Page 15 of Finding Her Panthers

“What type of pain?” he asks as he sits on the edge of the bed.

“Just a cramp in my stomach, recently I have a burning in my chest,” I say, rubbing the spot.

“You make it sound so simple, dear,” he smiles kindly.

“I couldn’t do much about it, so I just dealt with it.” I look at Jax as he starts to growl low, squeezing his hand.

“Well, I have seen this many times. Let me just start by telling you what happens when a female meets her mate. Some you probably know.” He settles on the bed more. “When a female shifter scents her mate for the first time, she immediately goes into heat. It is tough to ignore this call of the bond. Your body is in desperate need of your mate to fulfill it. In our world, this is completely normal. The bond doesn’t care if you know nothing of the mate chosen for you. It demands the bond be completed, no matter what. The—”

I interrupt him, confused. “Why do you cramp?”

“The cramping is a sign, and it wants your mate’s sperm.”

I have nothing to say about that. He really just puts it out there. I knew the basics, kind of, but hearing it bluntly is something else.

“Do you know how to complete the bond?” he asks. I shake my head, and he continues. “The bond will be set in stone once you have sex with your mates, accepting it by biting or marking their body with your teeth. This is a way that all shifters can see the proof of a bit mark because it will never truly heal. Also, their scent will be inside you as this happens, marking you forever. Not saying they will not bite again—many do.”

“Will the pain stop then? The heat?”

“The pain will stop. But the heat will go on. Every female shifter has a heat cycle, like a period, but the heat cycle hits once a year. It will not be painful, and you will have your mates to satisfy it. It lasts approximately a month. It’s nature's way of making sure babies are brought into our world.” His eyes crinkle as he smiles.

“Wow, is there a deadline for completing the bond?” I’m not ready, but I don’t want a moment to pass me by.

“No, but I advise you to do it sooner rather than later. The brothers are good men. You couldn’t ask for better mates. Also, being an unmated female in heat can be a dangerous thing. There are those out there that don’t care if they are not your destined mate.”

“You could be forced?” I ask, horrified at the thought.

“Unfortunately,” he says sadly. “Now I have a shot I can give you. It won’t take the heat away. Just suppress it. And I can’t guarantee how long it will last or how well it will work for you, but I’ve had fairly good results. Would you like to give it a try?”

“Yes, it will be a nice change to feel normal again.”

“For the sake of your mate, let's just inject into your arm, shall we?” He hesitantly administers the shot, keeping a sharp eye on Jax. “If you need me or have any questions ask Jax to get ahold of me.” Patting my arm affectionately.

“I’ll be back in a minute.” Jax escorts the doctor out the door.

My mind is racing. Having answers is a relief, knowing I’m not going crazy.

But the pressure I feel now is to complete the bond. What if the guys get tired of waiting for me? It won’t be a hardship to mate with them. I mean, they're nice, hot, and seem to want to spend the rest of their lives with me. My body is certainly ready, as is my panther. I feel her creeping inside, impatient with my fears.

What about Blue? I don’t think he’s ready either. I need to get to the bottom of his reservations, too. We all have to go into this with our eyes open and committed.

They don’t know everything that my life was yet either. Telling them is going to take some courage. Hoping they won’t change their mind about me when I do.

“What!” I hear Jax shout from downstairs, making me jump up and run down. The urgency and anger in his voice causes my heart to stop for a minute.

I come to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, taking in all three of my mates and the hostile atmosphere in the living room.

“What’s going on?” My voice is shaky.

James joins me, slipping his arm around me. “Cindy escaped last night at some point.”

“Oh shit,” I breathe.

“Yeah, no good,” he agrees.

“What the hell happened? Where was Josh?” Jax asks, prowling around the room.

“That’s what took me so long. No one had seen him. I tracked him down. His mate called him, and she went into labor. He had no choice but to leave. He put Tyler in charge of guarding the door. He wanted to call you at the time, but his mate was screaming on the phone, in pain.” Blue glances over at me as if making sure I am safe.

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