Chapter 420

I started in on the first firewall, which I breached with no issue. But the second firewall blared the alarm. “Amy!” I sighed. “Got it.” I fixed my breach and tried again. And again. And again. I wanted to bang my head off the screen by midday.

I groaned in frustration when I heard Alannah call out again. “Amy.” “Seriously?” I slammed my keyboard in anger. I had made it halfway to the mainframe undetected, but I was stuck around the ninth firewall. I stood up and started to pace.

Alannah came to the door. “Why don’t you take lunch? Take thirty minutes to regroup and then come back and attack. You will still have three hours to get rid of the virus once you settle.” She smiled and handed me the menu. “Maybe you're hangry.” I huffed out a breath and then nodded. “You are probably right.” I sighed and dropped back into my chair. I looked over the menu and decided I needed meat. A lot of meat.

Is everything okay? I called back to my wolves. Nix looked at me with wide eyes. I think we are going to have a problem soon. What do you mean? I turned to focus on them, my eyes glazing over. Megan stepped out of the forest, and even she looked a little shook. Erubus was just here. Okay… I looked around. He’s gone, obviously…so what’s the issue? I might not like that he comes to see you two, but I’ll get over it.

They both shook their heads. You don’t understand. Nix huddled next to Megan. Just tell me. I threw my hands up in frustration. Megan looked at Nix and sighed. We are going into heat. I froze. What do you mean we? I looked between the two of them. When? How? He said we have maybe a week or two if we can delay it, Nix jumped in. But… But what? I looked at my wolves, and I could feel the fear building. I couldn’t go through that again alone. Megan pressed against Nix, drawing strength from her. We are both going into heat…at the same time. The words hit me in my chest. Panic was in full force, and I had no way to stop it.

I slid my chair back, slamming it against the wall, and I started to pace. How is this happening? We haven’t met our mate. We only went into heat because of the kudzu. How is this even possible?

Both my wolves looked away. But Nix looked back almost guiltily. Once a wolf goes through a heat, it is possible for them to go through another. There are just circumstances that add to the likelihood of it happening. Which are? I grabbed the menu again. I needed meat. Now. “Alannah?” “Yeah, Amy?” She was at my door in a second, looking a little confused.

I handed her back the menu. “My brain won’t let me focus. Can you order me some steaks? Rare. I just need meat.” I turned away. “And carbs.” She looked at me for a minute and obviously realized there was something off, and she agreed. “Of course.” I turned my attention back to my wolves. Now spill. How did this happen? They both dropped down and looked at their paws. They were guilty of something. Talk to me! Megan sighed. We are sorry; we didn’t realize it until today, and now it is too late, it’s already building. What happened? Erubus happened, Nix finally met my eye. Erubus caused it. I staggered back to my chair and sat down. What do you mean? What did he do to us? Nothing, Megan surged to her feet. He didn’t do anything but be our friend. I looked at my two wolves, and I was at a loss for words. I’m confused. Help me understand. Nix nodded. After a wolf goes through her first heat, it can be triggered again, even if it was forced on us. But usually only by meeting our mate…or more herbal intervention. Like more kudzu. Exactly. But… Nix looked away. It can also happen if the wolf is around another wolf they like…like a chosen mate. If I wasn’t already sitting, I would have fallen to the ground. But we don’t have a chosen mate. We don’t have any freaking mate. Megan nodded. We know that…but our hormones don’t realize it. Because… I looked at my two wolves, and I shook my head. You guys….you can’t be serious. He already hurt us. They both nodded. We know. And it wasn’t intentional, Nix looked back to the trees and sighed. We didn’t want this to happen, but without Rowan interfering with him, Erubus is- Amazing, Megan finished for her. She looked at me with sad eyes. After Brandon, I was set on never having another mate. Not one I would love. I would do it for you two, but I was going to hold myself outside. Away from the feelings, the emotion. Then what happened? Erubus happened.