Chapter 25

***Valentine's Day***

Ulric was first to wake up that morning. "Babe, wake up," he said, kissing Jesse's neck. He noticed that Jesse was hot.

"I don't feel so hot; I want to stay in bed," Jesse groaned. Ulric got up from the bed and headed into the bathroom. He returned carrying a thermometer.

"Sit up; I'm going to check your temperature," Ulric said. Jesse groaned as he sat up and propped himself against a pillow.

Ulric slid the medical instrument under Jesse's tongue and waited. He removed it when a beep was heard. Ulric gently shook it and glanced at it.

"101 degrees," Ulric said. "I'll tell the teacher that you have a fever," he said. "Do you have any aches or pain?" he asked.

"Yeah, it comes and goes," Jesse said, slowly nodding his head.

"From what Mac and Neil told us, it could be preheat symptoms," Ulric said.

"I didn't expect it to happen so soon," Jesse said, sighing in frustration.

While Jesse rested, Ulric messaged their teacher. A few moments later, the system chimed, sounding that Ulric had a message waiting. Going through the motions, he clicked and opened it up.

Ulric,

Don't worry about classes. If he is in preheat, he'll need you. I'll message you your coursework later. I know that Devin will worry, but I'll explain everything so he doesn't show up at your room unannounced.

Teacher Nina

"Well, what did the teacher say?" Jesse asked weakly.

"She said to tend to your needs," Ulric said. "Our schoolwork will be messaged to us," he said.

"Okay, I think I'll go back to sleep," Jesse said.

"If you get hungry, we can order in," Ulric said. Jesse lowered his head and sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry for ruining the holiday," Jesse said, sniffling.

"Babe, you didn't ruin anything," Ulric said, lying down beside Jesse and pulling him into his arms. "I'll spoil you rotten," he said.

Hearing this made Jesse feel loads better. "Can you rub my back?" Jesse asked. "My body hurts," he said.

"Sure thing, love," Ulric said. Jesse rolled onto his side and inhaled slowly as Ulric rubbed his back. "Just close your eyes and let me do the rest," he said. Jesse breathed slowly and closed his eyes while Ulric soothed him with his alpha pheromones. By the time Ulric was finished, Jesse was snoring softly.

Jesse woke up at 2pm, and found himself wrapped in Ulric's arms. He squirmed to get from the embrace, but Ulric mumbled in his sleep and tightened his grip.

"Can you loosen your grip?" Jesse asked. "I need to go to the bathroom," he said. Speaking out loud didn't work, so he tried using the link. "If you don't let go, our bed will be soaked," he said. Jesse felt the grip loosen and squirmed out of Ulric's arms. Jesse headed into the bathroom and took care of business.

Jesse walked back into the room and laid back down. He nuzzled into Ulric's bare chest and closed his eyes. Couple of hours later, Jesse opened his eyes and found Ulric smiling at him.

"Hello Babe," Ulric said. "Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"Yes, I did," Jesse said, nodding his head.

"I was going to order us something from the cafe," Ulric said. "What would you like?" he asked.

"Chicken noodle soup with crackers and 1% milk," Jesse said.

Ulric pulled the screen, opened up his contact list, and scrolled down to the cafe. In a message, Ulric put in orders for each of them.

"They'll be delivered in thirty minutes," Ulric said, closing the screen.

"While we wait, Let's see if we've received the information for our class," Jesse said. Jesse checked his messages while Ulric checked his.

"I got mine," Ulric said. "Did you get yours?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did," Jesse said. "I'll work on it after dinner," he said.

Their food arrived at their door promptly at 430pm. They sat at the table and grabbed their orders.

"Oh, you like tomato soup?" Jesse asked, glancing at Ulric's food.

"Yeah, it's good on cold days," Ulric said, nodding his head.

"I like both," Jesse stated. "It would be hard to choose just one," he said. Ulric ate half of his and handed the bowl to Jesse.

"Here, you can have the rest," Ulric said.

"Are you sure?" Jesse asked.

"You'll need the energy," Ulric said. "It'll be a long week," he said.

After dinner, they cleaned up and tossed the trash into the trash can. Jesse seemed sluggish but still worked on his potion.

"Babe, if you're tired, go ahead and rest," Ulric said.

"I'm fine," Jesse said. "If I feel worn out, I'll stop," he said.

"Okay because when your heat hits, you won't feel like doing anything," Ulric said. Jesse crafted one low grade potion then meditated while Ulric crafted his potion.

It was already 10pm when they finished doing their schoolwork. Jesse's aches had started once more. "I'm going to take a hot bath," he said.

"I'll take it with you," Ulric said.

"I'd like that," Jesse said, smiling. Jesse stretched his arms, making his shoulders pop. Ulric filled the tub with hot water and bath salts.

Jesse stepped into the water and sat down. Ulric stepped in and sat down behind Jesse.

"My body feels achy again," Jesse said. "It also feels hot," he said.

"Just relax," Ulric said. "I'll make you feel better," he said. Jesse went through his breathing technique while Ulric squirted a small amount of body wash onto the wet rag. Ulric washed Jesse's body starting with his shoulders.

Once the bath was over, Jesse and Ulric dried off and got into bed. Jesse was already feeling the burn of his heat starting and kept squirming.

"I know that it hurts babe, but I'm here to help," Ulric said. Ulric held Jesse close and slowly let his pheromones loose so they soothed Jesse.

"Touch me please," Jesse begged.

"I'll rub your back, but we're not having sex," Ulric said. Jesse glanced up at Ulric and pouted. "No, babe," Ulric said, shaking his head. "We're not ready for that," he said. Ulric could tell that this was going to be a very long week.

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