Page 389 of Hell Hath No Fury
“No, no,” Mallory said, shaking her head. “Girls, I think it might be best if you all left.”
Larkin looked around the stacks of boxes in the living room. “But there’s still so much to do.”
“And it’ll stay that way until Skye’s ready,” Mallory assured her with a smile. “But right now, I think it’s best to give her space. How about if I call Remy and have him come home?”
My wolf practically salivated at the idea of our mate here. Yes, yes, yes. That wasexactlywhat we wanted. What we needed.
Katy tilted her head. “What’s going on?”
“Skye,” Mallory started, her voice still soothing, “I think you’re going into your first heat cycle.”
I sucked in a sharp breath becauseno. No, that wasn’t happening. Shifters didn’t go into their first heat cycle until they were roughly twenty-one, and I was barely twenty. Outside of extremely rare occurrences, it was the only time that a female shifter could get pregnant.
Oh, hell. I wasn’t ready to be a mom, was I?
I stumbled back, fear choking me even as my wolf nudged the idea of a little Remy running around into my thoughts. Yeah,shewas all on board with being barefoot and pregnant. But I had college, and we had the first International Council Meetinglooming in four months. If I got pregnant now, I’d beverypregnant then thanks to six-month shifter gestation periods.
“I can’t be going into heat,” I argued weakly, but my gut knew I was lying before Mallory started ticking off my symptoms.
“Honey, you won’t let anyone touch your things—you’re nesting,” she explained with the patience and kindness of a saint. “You’re irritable, flushed, and you’ve been moving nonstop like you physically can’t sit still.”
I dropped onto the large leather sectional—the only piece of furniture currently in the room because we still had bookshelves to build and were waiting on more stuff being delivered.
Larkin moved closer and knelt in front of me, but didn’t touch me. “This is a good thing, Skye.” The corners of her mouth tilted up in a teasing way that was somehow innocent and devilish at the same time. “You’re going to befine. Exhausted, but fine.”
My cheeks heated because I knew if I really was going into heat, that meant I’d be insatiable for my mate for the next several days as my wolf and body did everything to get me knocked up. It was biology and it kinda sucked.
I mean, yeah, shifter females didn’t have monthly periods the way humans did, but this was hardly a fair trade. Every woman in this room—two of whom were related to my mate—would knowexactlywhat we were doing for the next several days.
I groaned. Who was I kidding? Remy was the Alpha of our pack, and if he was missing for days—because no fucking way was he leaving me alone to ride this thing out with my hand as a substitute for his dick—then the whole pack would know it was because his mate was in heat.
Grabbing one of the throw pillows, I hugged it to my chest. Then I hurled it away because the fibers were too rough and coarse. “Burn that,” I muttered, shaking my head.
Larkin chuckled and straightened. “We’ll get out of your hair, okay? But you’ll be fine. You and Remy—”
“Please, don’t,” Katy cut her off. “I can’t handle the visual.”
Larkin rolled her eyes. “Look, we’ll cancel the rest of the furniture deliveries and get Remy home, okay?”
I nodded, feeling unsteady and almost feverish as I wrapped my arms around my legs. This felt so freaking surreal.
Larkin looked like she wanted to hug me, but I was glad when she offered a small smile instead and walked away. She pulled Katy and Maren with her, and I heard the front door close a few minutes later.
Mallory’s soft footsteps sounded as she crossed the room to me. “Okay, sweetheart, do you want to call your mom?”
I looked down at my watch and did the mental math. It was nearly two in the morning in Russia, and while I knew my mom wouldn’t care if I woke her up, I didn’t have the heart to. Instead, I shook my head.
“Okay.” Mallory clasped her hands in front of her. “Do you have any questions?”
I blushed, hating that I was discussing this with my mate’s mom. “I don’t think so. We kinda already figured out how sex works.” I cringed at my attempt at a joke, but it was true. When we’d officially bonded and had sex for the first time, we’d triggered a global mating wave amongst our kind.
Not something people forgot about.
An amused smile tilted up the corners of her mouth. “I’m sure you did, but still, your first heat can be…intense. Make sure you hydrate and have snacks on hand. You’ll both need your energy for, uh, well…” Her nose wrinkled. “I’m not making this any less awkward, am I?”
I shook my head miserably. “No, but thanks for trying.”
“A baby wouldn’t be the worst thing,” she added with a sweet smile that only an anticipating grandmother could have. Not that a heat cycle would guarantee a pregnancy; but due to ourweird genetics and bond, Remy and I already knew we’d have an easier time getting pregnant than most.
