Chapter - Seventeen - Heat
Bethany POV...
I look up at the instructor just as he calls attention back to himself, "That was one hell of a performance, who agrees?" He asks the crowd and they burst into cheers making a smile light up my face almost immediately.
"What are you're new ideas for this year's camp? We have the stage all to ourselves this year and no other camps are around!" He exclaims and practically everyone raises their hand, trying to make their arms extend more so they can stand out more.
"How about we have a fashion show?" A girl by the name of Gloria squeals and claps her hand, every girl around agrees and nods in support when the instructor asked again to confirm the activity every girl in the crowd nodded.
Another girl named Diana raises her arms and Conan gesture for her to speak, "We can have a masquerade party." Again every other girl nods her head in agreement even though we have a ball and a dance prepared every girl still wanted another chance at showing off her wardrobe to every person in the room without being seen as overdressed.
I sigh in irritation as they add the masquerade to the activities and raise my hand up in the air to suggest something that is actually related to camp.
Conan pointed towards me and I cleared my throat, "How about we build a 'main house'? And declare this place as the camp area every year? We can make it as a group project, the seniors that are Maths experts would work on the look of the building and we can gather supplies from the woods and make handmade furniture to decorate it. It would be a great way to work together as a team."
I look around and notice every other boy and a few girls nodding along with me and smile as it gets added to the activities list.
Sally is next to raise her arm and the instructor asks her to say her idea, "How about we add another song to the singlist? The Princess and her mate get to choose a friend of their's to sing a duet together and both are ranked and the winner gets a prize." The instructor bonders over the thought and he takes the majority of opinions. Most agree to it and I shoot a death glare in Sally's direction. She smiles sheepishly and points to herself.
I wasn't mad at her, I was mad at the idea because I wanted to spend some days relaxing with my mate and when she adds another song to the list, it means that I'll have less time with Jack and getting to know him before the weight of the crown gets thrown onto our shoulders, but apparently, no one noticed my misery and I knew that just because Sally had reminded them, they were most likely going to make me do another song either alone or with Jack.
I get called up to the stage and Sally keeps pointing to herself, wanting me to choose her and although, I was a little annoyed at her insensitivity, I wasn't planning to choose another person just to spite her.
"Who will you choose, Your Highness?" Conan asks with a beaming smile on his face, obviously happy with the outcome of this get-together and that everyone was willing to cooperate.
"Sally Urban," I say and she jumps up from her place on the grass and runs to the stage, jumping up instead of using the stairs like a normal person.
"And you, Alpha?" He turns towards Jack and he smiles a breathtaking smile towards a female in the crowd that somewhat resembled him in the crowd, she was probably his sister. At least I hope so.
"Genevieve Huntsman," He says and the girl goes up the stage a little more civilized than Sally. She stands next to me and I smile warmly at her as I sense her nerves.
Her name confirmed her identity as Jack's relative which was a relief to me because I can never compare to her in looks and if Jack was never related to her and he had to choose between us then I was sure he would pick her.
We walk down the steps together and sit in our seats, Genevieve leaving us and sitting back with her group of friends.
A guy that tried hitting on me a couple of times at school called Bradly raises his arm, Conan noticing him immediately because of his abnormally long arm and his tall physique, "How about we request another duet and another single by both the princess and her mate?" He asks and this time around, everyone nods their head in agreement.
"What do you think, Princess?" Conan asks hopefully and I smile with a nod even though on the inside I wanted to rip Bradly into shreds, hating the fact that there was one more thing stopping me from sitting down and getting to know Jack.
Jack grabs my hand and squeezes my hand as if sensing my rage, I force out a smile and nod, "Of course! Why not!" I exclaim in fake enthusiasm.
Thankfully, no one picks up my bad mood and we continue to discuss activities but no one had any more ideas so Conan rapped up the get-together and we were free to go, some people staying behind in the clearing while others went back to their cabins.
I and Jack decided to go back to the cabin so we can start on our second song and rehearse our first song.
We walk in silence, the only sound being our footsteps, breathing, and nature's song. It wasn't uncomfortable or awkward, it was the kind of silence that you can enjoy the other person's company in, a silence which wasn't needed to be filled with pointless conversation.
