Page 48 of Taken By the Alpha Priest

“The bite can manufacture a lot of things, but it can’t manufacture what you’re feeling.” Peaches shifts uncomfortably, looking away from me. “Tilda…the Gulf Pack does things differently, ya know? Their Prime picks as many mates as he wants from the omegas, and when he bites them, they become subservient to him. But that doesn’t make his omegas love him, it doesn’t make them want him. It just makes them…”

“Peaches,” I say, cutting her off gently. I can see the pain in her face, the way her frown gets deeper and deeper. “You don’t have to finish. I get it.”

“I’m just tryin’ to say that you don’t have to distrust everything you’re feelin’,” she says. “We play by different rules, but we still think and feel like humans. We just…think and feel a little bit more, if that makes any sense.”

We both hear approaching footsteps at the same time, and we look over at the entrance to the chamber. The curtain opens and Suyin steps through, her eyes widening when she sees us.

“I can go,” she blurts out.

“No need,” Peaches says. “We were actually just talkin’ about the bite—figure you might have some input?”

We haven’t really spoken before—not much, since Suyin tends to be pretty quiet and extremely busy as the only doctor in the den—but I have a feeling she might actually be able to help.

Suyin cocks her eyebrow. “So he finally told you?”

“Yeah,” I say. “It was a lot.”

“It always is,” she grumbles. Suyin walks in and sets her towel and change of clothes down, putting her hands on her hips. “What happened?”

I consider whether or not I should tell her…but something makes me feel like it will be okay. She’s a doctor; she’s got to be used to keeping secrets.

“This doesn’t leave this room,” I say.

“I don’t have anyone to tell,” she shrugs.

“Okay…well, we talked. He didn’t really tell me; I guessed. And then we kissed. And then, when I suggested we just do the dirty and get it out of our systems, he said he wouldn’t be able to stop until he bred me…?”

Suyin doesn’t laugh–not even a little bit. She just cocks her head and gives a thoughtful nod.

Okay–so I’m the crazy one for thinking that was strange, I guess.

“It’s weird the first time you hear it, but it’s a wolf thing,” Suyin cuts in. “This might be awkward, but have you seen a male alpha naked before?”

I snort, my cheeks flushing. “Can’t say I have.”

“Well,” she says. “They’ve got this…it’s kind of hard to describe. Sorry to get clinical, but it’s a bulge at the base of the penis that swells up when they’re aroused, and it serves the purpose of locking the penis into place until the male has come.”

“Way to make it sound sexy, Suyin,” Peaches laughs, then looks back at me. “We call it a knot, since it—” she makes a popping sound with her lips “—ties you together. Sometimes for a long time.”

“Like how long?”

“During the full moon, it can last all night,” Peaches says. “But other days, I’m not sure.”

“An hour is the longest I’ve heard it lasting outside of the full moon,” Suyin says.

“Doesn’t sound pleasant,” I say, cringing.

“Actually, it’s supposedly very pleasurable between mates, as long as consent is given and the activity is expected,” Suyin says.

“Wait a second, though,” I say. “I thought they couldn’t have sex without breeding.”

Suyin tilts her head, her expression turning thoughtful. “The knot makes it hard not to, well... finish inside,” she says matter-of-factly. “But there’s birth control, and we keep a stock of Plan B around for heats. Just in case.”

I raise an eyebrow, my brain catching up to the clinical explanation. “Right…so, uh, could you hook me up with some of that?”

Peaches freezes mid-laugh, her mouth hanging open. “Wait—are you actually considering…?”

“I’m not considering anything!” I snap, feeling heat rush to my face. “I’m just…planning ahead. Things got heated earlier, and I don’t want to be caught off guard.”

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