Addison took a shaky step back, her eyes darting between Maxwell and Levi.
"I-I need to go. I have so matters to attend to," she stamred.
Maxwell reached out for her, but even though she was panting and her body was afla, Addison instinctively pulled away. She wasn’t ready to face this whole fated mate situation. Not yet.
Before her father could respond through the link, Addison turned and ran.
Inside the dical facility, Zion groaned loudly, twisting in pain. "Ugh!" he cried out again, writhing on the examination table.
The Royal Beta, standing nearby, was utterly dumbfounded, his brain practically short-circuited. He couldn’t tell if Zion was exaggerating to earn the Alpha King’s sympathy, or if the King had hit him so hard that it caused actual neurological damage. Either way, he imdiately stepped aside to let the dical staff do their work.
Zion had already started convulsing before they even got him into the ward. He’d been stumbling and writhing like a worm the whole way in, and from the looks of it, the Alpha wasn’t faking it.
The dics carefully wiped the blood from Zion’s face. Most of the visible wounds had already healed thanks to his rapid regeneration and help from his wolf, but they still ran a full diagnostic scan using enchanted tools. The results glowed green, no abnormalities detected. No brain damage. No trauma. Nothing at all.
"Royal Beta, I think..." the doctor began, then trailed off. He swallowed nervously and glanced at Zion, clearly unsure whether he should speak further. News of what happened in the banquet hall had already spread like wildfire throughout the palace.
"What?" the Royal Beta snapped, visibly rattled and on edge.
"I think... Alpha Zion is going into rut," the doctor said hesitantly, fidgeting with the hem of his coat. He knew what that ant, and so did everyone else in the room.
A male werewolf entering rut was no small thing. It only happened when he had a mate, and more often than not, that mate would simultaneously enter her heat. But that’s what made this situation so baffling. Zion had only just recognized Addison as his fated mate. They hadn’t marked each other, let alone mated.
So, how was this even possible?
Going into rut, or heat, without any mate bond was extrely rare. It was known to happen only in exceptional cases. Typically, females might enter spontaneous heat after a past mating experience or too much stress buildup, and males could trigger rut in response. But for an unmarked, unmated pair? The odds were minuscule.
Zion had gone into rut a few tis over the past three years, and each ti, Claire had tried to take advantage of his vulnerable state, but she had always failed. Still, none of those past episodes had ever felt like this.
The pain now was unbearable, ten tis worse than anything he’d experienced before. It felt like his entire body was being roasted alive, like his insides were being twisted by hot iron forks. Every nerve was on fire, and yet... There was an edge to the agony that felt maddeningly pleasurable, like a sharp tang of desire laced with the tornt.
He’d noticed the early signs earlier, subtle hints that his rut was coming, but everything that had happened since then had thrown him off. Normally, once the signs appeared, he had ti to prepare, ntally bracing himself for the sleepless nights, the aching need, the days of torturous restraint. He’d cool himself in freezing water, even try to relieve the pressure with his own hands, though it rarely helped. The urge to mate would always remain, clawing at him from within.
But this ti was different.
This ti, he was losing control.
Right now, Zion was on the verge of going feral. Every instinct scread at him to hunt Addison down, to find her, sink his fangs into the delicate skin of her neck, mark her, claim her, mate her until there was no doubt she was his.
’Damn it.Thinking about her was only making it worse.’
Zion groaned, twisting on the bed in agony. His body was drenched in sweat, muscles tensed, veins bulging so violently beneath his skin that they looked like they were about to burst. It was a terrifying sight, proof that the rut was consuming him.
Still... if Zion was experiencing rut, then it was very likely his mate, Addison, was going through her heat right now.
At that realization, the Royal Beta’s expression changed. He didn’t say a word, but the urgency in his eyes said it all. If Addison was in heat, this was no longer just speculation. The best, and only way to find out the truth... was to check on her imdiately.
anwhile, Addison was staggering down the hallway, her body betraying her with every step. A burning heat churned in her lower abdon, spreading like wildfire through her limbs. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, her legs growing weak beneath her. At any mont, she feared she might collapse.
Her pheromones were flaring wildly, though she couldn’t sll them, everyone she passed could. The warriors in the corridor subtly turned their heads, inhaling the air as she walked by. She caught the shift in their expressions, the flicker of desire in their eyes, the way their bodies tensed as if fighting the urge to move toward her. If they hadn’t known she was the Princess, she was certain so of them might have acted on instinct.
Addison’s heart pounded. She needed to get away, now. Sohow, her heat had started without warning. Or maybe the signs had been there and she’d missed them. Either way, all she could do was pray she made it back to her chambers in ti.
Just as her knees buckled slightly, her attendant appeared. Eyes wide in alarm, the woman rushed to her side and supported her without question, guiding her quickly and discreetly toward her quarters. Despite the panic, she didn’t forget her duty; she mindlinked the Alpha King at once.
The Alpha King wasted no ti. He imdiately ordered a lockdown of Addison’s palace wing, stationing only trusted female warriors at all access points. No males, especially unmated werewolves, were to be allowed near. He had considered allowing mated male guards to remain, but Addison’s heat wasn’t ordinary. Neither was the bond she shared with her fated mates. He couldn’t be sure if her pheromones would affect only unmated males.
He turned toward Levi and Maxwell, both standing nearby, looking dazed and clearly affected. Their skin was flushed, their breathing shallow, pupils dilated like n drugged by a powerful aphrodisiac. A quick glance downward confird it: they were both fully aroused.
Was this Addison’s heat affecting them directly? Or was it a chain reaction, spreading through the unique bond that linked the four of them?
The Alpha King clenched his jaw. Whatever it was, things were escalating fast.
"I think we’re in big trouble," the Alpha King mindlinked his mate, his tone tense.
"What do you an?" the Queen responded instantly, her body stiffening with concern.
"Addison is going into heat." His voice was low, serious. He then subtly tilted his head toward the two remaining fated mates beside them, Levi and Maxwell.
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