After all, Silence was stronger than words, or was it actions? Oh, whatever they both work.
When we reached the house, I decided to make an early lunch consisting of mash potatoes, steak, and rice. I was in the mood to bake so I made us a chocolate cake for dessert and when Jack entered the kitchen he was more than pleased with the smell and decided to help me, like he always does, and takes responsibility of the mash potatoes.
He wore the extra apron that was on a rack beside the sink that said 'kiss the chef' which to be totally honest I found to be extremely attractive for some reason.
I try to ignore him, which was proving to be an impossible task when the only place that I can use was the counter right beside the stove, also right beside Jack.
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness and fatigue hits me roughly, my body temperature rises abnormally and I struggle to see what's around me.
I keep on cooking and checking on the steak every once in a while, ignoring the slight shake of my hand and my slightly heated body that had me sweating more than normal.
"Jack?" I call out breathly as I lean against the counter heavily, my knees were starting to buckle and if not for Jack coming to my side to catch me, I would have been on the floor.
"I don't think I can keep cooking," I say and almost all my body weight on him, he furrows his eyebrows and leans down to sweep me off the floor and carries me to his bedroom and places me on the bed gently.
His touch soothed the pain completely but when he placed me on the bed, it came back full force and I let out a pain-filled groan.
I close my eyes and try to focus on anything other than the fatigue that was clouding almost all my senses.
This was starting to feel like I was shifting for the first time all over again, but this time, my bones weren't breaking, they were just aching horribly.
"Bethany, what's happening? Do you need me to call the doctor?" Jack was frantic as he talked and asked but all I can reply with was another groan and reach out for his hand.
"Ja-ck" My voice cracks and I squeeze my eyes tighter as tears start building up to stop them from flowing but a traitor tear manages to escapes.
"What? What is it, Bethany?" His voice was laced with complete concern and I whimper as the pain intensifies, probably terrified of what was happening to me and wondering how it just appeared out of nowhere.
"D-do-cto-r" I whimper out painfully, my voice hard to comprehend even to me but Jack somehow picks it up and he takes the phone beside our nightstand to dial someone.
I writhe on the bed and squirm as I feel a mind-splitting headache washing over me and my back arches as a sharp but invisible blow is delivered to my already aching back.
I cry out as everything doubles, my tears have escaped long ago and I do nothing to stop them from flowing down my cheek even as they burn my skin while they flow regularly.
My cries are frequent and I feel pile start rising up my throat and I try to get up but only manage to lift my head as I puke all over myself and the mattress, Jack immediately taking action and lifting me despite my vomit filled body and rushing to the bathroom as he helps me kneel in front of the toilet and grabbing my hair away from my way.
I keep vomiting for a few minutes before I am dry-heaving over the toilet and Jack's worry only seems to increase.
I reach out blindly behind me and grab onto his hand, sighing in relief as the pain vanishes.
"Don't let go of my hand, please.. It makes the pain go away," I murmur, my voice raspy and scratchy from what I was going through, my throat felt like it was swelling up and for my voice from coming out firm or strong.
His eyes widen slightly and he pulls me up by my waist and helps me brush my teeth, making sure to always keep any kind of physical touch as I weakly brush my teeth.
We walk towards the bed and I lay down and Jack kneels beside me, keeping his hand on my arm to ensure that the pain doesn't come back.
Thirty minutes passed and knocking is heard coming from the front door, Jack looks at me with worry and conflict in his eyes, not wanting to make the pain return back and hurt me.
I nod to assure him I'll be okay and he sighs troublesomely before dashing as fast as he can to the door and comes back to me in a few seconds, the few seconds resulting in a cry escaping my lips as the pain hits me once more.
The doctor walks in and looks around in confusion before he sees my sweat covered body slumped on the bed, I probably looked like some kind of monster out of a horror movie because when his eyes landed on me, they widen with complete horror and he freezes in his place.
Jack's growl snaps the doctor out of his frozen state and he rushes to me with his medical bag in his hand.
