Page 82 of These Bonds that Unite Us
Hanging up with her, I send my therapist a message. Luckily, he is able to fit me in for a tele-visit in an hour. After soaking in a hot bath, I feel a little more stable as I connect to the video call with Mr. Bartlett.
“Good afternoon, Omen. Tell me what’s going on.”
I jump right into everything. Explaining about my pre-heat symptoms and upcoming heat, Doctor Russell’s advice, and my fear of going through a full heat. When he asks about my fear, I tell him about being drugged outside of the guy’s show in Boston and the hellacious nine-day heat I suffered through after.
“Are you worried about experiencing an extended heat, or being abandoned afterward by your mates?”
“Both?” I chew my lip as I answer. When he raises one eyebrow and narrows a hard look my way, I sigh. “The last part. I know if the heat goes on for too long Doctor Russell will find a way to stop it.”
“Mhmm, and is there anything you can think of that would alleviate your fear? Steps you can take?”
“Not having a heat at all?” I joke, but it falls flat. “I know you want me to talk to the guys. To explain my fear to them so they know what I need from them during the heat. But what if they don’t want to be here for it?”
“You’ve bonded with two of them, correct? Nebula, and…” He glances at his notes. “Nexus?”
“Titan too, so three of them.”
“Doctor Russell could corroborate this as well, but an alpha walking away from their bonded omega when they are in heat is physically impossible. Every instinct in their bodies will narrow their focus to meeting your needs. Smelling your heat perfume may even trigger their ruts.”
“Okay, but what if they do find a way to walk away?” Tears burn in my eyes at the thought of going through my heat without all four men at my side.
“You’re thinking of Nebula in particular?” He thinks for a moment, studying me. “The best thing you can do is be honest with them. With Nebula specifically. If they don’t know these are things you fear, how can they take steps to alleviate them?”
After finishing the emergency session, I flop back onto the bed and stare up at the halo of twinkling lights above the bed. I don’t know what is scarier: them not helping me through the heat or admitting my fears.
The door creaks open sometime later, interrupting my fretting. Spicy pink pepper and leather mix with my withering floral scent. “What’s wrong, firefly?” Titan asks as he climbs in beside me.
I bury my face in his chest, letting his large arms wrap around me and hold me tight. If I soak in a little of his strength, maybe revealing my fears won’t seem like such an imposing obstacle.
“I’m in pre-heat.” I finally tell him, muffling the words in his shirt.
His hand running through my hair freezes for several seconds before he uses his grip to pull me back far enough for him to see my face. Hunger burns in his obsidian eyes as they run over every exposed inch of my skin. “Mmmm, darlin’, a whole week of you ridin’ my knot? Sounds like my kind of adventure.”
A small part of my panic fades, but it’s a drop in the bucket in comparison to the ocean of fear still slithering protectively around my heart.
“Do you want us here to help you through it?”
“I do…” I hedge, trying to bury into his chest again.
“But?” Titan sees right through my attempt to hide, forcing me to hold his gaze. Sensing my emotions through our bond, his face falls a bit. “You’re afraid we will leave you to face it alone.”
“Or after. Last time–”
“Will never be repeated.”
I startle at Nebula’s firm voice. I hadn’t realized he was in here too.
“Every one of us would jump at the opportunity to take care of you during this heat. If you want us there. The choice will always lie in your hands.” He kneels on the edge of the bed, narrowing his eyes on me. “You're ours, Little Omega. Today, tomorrow, always. If we go anywhere, you’ll be right there with us.”
“He’s right, firefly. You’re stuck with us now,” Titan jumps in. His fingers brush over his bond mark on my neck, reminding me how permanent my place in their pack is.
“I promise you we will be here for every minute of your heat, and every day after,” Nebula swears.
“Okay.” I blow out a breath, resting my cheek on Titan’s chest so I can see Nebula too. “I want us all here. As a pack.”
“Then that is exactly where we will be, babygirl.”
Pain rips through my abdomen at the same moment slick soaks my thighs, leaking down to puddle on the bed beneath me. I can feel the haze starting to fog my thoughts.
