Audrey

I woke up feeling like complete and utter crap. Not because I was still sad over yesterday. I actually felt sick. My stomach was in knots, and I felt like I was in a hot bath. Sweat was dripping down my face, and I threw the covers off of me. Groaning, I shifted around in the bed trying to get comfortable.

My head felt like it wanted to explode. Tears escaped my eyes from the pain that spread around my torso and head. My vision was blurry from the tears and I think it was from whatever bug I caught. Whimpering, I curled into a fetus position. What kind of illness burns the inside of your body? It was like someone lit my guts on fire.

Trembling, I decided to have a cold shower. I mean, it would make sense to try to cool myself down. Slowly, I eased off the bed and to the bathroom. I quickly peeled off my clothes before hopping into the shower. The cold water hit my skin, slightly easing the pain. I still felt hot though.

Suddenly, it got worse. It was like adding gas to the already burning flame. Unable to control myself, I let out a loud scream. My legs couldn't support me, causing my body to drop to the tile floor. The water continued to spray out of the shower head as it hit my body.

"Audrey!" a voice shouted. I could only whimper in response. I heard the door break open, before the shower curtain was removed. "Did you fall?" he asked as he turned off the shower. Immediately, my body was getting hot again. "Shit" he whispered before disappearing.

A few minutes later, a bunch of women came into the bathroom. Eve helped me off the floor and some other ladies helped me out of the shower. Squeezing my eyes shut, I let them guide me out of the bathroom. "Someone get Asher and Stewart. Get your mates to keep men away from here" Eve ordered the women.

They bowed their heads before scurrying out to do the tasks. "Audrey, sweetheart" Eve cooed. I whimpered as she ran her hand through my hair. "I know it hurts. Just take deep breaths" she instructed. I inhaled through my nose and shakily released it out of my mouth. "You're going through heat right now. It could last up to ten hours" she informed me.

Well, that's reassuring! I knew heat was supposed to be hurtful. But I didn't know that heat would feel this bad! The burning started to increase. I pursed my lips trying to stop myself from screaming. "Put ice in the tub- a lot of it" she demanded. Looking up, I saw Asher and Stewart rushing out the room. As the door opened, I caught a glance at the chaos outside.

Men were pushing back other men, who were trying hard to get in the room. I saw my mate in the crowd trying to get past the wall of men. His eyes were darker than black. Growls filled the my ears, making me wince. "Get them out the house!" Eve commanded. The men gave a stiff nod before pushing the crowd away.

Asher and Stewart quickly returned, each holding three bags of ice. They wordlessly walked to the bathroom. "Come on" Eve urged. She helped me stand; and I wobbled to the bathroom. I was put on top of a bed of ice at the bottom of the tub. Once I was sitting, another bag of ice was poured on me.

I watched as the ice surprisingly melted away once it made contact with my skin. Almost half of the ice cubes were melted, and another bag of ice was poured out. The pain subsided, but the heat didn't. I closed my eyes and continued to take deep breaths. "What the fuck?!" a voice shouted, making my eyes snap open.

Thomas was standing in the doorway as men attempted to pull him back. Asher and Stewart were blocking him from coming closer. "Thomas. You need to get out of here" Stewart demanded his son. Thomas shook his head as he locked eyes with me. I felt the need to jump out of the tub and into his arms. Stewart quickly stepped to his right, so I could no longer see Thomas. "She's not ready. You need to leave" he ordered.

My mate growled in response. "Leave!" Asher's loud voice boomed. I winced at the sound. Stewart moved, letting me see Thomas. It was like he was having a battle with himself. His eyes were flashing from gold to darkening all the way to pitch black.

His wolf was confused. He didn't know whether to go to his mate or follow the command of the King. Finally, I found my voice. "Thomas go. I'll be fine" I whispered weakly. With a frown on his face, he reluctantly nodded and walked out. Then another wave of pain hit me.

