"Isaac? Whats wr-"

"Don't sit so close," he snaps. "It provokes us."

Us.

Not just Nate. Isaac too. Nate's voice is cold, his frigid tone overlapping with my mate's, producing an eerie echoing effect, and their eyes are a sickening lime green, Isaac's emerald green fusing with Nate's yellow. Sensing that Isaac is not fully in command of his own body, allowing Nate the freedom to do what he wants to us, Jack seizes control from me.

However, the moment our eyes turn yellow a ferocious growl rips through his body, and his hand tightens around our wrist, his claws piercing our burning flesh.

Jack tears free of his harsh grip, our heat returning in full force the moment she does so. She struggles to resist it, shaking but determined to overcome, knowing that our lives may be the cost we pay if we don't; Nate has no inhibitions when it comes to hurting us, that we know for certain.

The temperature is suffocating, slow trickles of pain crawling down our spine, the heat threatening to overwhelm us. A whine escapes her mouth and I realise how much she's sheltering us from the heat. I can only just stand it; how she's bearing it, I don't know.

Nate freezes at a second whine, concern for us overriding his hatred of Jack, and Isaac takes advantage of his distraction to take control, his eyes morphing back to his normal emerald green.

"Shit. I'm sorry Iz, I'm sorry. Are you alright?" He asks, grasping my hand, relieving the heat.

"Yes," I whisper, but I move away, creating some space between us, Nate's growls and partial shifts still echoing through my mind: I can't risk Isaac losing control. I can't risk being hurt by him if he loses it. I go to pull my hand away from Isaac but he holds on firmly, maintaining the crucial skin to skin contact I need.

"Stop it Isobel. We don't want to hurt you. The heat is just making. Nate. Closer. To. The forefront. Of my mind." He struggles to restrain his wolf, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. I freeze at the use of my full name; he really must be annoyed.

No, on second thoughts, Nate must be really annoyed. Not Isaac. Yellow flecks are flickering in and out of existence in his irises, warning me that Nate still lurks beneath the surface and Isaac is struggling to maintain control.

"Are you going to release me?" I ask, fighting the instinct telling me to get out of his sight. He sighs and clings onto my hand. "Heat. Thanks." I hadn't realised my hand was the only thing connecting us; without it I would be at the mercy of the heat. He passes me a hesitant smile. My relaxed mood sinks slightly.

"Isaac, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just constantly fighting Nate. He is desperate to mark you. Really, really desperate." His voice becomes increasingly strained, the effort of restraining his wolf evident.

"I'm sorry."

Let me speak to him.

Wait, Jack -

He needs to mark us.

I'm not ready.

Who truly ever is?

Please, just not at this moment. I want it to be something that isn't coerced or forced because of pain.

Okay then, I will wait. However, if you don't do it by next heat cycle I will take control and persuade him to do it. You have, I'd say, a week or two? Yes, a week or two to get comfortable with Isaac and be marked or I will. Deal?

Umm...

Or we do it now.

Okay, deal.

"Iz, you alright?" My head snaps up.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine."

"You looked as if you were going to cry. Tell me."

He touches my face and I feel Jack rise up inside me, wanting to be marked. For just a moment, her emotions replace my own and all I can feel is what she does, all I want to be marked. There's no room for anything else.

Stop! This isn't you.

He needs to mark us.

I said stop. As much as I want him to, you don't. This isn't what you wanted.

My mind clears and I realise that Isaac is still waiting for an answer.

"Jack and I were sorting out a couple of things."

"Iz ..." He says, clearly wanting a better explanation. An explanation I'm not willing to tell him - he doesn't need to know everything about me.

"Fine, we were arguing about you marking us. Happy?!" Jack stirs and anger consumes me. My entire body shakes from the self-restraint required to stop the anger controlling my actions.

Thankfully, she uses my situation to push for dominance over my mind and takes control, forcing me to back away from Isaac.

"Jack, what's happening?"

"She's experiencing a massive mood swing as a result of the heat. Give us a minute, we'll be fine."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"You could mark us. However, she isn't ready."

I sigh in relief at Jack's words: for once I'm glad she's in command of our actions. This heat is driving me nuts. Isaac nods and squeezes my hand comfortingly, looking off into the distance. A single tear escapes and I wipe it away hastily before he can see it.

"Iz, talk to me."

"It's fine." He reaches out and brushes off another tear and I realise there are dozens of them pouring down my cheeks.

"You're not fine. Come here."

"But I thought Nate ..."

"Nate hates seeing you like this. He's not going to mark you without your permission. He cares about you Iz. We both do."

I don't deserve his kindness. Especially as it's my fault we're out here rather than at the pack. I shake the guilt away - I can tell him later. For the moment I need to appreciate the time I still have with him. No doubt he'll reject me when he finds out.

"Thanks. Both of you." Isaac draws me to his body and I clutch his shirt, burying my face in his chest.

