His Second Chance

23 | her heat rash

A light heat crept up my neck, and the only relief was the almost constant scratch of the neck. My knees bounded up and down, hand still latched to my neck as I tried to make out my surroundings.

I had never left the mountains before, but I had seen pictures of the other regions of Bluestrike in images. From the lack of civilization, I knew we were not in any well-documented part of the pack if we were even in Bluestrike to begin with.

"Have you figured out where we are headed now?" I asked, pushing back in the chair.

He raised an eyebrow as he looked me over. I continued to scratch at my neck as he said, "No," but then he clarified, "Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"I know where we're headed," he explained, directing his attention back toward the road. "I just don't know how to get there."

"You don't know how to get there?" My eyes dilated.

"No."

"Can't you just look it up?"

"No."

"Why not?" I asked.

"It's... It's not the sort of thing to be on a map." He said discreetly.

"So you are going to murder me?" I shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest after giving my neck one last scratch for good measure as the burning subsided.

"No," he scoffed as his eyes carefully looked over me. "But whatever is causing you to scratch like that might."

"I'm scratching like a normal person would," I replied, narrowing my eyes at Wade. However, he did prompt me to pull down the car's visor and look in the mirror.

From a quick glance, nothing was out of place, the collar of my shirt covering most of the inflicted part of my neck. But then I craned my neck to get a better vantage point, and I suppressed a gasp.

I had almost forgotten about my heat rash, which had now spread from my hips to my neck.

From the day the heat rash appeared, I had not been plagued with any symptoms. No fever festered within my mind, and no animalistic urge to jump Wade limb by limb overtook my mind. But Mom had been crystal clear when she told me about the heat rash when I was younger. Everyone presented their symptoms differently.

Of course, there were a few hallmark symptoms that almost every wolf got. But each wolf's timeline for those symptoms was different. The rash would appear, and then it could be a short or long time window before the symptoms set in. Once the symptoms incurred, heat was close by.

"Shit," I breathed. "I forgot."

"What?" he asked, and for a second, I thought I saw concern flash through his eyes.

"My heat rash," I responded, turning my head to show him. "I forgot it was even there."

"You forgot?" He blinked, his jaw hanging slack. "Fuck."

His hand hit the steering wheel as his chest expanded. He repeated, "Fuck."

Gulping, I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and innocently asked, "Did I not tell you that?"

His eyes were narrowed. "No, Violet, you did not tell me."

"Well." I clapped my hands together. "I have a heat rash."

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before saying, "Fuck. This... this is not ideal."

Pulling my lips into a fake smile, "Thanks."

"Fuck," he said again.

Starting to glare at Wade, I said, "Can you stop with the fucks? It's not like you're the one who's going to go through heat alone."

He whipped his head to face me. "You won't be alone."

"Okay," I exhaled. "Let me clarify, you won't be the one going through heat with a mate who will not, you know, help the heat along."

He stared at me, his hands still grasped on the steering wheel. His voice dipped, "Violet, if I could—"

I turned my head to the side, looking at the boundless trees out of the passenger's side window. "I get it. You've explained yourself already, Alpha Wade."

"Violet, don't—"

"Sorry, this is just," I paused to rest my head against the dashboard. "This whole situation is just fucked."

"I'm so—"

I held my hand up. "Please don't finish that sentence."

Picking my head up, I could see Alpha Wade nod his head in understanding from the reflection in the side mirror. His lips twitched, but he did not speak. Silence fell over us as I grappled with the fact my heat was approaching, and I would have to endure it all alone.

I was strong. I was independent, I told myself, but that did not stop the want. The want to have a mate who was by my side for things like this.

With each passing day, it was not getting any clearer if this want—this desire—would ever come to fruition.