Don’t overthink it." I mean ... come on. It’s not like this was new for me. Men had gone crazy just from seeing a glimpse of my cleavage or even just my ankle. Of course they’d lose their minds seeing me completely naked. "Oh. You’re laughing," he said quietly. I was caught off guard when he suddenly pointed that out. Slowly, my smile faded, and I bit my lower lip. "I know ... it probably sounds horrible." "What do you mean?" Theron finally got up from the floor and sat beside me, his brows slightly furrowed. "Why did you say your laugh sounds terrible?" I tilted my head a little, confused by the question. "Because it is," I said simply. "People have always said my laugh sounds awful. Kids even ran away every time they heard me trying to laugh." Maybe they were just being mean when they said that, but maybe they weren’t completely wrong. After all, laughing wasn’t something I did often. It wasn’t that I couldn’t laugh. But honestly, what was there to laugh about in my life? Being accused of being a dark witch when I wasn’t? Getting blamed every time something bad happens around me? Accidentally killing a man who tried to harass me with a single misfired jinx? Well ... fine, that one was kind of funny, at least to me. "No," Theron said softly. "It doesn’t sound awful at all." He reached out hesitantly and touched my cheek, the warmth of his palm settling against my skin. "The only thing I thought when I heard you laugh was ... you sounded happy, and I liked hearing it." There were so many people who hated seeing me smile, let alone hearing me laugh. But here he was saying it made him happy? I didn’t know if he was telling the truth or just trying to say something sweet to make me feel better. Suddenly, my wolf chimed in, "Or maybe ... they were the ones lying to you." She kind of had a point. People who hate you will always find something to criticize, even if it’s as harmless as a laugh. I was about to respond, but my eyes accidentally drifted down again and there it was. It was still standing, still hard, still ... very much alive. I stared for a second longer than I meant to. "Do you still ... want to mark me?" I asked, my voice softer now, unsure. The unbearable feeling from earlier had faded a bit. My heat wasn’t as intense as before, so I could finally breathe without panting like I’d run a marathon. I could actually think again, instead of being ruled by lust and instinct. "Are you sure about that?" my wolf asked, her tone suspicious. "You’re calm now because he’s already made you come a few times. But Evelyn, honey ... until he marks you or puts it in, your heat’s going to come back." I closed my eyes and let out a long, exhausted sigh. Why was this stupid heat so damn persistent? As if the universe heard my complaint, I felt it again. That familiar warmth bloomed deep in my belly and spread across my skin. My sweet scent returned and judging by the way Theron reacted, it hit him hard. He looked dazed, like someone who’d downed a bottle of wine in one go. His eyes darkened, his breath quickened, and when he spoke, he sounded like a man trying to hold onto the last thread of sanity. It seemed like my scent was driving him crazier than before. "I do," he whispered, slowly crawling toward me. "I really want to mark you now." I leaned back slightly, but instead of pulling away completely, I lay down on the bed and let him move over me. "I want you to be the one to mark me," I whispered, reaching up to touch his cheek. "Not him."