Chapter 115: The Heat And Kelly’s Release!
Neve reached the main cave and saw that it was completely empty.
Somehow, all the noise had died down. Everyone had left. They had probably all gone outside to see something. Maybe a rare event that had drawn all of them away from the cave.
He held onto the wall of the cave, panting hard. His body was burning. His skin was hypersensitive. Every breath he took felt like it was feeding the fire inside him.
He was silently praying. Praying for someone. Anyone. To accidentally walk back in. He did not care if it was Cael or Aldric or Kelly. Just anyone would do.
He did not want his pheromone level to reach 100%. He did not want to experience his full heat. He definitely did not want to repeat what he had done with Cael that first night. That had been intense enough when he was not prepared for it.
All he needed right now was just someone to share their pheromones with him. Someone to hold him tight. Someone to help him through this without things going too far.
But even as he thought that, he wondered if that would be enough. Would just sharing pheromones be sufficient to calm the burning inside him? Or would his heat demand more?
He held onto the wall and tried to control his breathing.
"I wonder why they all ran out," he heard a voice from the cave entrance. "It’s just a shooting star. Who hasn’t seen one before?"
Neve tensed up completely.
It was Kelly.
His heart started racing as he managed to take a weak step forward. His body was responding to the sound of Kelly’s voice before his conscious mind could catch up.
Kelly finally entered the cave completely.
He stood by the entrance and immediately a low growl escaped from his chest. His hand flew to his nose instinctively.
Kelly looked closer at Neve, his eyes widening as he took in the sight of the red panda standing there shirtless, panting hard, skin flushed and glistening.
"Neve?" Kelly called out hesitantly. "This scent... Are you in heat?"
Neve let out a groan as he slid down to sit on the floor. The weight of the situation was becoming too much to bear standing up.
Kelly managed to run to him quickly, despite how much his own body was reacting to Neve’s scent. He could smell it filling the entire cave. Could smell the call of it pulling at something primal inside him.
"Are you alright?" Kelly asked, hooking a hand around Neve’s waist to support him.
Neve kept panting hard. His breathing was ragged and uncontrolled. He raised a hand and ran it over Kelly’s body without really thinking about it. The need to touch something. The need to feel another person’s warmth was overwhelming.
A soft moan slipped from his lips and Kelly’s cheeks flushed red immediately.
He felt his dick harden under the fabric he was wearing. The response was automatic. His body was reacting to Neve’s heat in ways he could not control.
"Neve... You shouldn’t..." Kelly winced, turning his face away from Neve’s neck. But he did not take Neve’s hand off his body. He could not. Even though he knew he should create distance, his body refused to cooperate.
Neve’s hand slid lower, moving across Kelly’s chest, his abdomen, heading downward.
"Don’t worry, Kael," Neve said, his voice husky and filled with need. "Just leave it to me."
Kelly’s eyes widened in shock as Neve’s hand found what it was looking for and wrapped around his hardness. Even through the fabric, the touch was electric. It sent shivers through Kelly’s entire body.
"Kael," Neve called his name as he began stroking slowly. His other hand trailed across his own chest, touching himself, adding to the sensations building inside him.
"Fuck, Kael..."
He moaned and Kelly gritted his teeth, trying to hold back his own response. But he could not. His hand wrapped around Neve, pulling him closer. He could not resist anymore.
Kelly let out his own pheromones without meaning to. The scent filled the cave even more, mixing with Neve’s, creating an intoxicating combination. He held Neve so close to his body even as Neve’s hand did not stop its stroking.
Kelly started breathing heavily as he brought his lips close to Neve’s neck. He wanted to mark him. He wanted to bite down and leave his mark. He wanted to claim Neve right there and then.
But he had promised himself he would control it. So instead, he just kissed his neck hard. He left small hickeys along Neve’s neck as Neve increased the pace of his stroking.
"Oh Kael..." Neve moaned again, his voice breathy and filled with pleasure.
Neve could tell what Kelly was doing even though the wolf was somehow pretending to be lost in his head. Neve could feel Kelly’s breath against his ear and neck. The sensation made him even harder and twitching in his pants. But he did not stop. He could not stop.
Maybe this was what the system wanted him to know. What it wanted him to understand. That in this world, he could be as vulgar as he wanted. There was no one to judge him. No boss looking over his shoulder. No rules to follow except the ones he made for himself.
He understood it now.
He understood that this was freedom. But how the fuck did that relate to the question he has asked?
He felt something warm in his hand as Kelly’s breathing finally reached its peak. His body went tense and still for a moment before releasing. Kelly made a sound that was half moan, half gasp, his face buried in Neve’s hair.
Neve pulled his hand out slowly and stared at it. Kelly’s release was warm and sticky on his palm.
Kelly immediately held Neve’s hand and started cleaning him up gently using his own clothing. He was trying to be careful. Trying to be respectful even in the midst of the heat and the need.
"Are you alright, Neve?" Kelly asked, his voice still shaky from what had just happened.
Neve stared at the system notification that had appeared.
{Pheromones level reduce: 99%→ 80%→ 50%}
The level had dropped significantly. The relief was almost immediate. The burning sensation was still there but it was manageable now. It was not consuming him anymore.
He exhaled deeply and looked at Kelly.
"I’m fine," Neve said quietly.
"I was worried," Kelly said, his cheeks still flushed red from what had just occurred. "I thought your heat had begun completely, especially with your scent filling the entire cave. It was almost unbearable."
Neve did not know what to say to that. Of course his heat had almost started completely because of the damn system and its pheromone increasing nonsense. He just sighed and watched as other voices started coming from outside the cave entrance.
They were coming back. The others were returning from watching the shooting star.
They entered the cave and froze immediately.
Cael’s nose twitched as he first inhaled Neve’s scent. The scent of heat. The scent of arousal. The scent of everything that came with a mate in season.
Then his eyes landed on Kelly sitting close to Neve.
Ryker tensed. Kelly’s scent mixed with Neve’s scent. The implications were obvious.
Sorin’s expression went unreadable.
Popi looked like she was trying to piece together what had just happened.
Aldric looked away shyly, clearly understanding the situation and not wanting to invade on something intimate.
The silence stretched out uncomfortably.
Neve felt his cheeks burning with embarrassment. He could see the questions in their eyes. He could see the realization dawning on them about what had just occurred in the cave while they were outside.
"Oh fuck, how do I deal with this?" Neve muttered.