It was hot. Too hot. All Jack felt was the low simmering heat that coiled through his stomach and pooled in his gut with a soft clenching of his muscles. Jack inhaled deeply and shivered at the smoky scent that tickled his nose.

His eyebrows frowned slightly as his nose twitched, this time a deeper, more appealing scent swirled around him. Jack could faintly remember clinging on Kaiden last night as he slowly succumbed to sleep. So, where was he?

He had to fight to open his eyes and whimpered slightly as the heat in his body flared up even higher when he found himself in a soft bed. The spot beside him was empty but judging from the ruffled sheets, someone had likely slept beside him.

Small beads of sweat rolled down his temples as Jack pushed himself up on wobbling arms. "Am I coming down with something?" He wondered hazily, his eyes wandering through the room.

There wasn't a trace of Kaiden anywhere, and for a brief moment, Jack wondered where the wolf was. Maybe he needed to let his wolf out and run? He winched and let out a muffled groan as the warmth in his stomach grew and started to become unpleasant.

Slipping out of the bed, he slowly shuffled to the nearest door and sighed as he entered the bathroom. He quickly did his business and made a reminded to empty the bowl before he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.

He looked flustered, his hair ruffled and sticking to his face as his cheeks had an unusual red flush to them. Even his blue eyes seemed to sparkle more than usual, the fire that charred his insides was burning even in the darkness of his pupils.

It was only when he glanced further down that Jack squeaked and flushed a bright red. His clothes were gone! Before his mind could really start to point fingers, he remembered waking up one point and feeling flushed, so he had toed of his socks and underclothes and haphazardly threw his shirt somewhere down the room before sighing in relief as he settled back in the bed.

Now that he thought about it...didn't he cuddled up to Kaiden at a certain point? Jack felt his face grow even warmer than his stomach before he slapped a hand over his mouth to stop the embarrassed whimper. What was wrong with him?

His eyes landed on the stones to his right and sighed at the smooth bathtub in the center. Quickly looking around, his eyes spotted the bucket discarded to the side before he quickly slipped into a pair of loose pants and rushed to fill the tub.

At this point, even the frigid water of the river seemed appealing but Jack wanted at least some privacy. He needed to find a way to cool off, and fast, before he embarrassed himself even more.

Minutes later, Jack sank down into the cool water and sighed. To him, the icy cool water that was just above freezing point felt a bit cool. He didn't know that the heat was going to lash back for the temporarily relief or that the witch had even thought to leave scented candles behind, the same candles Jack had lit and placed just outside the tub.

All Jack cared about now, was the fact that he could relax a bit and wash the sweat off his cooling body.

Outside, Kaiden was more than annoyed with the witch. He knew that she planned all this, that she had intended to put Jack into heat. The boy might not realize or understand the condition but Kaiden could easily detect the spicy scent waving off of him.

And that's why he had slowly climbed out of bed to prevent his wolf and himself to succumb to temptation. That scent was the reason why he was slowly but surely carving out a path in the dirt by pacing back and forth through the woods.

An amused chuckle bubbled up behind him, causing Kaiden to growl lowly as he glared at Verona over his shoulder. "Feeling flustered?" She managed to say before she laughed out loud, not even trying to hide her glee with Kaiden's situation.

Kaiden quickly spun around and growled threateningly, though they both knew he wouldn't harm her; she was a valuable friend and ally of the pack and had helped them for generations long.

Verona quickly grew serious and sighed, shaking her head. "Kaiden, you really need to stop worrying. The pair of you are meant to be, I've seen it myself. I just, gave you both a little nudge in the right direction." She smiled, winking at Kaiden's look of disbelief.

"The boy already feels safe with you Kaiden, even when you met as a wolf. Now go on and get back home, Jack's awake and he'll need you to cool down again." Kaiden shook his head as the woman skipped away, mentally wondering if he really was going to do this but knowing he was going to anyways.

Jack wasn't going to cool down on his own and from what he heard, a neglected heat could become rather painful, leaving the mate to suffer for a few days unless the pair was bonded, marked and thoroughly mated.

He sighed warily as he slowly pushed against his front door, freezing in the doorway as that maddening scent hit him in the gut, releasing a low growl as his own stomach coiled with hunger and need.