****************************************************************************

Eight hours later, I was sitting in the tub of ice, playing with the ice, and chewing on ice. I got bored, so I was slipping the ice through my fingers and letting it hit the water with a splash. And I got hungry, so I ate ice. Not the ice that I was sitting in. It was an unopened bag. Luckily, we still had one that didn't get melted by my body heat.

Its been about twenty minutes since the last pain hit me. Eve wanted to make sure it was really over before I got out of the tub. Stewart was standing guard by the bedroom door; Asher was sitting on the sink; and Eve was next to me, running her hand through my hair. "Babe" Asher called out. "I don't think another one's coming" he informed her.

After looking at me for a few moment, she nodded in agreement. "Come on. Let's get you dressed" she said softly. Eve gently grabbed my elbow an helped me stand up. Now shivering, I grabbed a towel from Asher and wrapped it tightly around my body. "You're cold. That's a good thing" she noted.

"Well, I'll tell the warriors to let everyone back in" Asher excused himself. Honestly, I feel bad for all those men. I should thank them later. And apologize for making them get out of the house. What did they even do for eight hours?

With Eve's help, I put on some jeans and a tanktop. "Thank you" I said gratefully. "I didn't even know what was happening. Thank you for staying with me and helping with all of this" I told her.

She smiled at me and kissed my forehead. "Its no problem at all, Sweetheart. Now, go brush your hair; and I'll help Asher" she handed me a brush before walking out the room.

I completely forgot I was even in a guest room. Hopefully no one was actually sleeping in here. I mean, it looked empty when I came in. Shrugging it off, I walked to the bathroom and ran the brush through my hair to get rid of all the knots. The tips of my hair was wet from the melted ice.

Sighing, I finished up with my hair and walked out. A bunch of guys were coming into the pack house. I quickly spotted Sam coming up the stairs. I started waving my hands around to get his attention; and it worked! "Hey. Can you tell everyone to go in the yard?" I asked. He looked curious, but didn't ask any questions as he nodded his head.

Slowly, I made my way to the yard- where a few men were already waiting. How did he- Wait. Mind-linking. I never did that before, and no one has ever talked to me through mind-link. I didn't have a pack, so I didn't even have anyone to talk to anyway.

I should probably learn how to do that. Maybe I can ask Gar and David. In only a few minutes, the yard was crowded with the Midnight Howler pack. Thomas and Stewart were standing in the back as they watched me with furrowed eyebrows.

Clearing my throat, I began to speak. "Hi, everyone" I said awkwardly. "Um... As many of you know, I'm Audrey- the daughter of the King and Queen and Thomas' mate" a few hollers and cheers interrupted me as a little heat crept up my neck. "I wanted to thank everyone who helped me today" I started. "I really appreciate it. And I'm sorry that some of the men had to leave the house for so long" I stated.

"Don't be sorry!" a female voice shouted in the crowd. "Heat sucks! Guys have it easy. We gotta push babies out of our-"

Her voice suddenly cut off and I saw a man with his hand over a woman's mouth. He bowed his head at me. "My mate is correct" he stated as he glanced at the woman who gave up trying to take his hand off of her mouth. "It is the least we could do for our Luna and Princess" he said.

Everyone started nodding in agreement. "As a thank you, I would like to have a celebration. It will also give me a chance to meet everyone. If that's alright with Alpha Stewart and Thomas" I announced.

All heads snapped towards the Alpha. Stewart came to the front with his son in tow. "I have no problem with it at all. Though, I would like to officially make Thomas the Alpha of the Midnight Howlers" he declared. Everyone started cheering, and I looked at Thomas. He avoided my eyes.

I felt a pang in my chest, but acted as though I never even looked at him. Is he mad at me? "We can have the celebration and the ceremony in two days" Stewart's voice boomed, snapping me from my thoughts. He dismissed the pack, and everyone scattered- including my mate.

Frowning, I slowly walked back inside the house. "That was very kind of you" Sam noted as I passed by him sitting in the kitchen. I gave him a tight smile and one nod. "Are you okay?" he asked. Nodding, I continued to walk away. "Are you sure?" he questioned as he followed me.

