Ana

"I still don't think this is such a good idea." I call Jacob back with my words and he pauses in the door. "I'm in heat, and… I mean, you know how hard that is. Robert knows what he's doing, I'll go back and… Or maybe I can go home."

Jacob seems to sense that there is another reason that I am arguing against him, but he doesn't mention it.

"You already ran away from Robert. Why would I believe you'd actually stay at home and rest like you're supposed to?" He crosses his arms and peers at me skeptically. "Let me answer that; I don't think you will."

I can feel his wolf pressing down on mine, making it very difficult to argue. But I don't want to be this close to Derek and Medeia. I can't take the pain of seeing them together, knowing what they are doing so close to where I am.

Even if I am not in love with Derek, he is still my mate. His betrayal is searing, and I cannot imagine spending any amount of time living next door to him.

"I don't want to be this close to Derek," I finally relent in a whisper, refusing to look at Jacob for that moment. I don't say why, but I'm sure Jacob can understand. Even so, I feel his wolf, the Alpha that he is, making mine submit. He's not going to take no for an answer, no matter the argument that I make.

"You will stay here, so that I can watch over you," Jacob says firmly, a statement that cannot be refuted. At this point, I am tired. There's nothing I can say that will change his mind. "Your room is to the right upstairs. I have something to do, but you better be here when I return."

It is not often that Jacob resorts to straightforward commands like that. I know that I'm not going to disobey, whether I want to or not. He leaves me in the living room, and I decide to go upstairs to the room that he has assigned to me.

I'm still exhausted. My heat is broiling under the surface, but it doesn't feel nearly as awful as it had the previous night. I can somewhat focus through the blur of the fever, even if my body still feels incredibly weak.

The room isn't that big, but it has enough space for the double bed, desk, and cupboard that furnish it. Its colors are muted, various shades of soft blues, greens, and grays. If it wasn't for the fact that its window looks out onto Derek's back garden, it would actually have been a great room to relax in while I heal.

For a while, I sit down on the bed, uncertain of what I'm supposed to be doing. Then, I hear a sound outside of the window. I am well aware that I shouldn't go and see what it is. My instincts are already telling me that I will not like it.

Of course, I don't listen to them. I get up from the bed to stand at the window. On Derek's side of the fence, I see him and Medeia walking out of the house, laughing and talking. With the window closed, I can't hear what they are saying, so I pull it open, ignoring the pleasant breeze that hits my face.

I already feel uncomfortable watching them. I know that I should walk away, but I can't help myself.

"You're so stupid!" Medeia giggles as Derek begins to tickle her. I feel the flash of pain that comes from watching my mate loving someone else.

"What are you going to do about it?" I hate the way his voice sounds when he talks to her. That tone is never present when he's with me. Jealousy bubbles up in my stomach, making me feel like I'm going to be sick.

"This," Medeia answers. There is a tense pause before she turns around and wraps her arms around Derek's neck. I wish for time to stop so that they can never continue this, but that doesn't happen.

Instead, Derek leans down easily, his lips meeting Medeia's, their tongues quickly becoming involved in the kiss. It hits me so hard that I grasp at my stomach and my mouth simultaneously. The pain rips right through me and I cannot stand it any longer.

Not wanting to see any more of their open love affair, I shut the window loudly and pull the curtains across it. Dry sobs lift themselves from my chest, even though the tears never join them.

Living here is going to be an absolute fucking hell. I don't know how I will deal with it knowing that they're so close. Jacob never loved me, and neither does Derek, even though the latter is supposed to be bonded to me. How can I live with that, when right next door, Derek ravages Medeia as if I do not exist?

The exhaustion, the pain, and the fever are slowly becoming overwhelming again. I want all of this to be over, but I decide that I will not kill myself in Jacob's house. Instead, I will sleep as much as I can. The nightmares are constant, but at least I can predict them.

I would rather deal with them than with the reality that I am faced with just outside the window. So, I go to lie down on the bed, my back to the window, and close my eyes. I can still hear Derek and Medeia outside, but I force them out of my head.

Sleep comes slowly, but eventually, I fall into my dreams, standing at the edge of that ravine again.

"Ana!" Jacob is calling me from somewhere, but it takes me a while to realize that it is not in my nightmare. "You hungry?"

I open my eyes. The sun has moved from the position that it was in when I'd gone to lie down. There is no noise outside of my window. I wonder how many hours I had been asleep.

Surprisingly, I feel slightly better than I had, despite the fever of my heat beginning to rise again.

