Jacob

"Sir, Delta Kimon has asked me to relieve you," the guard who approaches me is young. Probably a few years my junior. I think his name is Tane. "I believe it is the end of your shift."

"Mm, it is, I just wanted to check a few things still," I answer off-handedly, but Tane simply stays standing in front of me. I have to admire his bravery, but I wonder what the hell is going on with him.

"Delta Kimon said that you would say that, Sir," Tane starts, a bead of sweat on his forehead. "He told me if you said that, to say, uh… For fuck's sake Jacob, go home already. The world won't burn if you aren't here."

I laugh at that. It definitely sounds like an argument that Kimon would make. "Okay, fair enough. I'll leave. If anything happens, you send a report immediately. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir." Tane salutes me, and marches off in the wrong direction.

"Tane," I call after him, and he glances back at me. "The other way, kid."

Flustered, he turns around, mutters an apology, and walks off. I decide that Kimon is right, and I should go home. Night shifts at the border are always tiring, and I won't be any use as exhausted as I am now.

I find myself yearning for bed as I make my way through the territory, back towards the main settlement. Everything is quiet around me and all that I can hear is the crunch of the ground beneath my feet.

The wind has changed from earlier, and I can smell the salt of the ocean in the air. It is a nice night, but I don't appreciate it like I should be. A part of me is wondering what it would be like now if Gisele could meet me out here. If we could walk on the beach and talk.

"Why don't you bring a jacket with you?" I can see her asking this in my head.

"So you can steal it? I don't think so." We'd both laugh at that, and I would chase her across the sand, into the water.

"What're you going to do, huh?" She'd tease me, and splash at me with far too much force.

"This!" I'd jump at her, and she'd pretend to scream, trying to drag me out of the waves. We'd fall to the ground, and roll around, wrestling as she tries to get me not to tickle her. Then, there would be a kiss, perfected under the moon. Her soft mouth under mine, my tongue entwined with hers.

She'd run her hands along my body, and awaken that primal hunger within me. The night would turn to something magical, as easily as a single conversation.

I shove it all aside. Thinking about her is still painful, and could throw me into a rabbit hole of despair. I can't stand here and fall into her memories, into the possibilities of what could have been. My heart will not be ready for that in a thousand years.

As I close in on my house, something mingles with the salty air in my nostrils. My wolf is immediately intrigued by the scent. I am familiar with it. Close by, there is a female in heat.

It seems strange that she would be so close, and on that side of the house. Derek lives next to me, and I'm certain that he is not a female in heat.

I don't think that there would be one in my house either. Intrigued, I follow the scent past my house and into Derek's yard. As dark as it is, my eyes instantly recognize the woman passed out on the lawn. Even in the night, her hair is unmistakable.

"Damn it, what are you even doing here?" I say out loud, but Ana's body does not respond. She is clearly unconscious. Without thinking, I rush forward, and scoop her up into my arms. Her heat causes me to go into a rut, where I suddenly feel urges for her that had never been there before.

I force my wolf back inside of myself. I need to focus. Something is wrong here. Why is she not inside of Derek's place, if she's all the way out here? Should she not be in the healer's building?

I am almost furious at her. Knowing Ana, she'd probably tried to escape, and came back. Her body doesn't have that kind of strength, whether she heals quickly or not.

She'll freeze out here, and she'll never wake up again. I can't leave her, and if I'm honest, I don't want to. I already have blood on my hands, and I don't think that I'd forgive myself if Ana dies out here.

"Come on," I say, despite the fact that she cannot hear me. I carry her across the lawn towards my own house, instead of towards Derek's front door. It is breaking the law, and I know that. I should be taking her to her mate, not trying to hold her away from him.

Something inside of me is saying that she wouldn't want to go to him. I don't know if that is selfishness or a premonition, but I listen.

Ana's body is hot to the touch, even though it is freezing outside. I wonder how long she has been laying there. It cannot have been more than half an hour. The healer probably doesn't know where she is.

I resolve that I will call them to let them know that she will stay with me for the time being.

Inside, I lay Ana down gently on my couch, and start a fire to keep her warm. She seems ill and feverish, and I am concerned. I don't want her to get any worse. I hope that she wakes up and tells me what is going on.

"It's me, Jacob." I immediately say when someone picks up the phone from the healer's building's reception.

"Alpha!" Comes the voice on the other end, full of reverence.

