Page 21 of This Fate That Guides Us
The feeling of a mouth on my clit, tongue sliding rapidly across the bundle of nerves, and a mask digging into my skin, pushes me over the edge. I scream into the void as I explode. White hot pleasure ripples along my spine, stealing away any sense of space or time.
Their touches fade away as oblivion claims me. The silver glow of their masks matches the satisfaction settling inside me.
Consciousness slowly finds me. My muscles are sore, my stomach empty. Exhaustion weighs my limbs down. I cringe as I stare up at the ceiling of my nest remembering the vivid dream I had of Pack Graves. The most recent in a long string of them over the past year.
Desire still pulses mutely beneath my skin at the memory of their touch on my skin, even if it was only my imagined versions of them.
“Fucking bullshit instincts.”
A knock at my nest door pulls my attention away from the fantasy. I scoot close enough to open it a few inches and am met with a wide-eyed Bea as she covers her nose and backs up several steps.
“Damn girl, I thought your heat wasn’t supposed to hit for another three months?”
I frown at her and glance around my nest. “It’s not,” I sigh, realizing I must have had a mini-heat last night. “What time is it?”
“Almost three in the afternoon. I figured you were up late working, otherwise I would have checked in on you earlier,” Bea explains.
I force myself to climb to my feet and stumble into my bedroom. My body aches and I’m in desperate need of a shower and food. “A mini-heat, I think.”
Bea’s brows furrow in concern. “Do you want me to call Mom? You haven’t had one since you switched to your new birth control. If it isn’t working, we need to know before we head out on tour.”
“Yeah, probably a good idea,” I nod. “Will you call her while I shower and start airing out my nest?”
Bea agrees, stating she’ll also order something for dinner so I have food available when I’m finished. I shout my thanks before focusing on my tasks.
Grabbing the bedding from my nest and carrying it to the bathroom to throw in the washer leaves me out of breath. Post-heat exhaustion is no joke on a good day, but after a mini-heat where all of the same need is packed into a much shorter time? It can be debilitating.
I need a good day's worth of sleep to start recovering from the toll it is taking on my body. A long, hot shower at least helpstake the edge off. I might soak in our tub later tonight if I can manage to stay awake for a few more hours.
By the time I’m clean and changed into comfy pajamas, I can hear Bea talking to her mom in the living room. I hurry to join them, groaning happily when the aroma of the food Bea ordered fills the air. I gratefully accept my take-out container and immediately start eating. They both laugh but settle onto the couch with me while I fill my empty stomach.
“Tell me what happened, sweetheart,” Shelby finally says, her voice ringing from the video call Bea has connected to her laptop.
I sit my empty plate on the coffee table with a sigh. “I think I had a mini-heat last night.”
“Okay. Did you have any pre-heat symptoms yesterday?” She asks.
“I don’t think so. No fever or cramping. No irritability or nesting either.” I pause, thinking back on when I had returned home last night. “Well, maybe some nesting. I thought it was just residual anxiety from being out in public for so long…”
“It could be from both. Have you missed any doses of your birth control pills?” Shelby pulls a notepad from her desk drawer while she waits for me to answer. I tell her I haven’t and she frowns. Her pen taps against the paper.
“We should probably do some blood work, just in case, but unless this becomes a regular occurrence, I don’t see a reason to look into changing medicines yet. The brand you’re using now has been working and I’d rather not risk switching you to something that may have more severe side effects. Not while you are traveling. We can take that route when the tour is over if need be.”
After I was taken in by the Powells, I started having brutal mini-heats as a side effect of the heat inducer I was drugged with the day I presented. Shelby was the one who suggested usingbirth control to help regulate my fluctuating hormones. The first few brands we tried had side effects more unmanageable than the mini-heats themselves.
Luckily, we finally discovered a newer company, whose product helps with the heats without the rougher side effects the other brands had. I’ve been taking them ever since. The thought I may be developing a resistance to them settles uncomfortably. I don’t want to have to go through the process of finding a substitute again any time soon.
“Don’t stress yourself worrying about it, Oms,” Bea reminds me. “We’re going on tour tomorrow and it is going to be the time of our lives! If we have to fix your pills, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
She always has my back and I know no matter what happens over the next two months, she’ll be there to support me.
CHAPTER EIGHT
NOW PLAYING: FALLBACK- nightlife
Nerves flutter in my stomach as Bea and I ride with Shelby and Austin to meet with everyone working the tour. Today our journey begins. Eight weeks of traveling, concerts, and chaos. Our dreams come to fruition.
Even if seeing those dreams becoming reality means spending my time sharing a tour bus with four men whose allure threatens to splinter every wall I’ve built around my battered heart.
