Illegal, addictive, and dangerous if you took them for too long. Suppressants were a line Omegas weren’t supposed to cross. It was unnatural.
Silas exhaled through his nose. “They’re prescribed,” he said. “Relax.”
Knox cut in before I could spiral.
“We got clearance from Command,” he said matter of factly. “Because of the work you’ve been doing. The medication is a new formula, designed only to delay heat. It won't affect your scent or instincts."
My eyes stayed locked on the bottle.
“The mission’s still active,” he added. “They don’t want you out of commission for days at a time. And they don’t want us managing your heat in the middle of it either.”
My face blushed at the thought of them managing my heat. My fingers twisted together in my lap as conflicted emotions tangled painfully inside me. Fear. Embarrassment. Nervous anticipation.
It had been so long since I’d had a heat partner, let alone two alphas.
The trauma of surviving every heat, completely alone, had been carved too deeply into me. For five years, heat hadn’t meant comfort or pleasure. It meant pain, fever, contractions, and being trapped inside my own body while it tore itself apart.
Heat was terrifying.
My stomach twisted at the thought of being so vulnerable and trusting my handlers to take care of me.
But beneath the fear was a fragile, aching relief at the possibility that maybe I would never have to survive it alone again.
I stared at the pill bottlein Knox's hand.
“Dr. Hampton recommended the suppressants,” Knox continued. “She doesn’t want your heat to trigger a trauma regression. Not after all the progress you've made.”
“Short-term only,” he added. “A month. Maybe two. After that, the risks go up. Dependency. Side effects. This isn’t permanent.”
My throat tightened.
“I don’t want…” My voice faltered. I shook my head instead.
Knox’s expression softened immediately.
“I know,” he said. “That’s why we’re offering the medication. To buy you time. Let you settle more before you have to face it.”
Silence stretched.
Silas shifted closer, lifting his fingers and lightly brushing the mark on my neck.
Hisclaiming mark.
My breath caught.
His thumb traced slowly over it. The skin was still sensitive and healing so he was careful. Goosebumps erupted across my skin.
“You don't have to, Lena," he said, searching my eyes.
"But whether you take them or not,” Silas continued, “you’ll go into heat, eventually.”
My pulse jumped.
His touch didn’t falter.
“With us.”
I stilled, as my arousal spiked hard in the air.
