Pheromonal: One Night With the Alpha novel Chapter 101

Chapter 101: Roar

There’s a roar.

A great, shrill, shrieking sound that tears through my skull. It’s like thousands of shards of glass, so piercing it feels as if my brain’s going to explode. I curl into Logan’s chest, pressing my face against his shirt and covering my ears to muffle the ungodly noise. Princess Paws digs her claws into my arm, but I barely register the pain.

Logan’s voice comes through like I’m underwater, distorted and far away. "...fall back to secondary position... maintain perimeter..."

The purple lines under my skin pulse in time with each piercing note of that otherworldly screech, still echoing in my head. My bones vibrate with it, as if something inside me recognizes and responds to the sound. The sensation spreads through my chest, down my arms, into my fingertips until I’m certain I’ll shake apart.

Logan runs, his footsteps jarring through my curled body. I squeeze my eyes shut, but it doesn’t help. The sound isn’t just in my ears—it’s inside me, resonating with whatever Eliana and her twisted experiments put in my blood.

"Make it stop," I whimper, though I doubt Logan can hear me over the chaos.

Through slitted eyes, I see the tactical team moving with precise coordination, weapons raised, completely unfazed by the sound that’s tearing me apart. Even Princess Paws seems more concerned with keeping her balance than the shriek that’s liquefying my insides.

The realization hits like ice water: I’m the only one being affected this way. Whatever that sound is, it’s meant for me. The purple threads beneath my skin flare brighter, a spiderweb of pain spreading through my body.

Logan shouts something else, but the words dissolve into the overwhelming screech. My fingers clutch his shirt, trying to anchor myself to something real as the world spins and blurs around us. The blue spirits scatter and reform in frantic patterns, their usual playful dance turned desperate and erratic. A part of my head lingers on the fact they’re still blue, not orange and scared like at the hospital. Strange.

The sound changes pitch, higher and sharper, and a scream tears from my throat. My back arches involuntarily, every muscle seizing as if electrified. The purple lines burn like fire.

And there it is again. The rhythmic beating of massive wings. My heart pounds in recognition, even though I definitely have never heard it before.

"Dragons," I rasp against Logan’s chest. My throat feels raw, as if I’ve been screaming for hours. Have I been screaming? I don’t think I have. Oh. Maybe it’s the dust. "They’re here."

"I know." His arms tighten around me.

The purple lines under my skin pulse faster, each beat sending fresh waves of agony through my body. A whimper escapes my lips before I can stop it. Princess Paws burrows deeper into my arms, her tiny body trembling.

"What’s wrong?" Logan’s voice sounds distant, like he’s speaking through layers of cotton. "Nicole?"

I try to answer, but the words won’t come. The shrieking fills my head, drowning out everything else. The blue spirits swirl frantically around us, their light pulsing in time with the pain coursing through my veins.

An explosion rips through the air—so loud it drowns out even the otherworldly screech. The pressure in my head suddenly releases, like a bubble popping. The cotton-wool feeling in my ears disappears, leaving blessed clarity in its wake.

"Where are the fucking incendiaries coming from?" Logan snarls, his voice crystal clear now. "Report!"

"Unknown, sir!" A soldier’s voice cuts through the chaos. "We’ve swept the perimeter twice. Still can’t locate the source."

The purple lines under my skin continue to burn, but at least now I can hear. I press my face against Logan’s shirt, breathing in his familiar scent as another explosion rocks the ground beneath us.

His pheromones clear my sinuses and head, leaving me feeling more myself. The pain is gone, leaving only fear. And worry.

"The dragons," I say again, clutching at his arm. "They’re watching us."

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