Page 170 of Forget

Fuck. As I think about it, things begin to click for me. I had a feeling Aisling was depressed, I just didn’t realize the extent of it. I wonder how much of this is due to how overwhelming her life is, and how much is due to our half finished bond?

I have some research to do while she’s with Dr. Alys.

“Do you want to wait upstairs?” Aisling asks as I park on the street. “This is going to be a longer appointment.”

“Yeah, I can do that,” I tell her, my tongue feeling thick and odd. It feels like a big deal that she would ask, which makes me wonder if she knows it’ll be a more difficult appointment as well.

Aisling has been avoiding her therapist for way too long.

Getting out of the SUV, I hope it helps all the chaos in her mind that she’s been feeling.

Aisling

My heart pounds hard as I walk to Dr. Alys’ office, and I curl my fingers into my palms to try to curb their trembling. I’ve been avoiding this for a reason. I have a feeling I’m about to be getting a reality check.

Peeking into the office, I see her waiting for me in the waiting room.

“Hey,” she says with a small smile. I hope she doesn’t think I’ve been avoiding her. While I have, it’s more about burying my feelings than refusing her calls.

“Hi,” I sigh. “Ready for me?”

“Why do I get this really bad feeling?” Caelin asks softly.

Neither of us respond as I walk in front of her into her office, and Caelin sits in the waiting room with his laptop to work. Wren and I had to reschedule our appointment to unveil our website with him because she’s in heat.

I got a quick message this morning. It says something about our friendship that she’d call a timeout to tell me that she’s about to be railed by knots for three days.

Taking a deep breath as I walk over to take a seat, Dr. Alys closes the door behind herself.

“Start wherever you’re comfortable,” she says, coming to sit down across from me.

“I’m in over my head,” I tell her. “I don’t know if it’s work or being depressed or being half bonded to two of my scent matches?—”

“Okay, let’s back up to being half bonded,” she says, blinking at me.

“Pack Hayes works for my father,” I say. “They all do in some capacity. The alpha who found me in the city the day I turnedeighteen is one of them. So, Caelin, who is outside, ran into me when I was on a date. Aiden Hayes, their alpha, hid the fact that I was his scent match. He came mostly clean to the pack, but didn’t tell them about stealing my things on my eighteenth birthday.”

“It’s a very tangled web,” Dr. Alys agrees. “How are you feeling about all of this?”

“I’m a mess,” I whisper. “They lied to me about who Aiden was, and he wore a mask during my heat. I had no idea who he was. My heat was amazing, and Caelin and Domh bit me.”

“You didn’t bite them back,” she says softly.

“No,” I grunt. “There’s a bubble of anxiety inside of me at all times. Even if I have no reason to feel anxious! Work has been super busy, and I managed to piss off the Regional Omegas’ Women’s Society simply by existing. Domh just served them with a cease and desist order so they’ll stop contacting me.”

“I need to tell you something,” Dr. Alys says quickly. “Emilia is my aunt. We don’t talk, I have nothing to do with her, but I feel you should know.”

“She’s a fucking snake,” I mutter.

“That’s why we don’t talk anymore. Except, I got a call out of the blue, and I wonder if that’s why,” she says.

“She thinks omegas who don’t do what they should need to be sent to the auctions,” I sigh. “Just, be careful with her. I went to the ROWS meeting with Wren, Pack Mohan, Pack Hayes, and my dad. I half expected her to kidnap me.”

“I wouldn’t put it past her,” she says. “Back to your heat, what happened after?”

“I found out Hayes was Aiden, and my scent match. I threw my knife at him and ran,” I say. “He chased me down outside, while informing me that I now lived at his house.”

“Kidnapping,” she sighs. I bet she’s starting to understand why I’m keyed up.

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