HEAT

HAZEL

The smell of thick smoke fills my lungs. Ashes burn the back of my throat as I try to get a decent breathe of oxygen. I can't breathe.

My eyes fling open to a room full of flames. A room all too familiar to me. "Mom!" I yell out through the roar of the fire. "Dad!" I scream- making my way to my bedroom door. The smoke rolls in through the top of the door just as if a train would. I reach for the door knob whilst in pain because the metal knob is burning hot.

"Mom! Dad!" I scream, looking around in a panicked trying to figure out a way out of here. Where are my parents? My breathing becomes more ragged as my eyes gaze out the window. Even out there is covered in black smoke.

The fire burns its way into the room. The red hot flames fill the room faster than anything I have ever witnessed. I run to my window as quick as I can, but it won't open. What do I do?

I search the room and grab the first thing I see on my desk. A photo frame. With everything I have in me I swing it at the window, but nothing happens.

"Come on!" I yell, banging the frame against the window over and over again and nothing ever happens. The heat from the fire causes beads of sweat to form all over my body. It's angry breath slowly creeps it way to me.

What do I do? I'm stuck! The window will not break and I can't get through the door. I begin to cough, because now all the oxygen is being burned away by the fire. My blankets begin to burn. I swing at the window again and I heave a sigh of relief as a small crack forms.

Outside the window, two figures appear through the smoke on the grass. Mom and dad. They are out there, screaming at me to get out. I can't hear them- but I'm sure that's what they are saying. I need help! I yell at the top of my lungs, hoping that they would be able to hear me. However, it doesn't work.

The smoke consumes me. My coughing becomes uncontrollable and the fire only seems to be getting hotter. I bang my hand on the window harder as the fire heads towards me.

"Help me! Please!" I yell, heat spreading throughout my body. I look down at the flame, praying that this isn't how my life ends. All too soon though, my prayers were unanswered.

The flames reach me. The hot waves eat away at my skin. I scream in agony. The unbearable pain eats away any fight I had left in me.

The fire eats away at my nerves, and continues to fight it's way up my body until there is nothing left to take.

I wake up screaming in pain. My heart is racing and my body is on fire from where my dream had gotten me.... Mmmh, I'm glad it was a dream after all.

Ramon is gone, and the room is dark. I can't catch my breathe.

In a matter of seconds, a pair of strong arms pulls me from my curled position on the bed and I'm under an ice cold shower. The pain continues, but the heat from it begins to cool down.

"I know little wolf, I know." The deep voice coos. I feel safe. I try my best to slow my breathing. There's a pain in his voice, but he continues to hold me under the water. "Just breathe, honey." He whispers. His voice is groggy, but when I peek my eyes open and look up at him, he looks wide awake.

"It's okay." He assures me. I whimper as another hot wave washes over me. Even the water can't cool it down. Carefully, he sits me down in the shower and lets out a heavy sigh. He reaches for my shirt and I willingly raise my hands for it to come off easier. I'm too hot to worry about if I'm naked or not at this point. I just want the overwhelming pain to go away.

My stomach aches. My head pounds. I whimper in agony as I watch Ramon turns and walks out of the shower without a word. Where is he going to? What is happening to me? Why do I ache more now that he's gone? I curl into a tighter ball. The pain is making me want to scream bloody murder. The water feels like a bucket of ice, and my body feels as though I'm in a sauna.

My dream felt so real. It still feels real. What happened? What started that fire? Why didn't my parents come save me? I was just...locked in. Trapped and no where to go. It was horrible.

The sound of the bathtub beginning to fill catches my attention. So many sounds are making me anxious. I focus my attention back on the shower, and the gentle pitter patter of the water falling onto me.

"Kid wolf," I hear Ramon say as gently as he possibly can. A sense of urgency washes over me at the same time his voice registers in my head. I painfully lift my head and make eye contact with the giant man who is kneeled down to match my gaze. He reaches out and pushes hair from my eyes. "Let's get you in the bath instead, I think it'll help." He finishes.

Carefully, he cradles me in his arms and pulls me from the cold water. The feeling of his skin on mine is very comforting. Another wave of pain rolls over me, but this time it isn't as bad. I was fine. I felt fine when I fell asleep.I whimper. "What did when I fell asleep.I whimper. "What did you do to me?" Ramon takes in a sharp breath when he hears my question.

