Page 54 of A Wolf's Heart

“But you don’t feel the need to constantly be at their side?” she asked, almost confused.

“No. If anything, I have to be forced to be in Kage’s presence.” I laughed awkwardly.

She raised an eyebrow at me. I guess no one was forcing me last night. I gave her a sheepish grin.

It went on like that for a while, the list of questions, health questions, diet questions. She asked about what happened last night, and I explained the events of last evening with minimal details. She came to the conclusion that the prolonged time in the presence of my mates could’ve been the catalyst for the beginning of my heat.

I got up and made myself another coffee while Dr. Thatcher continued talking, and suddenly, I felt like I was getting a biology lesson. She explained that, while shifters were very similar to humans, we were also completely different. We were a separate species entirely, and it made me realize how much being raised as a human child was detrimental.

I wasn’t saying I wasn’t grateful for my parents and all they had done to raise me, but it was abundantly clear I was behind, compared to other females in the wolf world. The delay in my own heat cycle was a clue in itself.

Thatcher stared at my fresh cup of coffee as she talked about female nutrition. According to her, females should be consuming four to five meals a day, with portions enough to satisfy the appetite.

While I only ate three meals a day, if that, because I was usually busy at the office, I wasn’t starving, by any means. Though, perhaps, I didn’t pay much attention to when I was hungry.

Then she started talking about how coffee or caffeine was not good for the body at all.Um, ma’am…ma’am, coffee is an entire food group, thank you very much.

I hugged my coffee mug closer and took a sip to reassure the sweet nectar of life that I wouldn’t let the bad lady take it away.

The issue of not having proper nutrition? Thatcher was quick to highlight problems, like slow transition times and dulling of the senses. I kept my mouth shut about my transition time during shifting and promised myself I’d go grocery shopping once she left.

“Here,” Dr. Thatcher said, pulling a couple of pamphlets from her briefcase. “I have some information on shifter health and nutrition, and this one here is on the natural heat cycles. Beta Rainor asked me to go over this with you. Is that something you would want to hear?”

My head was starting to hurt—it was the middle of the night—and I just wanted to crawl into my bed. How many shifter girls went through these exact talks with their mothers? And here I was, getting a lecture from the doctor. Not that I didn’t appreciate her; it was just…for the first time since I was a little girl, I wished my biological mother was here.

“The female heat cycle is an integral part of keeping our species alive. It is the natural way the female body not only entices males for the mating ritual, but also preserves and nurtures the eggs within the body until they can be fertilized. Going through a heat cycle for a shifter is not painful, but because we were also human, in human form, it was quite the opposite. Humans weren’t made to handle these cycles. Humans weren’t built for the agony involved.”

“Well, I mean, it was uncomfortable, but I wouldn’t say I was in agony,” I said, recounting the need I’d had for Kage to touch me. The pull and itch to be on top of him wasn’t exactly painful.

Dr. Thatcher gave me a pitying smile. “That was only the first wave. As your heat progresses, it will feel like a build up until what we call thefinal wave. After the final wave hits, then there is the cooldown period. The agony is only brought on when relief is denied. Relief being, the male penis and the sperm it provides.”

I choked on my coffee at her words. With how casually she spoke, the doctor was a real-life Amy Farrah Fowler. She didn’t miss a beat and said everything with a straight face.

“Our wombs were designed for humans, our eggs made for shifters, and our hormones demanding shifter sperm. The only way to bring relief to the enraged hormonal parts is to coat it in shifter sperm. Even masturbation, while it can ease the edges in the early stages of a heat—the arousal lubricates tissue enough to bring relief—it does nothing for later stages.”

“All this is to have a baby,” I said.

“Yes, for breeding. Shifters take carrying on the bloodlines very seriously.”

“So, I will get pregnant,” I said, my stomach churning at the idea. “Can I take a contraceptive? Use protection?”

“Well, you can use protection, though I doubt any male going through your heat with you will stop to do so. Nor would any female allow him. Remember, it’s his sperm that brings relief.”

I narrowed my eyes on her. “I’m not getting pregnant.”

“Chances of conceiving on your first heat, while taking into account your age, is very minimal.” When I didn’t budge from my stance, she sighed. “There is another option some females choose.”

“To be knocked out,” I said.

“Well, to be in an induced sleep, yes. I have the supplies here.”

“Okay, say I choose to be put into a coma for a few days, who will watch over my unresponsive body?”

She turned her head to the side slightly. I found this movement common with shifters, almost like they forget they are in human form and start responding as if they were in wolf form. The way she cocked her head was the same way my wolf did when I was trying to listen to something I didn’t quite understand.

“I will be in and out to check on you two to three times a day. However, your mates, of course, will be protecting you.” She said it as if it was so obvious.

I chuckled. “I can’t trust them as far as I can throw them.”

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