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I held up both hands, and whether that was a defensiveness or reassurance I wasn’t entirely certain. “You came here too close to your heat,” I answered. “You weren’t in a good headspace but the medicine will help. It’ll delay things for a few hours, I hope anyway. It’s tricky to know for certain with presentation heats. They’re never quite as reliable as the later ones.”
I stepped toward her and her hackles went up, a growl tearing from her throat that made me pause.
Allie looked absolutely mortified over what she’d done.
“Easy, little one.” I loosened a bit of control on my scent and some of the stiffness in her body retreated. “One of the physicians is going to have to take a look at you and make sure you’re okay to proceed. If you want to spend your heat with me, then you can sign the contract while the medicine is strong enough to manage your symptoms. If not, you can head to the hospital.”
Allie cursed quietly and crossed her arms over her chest. “I wouldn’t need to do any of this if I already had a partner. But nooo. I had to focus on school instead of dating. Fat lot of good that’s doing me now.”
Sympathy rose up in a wave. I couldn’t fix the situation, but I’d do my damnedest to make sure it was as easy as possible for her. I crooked my finger and she followed like a hooked fish.
“Stupid sexy alpha,” she muttered under her breath.
I bit down on my smile. She didn’t need to know I’d heard her. Best to get things moving and then I could take all the time in the world to uncover her secrets, untangle her worries, and introduce her to a world of pleasure she’d never even dreamed of.
Sidney led me to the next floor of the building and into an exam room where the doctor was already waiting.
“Hi, Allison. I’m Dr. James.” The physician was a middle-aged woman with brown hair and a warm smile. “Cutting it a bit close, I see?”
“If I could have avoided it forever, I would have,” I snapped.
Dr. James exchanged a look with Sidney. “You’re not being coerced into coming here, are you?”
“Not technically, but what else am I supposed to do?”
“If you’re that uncomfortable with having a heat partner, we could always take you to the hospital and sedate you for the duration of your heat. It’s not ideal, but we could manage the symptoms for you well enough.”
“Because that’s so much better.” I shoved my hands into my hair, where they tangled in the dark curls. “I want to be a different dynamic. Why hasn’t science figured that out yet?”
Dr. James pursed her lips. “Sidney, could you please excuse us for a moment?”
“Of course.” He stepped outside and shut the door behind him.
“Talk to me, Allison. How can we help you through this?”
“I don’t know.” The tears snuck up on me and I wiped them away. I’d pushed down some of the panic, but now that I was hitting the point of no return, it was like a tsunami overwhelming me. “I’m so scared.”
“Of what, in particular?”
“I’ve never even been kissed and now I’m supposed to think about getting naked with a stranger for days, letting them...”
“Ah. Yes, I can see how that would be daunting.” Dr. James flipped through my documents. “Well, you’re nineteen, so you can make whatever choice you think is best for you. Presentation heats don’t agree well with long-term suppression or we could have delayed for you, but that’s something we can look into afterward. What do you think about the hospital option?”
“That’s equally terrifying.”
Dr. James nodded. “I’m sorry there aren’t better alternatives.”
“I don’t want to sleep with a stranger.” I wrapped my arms around myself, though the self-hug did little in the way of soothing.
“Do you think it would help if you spent some time with him first? All the alphas who work here will do their very best to make your heat comfortable however they can. If you want to talk until the wee hours of the morning or go out for dinner with them, that’s perfectly allowable.”
“Really? It’s not a wham, bam, thank you ma’am and everyone is on their way?”
Dr. James snickered. “Only if that’s the preference of the client. Typically with presentation clients, the omega will be in the home of the alpha they choose, or the alpha will come to them if the omega lives alone. It allows time to get comfortable, lets the omega engage in nesting behaviors and move gradually into the heat, as opposed to someone being contacted to come to them when the heat begins.”
“That sounds okay, I guess.”
“There’s also the option to request the alpha use only toys if that makes you more comfortable. It takes a while longer for the heat haze to lift with that method, but it can be managed.”
