ARIYAN was naked. He was standing in a white room. The sheer drapes were drawn, and the sun shined through the open window. The lazy breeze caused the light to dance against the colorless stone floors.

Peering out of the window, Ariyan could see a waterfall cascading over a bed of hot rocks below. The steam rose, and the air around him clouded before it misted.

Adjacent to the large canopy bed was a looking glass, large and erected by to two pillars that had been embedded into the ground. Ariyan stared at himself. He’d regained all the weight he’d lost from his nasty bout of seasickness. The bones of his shoulder blades and ribs were no longer showing. The lush pink hue had returned to his youthful face, along with the plumpness of his ass, and the definition in his pelvis and hips. He looked. Healthy. Healthier than he had been in the last two months of his journey toward the Winter Islands.

‘Have we arrived?’ Ariyan begin to wonder. Had he been so sick that he didn’t remember docking on land? But even as he thought the question, Ariyan could rule it out. He knew they hadn’t arrived yet. Even he wasn’t so delirious that he could forget the feeling of his feet finally back on land.

‘Even still…’ This wasn’t the cabin he’d spent several weeks in.

Ariyan inhaled.

‘Am I dead?’

It was a real possibility. Anatoly had been looking at him with mournful eyes for weeks now, and he knew his body wasn’t in the best shape when they’d started the journey. If he had died in his sleep, that wouldn’t be such a bad way to go. If he was destined to live out his days in the afterlife in this luxurious chamber, then that wouldn’t be so bad either. Maybe Austin was here. Maybe his father even, if the gods hadn’t damned him to the underworld.

The moment Ariyan had coaxed himself into complacency, the door on the other side of the room opened. He hoped to see his brother Austin, but was horrified to see a demon instead.

Erik.

He was naked as well. But instead of the cold hard gaze Ariyan was used to, there was passion in those icy blues; a tangible longing and desire in the way the lord tensed his jaw impatiently. In no time at all Erik closed the space between them. The lord yanked Ariyan toward his chest, and held his face in a tight grasp. The way Erik looked at him, it was as if each millimeter they had between them was more than he could bear. Ariyan breathed in, but didn’t get the chance to breathe out. Erik’s lips were on his, and then, he was drowning.

He crashed into a sweltering pool, gasping for breath under the squeeze of the water. He tried to breathe, but the water quickly filled his lungs.

And then he was dying…

Dying…

Dead.

ARIYAN woke with a jolt from the soaked bed. He’d sweated through his robes, and the blankets felt almost oppressive over top him.

“Ariyan,” Anatoly’s warm voice called as he opened the door between their rooms. “How are you feeling? I’ve bought you some porridge if you think you can stomach—” The man paused before his eyes widened and he stared down at Ariyan fearfully.

“Your scent…”

“I know.” Ariyan wrenched the blanket off him. “Do you have anything? Herbs? Potions?” He asked frantic. He’d used the suppressant herbs his mother had given him a week after they boarded the ship. The heat had pushed through him then, and combined with the weight of the seasickness it felt unbearable. Thankfully, Anatoly was there to monitor him, and the suppressants he’d had were strong enough to withstand the worst of it. By the gods grace Erik hadn’t even touched him due to his sickness.

Although he’d almost faded from his sheer dehydration, he’d survived his first heat as a claimed Omega.

‘Now though…’ He still had the herbs his mother had given him for after his heat, but the herbs to suppress his symptoms were gone. The sickness that held Erik back had dissipated. If he called him to his bed chamber, then what? If he smelled the scent of an Omegas lust, and raw sex, then how would he restrain the demon? And not just Erik, but everyone on the ship. Aside from Anatoly, they were majority Alphas. Would they try to fuck him? Erik had threatened to kill any who touched him, but an Omega in heat caused even sane, civilized men to go mad.

And savages had no honor.

“No.” Anatoly shook his head slowly. “Perhaps if you’d taken it in an earlier stage, but... I lost a great deal of inventory during the storms. The dose wouldn’t be strong enough.”

Ariyan nodded before he stood. “Very well then.” The first thing he did was strip the blankets from the bed. He needed to air out the smell of his scent, and bathe off the slick and sweat between his legs. He was hard, but that was a given. Luckily it wasn’t so noticeable in the robes he wore. Looking out of small port window provided, he could see that the sun hadn’t risen yet. He had time.

“What do you plan to do, Ariyan?” Anatoly asked. “You’re on a ship full of Alphas. You won’t be able to hide it this time. Once you go into high heat, your instincts will take over. If one of the men accost you, you won’t be able to fight them.”

