Page 93 of Follow Your Instincts

“What?” I said.

“I think this means your heat is finally coming.”

Ben used the group text to assemble the guys again. Luckily, it was a Saturday, so only Ben had to worry about taking off work.

“You don’t need to stay home,” I said from Soren’s lap on the couch. Lachlan had bullied me into a set of my new comfy pajamas, and Lucas had made me herbal tea that was supposedly good for pre-heat cramping. It didn’t help at all and tasted awful, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him.

“I am not going to miss a second of your heat,” he said, shaking his head.

“How long until it gets here?” I asked. I had refused to do any Googling since I was already hanging onto my sanity by a thread.

“Either tonight or tomorrow,” Lachlan answered. “It just depends on your body.”

The guys alternated comforting me. Ben discovered that if he purred with his hand over my lower stomach, it helped to ease the worst of the pain. Lucas made me eat even though I had no appetite, adamant that I would need my strength.

I was scared shitless. Not that they would hurt me, but of losing control of myself. I already had too many strong feelings about this pack. Being with Lachlan and Ben together had eased my fears about the awkwardness ofeveryonebeing involved, but I was still anxious. Especially about Lucas and how he would react to the situation. The last thing I wanted to do was upset any of them.

While they made arrangements for grocery deliveries, I dozed on and off throughout the day. Apparently, this was normal, too. Something about my body needing to rest before my heat. I felt like a hibernating bear.

After dinner, I was leaning against Lucas’s chest, his spicy molasses scent curling around me like a blanket. Soren had claimed my other side, and he kept running his hand up and down my thigh, like he was trying to make sure I was still there.

“So we need to have a conversation,” Lachlan said from Lucas’s other side.

“Why do you always make it sound like you’re about to give us a lecture?” Ben grumbled from his spot in front of me, his hand wrapped around my calf.

Lachlan glared at him. “It’s not a lecture. It’s… we need to talk about Maggie’s boundaries.”

My stomach leapt. “Boundaries for what?”

“For your heat,” he said, more gently now. “What you like and don’t like.”

“Oh, I… hadn’t thought about that.”

“Is there anything that’s off the table?” Lachlan asked.

“I really don’t know,” I said after a long silence. “I’m, uh, not very experienced. I’ve only ever had like, just the normal kind of sex?”

I wanted to sink into the earth out of embarrassment.

“No judgments here, sugar,” Lucas said, nuzzling my hair.

There was a quiet moment.

“What about domination?” Soren asked, his voice a dark rasp. “Do you like to be told what to do, little Omega? Held down? Punished when you’re a naughty girl?”

Lust shot through me. I’d never played a submissive role, but the thought of Soren in charge was intriguing. “Uhhh… yes?”

“What about double penetration?” Ben said, turning to look at me with too-innocent eyes. “Would you want to get fucked by two of your Alphas at once?”

I could tell my scent was thickening as I blushed bright red. “I’ve never even done… anal, so while that sounds very exciting I’m not sure I’m ready for it.”

‘Exciting’ was the understatement of the year. My mindimmediately conjured an image of Lachlan below me and Ben taking me from behind. Even if I had never done it before, the thought was like a lit grenade.

“You’d be surprised what your body is ready for during a heat,” Lachlan said, lust banked in his intense gaze. “Which brings me to the real point of this conversation. We’ll all be keeping our teeth to ourselves.” He glared at Ben in particular.

Ah, right. The bond bites. For some reason, the thought that Lachlan didn’t want to bond with me, even though it logically made sense, made my lust retreat for a wave of tears. Great, more Omega mood swings. I turned further into Lucas’s chest and choked back a sob. He shushed me and stroked my back.

“What the fuck, Lach?” Soren said. I felt movement behind me. Lachlan peeled me away from my hiding spot.

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