He huffs quietly and takes the chair. "Let's start simple. How have you been sleeping?"
"In the chair. Badly."
"Not in your bed. Because...?"
"It doesn't feel safe. My nest's gone. The bed feels like a trap I forgot to set myself."
He nods slowly. "Do you feel any urge to rebuild? To rearrange, collect...?"
"No. The drive's gone. I look at blankets and feel tired, not comforted."
His gaze softens. He glances at Jasper like something he suspected just got confirmed. "How long has that been true?"
"Since the day at the zoo. After the correction."
Ragon's jaw tightens. Eli's fingers curl on the arm of the couch.
Arden keeps moving. "How's your appetite?"
"Fine. Functional. I eat when I remember."
"Any changes in your heats? Cycle irregularities? Intensity shifts?"
I feel my cheeks heat a little, but his tone is clinical. I frown, realizing something. "I... should be having onenow, actually. I'm well overdue. No pre-heat symptoms. No temperature spikes. Nothing. I usually have one twice a year, sometimes three, but it's been about ten months now. I think."
His brows pull together. "Any nightmares?"
"Sometimes. Not about the gorillas. About the nest."
Silence answers that. Marie's grip tightens on her mug.
Arden lets the quiet sit. "You're aware your scent has changed."
"I'm aware everyone is aware. I get a lot of confused sniffing."
He smiles faintly. "I am going to sniff, with your permission. Purely diagnostically."
"Knock yourself out."
He inhales, minimally. Not invading. Just tasting the air.
His eyes darken. "You're right," he murmurs, glancing at Jasper. "Baseline beta levels. Omega markers nearly flat. That's not hygiene. That's your system dialing itself down. Suppressing."
Ragon shifts. "She showers. She always has. That's not new."
Arden looks over, polite. "That's not what I'm talking about."
He turns back to me. "I'm going to ask some personal questions. You can tell me to stop at any time."
"Okay."
He doesn't lower his voice. "Do you still experience spontaneous arousal? Random spikes of wanting, cravings for touch, scent, weight?"
The old me would have combusted.
The current me just shakes my head. "No. Not really. I can remember what it felt like, but it's like remembering being drunk. All theoretical."
"Does anyone's scent comfort you? Even a little? Even alphas that aren't pack?"
