“What does that impact on my hormones do?” I ask, pursing my lips together a bit nervously. “I’m sorry if that’s a stupid question, I’m sure that’s something I should know.”
“Don’t apologize, Reyna. You have nothing to apologize for. No question you could ever ask me would be stupid, okay?”
I swallow hard and give her a jerky nod.
This was definitely the last thing I expected to walk into. I expected sterile coldness and an invasive alpha doctor, not this.
“Okay, good,” Charlotte says. “And to answer your question, not having a heat at all or not having a fulfilling heat with the aid of alphas can affect a lot of things. It can affect your overall health, fertility, the eventual intensity and pain level of your heats. One thing they’ve also been known to do is impact your ability to sense your scent matches.”
“Scent matches?” I say, letting out a huff of laughter.
When Charlotte’s expression doesn’t change from her normal, open, reassuring smile, I freeze.
“You mean, those are real? Like, people actually have those?”
“Certainly! Do people always find them? No, but there are definitely those that do.”
“And you’re saying because of the suppressants I’ve been taking, I just wouldn’t be able to tell?” I ask, my brows drawing down.
“From what you’ve told me of the intensity of the suppressants and the research I’ve been doing on this sort of thing over the past few months, it won’t be a big thing, but there should still be some signs.”
“Signs like what?”
Signs like feeling tingles every time these alphas touch me? Signs like their scents being the most delicious I’ve ever smelled in my twenty-four years on this planet? Signs like my omega feeling unreasonably safe around them?
Charlotte lists off a bunch of different signs, all of which I’ve felt.
Felt around the members of the Graylock Pack.
I go pale.
No.
No fucking way.
What in the world? What the hell are these chances? How can they be myscent matches? The equivalent of a biologicalsoulmate?
“Are you alright, Reyna?” Charlotte asks, scooting closer to me on her chair, her brows drawing down in concern as she reaches out to hold my hand that’s fisted in the blanket.
“Would—would they be able to tell?” I croak out.
“Your scent matched alphas? Sort of, in the same way there are signs for you, there would be signs for them as well, just not the struck-by-lightning sort of effect you’d normally expect.”
“Holy shit,” I breathe out, leaning my head against the wall behind me.
“You have an idea of who they are, don’t you,” Charlotte murmurs, her expression going soft.
“I think I do. Either that or I’m going crazy,” I laugh bitterly.
“Is it the Graylock Pack?”
I press the back of my hands against my cheeks. My fingertips are as cold as ice, but my face feels like its on fire.
“How could you tell?” I groan, covering my face with my hands.
“I mean, I’ve worked with Killian a long time and I’ve never heard him as passionate as he was on the phone, telling me toclear my schedule for one o’clock today. I’m normally home with my daughter on Fridays.”
“Oh God, you came in on your day off for me?” I say, my hands falling limp onto my lap. “I’m so sorry.”