“We should maybe not do this here,” she said with a giggle.
I snorted. “Yeah, maybe not.” I ran my thumb across her cheek. “You’re mine, sweetheart. And I am completely yours. I could never belong to anyone else.”
She leaned into my touch, her eyes soft.
A knock at the door signaled Dr.Finch’s return. “Everything sorted?”
“Yep,” Lucy said, wiggling happily on my lap.
“Glad to hear it. Wilder, Annie’s going to come in and draw some blood so we can check your labs, but things were trending in a good direction by the time you were discharged from the hospital, so I don’t expect any surprises. You’ll get a call if we need to follow up on anything.”
“Wait, before we go, I have a question,” Lucy said.
Dr.Finch sat back down on the rolling chair.
“I’m thinking about going off my suppressants.”
A growl ripped through my chest and my scent surged at my omega’s words. All sound ceased, and I was consumed by the image of herin heat, her slick dripping onto the soft blankets and pillows I’d gifted her for her nest.
Knotting her and refusing to pull out for fucking hours.
Making her come over and over until she was sobbing from pleasure.
The doctor cleared her throat and pressed a button on her desk. The whirring sound in the room grew louder as the de-scenter machine kicked into high gear. Lucy laughed and patted my chest in what was supposed to be a soothing gesture but did nothing to bank my intense need to claim her.
“You haven’t had a heat before, is that right?” The doctor kept her attention on Lucy, both omegas ignoring my reaction.
“Correct. I wanted to check if there was anything I needed to do to prepare for going off my suppressants.”
“I’ll prescribe you some supplements and I recommend focusing on eating nutrient-dense and high-calorie meals. Many omegas find it hard to eat during heats, and putting on some extra weight ahead of time can be helpful.”
“Will it be a problem that I’m practicallyancientfor a first-time heat?”
It was Dr.Finch’s turn to laugh. “I’m not sure twenty-nine counts as ancient quite yet. It’s hard to tell how each omega will react. As you’re going off the suppressants, you are at risk for breakthrough heats and surges, which usually last for a few hours at a time. It’s a good idea to make sure you stick close to your pack during that time, just to prevent being caught by surprise. There’s no reason your full heat wouldn’t be normal, although omegas with HO usually have heats that are one day longer than average.”
“That sounds good.”
Lucy moved off my lap as the nurse came back in the room to draw my blood, but my eyes never left her. I vibrated with energy, my alpha and I finally unified in a desperate need for my omega.
And for the first time, that didn’t scare me.
66
Wilder
My hands gripped the steeringwheel as I drove up the mountain to my cabin, Lucy in the passenger seat.
She was quiet.Why was she so quiet?
I took a deep breath, gathering my strength to break the silence, but I lost my nerve and released it in a noisy exhale. Why the fuck was my house so far away? Maybe if I concentrated hard enough, I could move it closer with the power of my mind just to end this awkwardness.
Finally,finally, my driveway came into view.
I threw my truck into park. Not that long ago, we had been in this same exact spot. Except this time, the woman beside me wasn’t a stranger.
She was the love of my life. My omega.
Lucy unbuckled her seat belt and turned to face me, expression fierce.
