Page 106 of Never Bet Against A Hockey Player

This was the Dhara I wanted to see again.

We needed to pull her out of that fight-or-flight state she’d been stuck in for so long and bring her back.

I wanted her to be confident and strong again.

She already was those things, but they’d been hidden beneath so much stress and pain that they’d dimmed.

Once the nurse had managed the initial vitals, she raised an eyebrow at Dhara’s blood pressure.

“We’ll take that again at the end,” she said easily. “I can already tell you’re very nervous, so let’s get this moving along, shall we? I have a few questions before we bring in the doctor.”

“Okay,” Dhara managed to squeak out.

“Do you want them here for these questions? They can get a little invasive.”

“Yes,” Dhara said firmly. That confidence had the nurse forging ahead.

“Are you sexually active?”

“Somewhat,” Dhara said, “but I’m still a virgin.”

I shot Lachlan and Conrad a look, making sure they didn’t react. Their eyes widened in surprise, but they covered it quickly when they met my gaze.

The nurse nodded along, jotting something down.

“Okay. When was the start and finish of your last heat?”

“I haven’t had one. My situation is a bit different, which is why I’m here. I’ve experienced some trauma,” she said, looking away now, fighting to find the right words. “The hospital said it was probably because of that, that my body had shut down a lot of my omega aspects.”

“Okay, don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

There were a few more questions before she finally stood.

“Alright, I’m going to go let the doctor know you’re here and ready, and she’ll be in in just a few minutes.”

“Thank you,” Dhara said, her cheeks heated from those questions, and she pointedly didn’t look at the others.

“Sorry... I guess I should’ve warned you guys that I haven’t had sex yet.”

“Baby, if you think that’s going to be a turnoff, you’ve lost your mind. That means you are ours, and only ours,” Conrad said, his voice a rumbling growl full of that alpha need.

Her breath caught, and she blinked at him a few times, her cheeks so red that I thought she might pass out.

I let out a husky chuckle, nipping at her ear.

A knock on the door had her pulling away. The doctor walked in and let out a little chuckle. Even the filters couldn’t take away the pheromones clouding the room.

“Hello, Dhara. I’m Dr. Sanders. The nurse filled me in, but I think I’d also like your take on what’s been going on. What brought you in?”

Dhara’s eyes flicked to me, and I gave her an encouraging smile.

“I’ve been through some parental abuse,” she said, keeping her words careful. “I’ve never had a heat, and we have an important trial coming up. I just feel like it would be best to get that sorted out now that I have a pack. I don’t want it to happen at the wrong time. We also haven’t bonded yet, and I want to make sure that everything’s okay.”

“Well, we can definitely take care of that. I would like to start with an exam, if that’s okay with you,” she asked, waiting for Dhara to answer.

Dhara swallowed hard but nodded.

“Yes, I understand,” she said in a shaky voice.