The Defiant Claim - The Claim: Book 2 [LGBTQ+]

“What?” Mik demanded from the bathroom doorway next to Dr. Waaban as Sam’s eyes widened.

Heat? How?

Mik voiced Sam’s thoughts—more crudely. “How the fuck is that possible?”

Dr. Waaban, holding his nose, turned to Sam with dilating eyes. “Did you tell him about Klinefelter’s?”

“Yeah, I told him.”

Dr. Waaban clutched his head with his other hand. His brows knotted together in pain as he closed his eyes. “I don’t know what exactly is going on, but my guess is that it’s the double X-chromosomes you have. They’ve triggered this.”

“The female chromosomes?” Mik clarified.

“Yes. Even without the female sex organs, the sex hormones still hold power over Sam’s body. That’s why he gets testosterone injections every week.”

“Give him one then!” Mik commanded.

“I already gave him one before his exam today!”

Mik groaned, his fingers pulling on his hair.

“I always give him the injections before his exams. They help him to focus,” the doctor explained. “I noticed this morning that he smelled more excited than usual, but chalked it up to it being Valentine’s Day and he was hopeful for...” Dr. Waaban trailed off and cleared his throat. “Anyway, his scent returned to normal after that and he wrote his exam. It started to come back during his physical exam and again, I chalked it up to him being excited. I could give him another injection but I assume the female hormones will just over-power it again in a few hours.”

“Give it to him,” Mik demanded, urgency in his voice. “I can’t...” Mik glanced back at Sam, swallowed, and looked away as crimson shaded the back of his neck. “I won’t do this until he’s stronger.”

“You don’t have a choice!” the doctor snapped. Sam could smell his arousal leaking from his pores as Mik began to growl. “I only have a month’s supply left! That’s four doses! If he burns through them in five to six hours, he’ll only have enough for the next twenty-four hours—if that!"

“And how fucking long do heats last?” Aggression was pouring from Mik as he shifted to block the doorway from the doctor. Posturing his claim before the older male.

“It depends. They are different each time. They could last anywhere from twenty-four hours to seventy-two hours. One to three days. It depends on when the egg gets released and fertilized. Sam has no uterus, no ovaries, no eggs. So I have no idea how long this will last.”

“Are you sure he has no female organs?”

Dr. Waaban snarled, baring his canines. “Yes, I’m sure! Do you want to see the ultrasounds as well? I know Sam inside and out! I have studied all there is to know about Klinefelter’s. He’s the only wolf I know with it and I searched long and hard in other packs for another with his condition to find more information and answers and found none. All I have are human studies to go by and none of them have answers for his wolf-side. It’s the female hormones. It has to be.”

“Fine then, give him the fucking injection!” Mik snarled.

“You give it!” the doctor snapped.

Mik lunged and grabbed the older male by the throat and slammed him against the wall out of Sam’s sight. Sam yelped from the tub and could hear them snarling at each other.

“I can’t breathe! I’m an unmated male, Mik,” Dr. Waaban told him. “I can’t control myself around him. Not at this stage in his heat. You have to do this. I’ll show you how but I can’t go near him. I can’t do it.”

Brokenness tinted the doctor’s voice. A male always in control of himself now fighting against a primal urge that defied his perfectly honed skills and discipline.

Mik continued to growl lowly. “Will this work?” he asked so softly Sam almost didn’t hear him. The pain in his voice gripped his heart. “I don’t want to hurt him. Please. I can’t do this to him.”

“I don’t know,” the doctor replied in a whisper. “I know the injections will help but I don’t know if they will be enough. It will take another week for me to get more—three days if I put a rush on it because of the weekend, but I can’t get more before his heat is done. You can try and hold it off but it might not be enough. You’ll have to put the fire out yourself.”

Mik whimpered. The sound broke Sam’s heart. “I can’t hurt him again. Please. Please?”

“I understand, but some things you can’t control and you just have to accept that.”

Another whimper from Mik. “Okay... Show me how to give the injection.”

Sam whimpered from the bathroom. The water was heating up again and he needed it to cool. Clenching his teeth together, he mustered his strength to reach up and turn the cold water nozzle a little to allow a trickle to fall before collapsing back into the water. It was so hot outside!

Stupid female chromosomes! Why did he have to have them? Why couldn’t he be a normal male like everyone else?