The wolf inside knew what that scent entailed and was growing anxious, needing to find the source of that scent and claim. Before someone else beat him to it. Even that split second thought was enough to force out another growl as Kaiden quickly stalked through his house, pausing at the empty bedroom.

Where is he?

A quiet whimper broke the silence, luring him to the bathroom where Jack was sprawled out in the sanded bathtub like a pagan offering. The boy was panting, beads of sweat rolling down his chest and eventually disappeared into the water.

As their eyes met, Jack couldn't help but flush heavily but he didn't care that Kaiden caught him in such a vulnerable and naked state. He wanted, no needed something against this all-consuming heat.

When the wolf took another step in the bathroom, Jack all but scrambled out of the tub and tripped over his feet in his hurry to get to Kaiden. As he slammed into the man's chest, Jack let out a sigh of relief when the flames simmered down a bit.

He nuzzled against Kaiden's chest, shyness forgotten as the flames in his stomach cooled down until he was able to stop shivering from the heat. Kaiden's arms wrapped soothingly around his waist before he felt lips smiling against his forehead.

"Jack, I need you to listen for a minute, now that you're still able to think clearly." The boy frowned a bit and leaned back, feeling his breath catch in his throat at the hungry look in Kaiden's eyes.

Kaiden took a deep, calming breath but gritted his teeth at the scent that assaulted his nostrils and made his wolf fight against Kaiden's hold. He held onto his self-control, barely.

"Look, your body is reacting this way because it knows we belong together, we call it Heat. Only your other half can douse the flames by...getting intimate." Kaiden managed to say, smiling as Jack buried his face against the wolf's chest in an attempt to hide his burning cheeks.

He rubbed a soothing hand over Jack's spine, already sensing the heat that was starting to creep up on the boy. "If you don't want me to claim and fully mate you, I- I'll understand. I didn't want it to be this way but if you don't want this to happen, I-'I'll keep my distance."

Jack frowned slightly, trying to keep an open mind at the same time as he was trying to keep the overwhelming heat out of his mind. Logically, he should say no, push the wolf away from him and scream bloody murder. He barely knew the man, apart that he was a werewolf, lived in a cabin with the rest of his pack and apparently had stalked Jack a good while back.

"But," that little voice whispered in his head, "He tried to protect you and saved you not once but twice from that savage black wolf. He treated you with nothing but respect. Surely someone like that can't be bad at all?"

Quietly telling the voice to shut up, Jack glanced up at the man that was soothing him, stroking his spine and unintentionally building up the heat. If he had still been in the village, no doubt both of them would've been strapped to the center of the pyre; these feelings between two men weren't accepted by the society he had lived in.

But, he had already spotted a few wolves during the day that had drawn his attention and now he knew why. Males holding each other hands, women giving each other a kiss that was anything but innocent...the pack accepted all.

Jack shivered and leaned against the touch. He didn't know what this feeling was or what to do with it. In the village, everyone had looked at him with either disgust or pity and during his eighteen years, Jack had never been romantically involved with another.

He didn't know how to react or what to do but as Kaiden leaned back and tilted his head forwards in an attempt to look at Jack's face, the heat flared up in his stomach to an almost unbearable height. His whole skin was set ablaze s his instincts roared to live and guided Jack to do what he needed.

At the moment that Kaiden's eyes locked with Jacks, the boy leaned forwards the slightest bit and felt his stomach clench hungrily and his groin harden in an unknown way as their lips connected for the very first time.

The sensations that flooded his body was more than Jack could bare, his hands flying up to cling onto Kaiden for support. The man was stunned for a moment, his mind barely registering the hesitant touch as Jack's lips moved innocently against his. But then his wolf realized what this meant and howled in celebration.

He was accepted! His mate wanted to belong to him, even without properly knowing him! His lips hungrily moved against Jack's as he pulled the boy tighter against his body, his shaft already pulsing and achingly hard as it pressed against his pants.

Kaiden had to close his eyes for a moment and force his wolf back as each touch of Jack was a combination of hunger and innocence, which provoked Kaiden's wolf and made the mighty beast shiver and drool.

They both calmed down, realizing that Jack was as innocent as he looked and neither man nor wolf wanted their mate to shy away from them. Kaiden's movements slowed, the hunger and need pushed to the back as he stared at his panting lover.

Slowly, he leaned forwards to pick Jack up and gave the boy a reassuring smile. He was going to make this a night to remember.