FATED TO ALPHA HUNTER BY VENNEH LISAH

𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕:

As sparks rushed up my arm, I hissed in response to the sensation of my shaft twitching against her. She growled, perhaps thinking that I would pin her down and force her, not realizing that for lycan men, it is involuntary. Our urge to mate is just as agonizing as her heat.

"Stay still," I instructed her, gripping her hips and holding them in place. My self-control was slowly slipping, and I prayed that the doctor would arrive soon. She was turning savage, attacking and biting me, yet she remained immobile, unable to fight my command. Her heat was driving her to the brink of madness, and she struggled to resist it.

She was able to resist my commands. Although she may not be able to resist my calling, I couldn't risk using it to make her submit until she trusted me. She needed to understand that I would only use it to calm her or ensure her safety. Unfortunately, I had ruined her trust, and now I was stuck trying to earn it back. My father had used it on my mother constantly for the same reasons, but it eventually became a breach of trust, although my mother never seemed to notice or consider it wrong. It wasn't always necessary, and I didn't want that dynamic with Ania. I would rather she sought out my calling than me using it against her.

It was foolish of me to underestimate her relationship with Rina. I should have recognized how close they were from the very beginning. I did sense it, but after what Ania had told me, it made more sense.

They both witnessed the same horrors, urged each other to keep going, and lived for one another.

I should have noticed from the moment Ania threw herself at my feet and begged for Rina's life, offering to die alongside her if I didn't spare her. She didn't react out of fear for Rina, although that was there too. Rather, she responded out of love and dependency. They were each other's lifeline, knowing that I could end her life for merely speaking out of turn.

This was a different sort of bond that I hadn't realized could exist outside of a pact bond or a brotherly bond forged over centuries, like the one Dwight and I shared. We were brothers united not by blood but by respect and fighting beside each other for a long time. Ania and Rina shared the same bond, but it was based on survival and a strange dependency on each other.

For now, I knew that I would never win if I made Ania choose between us.

I sat up upon hearing a knock, causing Ania to groan as she slid down my lap. Quickly, I grabbed the blanket and covered her naked body.

"You can come in!" I called out to the person knocking. As the intruder's scent reached me, Ania growled, clearly agitated by his presence. She buried herself under the blanket, her claws scratching my sides.

The Doctor approached cautiously, fully aware of the danger of intruding on a nested lycan, especially a vae-wolf like Ania. I grabbed her arms and wrapped them around my waist before lying back down, trapping her arms beneath me and holding onto her shoulders to prevent her from attacking him.

"Be quick," I instructed the Doctor, feeling the mattress rip beneath my weight. Ania's growl became more predatory than defensive. When I sensed her starting to shift, I used my calling to subdue her. She relaxed against me, and the Doctor stared at her, wide-eyed, while also trying not to ogle my heated mate. It was not a scenario anyone wanted to be in.

"My King, what you're asking..." Doc tried to say.

"Will you stop her heat now? Do it! ASAP," I told him.

"Yes, but my King, it isn't..." he trailed off.

"I said do it, stop her heat. I will not force her to mate," I snarled at him, and he seemed perplexed.

"Is she resisting?" he asked, and I growled. He shook himself, startled by that information just as much as I was that she could resist it.

"Do you want to argue with me? do it! I know what's at risk. Do not make me order you, Doc," I warned him through the mind link, and he sighed, looking at her as she purred, licking my chest, having forgotten that we had people in our presence. She was unable to fight my calling as it lulled her to a sedated state.

Doc pulled out herbs and vials before making the concoction in a bowl and extracting it with a syringe.

"My King?" Desmond asked through the mind link, and my eyes moved to him over Doc's shoulder.

"I understand, but I won't force her," I replied through the link. Desmond nodded once, but then looked away. We all knew the risk I was taking, and I wasn't willing to guilt-trip her into giving in. If I did, she would resent me afterwards or accuse me of lying.

Doc cleared his throat awkwardly, and Desmond averted his eyes while I turned to face Doc. "My King, I have to... the injection site, I have to..." He stuttered, and I growled, knowing he had to inject her ovaries. I had seen it happen to a Lycan woman who was in heat just as her pack was attacked. It stopped her heat and saved her until the bond was severed when her mate was killed.

"Which one?" I asked him.

"Either," he stated, averting his gaze while I rearranged her by pressing my leg between hers to cover her. My hands and the blanket tangled around her to shield her nakedness. The moment he turned, the savage growl I emitted made him jump back. I couldn't help it - my instincts to covet and protect her went haywire. Knowing that he could see what was mine and was about to touch her while she was in this state sent me insane.