He takes out a stethoscope and listens to my heart rate, nodding in thought and furrowing his eyebrows, he takes out a thermometer and places it under my tongue and looks through my vitals quickly, seemingly a little nervous with Jack's wolf practically on the surface and ready to shift any moment.
He lets out a nervous chuckle as he takes out the thermometer and checks the temperature on it, nodding in confirmation and smiles knowingly.
"You're in heat, Princess." He states and I groan loudly when I remember my mother explaining what was heat.
Jack banged his head against the nightstand and sighs in relief, starting to mumble some colorful words under his breath.
"You scared me half to death." He whispers as he rests head on the bed beside me, making me smile slightly and run my hand through his hair reassuringly.
"Thanks, doc, I can't really walk you to the door but thank you." Jack lifts his head and nods towards the doctor in gratitude, his wolf disappearing and putting the doctor at much more ease as he smiled at him.
The doctor nods in understanding and packs all of his things swiftly and walks out the door with a respectful bow to me and Jack.
"I'm sorry that I scared you," I whisper raspily, making his eyes soften, leaning up and placing a soft kiss on my lips, keeping it brief and pulling back a minute later.
"It's not your fault." He sighs and lifts me up, walking to the bathroom with me in his arms.
"Should I get out so you can remove your clothes?" He asks as he settles down beside me and places his hand on my exposed knee, I shake my head roughly, not wanting the pain to return anytime soon.
He sighs and tries to maneuver to prepare me a bath but fails and decides to carry me, I stop his movements and use my powers to prepare everything, it was a waste of energy but it was the only way I could prepare a bath painlessly and without tiring Jack in the process.
I sigh and ask Jack to help me out of my clothes, he keeps his eyes on my face and doesn't dare to let them wander, making my heart warm and clench in my chest at the thoughtful gesture.
He helps me in the bathtub gently and grabs a soap bar and a loofa and washes me just like he had done the day before we came here to camp.
He was respectful and soon I was relaxing in the tub, the pain long forgotten.
My eyes stay closed and when he finishes he sits on the edge of the tub and keeps a hand on my arm.
I sigh in relief and let the darkness take me under, slipping into a blissfully unaware state.
***
Dream...
I was in some kind of forest, smoke was coming from behind me and it was very hot, I can feel the heat seeping into my skin and heating up my bones. I was running, something that confused me beyond belief, fire shouldn't burn me when I'm an elemental.
I am gasping for breath but air refused to enter my lungs, I cry out when the fire licks at my calf and quickly healed it before I fell on my face, the burning sensation only increased when I tried healing it and I tripped on a fallen tree branch.
I scream as the fire licks at my skin and burns my body, my mouth letting loose a cry of pain when the fire reached my heart, my hands were above my head in a weak attempt to stop the flames from reaching me.
I call out to my fire but it was unresponsive, I tried all my other elements but it was still the same, I tried over and over again while screaming so loudly that my own ears were starting to hurt and ring.
I give up any attempts of calling my elements and instead start to call out Jack's name over and over again, knowing that he will somehow come and save me from the fire.
My lungs burned for air but I was too distracted to even feel its ache because of the immense heat surrounding me.
I keep calling and screaming till finally, my mate's face appeared and the fire around disappeared leaving pleasant tingles running through my body as he hugs me tightly, I sigh in relief and lay limp in his arms.
"Wake up, Bethany. Wake up! Open your eyes, darling! Please! I'm so sorry." His words confuse me and I pull away from him, about to ask him what he meant.
End Of Dream...
***
I gasp in a long breath and pant heavily against Jack, he was looking at me with eyebrows drawn together and worry glinted eyes.
I keep panting for a few minutes before finally realizing the burn marks covering my whole body.
Slashed burn marks cover my hands, arms, legs, and thighs, I scream in horror when I look at my body with wide eyes and try to get up to the mirror in the bathroom but collapse on the floor the minute my skin separates from Jack's.
Jack reacting quickly and touching me before the pain of my heat even hits me.
"W-wha-at happened?" I hiccup when I realized that the burn marks don't hurt unless Jack was touching me.