Well, for some reason my mate is mad at me. What did I even do to where he won't look at me? I nodded my head to answer Sam's question. "I gotta patrol. But this conversation isn't over" he warned me before jogging out the house.

"Why do you look like someone stole your chocolate?" Jesse inquired. I just had to see him on the way to the guestroom.

I sighed. "I'm fine" I stated while walking past him.

Of course, he follows me just like Sam did. "You know" he started slowly. I'm pretty sure that I know everything he knows and more. "I'm a good listener. I might be a little dramatic-" more like a lot. "And a bit mean. But I'll listen if you want to rant or something" he offered.

I shook my head. "No thanks. But if I do, I'll let you know" I said. He nodded his head before walking off. I should spend more time with Sam and Jesse. They're pretty cool. And its funny to see Jesse dramatic all the time. Maybe we can hang out later and they can tell me why my mate is mad at me. They're friends right? They should be. Jesse is the Beta and Sam is the Third. So they have to at least tolerate each other.

After going into the guestroom, I plopped myself down on the bed. I wish I had my guitar. Its times like these where I want to play. There's a billion songs to describe how I feel right now. I'm confused, sad, and a little angry. I'm confused as to why Thomas is mad at me. Its literally killing me- okay, maybe not literally. But the fact that he is mad at me and won't look at me makes me sad. Stupid mate bond. And I'm angry at myself since I obviously made him mad somehow. I don't even know what I did, though.

I'm so lost. Groaning, I stuffed my head into a pillow. 'I need a run' Casey grumbled. Agreeing with her, I went back outside and started walking towards the forest. "Where you going?!" a voice shouted at me. Turning around, I saw Jesse sticking his head out the window.

"For a run! Wanna come with?!" I shouted back. I saw him nod before his disappeared. A few minutes later, he was walking towards me in a pair of basketball short with no shirt. "You're so pale" I noted. He rolled his eyes at me as he shifted, tearing his clothes. "Yeah. I actually like my clothes. So I'm gonna strip over there-" I pointed to a group of large trees. "And you're gonna stay here" I ordered.

The brown wolf nodded his head and I walked away. After folding my clothes in a neat pile, I shifted and walked back to Jesse's wolf. He was staring at me as if he was waiting for something. How do I tell him to run? I don't know how to do the mind talk thing.

I simply nodded towards the forest before jogging away. Jesse nudged me as he sped up his pace. I did the same, but faster than him. Very soon, we were racing through the forest. Honestly, I wasn't playing fair. I might have pushed him into a tree a few times.

Eventually, we stopped at a small clearing. Our tongues were hanging out of our mouths as we panted for air. That was a good run. I should race with him more often.

Jesse abruptly started barking. His eyes were wide as he looked at me and barked. Then he howled. And that's when I heard the footsteps. Several pounding sounds, as feet hit the forest ground. I nodded before sprinting off. But Jesse didn't follow me. He was standing in the middle and I heard the footsteps getting closer and closer.

What the hell are you doing?! I wanted to shout at him, but I couldn't. And I'm not gonna leave him alone when someone could hurt him. I stood next to him, looking around for the person or people. He nudged me and nodded towards the direction of the pack house. Defiantly, I shook my head. If he's staying, I'm staying with him.

He growled as his body turned stiff. I turned to where he was looking and saw three wolves emerge from the trees. As expected all three of them were rogues.

But I never would've thought that all three of them were girls.

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Woah! Three rogue girls?!!! I wonder who they are...

Omg. Like what is Thomas' problem? Ugh. Men. So frustrating.

Like two days ago... My crush told me that he likes me!!!! And apparently he's been liking me for like two years! I didn't even know! So I told him that I like him too.

But then he got a girlfriend yesterday.

Ugh. Men.

I need a David in my life. David is amazing.

Kayyyyzzz Byeeezzz

~A.J.