A heat. Here. In quarantine. Surrounded by Alpha brothers.
“But I’m sick,” I stammer. “I have a parasite.”
“The parasite might be triggering the fever,” Maggie says. “Or the fever might be the heat. Or both. It’s hard to tell without a blood panel specifically for hormone levels. But the clinical picture fits.”
My hands start to shake. I grip the blanket.
“I can’t have a heat,” I whisper. “Not now.”
Maggie puts a hand on my arm. Her touch is grounding.
“I need to call Dr. Thames,” she says. “Or an OB/GYN on staff. We need to verify this.”
“No,” I say. The word is panic-edged.
“Sedona—”
“No doctors,” I insist. “Not yet. Please. I don’t want them… poking at me.”
Clara steps forward. “Maggie, is there a way to know for sure? Without the doctors?”
Maggie sighs. She rubs her forehead.
“I can check her cervix,” she says. “See if it’s dilating. That’s a definitive sign.”
I nod. “Do it.”
Clara moves to the end of the bed. She looks at Maggie. “Is it safe? If she is in heat?”
“If she is,” Maggie says grimly, “we need to prepare. A heat in a confined space with three Alphas… it’s dangerous. For everyone.”
She pulls on a pair of gloves.
“Lie back, Sedona.”
I lie back on the pillow and stare at the ceiling. The wood beams are blurry. I feel clammy, hot, and cold at the same time.
The exam is quick. Impersonal.
Maggie removes her hand. She pulls off the gloves.
“You’re dilated,” she says quietly. “Stage one.”
Clara covers her mouth with her hand.
“How long?” I ask. My voice is barely a whisper.
“Hard to say. If your body is burning through the suppressants fast… it could be days. It could be hours.”
I close my eyes. Tears leak out, sliding down my temples into my hair.
“What do I do?” I ask.
“We need to get you more suppressants,” Maggie says. “High dose. It might stop it. Or at least dampen it.”
“But we’re in quarantine,” Clara says. “No one can get in or out.”
“The CDC has supplies,” Maggie says. “They have a medical cache. I can request medication. I’ll tell them it’s for… complications. I won’t specify a heat. That gets into biological reporting.”
