Rejected and in Heat

Deep Thoughts

After a short nap, Josh woke up to find Maya was no longer in the pool house. At this point, it was closer to dinner than lunch, so he went to find her. She was back in the clearing, sitting on a blanket with her book in one hand and a glass of tea next to her. She looked his way when she heard him approach. "Hey, sleepy head, are you ready to go eat lunch," she asked him as she laid her book down. "Yeah, I guess so." He was quiet as she gathered her things, and they lazily walked back to the big house. They ate in silence as Maya read, and Josh was thoughtful. When they were done, Maya put her book away and helped him clean it up.

He cleared his throat, "Uh, Maya, are we okay?" She tilted her head, her long black hair streaming down her side as she gave him a quizzical look, "Yeah, why wouldn't we be?" He leaned against the kitchen counter, his hair hiding his eyes and his tattooed arms crossed. "I didn’t mean to lose control as I did back there. I don't know; I was worried that I had crossed the line." Maya shook her head, walked to grab her book, and smiled at him as she went to leave the kitchen. "No, everything was fine. I think you controlled yourself pretty well. I mean, you didn't let your wolf get complete control." A devilish grin crossed her face, "To be honest, I liked it."

With that, she walked to her room. She spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry and getting her things ready for school on Monday. She wanted to talk to the counselor first thing Monday morning about changing her degree plan so she could graduate in December. Getting out of the house was a good idea. It would make it easier to keep her secret from her parents. Then she scrolled through a handful of websites, trying to decide what college was the best option. Her parents would expect her to choose the same one Mark and Josh went to because it was within driving distance from their pack, but several other good choices were also predominately werewolves. She decided it was better to choose one further away and find a part-time job.

Between classes, work, and the distance, she would have plenty of excuses for not coming home during her heat. When she felt her heat slipping up on her, she felt like she had a decent plan to put distance between her and her family. Now, she just had to figure out how to handle things physically. She decided to try to avoid seeking help from Josh and made a list of things to try. Keeping her body temperature under control was one thing on her list. Her notes were a scrambled mess that probably would only make sense to her. "Showers, swimming, trips to cold locations, maybe?" She listed ideas out loud as she wrote them. "Hmm. What about the stomach pains? It would be better to get relief before those start, so let's begin there, shall we?" She spoke to her walls as if this was a school project, not her trying to rearrange her whole life to keep an embarrassing secret.

"Ugh. m**********n. Porn? Eww. s*x toys? Am I even old enough to buy them in the human world? Is there a werewolf s*x toy shop? How do I even ask about that? Like, excuse me, Alpha, is there an adult toy store on the list of pack-owned businesses?" She facepalmed and shook her head to try to clear that thought from her mind. "What if I stay sloppy drunk for a few days and lock myself in my room? Or take a bunch of sleep aids and sleep the whole time? Now that might work, right?"

Josh went for a run, left Maya a note on the counter, and headed for the store to grab a few things. He had to convince himself it wasn't too far from the house, so she should be fine. While he was there, he decided to also swing by the carwash. Before he knew it, it was almost dark. He checked his phone and was surprised she hadn't texted or called. He made his way back home and put things away. She was still in her room, so he knocked on it quickly before calling, "Maya, do you want dinner?" Her response seemed calm enough, "No, I'm busy, but I might grab a hot pocket or something later. Thanks!" Josh went to the front porch and sat on the porch swing. He was surprised Cathy hadn't called him all day. Then he felt guilty that he hadn't thought about her all day either. He let his mind wander through his past relationships, ending with Cathy.

She was great; she was pretty, funny, fun to spend time with, and great in bed. She came from a wealthy human family and wanted things that were very similar to his. She would make a great chosen mate. Then he thought about his destined mate. Somewhere out there, only the Goddess knows where and how long it would take to find her. He knew this mate would be perfect and have all those same qualities, but their souls connected when mates found each other. There is an inner peace that calms the beast inside. Without a mate, many wolves become too aggressive.

His thoughts traveled to Maya. She was also gorgeous, intelligent, and funny. He didn't know her long-term goals, but he could tell she was driven, strong-willed, and independent. Being with her was so easy because they already knew each other. There was a calmness between them that he hadn't ever experienced before. Helping her through this heat, he was still worried about how it would play out. However, her touch was like electricity on his skin, maybe because he had never been with another werewolf.

He had a strict, human-only dating policy. He didn't want to get caught up with someone who would eventually leave him for their fated mate. Her kisses, hell, even her scent, were enough to make him forget every rule he had set for himself. There were times when he wanted nothing more than to bury himself balls-deep in her. He wanted her moans, her taste to be for him only, and that was a dangerous thought. There were too many reasons why they shouldn't be together, but the more he thought about it, the more he wanted the one thing, the one person he should never have.

Mark would kill him. Well, he would try. He wasn't an alpha, so he most likely wouldn't win. Maybe if he saw how much they could love each other? That's the real question he should be pondering. Would they love each other as chosen mates? Would she want to be his chosen mate, or was it all lust from her heat? Should he talk to her about it now or see how she acts once her heat is over? As he considered this, his phone rang, and Cathy's face appeared on the screen. He drew a deep breath and answered the phone. "Hey, babe."