Doc shook, and before I could stop myself, I shifted. Desmond was quick to pull him back in time before I could have slashed his eyes from his head, the needle dropping from his hand. I positioned myself over Ania, ready to protect her. Her eyes rolled in her head as the calling wore off, and I flooded her with it just as she began to regain consciousness. I knew she might lash out at someone so near her nest.

"My King?" Doc stuttered. I had never struggled with control like this before. Though I consciously knew I had asked him here, my instincts told me he was trying to take advantage of her while she was in heat. Reason tried to calm me, but it couldn't abate my urges.

Desmond bent down to pick up the needle from the ground. I tracked his every movement as he approached the bed. His scent near her didn't seem to faze me, probably because she constantly reeked of him, or maybe because I knew he posed no threat. His scent didn't seem to change near her at all, whereas I could smell Doc's testosterone levels rise around Ania because she was in heat.

Desmond admitted, "Ovaries, right, Doc? I'm not good with female anatomy," and Doc moved toward the end of the bed, watching from afar, careful not to come too close. His nostrils flared, earning him a growl from me.

Desmond's hand shook as he stopped beside me at the edge of the bed. He bared his neck to me, and my eyes flickered as he offered it to me.

"No threat, Alpha King," Desmond said steadily as I sniffed his neck. Then, I turned my attention to my mate and sniffed her. Desmond reached over, tugging the surrounding sheet over her legs and covering her with a blanket.

"He needs to move his leg," Doc said, glancing away when my eyes snapped to him. Desmond tapped my leg.

The man deserved a bravery award for coming so close to me like that. I don't think Dwight would be brave enough to try it while she was in heat. I moved my leg, and Desmond quickly tucked the blanket between her legs, being careful not to touch her there. Ania's eyes fluttered, and I buried my nose in her neck, licking the hollow of her throat.

Desmond spoke up, "Focus on your mate, my King. I am no threat." I felt him move her slightly, and I kept my face in her neck, causing her to shiver as my whiskers tickled her neck.

"If you push hard enough, you will be able to feel it. The Queen is in heat. Her ovaries will be swollen. You won't miss it once you feel it," Doc murmured.

"What am I supposed to feel for? I don't even know," Desmond whispered.

"Place your hand on the back of her hip. Use your other hand to push down, not lower, but above the pubic bone," Doc instructed. I growled, feeling possessive of my mate.

Desmond fiddled around, then suddenly jumped. "Ah, that's wrong, so wrong. Sh*t, sorry, my King," he apologized when my head snapped to look at his hands on my mate.

"It's not gross; it's just that Lycan anatomy is far different from human anatomy," Doc explained. My eyes went to the man who averted his gaze once again under my glare.

"Truly fascinating, a body is," he said, turning his head. "You can only feel the ovaries internally by lifting the ovary and placing a hand on the stomach. It's still not 100% accurate on humans; lycans are a little different." Desmond moved too quickly to pluck the needle from between his teeth, freezing when I growled and offering his neck for me to sniff. I turned my attention back to Ania and heard him breathe.

"Now, do I inject it into the ovary?" Desmond whispered, glad he was doing it. I don't think I could.

"Yes, but move quickly. The King will feel it. I've heard it's not a pleasant feeling. He may lash out," Doc warned.

"Wait, will I hurt her?" Desmond asked.

"Not if the King keeps her sedated, no, but the King will feel it," Doc said, and my ear pricked up at his words.

I certainly felt it and clenched the sheets. Desmond moved quickly, but I was more focused on Ania, watching her. I heard the door click as they rushed out and would have to remember to thank Desmond later.

It took around 30 minutes for her side effects to subside. Her breathing had evened out, her cheeks were no longer rosy red, and her skin was no longer blistering hot. However, the same could not be said for me.

Her scent was driving me insane, and the pain was pure torture. Now, she lay asleep, exhausted after hours of heat. She was vulnerable to me, and I knew I had to get out of the room before I mated with her.

Another hour passed as I paced and drank an entire bottle of whiskey, trying to force myself out of the room. Tipsy, I snatched another bottle off the bar and staggered out of the room. Desmond gripped my arm as I stumbled toward the steps.

"Stay on guard," I told him.

"My King," Desmond murmured.

"Don't worry, I know what I am risking. I am fine," I assured him.

"Do you?" he asked, and I growled in response to his question.

"Yes, I believe my life will be fine. I won't force her, and none of you should tell her. She will come around," I said, stopping as I lost my train of thought.

"You have three days, My King," Desmond argued.

"I need to go," I told him firmly.

"Not a word," I repeated, clutching the handrail as I headed towards my office.