"I went out to ask the doctor about some things and come back to find you screaming and crying out my name, when I pulled the blanket off of your body, burn marks were appearing everywhere on your skin." His voice was strained as he talked and I can tell he was holding back tears, "I was so scared, Bethany. I don't think this is normal. You shouldn't have burn marks appear because of your heat, this never happened and it's scaring me."
My eyes soften and I nod in understanding, "Can we just cuddle for now? I really don't want to talk about this." I sigh and Jack looks at me with conflicted eyes, something that was happening more frequently than not lately.
He finally nods and gets in bed beside me, pulling me so I am tucked into his side tightly. I sigh and close my eyes tightly, forcing the dream to the back of my mind and trying to forget everything that happened to me in my life.
I try to keep the tears at bay and push them back, I bite my quivering lip tightly, trying my best to keep from losing my shit again. That would be way too many times I've lost my shit at this camp.
I need to keep my shit together if I'm planning to take the throne anytime soon. The crown came with immense stress and if I can't handle some stupid heat cycle or "past demons" then I surely would crumble and shatter under the stress that I was sure to endure the moment the crown hit my head.
This was simple teenage drama and I won't let it get the best of me, I have a mate that has to finally mourn for what happened when he was little and I need to be strong for him, I need to stop acting like a child that cries at the simplest of things.
I was never one to show pain, never one to talk about feelings, never one to break down crying from pain, I've handled pain before and this wouldn't compare to what I felt with Him.
I successfully push the tears back and relax my body against my mate's body, refusing to break down again because of a stupid dream, I was Bethany Houston for crying out loud! My last panic attack was two weeks after they found us after that goddess-sake month! My last breakdown was a week after my last panic attack! This. Was. Nothing.
Compared to everything I've gone through? I don't think this would even come close to any pain I have ever experienced, this would be like the time I was first hurt, yeah it was painful but I've seen worse, felt worse, hell! I can even tell you every name of every torture weapon that exists!
I pull away from Jack and ignore the pain that rippled through my whole body and use the nightstand to stand up, I let go of the nightstand and walk to the bathroom with a slight limp. Closing the door behind me I strip off my clothes and turn on the shower to the cold water, so it'll cool down my body slightly.
I sigh in relief when my body cools down remarkably and decide to get out when my fingers started to wrinkle. I don't even bother with my shampoo or conditioner, refusing to see my broken appearance in the mirror
Stepping out I did my usual morning routine and picked out an outfit, all while completely ignoring the pain pulsing through me and just deal with it. Many would say this is not healthy but it was my coping mechanism, it was stupid but it was my way.
Jack was deeply confused as I got out of the bathroom with the biggest fake smile stuck on my face like glue. He was even more confused as I enter the kitchen and start dinner when I notice that it was night time and not morning anymore.
"Bethany." His tone was cautious as he studies me with an unknown emotion in his eyes, "Yeah," I smile at him despite the sharp pain that ripped through me was doubled and the ache in my back was almost as bad as the pain I felt when I was whipped.
"Is everything alright?" He asks this slowly as he studies me, my body language, but before he picks up any sign of discomfort or pain I relax my body and force my smile to be more relaxed, it seemed like an impossible task to other people, but I would probably win an Oscar for my acting if it came to that, so I was not worried in the slightest.
"Yeah, why wouldn't it?" I turn back towards the stove to bite my lip as fire races towards my head, it always stayed away from my head until now.
I smile at Jack when he comes beside me and leans on the counter, his eyes were calculating as they studied me and I turned towards the chicken soup as its smell wafts in the air.
I tense slightly when my feet start to tingle and feels as if needles and knives were piercing through it, my female regions were aching horribly and I hear Jack hiss in pain suddenly behind me.
"Bethany," His tone was warning as he leans heavily on the counter and I realize with wide eyes that he was feeling my pain because I let the wall around my intellect down while trying to fight through the pain.
I put them back up immediately and look at him with worried eyes, and put up the fake innocent look.
"Are you okay, Jack? Why don't you sit down." I push him towards the kitchen stole and almost let out a relieved sigh when our hands touch and the pain disappears momentarily.
