Within the Forest (Werewolf Solangelo AU)

Chapter Forty-Five: Long time, no see

Nico's POV

I spend the next few hours.. Days? I honestly couldn't tell anymore. The next good amount of time continuing to drift in and out of consciousness. Even if Ethan was being nice to me, I still didn't like it here. It felt like I was in some kind of prison, having someone always outside the door. My body was heavy and ached whenever I tried to move, even when it's just rolling over in bed.

My "Heating" wasn't the best thing either. It would come in burst. One moment I was on the verge of falling asleep and the next I was clawing desperately at my abdomen with one hand while gripping my pillow with the other, tears streaming down my face. Apparently it gave off some kind of scent too. I heard desperate scratching at the door and harsh commands from Ethan behind it. I don't know what exactly was going on, but I know someone was trying to get to me. Why? I have no idea.

Ethan would come in whenever I wasn't in the middle of dying from the burning inside of me. He thankfully explained somewhat about how being "in heat" worked.

"It only happens during the winter," Ethan explained, sitting Indian Style (criss-cross applesauce) on the floor and leaning against the side of the bed towards the bottom. I was just watching him as I laid on my stomach. "Like actual wolves. The only difference is, with werewolves, it happens to certain males too.

"Why does it hurt so much?" I croaked, my voice still trying to grow strong enough to not hurt when I use it. Ethan didn't know how to answer that. "How long does it last? Can you at least tell me that?"

"Uh.. Five to seven days I believe." He replied, prompting me to groan miserably into my pillow. "You'll live, I promise. Heating has never killed anyone before."

"But.. I'm human.." I mumbled, peeking up from my place buried under my blanket and pillow. Ethan paused, biting his lip and peering at the floor in thought. That's not worrisome at all. "Isn't there anything I can do to get rid of it?"

Ethan sighed. "I'm afriad not. I'm sure it's only so bad for you since this is the first time it's ever happened and your body is confused and reacting weird. After a few heat seasons, you'll learn to get used to it and it won't be.. This.. Intense. Unless you're near your mate that it. It'll be naturally strong with them."

I frowned. "Why would Will be effected by this?" He paused again, looking at me. "You know why animals go into heat.. Right?" He asked slowly. I shook my head. I've never even heard of being "in heat" until now. Ethan bit his lip again. "I.. It's when.. Wolves get ready to.. Reproduce.."

Reproduce? Like.. Have kids? Why they make it so painful? And why did they have to have a certain time for it? My silence must have told Ethan I was still confused, which was pretty true, because he slowly continued. "It.. Oh boy. It's when.. You're meant to.. Do it with.. Your mate. I mean, I guess you can really do it with anyone but.. You get what I mean?" Nope. And I made that obvious.

He groaned, rubbing his temples. "Oh lord, help me.. Okay. You're supposed to have sex. Your body wants to have sex. That's pretty much what being in heat is about. Your body wants to have sex and it gives off a scent to tell other males about it and then they want to have sex with you. Understand?"

My face burned as I stared at him with wide eyes. He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Do you?" He asked again. I nodded slowly, biting my lip. Is.. Is this why Sol's been acting so.. Weird lately? That makes so much sense. I gasped as the all too familiar burning sensation washed through me. I whimpered, curling up and doing what I normally did whenever this happened. I buried my face in my pillow, clutching the pillow with one hand while clawing at the place the burning seemed to originate from.

I felt hands roll me onto my side and grab the hand that was doing the clawing. I sobbed, feeling him take my other hand just in case. It hurt so bad. "I.. I'm sorry," Ethan said, letting go of me. "I can't. It's.. Too strong." My hands immediately flew to my abdomen and I harshly tried to claw the pain away. I heard hurried footsteps and the sound of the door closing. He always did that when this started. He said something about the heat causing some kind of scent. Was that it? Did it stink or something?

I whimpered as I heard the door open again. I felt a hand on my shoulder and jumped, my eyes flying open. I gasped, giving another sob from the burning pain. I tried my hardest not to squeeze my eyes shut in an attempt to try and force the pain away mentally, which never worked to begin with, and started at the person in front of me. He looked so familiar yet I couldn't match his face with a name. The man in front of me smile, crossing his arms over his chest. "Hey di Angelo," he nodded in greeting. I must know him. Will never told Ethan my last name and I haven't either. But who was this? The man spoke again, proving that I must know him from somewhere. But his words finally made it click. He said,

"Long time, no see..."