Let them.
I nodded once, small and hesitant. My eyes stayed fixed on my lap, fingers twisting tightly in the fabric of my shirt.
“Thank you for responding, Lena,” Dr. Hampton said. “Why did you not want Jacob to mention your heat?”
She waited.
“Are you ashamed of it?”
A small nod. Yes.
“If Marco forced himself on you during your heats,” she said carefully, “there is nothing about that to be ashamed of.”
My gaze snapped up at his name. I shook my head hard.
“He didnotforce himself on you during heat?” she tried clarifying, surprise briefly breaking through her clinical tone.
No.I shook my head.Not in the way you think.
Silas released a breath of relief he had been holding and leaned back, forcing his knee to still.
“You don't need to feel shame for wanting relief during heat,” Dr. Hampton continued. “Omegas have biological needs during that cycle.”
Frustration flared, sharp and sudden. I shook my head again, harder this time. My mouth opened, then closed.
No.
“Did Marco knot you during your heat cycles?” she asked, slower now.
I shook my head.No.
“Then who did?” she asked quietly. “You were captive for five years. You would have experienced many heat cycles. His lieutenants perhaps?"
My chest tightened.
I raised my hands and pressed my wrists together, fists clenched, miming restraints. Then I shook my head again.
Dr. Hampton’s expression shifted to pity. Silas' relief didn't last long. He now looked as if his rage was barely contained, and Knox's head hung low in his hands.
“I understand,” she said softly. “He restrained you during heat. Did his men knot you, if not Marco himself?
I shook my head firmly.She wasn't getting it! I thought she said she could help me!
"I don't understand Lena." She passed me a page from her notepad and a pencil. "Can you write for me? Help me understand?"
Silence settled over the room.
“I’m trying my best to understand,” she said carefully. “Marco kept you in his custody for five years. During that time you would have had roughly sixty heat cycles…” She paused. “If Marco didn’t knot you, then who?”
The question made sense. It was the only conclusion mostpeople reached. No one would suspect the truth. Five years, alone and restrained during every heat, without access to medical care, suppressants, or heat assistance tools. Most omegas would be dead.
Our bodies weren’t built to sustain that level of hormonal stress for long periods without alpha or medical assistance. As heat dragged on, dehydration and exhaustion set in, coupled with painful contractions as the body tried to force the cycle to completion. Heat fevers could spike high enough to become life-threatening, while prolonged strain sometimes lead to internal bleeding or permanent infertility.
Honestly, it was shocking that I hadn't died from a heat fever years ago. Somehow, I had survived on nothing but sheer determination, and eventually my body seemed to understand there would be no help coming. The heats became duller after that and more manageable in some ways. Contraction pain was stillexcruciating torture, but not quite as brutal or raw as in the beginning.
I shook my head.
Her brow furrowed. “I see,” she said slowly. “Lena, it’s all right to feel shame about submission. To beg for something you might not want. Omegas can lose control during heat. That doesn't mean you were willing.”
