Embers Of The Moon (Book 1)

Chapter 19

Sarah jerks her head back from Aiden, breaking a kiss, as she hears a scream coming from down the hall. "What the? That sounded like Anna." She glances at Aiden, her eyebrows furrowed together, as she jumps up and grabs a robe to cover herself more appropriately.

Aiden sighs, closing his eyes before he looks back up at her. "I am sure everything is okay, but if you insist that we go check it out, we can." He gives her a soft smile before climbing out of bed and pausing the movie they were watching, even though they were not spending much time actually watching it. He offers her his hand as he leads her to the door and opens it for her to walk out as they make their way towards Travis' room. The closer they got, the more noises and yelling they were able to hear. Aiden glances at Sarah and immediately sees the concern in her eyes, and he quickly makes his way down the hall and knocks on Travis's door.

Sarah waits, glaring at the door with her arms crossed, as she looks back and forth between Aiden and the door, her foot starting to tap. "Oh, to hell with this." Sarah shoves past Aiden as she pushes the door open. "ANNA!?! Travis, What the fuck is going on in here!?" She barges into the room and sees Anna's discarded shirt and the towel Travis had once worn around his waist.

Travis' head snaps towards his bedroom as he hears Sarah's call, as she continues to struggle slightly against him and demands to be released from his hold. Travis continues to hold Anna against his bare chest. "Anna, please love, calm down, and breathe in and out with me, and this feeling will pass. I need you to calm down. Sarah and Aiden are in my room." He looks around the shower, looking for anything to cover her bare chest with. As he tares his gaze back to the present concern, he sees a hand towel and yanks it down and holds it against her. He could feel her temperature slowly returning to normal from the cold water.

Anna finally stops fighting against his hold as she closes her eyes. "So, why does it matter that they are in there? We are in here, and I still want to feel you in me. Please, please? Travis, enough of this cold water." She looks up at him and pouts, sticking her bottom lip out at him. "Please, let me go, Travis. I thought you loved me." Anna pauses as she hears the bathroom door get shoved open. Before Anna can even react, she sees Sarah's eyes flash a red she had only seen once before.

Sarah launches at Travis, latching her hands around his neck. She growls dangerously, "Care to explain yourself, mutt?" She spats, venom dripping from each syllable spoken. "How, after everything, are you going to force yourself on her and have her beg to be let go?" She slams him into the shower wall. "Get out of here, Anna; it is okay now."

Travis groans slightly at the impact of his head against the wall as his arms relax around Anna. She instantly spins around in his lap, facing him. "Anna, please do not..."

Sarah tightens her hold around his neck. "DO NOT SPEAK TO HER!!!"

Travis looks up at Sarah and says, "Please, you do not understand Sarah; she is not in her.... Uhhh..." He closes his eyes as his breath catches "Ann... a... Plleasseee." He gasps as his hands lock onto her waist as he attempts to still her movements and push her off of him.

Aiden, who had been watching the whole scene from the doorway, finally broke his silence. "Sarah, love, let him go, my dear. If you look, it appears that Travis may actually be the victim here. Travis, I have a serious question for you. How long has she been like this?"

"I am not sure, but sense definitely this morning at the bare minimum." He answers, looking over at him with his eyes. "Aiden, I swear I have been trying not to take advantage of her. I believe she is in her first heat."

Aiden nods. "I was afraid of that. Sarah please." He nods his head towards Travis, who was still sitting, waiting for her to let him go patiently while attempting to hold Anna at bay the best he could.

Sarah looks between them with a look of puzzlement. "Heat? Like an actual dog?" She looks back at Travis with a look of bewilderment before glancing back at Anna, who is currently leaning forward with her head on his chest and her eyes closed, finally calming down. She shifts her gaze back up to Travis before removing her hands from around his neck, still skeptical.

Travis and Aiden both look at her and nod. Travis sighs as he rests his head against the cool tiles of the shower wall, closing his eyes. "Yes, sort of." He opens his eyes, relief filling them as he sighs before looking down at Anna, who appeared to have dozed off on him as her body temperature had finally cooled down to close to normal. Travis raises his hand and softly brushes her hair from her face, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Typically, heats happen around eighteen years old for us only after our mates are found in the winter. They are nothing significant in the sense of us not being able to control ourselves at that age. However, every year after, the urges of need and desire are compounded. Also, if a female were to partake in actions during this time, they are almost guaranteed to become impregnated."

Sarah raises an eyebrow, looking between Aiden and Travis. "But I thought I was Aiden's mate? Why is he not acting like Anna?"

Aiden snickers, shaking his head, imagining himself like Anna on Sarah. "Well, that is luckily for me and unfortunately for Anna because heat cycles tend to affect women who are werewolves stronger than men. Which is why you are not affected by the heat cycle." He answers as he moves to stand next to her as he brings his hand to brush some of her hair behind her ear that had slipped from her loose ponytail. "However, I am not completely unaffected; my desire is definitely amplified for you, as I am sure Travis' is for Anna. I do not envy the predicament he has found himself in. To be completely honest, I do not know if I would have had the willpower to stop you from ravishing me, my beauty."

Sarah turns her head away from him for a moment in an attempt to hide the blush that crept into her cheeks at Aiden's words. "Oh well, oh my... I guess I actually owe you an apology again, Travis, and a thank you then?" Sarah says, moving her gaze to glance towards him. "May I ask what is going on with the cold shower thing? And how long do they last?"

Travis nods. "When the heat cycles get out of control, they can cause body temperatures to rise and personalities to change. The cold shower was to bring her temperature down, and I am hoping when she wakes up, she will be back to herself, at least enough to be able to control herself, and they can last up to a week normally."

Sarah nods, accepting the answers, and looks at Aiden, blushing all over her cheeks. "I think we should head back to your room and let Travis deal with his dilemma that he has going on with Anna."