CHAPTER 136: IN HEAT, NOT IN HEAT...

Emerald’s head snapped toward him, eyes wide, mouth parting in disbelief. "Excuse me?"

Ares’ gaze didn’t waver, that infuriating calm etched into every line of his face.

She straightened, heat prickling up her neck—not the kind Viola was teasing her about earlier, but the mortified kind. "I am not in heat."

Lucien and Kieran both turned to stare at her, equally curious and... something else she couldn’t quite name.

Lucien’s brow lifted. "Are you?"

Emerald glared at him. "No."

Kieran tilted his head, his lips twitching in faint amusement. "You sound defensive."

"I’m not defensive," she said quickly, then immediately regretted it when the corner of Ares’ mouth curved in silent victory. "I just... can we not have this conversation in the middle of the square?"

Lucien’s eyes narrowed slightly, still assessing her. "You’re flushed."

"That’s because it’s cold out," she shot back.

Kieran gave a low hum, clearly unconvinced. "It’s the middle of winter, Emerald, not the middle of summer. No one else here looks like they’ve been standing in front of a bonfire."

Her jaw tightened. "You two are insufferable."

Ares finally spoke again, his tone deceptively mild. "It’s not an insult. Just... an observation."

"An observation you didn’t need to make out loud," she hissed under her breath.

Lucien folded his arms. "You’re avoiding the question."

"I already answered the question." Emerald took a deliberate step back, creating a sliver of space between herself and all three of them. "And the answer is no."

Kieran glanced between her and Ares. "You sure you’re not just embarrassed because he said it?"

Her eyes snapped to him. "Oh, for the love of..."

Viola’s voice purred in her mind, utterly unhelpful. "They’re all watching you now. Wondering."

’Shut. Up.’

Ares’ eyes lingered on her for a beat longer, then, infuriatingly, he just let it drop, turning his attention to a nearby vendor as if the entire exchange had been nothing.

Lucien, however, was still watching her, his expression unreadable. "You’d tell us if it was true, right?"

"No," she said bluntly, then winced. "I mean... yes. Yes, I would tell you. But it’s not true, so..." She broke off with a sharp exhale, refusing to meet any of their eyes.

Kieran smirked faintly. "Touchy subject."

Emerald glared at him, cutting him in an instant. "I’m not in heat... Period!" she hissed.

"You don’t sound convinced," Lucien pressed.

"I said no!" she snapped, forcing a steady breath, though her skin still prickled with that unbearable tingling under her dress.

The silence between them was heavy. Ares didn’t say anything; he just looked at her, his face showing no emotion.

Inside, Emerald’s voice was sharp in his direction: "You see what you’ve caused? Why would you say that?"

Ares didn’t answer. He just shrugged, the faintest curve tugging at the corner of his mouth, as if to say you already know why.

Emerald rolled her eyes, turning on her heel. "I don’t have time for this. I’m going to check on the council tent."

"You mean the Queen’s Court tent," Lucien corrected.

"Yes," she said tightly. "The Queen’s Court tent." And without another glance at them, she stalked away, determined to put as much distance between herself and the smirks she could feel burning into her back.

—

The rest of the day blurred. Emerald went through the motions, smiling at merchants, clapping politely at performances, sampling honey cakes when offered... but none of it really landed.

Her mind was elsewhere, always drifting back.

Whenever Lucien leaned too close to murmur a dry remark, her imagination betrayed her.

Whenever Kieran’s laugh rumbled low beside her, heat twisted in her stomach.

And whenever she caught even a glimpse of Ares across the crowd, unbothered, confident, and watching her with that piercing gaze, her pulse skipped and her thoughts grew shameful.

By the time the lanterns lit up the square and the first day of the festival came to an end, Emerald felt completely exhausted.

She slipped away to her chambers, eager for solitude, for quiet.

But solitude didn’t bring peace, nor did it bring quiet.

All she could hear was the low, needy whine of her wolf inside her. All she could feel was the fire in her veins. All she could imagine was the relief that could come if she just stopped fighting it and just admitted.

Her body wouldn’t settle; every nerve was awake and begging, heat curling low and spreading until she couldn’t think of anything else.

The restless ache clawed at her, her wolf’s voice in her head urging her to stop resisting, to give in, to take what she needed.

Emerald curled on her bed, pressing and rubbing her thighs together, rocking against the friction.

But it wasn’t enough; it only made her more aware of how badly she wanted more.

Images flooded her mind: Ares’ wicked smirk as he pinned her down, Kieran’s gentle, but steady hands guiding her where he wanted, Lucien’s sharp, hungry eyes stripping her naked on the spot.

A whimper slipped out before she could bite it back.

Her hands began to move restlessly over her skin, sliding up her ribs, cupping the soft swell of her breasts, teasing until her nipples tightened under her own touch.

Her back arched, a sharp gasp leaving her as she pinched them lightly, her hips shifting on instinct.

The heat only deepened, pulling her hand lower. She trailed her palm over her stomach, dipping beneath the waistband of her shorts.

The first brush of her fingers over her clit made her shudder, her thighs falling open as if her body had been waiting for it all along.

Her hand slid lower; the moment her fingers brushed the wet heat between her thighs, the sudden wave of pleasure ripped a soundless gasp from her."

She closed her eyes, letting her imagination blur with the touch.

She pictured Ares first, shoving her down and driving his hard length into her until her body arched helplessly, every thrust breaking her open as she clawed at the sheets.

Then it was Kieran, going at a steady, torturous pace, pinning her wrists above her head while his mouth moved over her skin, his hips rolling slow and controlled, dragging every moan from her until she shook beneath him.

Lucien was relentless and wild, spreading her wide, his tongue and fingers everywhere at once, devouring her until she couldn’t catch her breath, until all she could do was writhe and cry out as he claimed every inch of her.

Her breath came in ragged pulls as one hand circled her clit in slow, teasing strokes, while the other pinched and tugged at her nipples, her hips lifting off the bed as she chased that desperate rhythm.

"Get a hold of yourself, Em," she muttered to herself, even as her fingers kept going.

"Still think you’re not in heat?" a familiar deep voice asked from somewhere in the room, and Emerald’s eyes flew open.