He could hear them talking softly; Dr. Waaban’s voice was muffled while Mik’s grew in aggression and Sam wondered if it was because of him and his heat. After a few minutes, it sounded as though they were wrapping up and Dr. Waaban gave Mik a few more instructions—especially about keeping hydrated. No kidding. Sam was parched again. His throat burned and was unable to find relief like his body in the cold bathwater.

“Goodbye Sam,” the doctor hollered. “And good luck.”

Sam opened his mouth to say goodbye but all he could get out was a strangled croak.

A minute later, Mik was hovering in the doorway. His hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. Sam could see his muscles flexing under the skin, large veins popping out of his arms as he dragged air through his mouth.

“Sam, I...” He swallowed, sweat gathering on his brow. “Are you okay?”

“Thirsty,” Sam rasped. “So thirsty.”

Nodding, Mik hung his head and marched away to fetch him a drink. It felt like ten minutes had passed before Mik returned. Sam struggled to sit up and Mik had to help him. A growl rumbled from his chest at the touch of Sam’s skin.

“I’m going to give you an injection as soon as you’re done here.”

“Okay,” Sam whispered, reaching for the glass of water Mik brought to his lips, too impatient to wait any longer for it.

It soothed his throat but while sitting out of the water, he felt like he was on fire.

“It burns,” he moaned. “Hurry. I can’t stand it.”

Mik’s eyes were fully dilated. No color could be seen of his irises as a rumble reverberated within his chest. He set the empty glass on the vanity and left, returning a minute later with the long needle and vial of testosterone.

While he was gone, Sam slid back under the cool water and turned his back to Mik when he returned, exposing his leg at the water’s surface.

Mik turned the trickle of cold water off before reaching down and wrapping his hand around Sam’s neck. Lowering himself, he groaned with a percussion from his chest as he brushed his nose over Sam’s wet hair.

“You smell fucking amazing. It’s really hard to control myself, even with the water washing away your scent. It’s like a fragrant oil now, lingering in here. I can’t think straight.”

Sam whimpered. His little head perked up again, throbbing.

Mik released him, his fingers brushing against Sam’s flesh, down his shoulder, over his arm, and across his hips. Extended nails scratched lightly against his flesh as Mik gripped his thigh. Sam shivered at his touch.

“Ready?”

Sam nodded. “Yeah.”

“I’m sorry if this hurts.”

The needle pierced into Sam’s thigh and he hissed through his teeth. The pain was only for a few seconds as Mik injected him with the testosterone and pulled the needle out. A few seconds later, he recovered from the pain and gradually he could feel his temperature dropping, his head clearing, and the burn within subsiding.

“It’s working,” he murmured. A shiver coursed through him as the bite of cold water nibbled through his skin.

Mik heaved a sigh and collapsed on the toilet, his head in his hands. “Thank the Goddess.”

“I’m sorry,” Sam said, tears stinging his eyes. “I didn’t know I was going into heat! I didn’t even know it was possible!”

“It’s not your fault. Don’t apologize,” Mik mumbled.

The cold ebbed deeper into his flesh and he shivered.

Mik rose up and helped him out of the bath, dried him off and put him into some comfortable clothes before tucking him into bed. He felt exhausted—as if he ran a marathon.

“I’m so tired,” he mumbled when Mik had finished tucking the blankets in around him.

“Rest then.”

“Stay with me,” Sam begged, his eyelids drooping. “I need to feel your arms around me.”

A rumble that was half a whimper met Sam’s ears before Mik conceded, turned the lights off, climbed into the bed beside him, and wrapped him up in his arms.

A sigh left Sam’s lips as his eyes closed.

“I’m sorry.”

Sam cracked open an eye before closing it again. “Hm?”

Mik’s hold on him tightened. He buried his face in Sam’s neck. “I can’t do this. I can’t hurt you again.”

“It’s heat, Mik. Not the end of the world.”

“I wanted you to be stronger for our mating. I still do but I don’t know if I can be strong enough to hold myself back. And I can’t stand to see you in pain...”

“I know. The timing isn’t right but whatever happens, I love you and I forgive you.”

Mik pulled away, shifting his position to lean over Sam. “You do?”

Warmth flourished on Sam’s cheeks as he cracked open his eyes to peer up at Mik. He could barely make out his outline in the dark but he felt his eyes on his. “Yeah.”

Leaning down, Mik pressed his lips gently to Sam’s. “I love you too.”

Mik settled back down next to him, holding him tightly as the warm comfort of sleep took him.