My stomach is grumbling and I quickly realize that I'm starving. The idea of having dinner with Jacob is making me nervous, but I decide to deal with it. Perhaps he'll touch my arm, or give me a hug, so that my heat will calm down.

It is quickly building again now that I am awake, along with my frustration.

I go downstairs without getting dressed. Jacob should understand that I'm still healing and that I don't feel like picking out outfits and make-up when I'm in this mood.

When I walk into the dining room, however, I am stunned. At the other end of the table from where I enter, Derek and Medeia are speaking with Jacob. Immediately, the fever of my heat flares up, and I feel like I want to jump on Derek right there and then.

I force myself to resist, I remember the pain from what I saw standing at the window, and from the previous night. I know what is happening between Derek and Medeia, and I refuse to give in to my hormones.

"Well, well, look at you." Medeia is the first to notice me. "I see you've gone for homeless chic this evening."

"Medeia." Jacob's voice is low and I hear the warning in it. "She's still healing."

"Sure, of course." Medeia pretends to sound sweet, but I can see her roll her eyes when she looks away from Jacob.

Derek is quiet, but I notice him staring at me. I expect him to start drooling at any moment. There is an animal right underneath the surface, his wolf can barely contain itself. Of course, his mate is in heat.

He must be feeling the lustful urge to grab me just as much as I am feeling it.

Even if I am homeless chic, as Medeia mentioned, Derek is struggling to resist me. I could be wearing a bag of trash and he'd have a hard time. A glimmer of sweat has appeared on his forehead, but he manages to tear his eyes away.

I can feel my wolf pulling towards his, too, and the fever is heating up my skin. This dinner is going to be difficult to get through.

"Why don't you all sit down, and I'll bring out the food?" In his expression, I see that Jacob has realized that the air is tense, but this is not betrayed by his voice.

I take a seat as far away from them as I can. Luckily, Medeia chooses the chair right next to the head of the table, on the opposite side. Derek moves in beside her, but his eyes stay glued to me.

"Did you get kicked out of the healer's building, huh?" Medeia asks with her usual snarky tone. "Bet they couldn't stand to have a complete loser under their roof. Jacob will make you leave soon, too, anyway. After all, you did kill his mate."

I don't answer. I am too tired to get into an argument with her. Before she continues, Jacob has returned with a plate of steaks and potatoes that he puts in the center of the table. He takes his seat at the head of the table with an awkward smile.

"Dig in!" He announces, grabbing a steak and three potatoes for himself. I wait until everyone has dished up before I do the same.

The food tastes fantastic, but I am eating slowly. Derek isn't even eating at all, or speaking for that matter. I can tell that he is torn between his feelings for Medeia and his instincts to mount me.

Jacob is still trying to make conversation. "So, Ana has been feeling better."

"Is it?" Medeia laces her question with sarcasm. "That's so great. I thought she was going to die."

"I haven't, and I don't plan to," I answer, confident in Jacob's presence that Medeia won't try anything.

Most of the dinner passes quietly after that, and I offer to take the dishes to the kitchen.

"I'll help," Derek says, his throat sounding thick. No one seems too suspicious of that, but I am surprised that he's being helpful at all.

We carry the dishes to the kitchen and drop them in the sink. As Derek turns to walk away, his arm brushes against mine. Both of us freeze. Until now, we'd fought against our wolves, against the urge to quell my heat.

With that, however, Derek swings himself around to face me. His breath is quick, his eyes filled with lust. When he moves toward me and pulls me into him, I don't fight it anymore.

I want him right now, just as much as he wants me. The age-old mating rut has overtaken our sanity, and there will be no stopping this now.

I don't even think of Jacob and Medeia in the dining room.

Derek's tongue battles with mine as we kiss, our hands hurriedly exploring each other's bodies. He picks me up in powerful arms and puts me on the counter, allowing me to wrap my legs around him.

I feel his fingers tearing at my clothes, and I reach for the zip on his jeans in return. It is as if we are both starving, and this is the only way to satisfy ourselves.

"You fucking whore!" The sudden scream fills the room, and I pause to look over Derek's shoulder. Medeia is standing just inside of the door, her face completely pale.

She is followed by Jacob, whose face flares with anger. He storms past Medeia and launches his fist at Derek's jaw. When it connects, I jump down from the counter. Reality sets in, and I have to get out of there.

I run out of the kitchen to the bathroom, where I lock myself in and try to calm my breaths.