Chapter 169: Eira’s In Heat-I Roman’s POV The moment I reached the threshold of the home, just a few feet from the boundary, I froze. My senses went rigid as a wildly tempting scent slammed into me.
My wolf stirred violently, a growl rumbling from deep within my chest, the beast inside me clawing to be set free. I knew what it was, and it took every shred of control to hold myself back.
She’s in heat. My feet rooted to the ground as I fought against the invisible pull drawing me toward that door. Each step backward felt like a battle against unseen shackles, dragging me instead toward the source of that intoxicating call. My body screamed to kick open the door, to reach her, to give in. The force was merciless.
I was barely holding on when I heard a voice cut through the haze.
"Roman, what—"
It broke off abruptly.
I turned and saw my brothers, their faces mirroring my own shock.
And then we heard it—the guttural, savage growl.
Our gazes snapped toward the source.
Rafe.
His red eyes burned dark, feral and unhinged. Fangs glistened as the veins across his body rose like a darkened mesh. He looked more beast than man, seconds away from losing all control and lunging forward.
But before he could, Lucian stepped in, slamming a hand hard against Rafe’s chest, stopping him in place. It was so strong the vibrations reached us the moment Lucian’s hand struck Rafe’s chest in powerful strike.
"Rafe. No." His voice rang sharp with command, steady despite the storm in his eyes. He held Rafe’s gaze, forcing his will into him. "You can’t. Get back to your senses. Right Now."
Lucian himself was straining, the scent clawing at him too, but he was still rational enough to act.
A flicker of clarity returned to Rafe. He stumbled back, shaking his head violently as though to break free of the haze. Clenching his jaw, he held his breath to block the scent, then spun around and stormed away from the house.
Lucian exhaled sharply and turned to Kael. "I have to take care of him—and then leave to get Eira’s child. You can handle things here."
Without waiting for Kael’s reply, Lucian was gone in an instant, his expression grim.
Though Kael and Rafe were always close, and Lucian and Rafe always bickered, Lucian’s priority had always been protecting Rafe from any harm as he was different from us. Lucian’s care towards Rafe came in his own way.
"Lucian alone can’t handle it," Jason muttered, already forcing himself to turn away. Every step cost him his strength, but he still pushed forward, retreating from the suffocating pull.
Now only Kael and I remained. I turned to him, my chest heaving. Lines of sweat had already started appearing on my forehead while fighting against the pull.
Kael was no different, but he was better than us at holding back, though being a top tier Alpha it should have been opposite.
Hi struggle was worse for him than for any of us. His bloodline was bound by nature to a pureblood like her. The instinct between them wasn’t just attraction—it was law, a force older and more binding than reason itself.
"Let’s be rational, alright?" My voice was hoarse, every word carved out of restraint. "You have to go to her. You have to mate with her."
His eyes flickered, caught between the beast inside him and the thought of me—because I had marked her. All the veins on his body visibly popped out as he was barely holding back his wolf from coming out.
I forced myself to go on, pushing the fire of my own desire aside for her safety. "Listen to me. First comes her protection, and for that, she needs you. You have to mark her. You have to be the one."
I continued anyway, so Kael wouldn’t feel he was taking away my right. Moreover, being our Alpha, his rights came before ours, but he valued the friendship between us more.
"Kael, even if I mate with her now—which I want like hell—the bond between us won’t be strong because of the existing bond she has with her mate. Only you can break her previous bond so she can be ours entirely. By doing this, we can protect her from the council, as they’ve given us a deadline to make her our mate. This is the right chance for you to mark her and protect her when we’re summoned to the next council meeting. You have to do it. We have to protect her first. Her anger towards us will always be there, and we have to live with it. Go ahead. I have to help Lucian. Rafe isn’t looking good."
I didn’t wait for his reply. My own restraint was shattering under the weight of that intoxicating scent. Each second in it felt like fire searing through my veins, dragging me back toward her.
"I’ll find Lucian. Rafe isn’t looking good."
With that, I tore myself away, every step a war against the primal need threatening to consume me.
I reached where Lucian was trying to contain Rafe, stopping him from going anywhere, while Jason brought the car in which they could leave. They had already ordered the security to stay along the boundaries and not go near the residence.
They saw me and understood what my decision was, and they seemed to agree with it as well, though none of them commented on it directly.
"Why don’t you just let me go?" Rafe’s voice broke through, rough and pleading, his body trembling as he fought himself more than Lucian.
"You’re not leaving my sight, do you hear me?" Lucian snarled, his fist twisted tight in the collar of Rafe’s jacket. "Or I’ll beat the hell out of you. Mark my words—you won’t see daylight outside the dungeon for a month this time."
He didn’t give Rafe a chance to resist or argue. With brutal force, he shoved him into the back seat of the car and slid in beside him, pinning him there with his warning presence.
I went ahead and sat in the front passenger seat.
Staying here any longer would drive me mad. The scent still clung to my senses, clawing at my control, and one more moment might push me straight back to her.
I couldn’t trust myself around her anymore. None of us could. That was why we were fleeing—not to abandon her, but to protect her. From us. From the beasts clawing inside our skins.