His arms come around me, cradling me gently. He plants a small kiss on our hair but I don't mind, the kiss sending sparks flying through me. I want more but more will definitely lead to marking and probably mating, neither of which I want to happen.

"Do you want to stay here for the remainder of your cycle Iz, or go back to the pack?"

"Here," I say without hesitation; I can't face the pack or the noise. "Isaac? How long is a heat?"

"Did your mother really not teach you this stuff?"

"No," I say quietly. She wasn't alive long enough to teach me anything beyond a few words in her native tongue.

"Okay, a first heat is about 2 days. The second is four, the third eight and no one's ever survived long enough to last all the way through a forth as they've given in and mated." He frowns. "Can you tell me why you were crying earlier?" I reluctantly nod.

"I didn't want to be marked but Jack does. However, she says she'll give me until next heat and then she'll get you to do it. She just wants to stop hurting. She hates being on heat."

"I can, we can, wait Isobel, until you're ready."

"Thank you." His eyes flick to my lips but he stops himself and keeps them firmly on my face.

"Of course Iz."

***

We do not sleep that night, both of us too wrapped up in our own thoughts to rest. There are a couple of times when my heat resurfaces and Nate tries to rise up but Isaac resists the urge to mark and mate me to which I am glad.

The constant, familiar, drip of water in the cave is comforting. I missed sleeping here, back when life was simpler even if outside my control, when it was just us and nature.

The morning sunlight finds us cuddled together, my head resting in his shoulder, his arm around my shoulder, head rested on mine. Jack has been mostly quiet for the night, keeping to herself, a big relief as neither of us really wanting to talk to the other.

"Iz, what are going to do?"

"Huh?"

"We've got an entire day ahead of us. You're on your heat. I want to do something that will take your mind off it. We can't sit here all day."

"Like what?"

"I wouldn't know. What do you want to do?" He's so sweet, always thinking of me, despite the strain the heat is putting him under.

"I dunno. That's why I asked you."

Hunt. I want to hunt. I want a stretch.

"Jack wants to hunt."

"We could try it. I wouldn't expect to catch anything considering we can't stray more than a couple of steps from each other but we can try." He laughs and takes my hand, dragging me outside, my feet still stumbling from the effects of the heat.

The scent of the forest is a relief to my senses, relieving some of my fear; I don't want Isaac to leave me alone for a second. I can feel the heat like an animal inside me, like a predator ready to spring the moment he takes a step away from me.

It's going to be okay Iz.

I offer a small mental smile to her in thanks. Isaac has let Nate have control, as his eyes glow an orange brown. He turns his head to me.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, good thanks."

I have to admit the night has made me much more comfortable around Nate now I know he doesn't mean to hurt me: he's just more driven by his instincts than Isaac. I also know that while he doesn't trust Jack, he won't hurt her either.

We walk handclasped, the sounds of nature glorious to my ears. I missed this. If I join a pack, then I will be separated from this.

"So where do we start?"

"Umm..."

Jack?

Oh honestly. Give me control.

She takes control and answers for me.

"There is usually deer by the river. We can start there."

"Okay. Let's go."

She leads him through the forest by the hand, the threat of the heat very real still. He grasps on gently, his hand conveying the clear affection he feels for us. The trees seem to watch us as if waiting for one mishap to pull us apart. The river flows fast in the valley bottom, and, as predicted, a herd of deer drinking from it.

Jack releases Nate's hand and shifts, quickly grabbing it gently in her jaws before the pain sets in. He follows suit, turning into his wolf form, tearing through his clothing. We are forced to stand directly next to eachother to maintain skin to skin contact so walking is quite hard to do without tripping, especially as his wolf is so much bigger than us.

We approach the river and Jack inhales deeply, sniffing the scent of the deer. She gives the signal then we both break cover. I feel the effects of the heat creeping up on us the moment we stop being in contact with him and she speeds up her attack, hoping to catch a deer before it fully sets in. We nearly bring one down, our jaws centimetres from its leg when the heat seizes us in its iron fist and our legs fail, throwing us to the ground.

We whimper in agony as the cramps cause our stomach to twist and writhe. At once Nate shifts his attention from the deer to us and runs over to us, nuzzling us. He shifts back to human form, giving Isaac command as Jack does the same for me. I cry out and Isaac reaches for me but hesitates, seeing how I'm completely bare. My whimper compels him to ignore my clothing state and scoop me up in his arms, planting a kiss on my forehead, refusing to look at my body.

"It's okay Iz. I've got you." The direct contact between us relieves the heat entirely but he doesn't put me down and carries us to the cave, only then placing us on the ground. He touches my face lightly, keeping the necessary contact, sending a small spark through me. "No more hunting for you I think."

"I agree." I offer a watery smile and he returns it sadly.

"One more night Iz then it's over and we can go home."

One more night. One more night trying to avoid the pain. One more night with Isaac. Only this time, we're both devoid of clothing.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. See you guys (and girls)(and non-binary pals) in the next chapter.
WORxxx

Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On.
Don't know why. Just felt like it I guess.

29