Seth was the better of the two in my opinion. The older one wrapped himself in too much anger. This one was far more relaxed.

“Could I speak with you alone?”

The witch and panther had a silent conversation before he slid out of the nest, his amulet dragging in the dirt as he walked out of the room.

“That’s a lot more trust than I’ve gotten in the past,” I pointed out.

“He trusts me, not you.” She sighed and sat up, keeping one of the blankets draped over her shoulders. “What are you doing down here?”

“You’re an hour late for training.”

“Oh, shit.” Her cheeks pale. “Sorry. That’s not on purpose.”

“Rest is important too.”

“You could’ve told me earlier. You didn’t have to find me to do that.”

I shrugged. “I’m not going to force you to train.”

“But I want to,” she insisted.

I looked at her for a long moment. Her skin was pinker than normal and almost dewy, and her jasmine and forest scent billowed out of the nest in a cloud each time she shifted.

“Remind me how old you are.”

“Thirty-four,” she replied.

Gods. She was firmly an adult by human standards, but painfully young among shifters. I didn’t know a great many things about omegas, but it was relatively common knowledge they typically had their first heat around thirty-five.

“We should make a plan around your heat.”

Her scent burst, my whole body tightening as it washed over me.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I assume you’ll be taking Yelena and Velda for it. Calliope is still on bedrest, which will leave only Shakti and me to run things for however long it takes you to get through it.”

“Oh…yeah, that makes sense.”

Either I was losing it, or she sounded vaguely disappointed. I wasn’t going to dig into it at the moment, but soon. I got up and took myself across the room. “Stay in your nest. You can practice from there.”

She looked at me suspiciously but didn’t argue.

I need you to be ready.

Her face scrunched up in concentration, but nothing came through.

Yell at me if you need to.

I couldn’t help but notice her frown. Her scent grew stronger, a lure reaching across the space toward me. “I don’t want to yell at you.”

Come on, “white-tailed bitch” was creative. I’m no stranger to disdain. I can handle it from you.

She swallowed hard, her gaze holding me captive.I’m sorry.

That wasn’t at all what I’d expected to come through loud and clear.Don’t be. I deserve it most of the time.

Her power reached out like a caress, tendrils of warmth brushing over my skin.I’m trying something new. Is it working?