My Name is Not Cupcake

I didn't see Elias for the next two weeks. I didn't know if I was happy or upset by that fact. I could hear him every once and a while outside my door, but he never came in. Taylor came to check on me every day, but besides that, no one bothered me.

I woke up with a jolt. Something was wrong. Taylor entered the room with my breakfast and set it on my bedside table like he always did. A sort of bubbling burn started in my stomach, making me uncomfortable. I placed a hand over my stomach as the burning spread. I coughed uncomfortably and shifted in the bed. Taylor covered his nose and backed up quickly.

"Shit," he said loudly. I was uncomfortable and confused. I looked at him before I groaned. The fire was slowly spreading through my body, making me sweat.

"Taylor," I groaned. I had no idea what was happening. Elias burst through the door growling. Minnie was following close behind him. She pulled his arm and Taylor blocked Elias' path. He was growling and fighting, but his eyes were on me the entire time. I groaned and arched against the bed as the fire coursed through my veins. I wanted something to douse the fire and I knew what that something was.

Elias.

I wanted him to touch me and bury me underneath him, but at the same time, my brain was telling me that it was wrong... that I should hate him... that I should be repulsed by him, but I wasn't. I wanted him... I needed him.

"Elias," I moaned. I wanted to take it back. It was like I wasn't in control of my body. I was just watching from the distance. I wanted to stop myself, but the fire was controlling me. Elias was fighting against Taylor and Minnie. A few more people showed up to restrain him. I didn't even know what was going on.

"Minnie, get her out of here now!" Taylor growled at his mate. She picked me up off the bed. Her touch burned me. I yelled and tried to push away from her. "Minnie!" Taylor yelled. I fell onto the bed and moaned for Elias again.

"I can't. It's hurting her," she snapped back in a panic.

"Elias, no!" Taylor yelled. Next thing I knew, Elias was touching me. His lips were on my neck and his body covered mine. I sighed in relief and found myself running my hands up his chest and onto his shoulders. His touch was dousing my fire. My body was slowly cooling off with his help, but my brain was still foggy. After a moment, he was ripped from me and the fire began again. I whimpered and called for Elias again. I needed him. Minnie scooped me up again.

"Get her out of here!" Taylor yelled again. Minnie's touch burned me, but there was a wind and then darkness. Minnie was running, I realized. We came up to a cabin deep in the woods.

"Elias... where's Elias?" I asked, in pain. Minnie sighed and disappeared for a second. She came back and began stripping my clothes off of me. Her touch burned but I was more preoccupied with where I was and how far away Elias was. She carried me into the bathroom and set me in the tub. The water was freezing. I immediately tried to hop out but Minnie held me down.

"No, no, Nova. Stay. It'll cool off your heat some," she said. I whimpered as the icy water covered my body, creating goosebumps. I wanted Elias. I needed Elias. Him touching me earlier only proved that.

"I want Elias," I whined. Minnie sighed and pushed my hair out of my face.

"No, you don't, or you wouldn't if you weren't in heat. If you mate with Elias out of heat, you'll regret it. You're guaranteed to get pregnant and you'll always resent him. You won't forgive him... or yourself," she said with a sigh. I calmed a bit as the water cooled my scorching skin. "Why do you hate him?" she asked after a while. I sighed and closed my eyes.

"I don't hate him; I'm just scared of him, or more accurately, I'm scared of what he'll do and who he'll hurt to keep me with him," I tried to explain, gaining more control over my body by the second.

"He's been searching for you his whole life, you know. Taylor and I found each other the moment we shifted and were able to detect our mate. Elias, being an Alpha, was starting to lose hope that he even had a mate, or that you were even alive. He's 27 years old. Normally, if one of us doesn't find their mate by 25, especially an Alpha, they pick a stand-in mate. They choose someone to be with to keep from going mad from loneliness," Minnie explain. That had me curious.

"Elias didn't choose a stand-in?" I asked a little hopefully. Minnie hesitated, which gave me my answer.

"He did, actually. Her name is Kendra. You've probably even seen her a few times. You have to understand, as an Alpha; Elias had more pressure on him to have a mate. He needed a Luna. He chose her. She's headstrong and beautiful, but then again, so are you. But at the end of the day, you're his mate. He loves you," she tried to reassure me. I tried to push down the feeling of jealousy bubbling up, but it was too strong. I felt angry. I saw dots swimming in my vision before everything went black.

~

I barely remember those two weeks. All I remember was the unbearable heat, ice baths, and Minnie trying to force-feed me. I was probably permanently winkled from all the ice baths. Finally, it ended. The heat was gone.

I woke feeling sore and groggy. All I could remember was the burn coursing through my veins.

"There you are. Feeling better?" Minnie asked me. I groaned and nodded as I held my head. I was probably dehydrated. I had a pounding headache. Minnie must have been thinking the same thing because she handed me a bottle of water. I gratefully chugged it.

"Where are we?" I asked confused. It occurred to me that I didn't actually know where we were.

"Far away from the house on the boarder of the pack's land," she answered. "If you're ready, the car is packed up," she offered. I nodded and stood slowly. I noticed I was sore and exhausted. She helped me to the car and we were off. My fuzzy brain didn't remember it taking so long to get to the cabin. It was a good two-hour drive back to the house. I walked in feeling tired and drained. I know I didn't owe him anything but I felt like I needed to see Elias. I pushed open the door to his office without knocking and froze. Elias was kissing on some girl's neck. She giggled in his lap. When I walked in, they both froze.