"So," Inara gulps her drink. Clearly, she was drunk. "Tell me about me."

"Huh?" Zade was a bit drunk too.

"I mean," she takes a hiccup, "The wolf me. Did you know me from before?"

"Nupe," Zade says as he tries to get up but tumbles on the sofa. "My brother, Damon, knew your brother. He trusted him so much." He says with a small pout.

───── ❝ Flashback ❞ ─────

"It would be better if you seal this tunnel for the first few weeks so the other wolves get used to it." Kyros shows him the maps of the forest.

"Where did you get these?' Damon looks with astonishment at those old maps.

"I know the forest way better than you guys. These maps are like my family heirloom." He jokes and then points at the secret entrance.

"So, if the Silver Bows know about the secret passageways, this will the first one they will attack. But since you can see, it is small, not more than four wolves should be assigned there."

"What do you think Odin?" Damon looks at him for approval.

"I think Kyros is right. Zade?" Odin calls him in the tent, "Get three of your most trusted and strongest wolves. You will be assigned your position." He says pointing at the map.

"Actually," Kyros interrupts, "How about I join Zade too?"

"That is a good idea. Once we seal that entrance, you both can come back to the main area." Damon thinks.

"Do you really trust him?" Zade whispers to his brother.

"Yes. And you should too." Damon shows faith in Kyros.

They both come out of the tent as Kyros proposes to meet the other two fellows who would guard the entrance with them.

"I know you are a bit skeptical about me," Kyros says as they are walking. Everyone was preparing for the long battle.

"You haven't given me a reason to trust you yet." Zade gives a straight answer. It doesn't mean that if Damon trusts him, he would trust him too. He's never even heard of Kyros's pack before, never had he seen them before. He calls them a bunch of forest hippies.

"We aren't hippies. Forest is our home, always has been." Kyros says as if he just read his mind.

Zade was a bit shocked by it but he just walks ahead, not talking much.

"Why are you helping my brother?" Zade asks him once they reach their tent.

"Because he has always protected us." He says, sharpening his dagger. "Do you want to go for a run?" he says, taking off his clothes.

"Now?" Zade asks, confused. They were supposed to practice sparring.

"Yeah. I'll get a glimpse of your speed and stamina as a wolf." He was already out of the tent with a towel around his waist. Zade wastes no time and does the same, following Kyros deep into the forest.

"Do you know where we are going?" Zade asks suspecting.

"Right here." He stops in the middle, beneath a large tree. "Come on, change."

Kyros doesn't take much time to change to his wolf, Blizzard. Zade watches him with an enchanted expression.

It was beautiful!

Light brown fur reflecting in the sunlight. Eyes were bright yellow with a hint of softness in them. Most wolves don't have any sympathy nor emotions once they come into their wolf form, but Kyros was different. He was also larger than other wolves.

Blizzard (Kyros's wolf) growls at him and Zade takes the hint. He also changes to his wolf.

Zade's wolf was quite different. He was a greyish wolf with roots of a darker shade. His ears were long and his fangs were sharp. His eyes were grey as the clouds of rain in the sky.

"Ready," Hunter growls at Blizzard and before he knows, he was already running.

Hunter was impressed by his speed and tries to follow him.

───── ❝ Flashback Ends ❞ ─────

"Do you think your brother would recognize me?" Inara asks, waking Zade from his thoughts.

"I don't know. I never saw you so I don't know if my brother would have." Zade looks at the pouty and sad face of Inara and melts, "But I can try." He smiles.

"Will you? Inara cheers up for a minute but becomes sad again, "But I don't want to involve you anymore." She pouts cutely and all Zade would think about was kissing those pouty lips.

They both were clearly drunk!

"I am already involved," Zade says after a hiccup. Inara was his mate. He was already doomed to remain involved in this. "I want answers from Kyros." He says.

"So, I'll help you one last time." He raises his glass and Inara happily clinks it.

"Thank you soooo much." She smiles. "Even though it is for the search of truth, I appreciate your help." She was close to Zade's face and he gulps. He had never seen her this up close. She was so beautiful.

Her eyes were so pretty. She also had a small spot right on the top of her cute nose. Her features were a lot more defined. How can someone be so pretty? Zade wishes to see her wolf so bad. If she is this pretty, imagine her wolf with soft fur and such beautiful eyes.

He breaks eye contact again. He was becoming a bit sober so he stopped himself from doing something that he would regret. Inara was looking at him innocently which meant she was still drunk.

The more they stayed silent, they would end up doing things that they would regret the next morning. Zade breaks the silence.

"So, you want to know more about wolves?" he asks to pique her interest.

"Yes!" she shouts like an excited baby.

"So where should I start?" he thinks when Inara suggests.

"What about heat? That's what I got in the hospital." She suggests.

Zade flusters a bit. He didn't want to talk about a topic like this but Inara pleads.

"Pleaseeee? It is painful." She makes a sad face.

"Well, all omegas get heat. It is like getting periods in human terms. But unlike blood coming out, you have these urges." He tries to carefully put words.

"What urges?" her eyes were gleaming with curiosity. Zade didn't notice but they were sitting pretty close.

"You know what." He tries to avoid it but Inara shakes her head innocently.

"Sexual urges!" he answers in frustration. "They have a lot of pain in their stomach and only another Alpha or Beta can suffice that. An omega could do it herself but it wouldn't be that effective. It is better if your mate helps you. It brings you closer to them."

"Omegas probably get them every month for like three to four days and stop getting them once they are pregnant. But it starts once again when the baby is born. Your emotions get affected too. It's like everything is heightened." He tries to explain.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"It's like every sense of yours is experiencing more of everything. Every touch sends a chill down your spine, especially the ones from your mate. You can hear their voice from a mile because you are joined to them with a soulmate bond, hence connecting you both. Their smell draws you towards them. You will feel it is the most sweetest smell in the world. It is the strongest near the neck and collarbones."

"Like this?" Zade doesn't know when Inara was almost on top of him, sniffing his neck. He gulps and sits there frozen.

"What about Alphas and Betas?" she asks near her neck which sends shivers down Zade's spine.

"Alphas and Betas get ruts. They experience it twice in the year at the most. It is similar to that of Omegas. Their senses are heightened. They are more protective of their mate and their body remains heated for at least two to three days. Only their mates, especially an Omega can effectively bring down the temperature." He says everything like a tape recorder.

Inara was so close to him, her lips putting an open-mouthed kiss on his collarbone.

"You smell so sweet." She licks his neck a little. He knows that Inara was on her heat and she would be drawn the most to her mate.

And who was her mate? Zade!

It takes him a lot of inner strength to help Inara get up and makes her sit beside him.

"I think I heard Abir outside." He makes an excuse and gets up.

"You should rest." He says and opens the door. He looks at her once who just looks at him with a blank expression. He closes the door and goes to the car.

Inara shrugs her shoulder and plops on the sofa, snoring.

Zade was burning hot.

His omega was right there, begging him with her intoxicating scent but Zade felt it was wrong.

It wasn't that he wasn't her mate. It was his duty to help her. But he felt wrong.

He didn't want to kiss Inara when she wasn't aware of herself.

She was drunk and she was new to being a wolf. They weren't even sure that when her wolf will come out of its dormant state. And Zade felt guilty.

He wanted his kiss with Inara to be fully awake and aware of each other.