Page 60 of Pack Rivals, Part One

"Just relax," she mutters, which is hard when the machine starts to beep frantically and chaotic lines stream across the screen.

"Is everything all right?"

She takes a look. "I'll be right back."

I don't like the sound of that. I consider messaging Courtney, or even Aunt Julia, but my phone is in my jacket pocket which is hanging on the back of the door.

I peer down at the wires wondering if they'll stretch that far, then decide it's better I don't risk destroying the machine.

Out in the corridor, I hear muffled voices and footsteps and then the door opens. Doctor Hannah strides into the room, and a tall older man follows her. His scent hits me immediately. An alpha? In a clinic for omegas? That doesn't seem right. Especially smelling so potent; his scent like nutmeg.

I hold my breath as he comes closer, alarmed to see the lines on the machine becoming ever more erratic.

Doctor Hannah doesn't introduce the man and he doesn't introduce himself, instead they study the screen.

"Her estrogen levels are extremely elevated. And her heart rate is on the fast side."

I swallow. That doesn't sound good.

"How long since she presented?" the man asks.

"Estimated to be about three days."

"Interesting. You've submitted the blood work for analysis."

"I will do that now." He nods, reading more of the numbers and graphs flashing up on the screen. He presses some more buttons, then lifts his gaze to me. His eyes are a pale blue color, cold like a winter sky.

"Doctor Hannah will take good care of you," he tells me before swiftly exiting the room.

What the hell was all that?

"Is he your–"

"Colleague," Doctor Hannah says, still not offering me his name.

"These readings show your hormones are in a state of flux. You're going to experience what we call false heats. They're a bit like false labor or practice contractions. Your body will feel as if it's in heat for short periods of time, making you believe you're entering a heat proper, before returning to normal. We see it all the time in young teenage omegas."

"But I'm 26."

"And you've only just presented. However, given what we're seeing, I think it unlikely you'll fall into a full heat for at least three months. That tends to be the pattern with new omegas."

I let out a long sigh of relief. The idea of falling into heat at any moment had scared me senseless. At least it seems like I'll have some time to adapt to my new circumstances before that happens.

"You understand though, that in some circumstances, omegas find this pre-heat stage worse."

"They do?"

"Yes, you'll find yourself much less," Doctor Hannah rips a printout from the machine, "resistant to the attraction of alphas. This is why many parents take their daughters out of school at this point and keep them home until everything settles down and they fall into a more regular pattern of heats."

"Oh god," I mutter. Then shake my head. It makes sense why my body has been going haywire whenever I'm in the company of alphas. "You know what, it's fine. I'm not a teenage girl. I'm in my twenties. I can control my emotions. I'll be fine."

"I'll prescribe you some more medication that should help."

"Thank you." I hesitate, then decide to ask the doctor my next question. "My aunt thinks I should find an alpha to help me out over this rocky period. Someone who can, erm, see to my needs, as well as keep me safe."

The doctor folds up the printouts and walks over to her desk, adding them to the pile. “It is certainly one of the options open to you.”

“I hope you don’t mind me asking — I’ve met so few omegas and am still trying to work out how these things tick — but are you bonded?”

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