Page 41 of Forget

“Oh, did I not mention that?” I squeak out.

“No, you didn’t,” Hollis mutters. “It is your body, your choice. I think I definitely need to step in, though. I refuse to let you have mediocre sex as your first sexual experience.“

“Thank you,” I tell her, blowing out a breath. “Pack Dayton was awful.”

“Yeah, I looked up their social media account while we were talking, and it looks like they got violently sick at the restaurant you ate at yesterday,” she says, smirking as she holds out her phone.

Glancing down, I read the post, unable to stop myself from smiling. “I really doubt it was food poisoning,” I say. “They are so nice there. I also have a feeling they’ve been eavesdropping on my dates.”

“I hope they slipped something in their food when you left,” Hollis says, still amused. “You have people pulling for you, Aisling. I’ll put together a few mystery dates and send you the times to your app.”

“Thank you,” I say with a grateful look. I don’t care what else I’m doing, I’ll rearrange things. Wren usually runs a group for the shelter with me once a week, but that’s the only evening event I have regularly. I lead an uneventful life for how busy it is.

Rising, I say goodbye to Hollis, tossing my empty coffee cup and tissue in the garbage as she walks me out. Once on the sidewalk, I start walking toward my next destination. I left my car in the parking garage so I could stretch my legs.

Everything I need is in walking distance from where I parked, though I know my father would prefer for me to drive.

Shaking out my hands, I think about my next appointment. Dr. Alys Edwards is new to Minneapolis, and I went to a conference she spoke at three weeks ago about trauma. She was calm, collected, and not once did she suggest that finding a pack would fix a situation.

I made a business appointment to see her at her office between her sessions. I really hope she’ll be willing to work for us, or will allow me to refer people to her.

I don’t want anything pro bono from her.

The next street is where she’s located, and my hand rubs over my skirt where my pocket knife is hidden, before shoving them into my coat for warmth. Minneapolis late November weather is no joke.

December is chasing at its heels, and the decorations are already coming out of the woodwork. I’m going to need to reevaluate my decision to walk after this. That’s not to say that the sidewalks aren’t busy, because they are.

My only saving grace is that it’s not currently snowing. Christmas is in three and a half weeks, and I’m not feelingthe holiday lately. The city is already brightly decorated with beautiful window displays, which makes me feel guilty for not enjoying it.

Wren and Flynn surprised me with a spa day in our she shed for my nineteenth birthday, and then we had dinner with their pack. It was fun, I just can’t shake this feeling of dread that I keep feeling over the last couple of months.

My father gave me a gift certificate to a rage room which made me giggle and we ate cake on the back deck.

I feel like there’s a clock ticking on my body, and the sand is slowly spilling out of the hourglass timer. It’s ridiculous, I’m young, I have time dammit. Yet, my mom died at thirty-six-years-old.

I don’t think I’ll ever take anything for granted, knowing how easily it can be snatched away. Living from a place of desperation and scarcity makes me want to screamPull up your big girl panties and just live!

I wish it really was that easy.

The doctor’s office is in a brick building with a few others, and I open the door just as someone else walks out.

“Excuse me,” the man says with a small smile. He’s wearing a dark-green hoodie and jeans with a gray coat over it all. A black beanie is pulled over his closely cut brown hair as well. His goatee is freshly trimmed, and I very much wish I wasn’t using my pheromone blocking gel.

He looks like trouble with his mischievous smile, and I can tell he’s a beta. God, I almost fucking swooned when I saw his gleaming teeth and the way his tongue swiped along his bottom lip.

I may need alphas biologically, but this man is fine.

“You’re totally fine,” I say breathlessly before slipping inside. I can hear his dark chuckle as I pass him, making me shiver as I hurry to my destination.

Please stop perfuming, I beg as I jog up the stairs of the building. I wore scent and slick wicking panties today out of habit, and because this pair has fleece in them. It is really fucking cold out today.

They may as well keep me warm.

The doctor’s office door is slightly ajar and I knock lightly before peeking my head in. There’s a reception area and then the room she uses for sessions beyond that. The walls are papered in dark-green paper, while the floors are the hardwood that’s been under my feet throughout the rest of the building.

The office feels professional without feeling stuffy, and there are magazines on the coffee paper.

“Aisling?” a woman with brown hair, pulled back into a bun asks as I walk further inside. “Hello, I’m Dr. Alys Edwards. Please call me Dr. Alys. It’s lovely to meet you.”

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