Page 27 of Betrayed By the Alpha Wolf

Softer. Be softer with him.

The faint voice echoed in my head like my wolf, but it was different. Smaller and higher pitched. I blinked rapidly, trying to shoo her away anyway. I was going to be however I wanted. I didn’t need to be a fucking people pleaser anymore. If being with Grayson had taught me anything, it was that.

MacKenzie.

The voice chastised me, and despite my conviction, I sighed, crumbling under the weight of unanswered questions brewing in my head.

“Ugh, I’m sorry. Look,” I shook my head, hearing myself using that same damn phrase again, “my heat came much earlier than it should have, and I’m concerned. It could have really screwed me over last night. Is there any way you could…I don’t know run some tests?”

Forrest seemed to relax, dropping his crossed arms and walking toward me. As he came to stand just a step or two away, he put a hand on my shoulder, and I could feel the comforting waves echoing off him.

Like an Alpha. But he wasn’t.

“Sure. That we can help with.” He walked me over to a chair near one of the long tables in the room. “An unexpected heat is odd. Has that ever happened to you before?”

I shook my head. “No. And…I’m wondering if it has anything to do with being around Grayson. I’m his, umm…”

“Mate?” Forrest offered.

“Yes. But…” I sighed, hanging my head. “We’d both rejected that claim prior to the naming ceremony, and I don’t understand why it would be coming forward again. The bond had been severed. Between that and suddenly going into heat, I don’t know what’s going on with me, and I don’t like it.”

Whatever Willow had been doing stopped interesting her as soon as I’d said that last bit. She perked up and walked over to where I sat down, furrowing her brow at me.

“Your rejected bond seems active again?”

“Yes. I can…feelit. After the heat and… ‘stuff,’ it didn’t hurt so bad. It’s there now, but it’s not as strong.”

Willow and Forrest looked at me intensely, and I hated it. It was way too much like being a bug pinned to a mat. Clearing my throat, I broke eye contact with them, squirming in my chair.

“That is interesting. Well,” Forrest patted me on the shoulder, “we’ll do some tests. We’ll need to take a few samples of your blood if that’s okay. And we can do some digging into the records to see if there is any precedence of this in our history. That’s been the most helpful as of late.”

I nodded, understanding that he was referring to Kit’s pregnancy and how that even worked since she’s a human.

“Okay. Yeah, go for it.”

Forrest offered a kind smile, and I dimly remembered what it was like to do the same to my patients. I hadn’t seen anyone in a long while. Dealing with the pain from the rejection had been too much, and it occurred to me suddenly that I desperately missed it. Being a healer was who I was, and I hadn’t been in touch with it in months.

“Umm, I’ve also been using some herbs to dull the rejection ache, but I don’t know if that has anything to do with it.”

Willow shook her head. “The ones that are usually recommended?”

I nodded.

“Then no, it shouldn’t. Those herbs don’t interfere with heat except to delay it all the more. If you’ve been taking the rejection cocktail, you shouldn’t have been able to go into heat at all.”

My mouth fell open. Not only had I been taking it, I’d been taking it a lot. I’d taken a pill right when the heat was starting, and it did nothing to stop it.

“How is that…”

The words trailed away, and Willow nodded at me. “Yeah, it’s a weird one. We’ll figure it out, though. I just need some of your blood. I hope you’re not squeamish about needles.”

I chuckled lightly. “I’m a healer, too, so no. I’m fine.”

Forrest nodded as he walked up from getting something from across the room. With a grin, he set down a metal tray of blood collection tools on the table next to me.

“Oh, great. I won’t have to dumb it down for you.”

Shaking my head again, I let out a long sigh, laying my head back against the chair. “Nope.”

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