“I don’t intend for any of them to even know I’m in heat.”

“And how do you intend to hide it?” Anatoly asked skeptically.

“Firstly,” Ariyan replied. “You’re going to gather enough food and water to last us through the heat. Then, I’m going to lock myself in this room so I cannot escape. If I don’t leave, they won’t know.”

“But you will want to leave,” Anatoly said. “You will seek relief. It’s inevitable.”

“I didn’t before,” Ariyan pointed out.

“Because you had a strong dose of suppressants, and were near death!” Anatoly bit back.

“I can suffer through a heat without the aid of herbs…” Ariyan pursed his lips. “Our ancestors did it without herbs, so can I,” he proclaimed.

“Our ancestors were also more in tune with their wolves. They spent half their lives in their wolf forms. They meditated, secluded in the woods away from the entire pack. Even now, those who endure a heat in its natural state usually shift to persevere through the pain.”

“Then I’ll shift then,” Ariyan smartly replied.

“I don’t think that is a good idea.” Anatoly shook his head. “Your wolf will be running on pure instinct. You won’t be able to control the beast once he’s free. Your mate is on this ship, Ariyan. What do you think your wolf will do when he smells his scent?”

“You underestimate me,” Ariyan growled.

“Not at all.” Anatoly shook his head. “On the contrary, I believe you will do everything in your power to prevent the beast from sating an Omegas most carnal need with his Alpha. But it is as I’ve said. This ship is filled with Alphas and—”

“I can control my own lust, Anatoly! I’m not some desperate cur begging to be fucked!”

“Right now, you are not. In high heat when your mind is consumed by hunger...I cannot be sure. Men stronger than you have tried to resist, and failed.”

Ariyan stiffened at the realization. His wolf was not averse to Erik’s. If the beast inside of him was truly against the mating he would have long since reared its head. Could Ariyan fight his instincts if his Alpha offered him a cure to his condition?

Ariyan clenched his fist and paced around the tiny room. Anatoly was right. Even if he managed to restrain himself physically, his mind would betray him. The moment he smelled an Alphas scent…his Alpha’s scent, he would lose.

“Think of your predicament, Ariyan. It is more dangerous for you to try to endure this alone. If you accept Lord Erik now, he can protect you. If you accept him now, in your conscious state, it will be your choice. Not an acquiesce to the heat.”

“No.” Ariyan shook his head. “He will think I want him to fuck me. To use me. To fill me with his potent seed.”

“And that’s not what you want?” Ariyan whipped his head toward Anatoly, wide eyed and murderous looking.

“How dare you ask me such a thing! You think I want your lord savage to touch me? The thought of carrying his child makes me sick to my stomach! I will not surrender what control I have over my own body! I will not give him permission to violate me!”

“So you say,” Anatoly replied quietly. “But the wolf inside you would not accept Lord Erik’s claim so willingly if you were truly against it.”

Ariyan didn’t waste any more time talking. He moved toward the basin with water and begin to strip. Anatoly left from the room, closing the door after him. Ariyan sighed and shook his head as he wiped the sweat and grime from his body.

It would be considerably harder this time to withstand his temptation without Anatoly’s help. Still, he refused to give up. He refused to give in to the man that had taken everything he loved away from him. The man who had killed his brother and father in cold blood. The man who had exposed him. Fucked him. Used him, without so much as a kind word his way.

‘I won’t do it!’


Ariyan peered up when the door to his room opened, fearful it might be Erik. He was surprised to see Anatoly come back through the door, holding a teacup.

“What is that?” Ariyan asked suspiciously.

“It’s the last of the poppy oil. Drink it quickly. A heat without relief is painful.”

Ariyan took the cup slowly, staring at Anatoly.

“You’ve chosen to help me?”

“No,” Anatoly immediately replied. “I do not agree with your methods, nor do I condone your decision to keep this from Lord Erik. However, I will do what I can to keep you safe,” Anatoly replied. “For as long as I can.”

“Promise me you won’t tell him,” Ariyan demanded. staring at Anatoly’s wrinkled face. The high heat. It was coming. The throbbing pain between his legs was all the indication he’d needed. He needed Anatoly to promise him he wouldn’t betray him.

“Promise me.”

The same stormy gray eyes that had chastised him, were now pinched with worry. The healer sighed before he shook his head. “Drink the tea before it gets cold.” Ariyan did as he was told. If he was going to get through this he needed to hide his condition for as long as possible. To wait out the storm that was building within him. To survive.