As soon as he arrived, I could tell Doctor Saltzman’s sense of humor about the situation had failed. There was a mild snafu between him and Alfie after he listened to my chest and declared me well. Alfie accused him of not taking my pneumonia seriously and threatened him with legal action, among other things, if my condition worsened.
“Christ above,” Doctor Saltzman muttered, clearly using a considerable amount of energy not to roll his eyes. “I can’t say I’ve ever had to tell an alpha this before, but I suppose there’s a first time for everything.” He fixed his gaze on me for a beat, his expression turning sympathetic, and then turned to Alfie with meaning. “Aside from his ankle, which is healing better than expected, there’s absolutelynothingwrong with Mr. Lawlor. You have my word on that. He is quite well.” He raised his hand, pointing directly at Alfie so there was no confusion about who he was talking to. “You, on the other hand, my lord, appear to be headed for a rut.”
Alfie’s mouth dropped open, eyes stretching wide. “But, but I don’t do that. I don’t go into rut.”
The doctor’s grumpy façade cracked and his broad shrug was accompanied by an amused glint in his eye. “Well, I’m afraid it’s what happens to alphas—Casanova or not—after prolonged exposure to a highly compatible omega.”
Alfie did a one-eighty immediately, his cheeks pinkening with pleasure as he pulled me onto his lap and clutched me to his chest like a much-loved toy. “You think we’re highly compatible?” he cried. “Oh, thank you. That’s so nice to hear. We think we’re compatible too, but it’s so reassuring to hear it from a medical professional.”
The doctor sighed and got ready to leave. “Not to worry, Mr. Lawlor,” he said to me. “He’ll return to a semblance of normal as soon as you’re mated.”
I informed Alfie immediately after I found out that we were mates that it’s my intention to go off my suppressant as soon as my ankle is better. He’s checked with me to see if I’m sure at least a hundred times, but my answer remains the same. Unwavering. I want to mate with him as soon as humanly possible.
*
The day is done. We’ve made it through—narrowly—without a visit from Doctor Saltzman. I’m taking it as a win. Everything’s quiet now. The light is fading, shadows growing long as night creeps in. Everyone else has left for the day, and Alfie and I are alone. We’re crammed into my bathroom, crowding each other in the small space.
I’m standing on both feet, bearing my weight without any pain. Aside from a little bruising around the bone, my ankle is as good as new.
There’s only one thing left to do now. Something I can’t wait for.
“I choose to go into heat with you as my partner,” I tell Alfie, leaning up to brush a quick kiss on his lips. Then I turn and stomp on the pedal of the small trash can next to my sink, tossing the strip pack containing what’s left of my suppressant into it.
I watch Alfie’s expression in the mirror as I do it. His head is tilted down, eyes on the bin on the floor. His lips are pressed together, chin quivering slightly as I remove my foot and the lid drops closed. Alfie moves behind me, arms circling me as our eyes meet in the mirror. Neither of us says a word, but we both know that what’s just happened is momentous. A chapter in our lives has ended, and a new one has begun.
30
Jensen
Asoft,muffledgrowldisturbs the air in the room, rousing me. The alpha in my bed tightens his grip, spooning me a little more closely.
“It’s started,” he murmurs into my hair.
As he says it, I float up through the thick haze of slumber and become dimly aware of the trickle of heat swimming through my veins, warming my face and flushing my cheeks.
“Already?” I whisper.
“Yes.” Alfie nuzzles his face into the soft skin on the side of my neck and inhales deeply. “I told you it would be quick.”
It’s one thing to intellectually understand that something like this will be quick, and quite another when that thing is an inferno that lights inside you at breakneck speed. Alfie has spent the last few days painstakingly explaining what would happen when we went off our suppressants. How the onset of the heat he brings on will be different from the one heat I experienced before I began taking my suppressant. He told methat everything would be exaggerated and sped up. I’d burn hotter and faster, and delirium is all but guaranteed for me, and likely for him as well.
I understand all that. I welcomed it, in fact, but now that it’s happening, I’m a little nervous.
He’s so in tune with me that he senses how I’m feeling and kisses my neck, then my shoulder, and then my cheek. His lips hover over my ear, voice quiet and smooth. “Nothing bad will happen to you, my mouse. I won’t leave your side, not even for a minute. I will take care of you in every way possible.”
He rolls me over and scoots up so we’re facing each other, noses less than an inch apart. “What I mean by that is that yes, I’ll bring you as much pleasure as you can possibly withstand, but more than that, I’ll take care of your heart and soul too. I’ll make sure you feel safe the whole time.”
“I do feel safe with you,” I murmur as I tuck myself a little closer to him.
“Are you hungry yet, or would you like to get a little more rest?”
I am hungry, but I’m so comfortable with his arms around me that I can’t bear the thought of getting out of bed just yet. “More sleep,” I tell him. “Just a few more minutes.”
By the time daylight slices through the crack in the curtains, I’ve kicked the covers off. The heat from my face has spilled down my neck and torso, and I’m coated in a fine sheen of sweat from head to toe. My breathing is shallow, my heartbeat elevated. The pang of hunger from earlier has grown fangs that gnaw at my insides.
It’s been years since my first and only heat, but I remember these symptoms all too well.
“Hungry?” Alfie asks again.