I don't have time for niceties. "Anastasia is with me. Can you tell the healer that?"

"I'll ask him to speak with you immediately, Sir!"

There is quite a bit of noise as whoever it is rushes to get the healer for me.

"Alpha Jacob, Sir, did you say that Anastasia is with you?" He sounds worried beyond belief. "We have been searching for her for the last hour!"

"Next time, check her mate's house." I am angry, and my tone betrays that. "I'm not bringing her back. She will only keep breaking out."

"I cannot go against you," the healer's wolf has clearly bowed before me. That much is evident in his words. "But I would advise you to stay close to her. She needs a physical connection right now."

"Why?" Even when I ask the question, the answer comes to me in the form of the rut, pulling me towards her.

"Her heat is building. It will continue until she mates, or breaks her bond," the healer explains in a sad voice. "Physical contact can help alleviate some of the symptoms. However, I would advise that she and her mate solve the problem as soon as it is possible. Her body still needs to heal, and this is not helping."

"Thank you." I end the call there and then. Ana would have to sleep with Derek to break her heat, or she would have to destroy their bond. For some reason, I find that I prefer the latter. The idea of Ana sleeping with Derek fills me with an unexpected jealousy.

I march towards where she lays on the couch. It is large enough for both of our bodies to fit on it. I climb in behind her, and pull her against me. The fever is harsh, and I cling desperately to her with one arm hoping that it will help.

My wolf is becoming more and more awakened by her heat as I lay so close to her that my breath touches her neck. I rage against it, furious that it would dare to try and overwhelm my rationality in a moment where Ana is so vulnerable.

Still, it refuses to back down. There is something so primal at the core of this desire that it beckons my body to give in. I do not. Instead, I wrestle it into the back of my mind, allowing only my chin to nuzzle into Ana's neck.

Suddenly, I feel her reciprocate. She lifts one arm to place it over mine, almost as if she is trying to pull me closer. She purrs against my chest, unconsciously finding comfort in my presence. I am surprised, but I do not pull away.

"Ana, you're safe with me," I whisper into her ear. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, alright?"

"Mm." The sound is small, almost high-pitched, a confirmation that Ana feels comfortable being here with me. It creates a flash of an emotion in my heart, but that disappears again fairly hurriedly.

Somehow, it feels good lying in front of the fire with her in my arms. Her fever has receded into a dull pulse, and I have my wolf under control. The exhaustion from my long shift at the border is setting in.

Fairly soon, I notice that I am falling asleep. It isn't difficult to allow it to happen, with Ana's even breathing so close to mine. Our bodies are intertwined when I close my eyes, and fall into my dreams.

I wake up before she does and climb back out from where I lay. I feel like I slept better than I had in years, which makes me feel guilty. I still believe that, if Ana hadn't been with Gisele that day, my mate would be alive.

Yet here I am, comforting and looking after Ana in her weakest moments. I cannot stay away from her or stop myself from caring. She needs someone right now, and that has to be me.

As soon as I leave the couch and go towards the fireplace to build new flames, I hear her stirring behind me. I turn around to see if she's waking up.

"Mm… where am I?" She groggily asks the room at large. "What's going on?"

"You're in my house," I answer, as if that should be obvious. I feel stupid when I remember that she was unconscious when I brought her in here.

"Jacob?" Ana is confused, peering at me through eyes like slits.

"I found you on Derek's lawn," I say, my tone angry and frustrated to hide my own uncertainty about my feelings. "You passed out."

"Really?" She sits up, putting her head in her hands. "Oh, I remember… I was trying to get this heat to stop…"

I hate that her words send an arrow of jealousy through my heart. "So you passed out on the lawn and nearly got frostbite? What's wrong with you? Why can't you just do what the healer told you to do?"

"I'm sorry," is all that she manages. I sigh, and go to sit next to her with my hand on her knee.

"You're staying here until you're healed," I insist. "Maybe an order from the Alpha can stop you if the healer couldn't."

"I'll die if I don't do this," Ana retorts, and I can see in her eyes that she is completely serious. "Do you want my blood on your hands?"

"We'll figure it out, but you cannot argue against me." I use my most authoritative voice, puffing up my wolf as much as possible without letting the rut take over. "I command you to stay here."

"I understand." Ana nods, her eyes cast downward to the floor. "But, please, you have to believe -"

"I am taking this extremely seriously, Ana, don't doubt that." Getting up from the couch, I glance back at her once more. "You will be fine."