“Suppressants aren’t an option, huh?” Did I want that? But as soon as I suggested it, my mind went back to the B&B, to Jordy and Monty, the memory of their combined scent so powerful, I could smell it here with me. The fierce longing almost brought tears to my eyes.
“I mean, they work,” Hunter said. “The side effects are nasty.”
“I know. Did that once a few years back.” The worst two weeks of my life. Wrote the most depressing song of my career about that.
Hunter was quiet for a few beats, and I knew that I wouldn’t be taking any suppressants. Not this time.
“You’ve met your mate, Laurel,” he said gently. “That’s always a good thing, you know?”
“Yeah.”
Hunter had been trying to find his omega for ages, and here I was, shitting on that.
“There’s a chance he’s aching for you just as much. Talk to him. You need him to come to you as soon as possible. And call me if you get cramps before he arrives, okay?”
Talk to whom? Monty or Jordy? Both?
Then I slapped my hand against my forehead. “Hunter, wait. I’m about to get pregnant, aren’t I?”
“Nine out of ten omegas get pregnant during their first heat with a bear shifter,” Hunter recited flatly. “The urge to breed usually gets too strong to resist.”
“Nine out of ten. Sonoteveryone.”
“I can give you contraceptives, but you’ll have to actually take them.”
“I have pills left from my last heat. They would be effective, right? Against shifter cum?”
Hunter let out a small chuckle. “Yes.”
“But I’ll be tempted to skip them when my brain gets soaked in horny hormones, and I’ll want to get knocked up, because shifter stuff. Right?”
“Yes, that’s usually the issue.”
“Hunter, I’m in no state to make any decisions whatsoever. My career’s in the air, and I’m getting mated and pregnant on top of that?” My voice rose in pitch.
“It’ll be okay, Laurel. I promise. Everything will turn out just fine. Go find the contraceptive and tell me how many pills you have left.”
Holding the phone to my ear, I ran to the master bedroom and rummaged through my luggage. I still hadn’t unpacked. I found the velvet toiletry bag and shook out the contents on thebed. Painkillers, mints against acid reflux, earplugs, chewing gum against motion sickness, and…
“Got them!”
Putting Hunter on speakerphone, I opened the tiny white bottle and peered inside. “There’s at least nine. No, eleven.”
“You’ll only need six at the most. Expiration date?”
“January.”
“Wonderful. Take one now. Immediately.”
I popped it in and swallowed. It was so small I didn’t need to wash it down with water.
“You’ll take one a day until the day after the last heatwave. Without impregnation, the heat will last up to five days. When your mate gets there, tell him about the pills, and put them on the nightstand so you have them ready. He needs to help you take them. You might not be entirely rational or conscious during the heat, so you need to talk about this beforehand, okay? He needs to be on board. Now set a timer for every day, this exact time, plus a reminder half an hour later.”
I found my alarm app and set the reminders. One for eleven every day, and the same at eleven thirty.
“Done.”
“Good. You should end the call and talk to your mate.”
