CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
FIONA'S P.O.V
"Heat? What do you mean?" I ask before anyone else can.
"Luna you see, heat is a werewolf thing. It is believed to have been made by the moon goddess herself. Every female mated to a werewolf can enter heat but it is very rare for this to happen and because of that many werewolves don't even know about it anymore"
"So what will happen to my daughter during this so called heat and why will she go through it?" My mother asks sitting down beside me.
"Legend has it that long ago, many mates would be stubborn and want to reject or even refuse each other. Mating was taking a long time and the moon goddess' pairing wasn't being honoured. The moon goddess had no choice than to impose the 'heat' on the females" Mary told us.
"Before the female enters heat, usually about a week before it starts, she gets a strong urge to be with her mate, more like a force pushing her to complete the mating process. We can call this a final warning or chance to do the needful. If they still don't complete the mating process then she will go into heat" she adds and I'm starting to understand what she is saying.
So that explains why Alice has been acting weird, why she wanted us to mate with Mikhail so badly. I didn't do it though so what will happen now?
"If the mates don't complete the mating process and the female starts this heat, what will happen then?" I ask knowing that I won't like the answer to my question.
"The heat lasts for 3 days and it is characterized by unbearable pain. You can view it as a punishment for not completing the mate bond and also a forceful way to get mates to complete the process. The female will be in a lot of pain throughout her heat"
"That is absurd! Why should she be in pain just because they haven't completed the mating process?" father says in outrage.
"Father, calm down and let her explain" I say softly. He looks at me and sighs before taking a seat.
"Okay but why will she be the only one in pain? You said it's a punishment for not completing the mating process so why isn't the male being punished?" He asks calmly this time.
My gaze moves to Mary who had stopped talking because of my father's outburst. I'm also curious about this, will I be the only one getting punished? I nod for her to continue.
"This heat is a sort of punishment for the male too. His punishment is the pain of watching his mate suffer. Even if the mates don't like each other, his wolf will ache and hurt because of the pain the female is going through, that is his punishment" she tells us.
So Mikhail would have to suffer the pain of watching me suffer. It would tear him apart to see that happen, especially if he felt that he couldn't do anything about it.
"Apart from the pain which she will experience, she will also let off a scent which will... Attract all unmated wolves and give them the urge to-"
A loud growl cuts through the air and I flinch slightly. Mikhail had been quiet before but now he seems angry. His eyes are flickering from black to their normal blue ones and I know he's trying to keep his wolf at bay.
"Give them the urge to do what?" He asks in a deadly voice. Mary's eyes widen and she didn't dare speak again but I know we all understood what she was trying to say.
This heat sounds horrible. I'll experience pain and also be a walking sex magnet, just great.
I quickly stand up from the couch and head towards Mikhail who is still angry. I put my hand on his back and slowly rub it "calm down Mikhail, she's just telling us the truth" he remains tense for some seconds before he finally relaxes and his eyes fade back to their normal colour.
"Mary please continue, we need to know everything about this heat" I say to her.
Mary seems to be hesitating so I send a small smile In her direction. she nods again before speaking. "The female will only find comfort in her mate and he will also have the urge to complete the mating process. If they complete the mating process then the pain will stop. However if the female is strong enough to endure the pain, it will vanish after three days"
"Wait so she can choose to just endure the pain then it's bye-bye heat?" Daphne asks but Mary shakes her head in reply.
"It is not easy to endure the pain of a heat. It is extremely painful and passing out several times from the pain is quite common. Most people don't last the first day before giving in and completing the mating process" she tells us.
"Okay so it is extremely difficult but what if the female still insists on enduring the pain rather than completing the mate bond?" Gina asks too.
"Well since the female will find comfort in her mate, him staying by her side can ease the pain enough for her to bear it. However even if the female decided to bear the pain, it isn't a permanent solution" she tells us.
"Why not?" I ask her. It seemed to me that bearing the pain would be my decision in this situation.
"You see, another heat will be experienced a month after the first one. This one will be even more painful than the first. Let's say she is able to bear that one too, though I doubt it. The third one will be the worst... It will kill her " she says with an air of finality.
The room goes quiet after Mary's explanation. We all seem to be mulling over what she just told us. Can I actually bear the pain of a heat? It seems to be very painful judging from what Mary has said. Even though I'm scared of the heat, am I ready to complete the mating bond with Mikhail?
I know that I love him and he has made it clear that he loves me too but are we truly ready for such a big step? If we do this then there will be no going back. We'll be stuck together forever.
My eyes automatically shift in his direction and as if knowing exactly what I'm thinking, he meets my stare head-on. He looks just as confused and troubled as I am.
"Well now I remember where I heard the word from and why the scent on you seemed so familiar" Amanda says breaking the silence.
All eyes shift to her waiting for her to continue. "Well you see my sister has gone through heat before" she says shocking us all.
"Your sister Jessie? The one we went back to your pack to visit? But she seems to love Dale a lot" Gina says.
"Yeah but not at first. Dale used to be a playboy, he even had a girlfriend when he met my sister. She hated the fact that he slept around and so she didn't want to accept him as her mate".
"Dale changed after meeting her and stopped whoring around but Jessie wasn't having any of it. He tried to win her over but she was stubborn and then her heat set in. The scent on her was exactly like the one on Fiona now"
"Her heat actually helped them bond even though she almost died. She wanted to bear the pain and even succeeded for the first day but she was fading away on the second day. She passed out so many times and could barely move. They sort things out and finally completed the mating process. Dale told her that he would not watch her die"
So the pain is that bad. Can I actually pull it off like Amanda's sister? But even she couldn't withstand it until the end.
"Honey what will you guys do?" Mother asks looking worried. I didn't know what to say so I turn to look at Mikhail.
"Don't worry Ma'am, no matter what happens I will make sure that she is fine" he says with confidence and I feel my eyes widen. Does that mean what I think it does?
"Well you better make sure of that. Complete the mating process as soon as possible " father adds and my cheeks flush in embarrassment.
"Father, stop" I almost yell out but he doesn't even seem bothered. "What? I'm just trying to make sure you'll be fine. It's obvious you're both in love so there's no point wasting time and causing yourself unnecessary pain"
"When do you think her heat will start Mary?" Mother asks and Mary seems to be thinking about it. "Well based on her scent, I think it should start in about 3 days" she tells us.
'I only have 3 days or less to make my decision? This is horrible. What if it starts tomorrow? This pack has a lot of unmated wolves, they'll try to...' I shudder in disgust as I try to keep my mind off thoughts like that.
"Mikhail I believe that Fiona is in good hands, take care of her and keep her safe. If anything happens to her then you should be prepared to die" my father says with all seriousness. Mikhail's eyes widen but he clears his throat and nods at my father.
"I will surely keep her safe, your majesty" my father seems pleased at this and nods back at him.
"We will be leaving now Fiona, take care of yourself" I move closer to him and hug him and my mother joins in the hug too. "Stay safe and please be careful " I tell them.
We all follow them outside and say our goodbyes before they get on the dragons and leave. We continue to watch them fly away until we can't see any traces of them anymore.
We finally turn
turn around and head back inside. It's time for me to settle some things, starting with Daphne.