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“No, it’s more the challenge of keeping my heart rate low enough not to set off my monitor,” I shared. “Oh, and we had a situation where one of them was going into rut, and they were concerned about me being able to handle that much aggressive affection.”

Had I purposely phrased that to make the guys uncomfortable? Yes. Did I get the best reaction out of Yun-Sun doing it? Also yes. The poor man looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head. Nice to know it wasn’t the fact they thought he would hurt me but were scared he’d fuck me into cardiac arrest.

Dr. Arbour nodded and rubbed his chin in thought. “There might be something we can try, but it’s not going to be something I’ll feel comfortable with you using long-term. Think of it more as a patch while I do some research to find a more permanent solution. I can give you a mild beta blocker that’s mixed with anti-anxiety medication to keep your heart rate lower. The combination will allow you to still give into the heat of the moment without overdoing it. However, the tricky part is how to administer the medication. You need it to be fast-acting since this isn’t something you should be taking all the time.”

As the good doctor mused over this thought, the guys seemed to perk up a bit at the idea of worrying less about sexy times.

“Ah,” Dr. Arbour shouted, slapping a fist against his other hand. “An inhaler… it will be perfect. That will deliver the small dose you need and dissipate out of your system in a shorter time frame. I think even for young folks in love, three to four hours is long enough… hmm?”

Now it was my turn to blush. I didn’t mind talking about the subject in general, but for Dr. Arbour to tease me about being a wanton hussy going at it for that length of time seemed uncalled for.

“I believe we can make that work,” Gareth answered with a smirk tugging at his lips.

Dr. Arbour chuckled and pushed to his feet. “I’ll get in touch with my people in the pharmacy wing and see if we can’t whip that up in the next few days. Think you’ll be able to wait that long, or do I need them to work over the weekend?”

“No,” Vili assured. “We shall take time to savor our pretty lady.”

“I have no doubt,” Dr. Arbour said, laughter clear in his words as he shook their hands. “Bailey-Rose has my direct number. If you gentlemen have any questions, feel free to reach out.”

“Thank you, doctor. This has been really helpful,” Yun-Sun added, giving the doctor a slight bow.

With a farewell wave to Dr. Arbour, I left the office with the guys right behind me. Nurse Harlow smiled, wiggling her fingers in acknowledgment, but pointed to her headset so I knew she was on the phone. We all piled into the elevator, but no one really said much as we descended. While we ended our conversation on a lighter note, I knew the guys were still processing the information about the surgery.

The second the doors opened, I dashed forward then spun to look at them. “Hey, you guys mentioned something about going to The Snuggery today and grabbing some things to decorate my room. Still up for the adventure?”

“Did you say you were tired?” Gareth countered.

I shrugged. “I’m getting a second wind. Besides, I don’t want this to be what you guys stew about when we get home. If we all go do something fun, then it will change the mood.”

They all looked at each other for a moment then Vili clapped his hands together and cheered. “To The Snuggery!”

That got everyone to smile, which led them to give in to my request, but I had a sneaking suspicion I’d win nine times out of ten.

My heart nearly burst with joy as we entered the giant warehouse full of everything and anything you could imagine for an Omega. The only reason you ever stepped foot in this place was if you had an Omega in your pack. For a moment, before we found my sweet darling kitten, a kernel of fear had started to grow in my heart. What if there wasn’t an Omega out there meant for us?

“Look out, world’s best Omega coming through,” Warrick yelled as he raced past with a cart.

It took me a second to realize that Bailey-Rose was in the cart’s basket with how fast it flew by. Her peals of laughter filled the air as she tossed her hands up like she was on a roller coaster. Gareth’s face fell into a frown, but I caught his arm before he charged after them.

“She is fine,” I said when he glared at me. “Let them play… he be careful.”

Realizing he was reacting to this for the wrong reasons, I watched as Gareth took a deep breath. “You’re right, and I’m guessing one of the store employees will scold him the moment they see what’s going on.”

That wasn’t why I stopped him from putting an end to their fun, but if it would keep him from lashing out, I’d take it. I slapped his back comfortingly before heading down the aisle after them. Our first stop was to the customer service area, where we could get a tablet with all the items in the store loaded on it. Bailey-Rose could pair it to her account, pull up everything she saved, and it would provide us with the location of the items.

“Remind me why we gave into doing this when we all know how tired she is?” Ulysses muttered under his breath. “We’re so fucked if none of us can tell her no to things.”

“No, this good idea,” I shared.

My three pack brothers looked at me in surprise. “Really? How so?” Yun-Sun questioned.

Taking a moment to sort out my thoughts, I tried to explain, knowing my ability to communicate clearly was a challenge I often wanted to scream in frustration, knowing how I spoke made me sound like an idiot. It wasn’t anyone’s fault but my own. I came here knowing nothing about the language, so I had a lot to catch up on.

Since the day I was born, I’d been taught to take ownership of my mistakes. They aren’t anyone else’s problem to deal with, just mine and mine alone. My parents were always such cold, detached people who viewed everything as a transaction. The way they interacted with people was brusque, to the point, and without emotion. Wealth provided them with a comfortable life, but it also made them callous. No one wanted to be their friend out of the goodness of their heart, or that’s what they believed.

Everyone whispered behind their backs, wondering if they were actually human or robots. One of the many therapists I had growing up believed that to compensate for how disliked my family was, I chose to do everything to have people like me. I’m not sure I agree with that being the root of why I was so different, however, I’m sure it played a large factor. My goal in life was to make everyone I came in contact with feel they’d been seen, that I would remember them, and they would think fondly of the face that got them to smile, relax, and feel I had time for whatever they needed. This mindset is what connects me to my pretty lady. We share the same heart in this matter, but damn, I wish I didn’t sound like such a fucking idiot when I spoke.

“How we worry for our kitten, she worries for us,” I explained. “I think our kitten fears news of surgery will cause more worry, and we’ll become obsessed keeping her safe. Already we have talks about this with little things, now we know bigger problem. So bigger response.”