He then takes another, deeper, slower breath before replying to me. Carefully- he sits me down in the tub and kneels beside it. "I have been waiting a very long time for you, and your wolf has been waiting for me." He says as softly as he can. "It's heat my dear, and as appetizing as you look right now this is the best I can do. I'm so sorry." He brushes my cheek with his thumb and I tremble in the cold water.

"Just relax, I will sit right here with you until you cool down. Everything will be alright." He assures me, running his thumb over my shoulder now. My ragged breathing slows with his warm touch. I'm in heat already? How is that possible? Why is all of this happening to me?

I gaze at the man before me. His eyes remain on mine. Painful huffs fill the room. He is shivering cold. I feel bad. "Relax." He repeats, caressing my cheeks. "We can talk when this passes. Right now I just want you to rest and cool off, okay?" He assures me. I nod my head and shut my eyes. Make it stop.

*****

I wake up in bed all alone. I don't know exactly how I feel about that but I do know I feel so much better than I did last night. Or the early hours of this morning. My hair is still wet, and the pillow under my head is damp.

"Good morning," Ramon says walking into the bedroom. I pull the blankets up to my chest to cover my exposed skin from him. His eyes move from mine to my neck then back at my eyes. "Are you feeling any better?" He asks.

I push my fingers through my hair and nod my head yes. "Much." I let out a tired breath. I hold the blanket against my body as he simply looks at me.

"Stop doing that." My mate furrows his eyebrows. Stop doing what? I wonder what he's talking about. "I'm going to see you naked anyways, so stop hiding yourself from me. I don't like that." He breaths. I sigh and lay back in bed and roll to my side. I try to snuggle into the blankets but because they're wet it isn't as great as I thought it'd be.

"That's different." I mutter. "Anyway, you won't really even see me naked." I add. Ramon let's out a little chuckle.

"I'm going to see you naked." He says lowly. "I'll have each of your limbs tied "I'm going to see you naked." He says lowly. "I'll have each of your limbs tied to the bedpost and maybe even watch you struggle around in the restraints for awhile. I'm going to learn how you taste, how you feel. How you sound. Trust me," he gives me a cheeky grin, "everyone is going to hear you yell my name." His eyes are darker now. I swallow. I feel somewhat threatened by what he just said, and another part of me wants to jump his bones right now.

"What do you want for lunch? We could have brunch since we both just woke up but it's up to you." He says, changing the conversation completely. I sit up in bed and rub my eyes tiredly. I notice how under his eyes are dark from a lack of sleep.

"Can we just go back to sleep?" I ask. His lips curl into a smile. He glances away from me towards the bathroom. The light is on in there.

"You, my dear don't want me to get into bed with you. That'd be a bad idea, especially while you're dressed in the clothes you're wearing." He says. I let out a huff of air and exaggerate falling back onto the bed and curling into a ball.

"You go eat and I'll be in here," I mutter. Ramon let's out a loud breath and silently shuffles around the room. The bed sinks in next to me and a smile grows on my face. My head is buried in the pillow so I don't know what he's doing.

"Get out of bed." My mate utters into my ear. I shake my head against his request. My mom and Trevor always had a problem with trying to get me out of bed too. Even for food. Suddenly, his hand takes hold of my butt and he pulls my hips dangerously close to his.

I shift and face him. "Don't make me." I pout out my bottom lip. "I'm cold, and I didn't sleep very well last night." I try to make excuses. I get through to him after reminding him about last night.

"A few more hours of sleep wouldn't hurt." Ramon says softly. He pulls me against him until my head sits comfortably in the crook of his neck. I feel his lips against the top of my head for a brief moment.

My eyes get heavy, and I lay there for awhile. I can't fall back to sleep, though. Too much is on my mind and the fact that Ramon's words made me uncomfortable and needy in my lower part of me was keeping me from sleep.

He's asleep. His heart rate is slower than it was before he had fallen asleep, plus his breathing had slowed drastically. I lie there, taking it all in.

My eyes slowly close, I press my lips against the base of his throat and linger there for a moment. My fingers trace the lines of muscles on his stomach. They slowly trace down the V of his body and his hand quickly stops me. I didn't notice that he was awake.

"Not yet." He says softly. His voice is filled with sleep. His hand travels back to my bottom and rubs it softly. I kiss at his throat one more time then close my eyes.

"Go to sleep, cupcake." Ramon utters, the hand on my bum continues to move around massaging the surface. I don't know what it is about it that's so relaxing, but eventually that's what I finally fall asleep to.