"What happened?" I ask with furrowed eyebrows in worry and act as if I don't know what his pain was caused from.
"I don't know, I suddenly felt fire course through my body before it was gone the next second." His eyes were suspicious as they took me in again.
"You probably overworked yourself, what did you do other than going to the doctor?" I ask and turn towards the oven to check on the bread that I was baking.
"I trained with the teens." His answer was brief and I fought the urge to squirm in discomfort when I feel his burning gaze sizzle through my skin, I turn towards him when his gaze was slightly more intense.
"What?" I force out a chuckle and his eyes widen slightly before they narrow to slits and he walks towards me slowly, like predator stalker towards its prey and I was slightly scared, and in that particular moment I realized that I know nothing about Jack's personality and don't know if he was an abuser or not.
My thoughts cause my eyes to widen in fear and Jack's eyes soften remotely, "I won't hurt, Bethany. I'm not going to lay a harmful hand on you, ever." His tone was soft but his eyes were firm, making sure that I was taking him seriously.
I gasp in surprise as Jack suddenly collapses to his knees a few feet away from me, groaning in pain. I put my wall up immediately after and I can see the frustration in his eyes when he looks up at me before they are filled with realization and he was beside me in a flash, touching me and immediately taking me in his arms, erasing all the pain but instead of him just taking away the pain, pleasure shoots through me and I moan loudly as I lean heavily against him.
His eyes widen when my body weight was pushed towards him and he picks me up before my knees give out completely.
My mother's voice fills my intellect as I remember her exact words when we talked about my heat.
"In the first few hours of heat your body goes through spasms, though underneath your skin, they will cause pains in different parts of your body. You would feel slightly intoxicated by your mate's presence and feel unexplainable arousal. That would be the first stage, if you don't mate in the first stage your heat will increase in intensity and your mate's touch would not only take the pain away but shoot pleasure through your body, this is when the second stage begins and you would probably start begging your mate to claim your body. In only very rare cases can the female actually start the third and most extreme stage, your body would spasm from the outside and your need won't only be increased but your female regions would be burning at this point and you would beg for death if your mate doesn't at least..." She trailed off and I had turned red at that point.
I groan out as the waves of pleasure increase in intensity and try to push Jack away, he lets me go and I keep in another groan, this one of pain instead of pleasure.
Jack's eyes were filled with rage as I push away from him and walk to the other side of the room, staying away from him and pushing my arousal to the back of my mind, my mother said I would be begging Jack at this point but I just bit my lip and continued my actions, completely ignoring the extreme pain I was feeling, though it was not still bad enough to be compared to anything I've felt before so it was bearable and wasn't as bad as my mother had described it, she even said that my heat would be more extreme since I was a hybrid of three species.
Jack's rage could be felt in the air, and I ignore him and continue with dinner.
I squeal in surprise as Jack sweeps me up in his arms and walks towards the front door.
"What are you doing?! Put me down right now! Jack!" I shout and pound on his chest roughly but he somehow doesn't budge through my hybrid strength.
"Will you stop acting like a caveman and put me down so we can talk like normal civilized hu-werewolves?!" I turn red at my mistake making my anger shoot through the sky and embarrassment to cloud my judgment.
I growl loudly when he grunts at me in response acting exactly like what I just called him, a caveman, I decide to use the self-defense techniques that I had learned when I was a kid. I raise my arm slightly and shove my elbow roughly on his chest and push on a sensitive spot on his neck making him drop me and fall to his knees with a groan of pain.
"This is not how I will be treated! Whether you like it or not I still am an independent woman and will do as I please! Where the fuck were you taking me?!" I screech in fury, my fists clenching at my sides as I fight the urge to punch him in the face.
"To the doctor, and whether you like it or not I am still the man in this relationship, I had told you this before and I'll do it again, I will not be bossed around by my mate. Especially when her mind is clouded with heat pain." His voice was calm unlike mine and before I knew it, he pressed a pressure point that I was not aware of in my body that had me weak and unable to escape his grasp.
He was running through the forest in his werewolf Alpha speed so we reached a white building in no time.
And there goes my independence.
***