Chapter 32
Hailey
“Hello, Hailey, how are we doing?” the doctor asked as I entered their office. “The receptionist flagged your case as urgent.”
I nodded. “I’m having some interesting symptoms, and I'm not sure if it's linked to the separation sickness, all the pregnancy hormones, or what. I don’t know what to do,” I explained as I sat in the chair, getting straight to the point.
“What are the symptoms?”
“I feel like I'm going into heat,” I whispered. “That's impossible, though, isn't it? Because you don't get heats while pregnant. Everyone knows that.”
“It's not impossible. What we’ll do is start by taking your vitals. Why don't you hop up on the table, and we'll take your blood pressure and temp?”
I did as the doctor asked, my leg bobbing anxiously up and down.
“How often has this been happening?”
“It's been getting more frequent. It was every few days, and now I'm having them fairly regularly.”
“And the last I heard, you told me you'd managed to bond with an alpha. Is that correct?”
“Yes, Merrick. He's amazing, and he's been giving me all the physical touch. It's helped me feel tons better. For a while, I was feeling practically back to normal. Well, other than the morning sickness but even that is starting to ease.”
“I'm happy to hear that. Is it just the one alpha you bonded with?”
“Yes. I've also been spending time around the pack members of my first bonded alpha. The one who I accidentally bonded and then he absconded. Good news is, he's coming back soon.”
“So your new alpha has joined this pack.”
I smiled with a nod. “He's been really good to me.”
“And you haven't bonded with any of the other pack members?”
I shook my head. “Given how I bonded with their pack mate, I've been erring on the side of caution.”
“Normally, I would commend you for that, but in this instance”—the doctor put his stethoscope around his neck—“I think being around them may be aggravating your missing bond.”
“What do you mean?” I asked while he removed the blood pressure cuff from my arm.
He nodded with confidence. “Judging by your temperature, you’re going into heat.”
I stared blankly at the doctor for a few moments. “What do you mean?”
“While heats are extremely uncommon during pregnancy, they do occasionally happen.
Especially when there are extenuating circumstances like this.
It's most likely that the separation sickness, being around alphas, being near a freshly bonded alpha, and the pregnancy have all exacerbated everything. Your body is trying to go into heat to make you bond to more alphas to stabilize.”
“But surely going into heat is bad for the baby?” My heart was pounding now, and I felt that anxiety-induced dizziness rise up.
“It's not ideal. The best way to mitigate the risks is to bond the rest of your pack. Then the heat should be more like a mini heat that would last maybe twenty-four hours at most. Then again, your situation is unique, so I can't say for sure.”
“What if I only have one alpha see me through the heat?”
The doctor frowned. “Only one? Hailey, you’re going to need more support than that. Didn’t you say that the other pack members were here? My best advice is to bond them, but if not, you at least need them to help you through your heat.”
“Okay, this is a lot to think about.”
Even though I was starting to warm up to Wilder and Nolan, my traitorous body was clearly deciding to take the lead and force me into getting closer to them.
Would they even want to bond with me? Wilder was a sure thing, of course, but Nolan seemed more on the fence.
The practical alpha was the one to think decisions through, and I certainly hadn’t thought through the decision when it came to my entry into his pack.
“We can try other things to stabilize you, but getting more support from your pack would be the best course.”
“Thank you, doctor. I’ll… I’ll let you know.”
I wandered out into the hallway in a bit of a daze. I had so much to think about, and a pack of alphas at Merrick’s house who’d be asking questions.
Yay.
“So what did the doctor say?” Nolan asked as I got in the car.
I didn’t mince my words, too exhausted to bother. “I'm going into heat, and I'm going to need lots of knots and bonding bites to get through it and keep the baby safe.”
I turned toward him with a pained smile.
“Heat?” Nolan asked in a strangled voice. “You’re sure?”
“Yes, and the doctor doesn't seem to think that a single alpha would be enough to get me through it. Unfortunately, I don't think Preston is much of an option right now. Is he…?”
Nolan shook his head. “He was really firm with Rune that he needed a few more weeks to catch this bastard funneling drugs through Camp Bower.”
Sighing in defeat, I threw my head back against the headrest. “When am I going to catch a break?” I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. “It’s just one thing after the other. Can’t the universe just fucking relax for a few days?”
I started to break down, my eyes and nose burning as I fought against the rising tears. I didn’t need this. I was hormonal and stressed, and I was positive that if one more thing happened, I was going to explode.
“What do you want to do?” Nolan asked, reaching over to grip my hand.
The move surprised me, but I took it gratefully.
“I'm not sure that's really relevant anymore. It seems like my omega nature is constantly backing me into a corner. I have to get through this. There’s a baby at stake, and while I didn’t plan for it at all, I want them. I’d do anything to protect them.
They’re mine. I just don’t know what that is right now, given my situation.
The doctor said there might be other things to try, but getting help from my pack was his first choice. ”
“All right. Well, I think I have an idea, but let’s get home first. We can discuss it there.”
We walked into Merrick’s, and I felt nothing but defeated and exhausted. Worse, I felt hot and achy too. I had a feeling this momentary reprieve from the heat symptoms was coming to an end.
Perfect. I just want to nap.
It took everything inside me not to collapse onto the couch and bury my head in the massive array of pillows I’d filled it with. As it was, I still plopped down, pulling the cuddly things into my arms with a hmpf.
“Well, that doesn’t bode well. What happened at the doctor's?” Merrick walked over from the kitchen, sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch.
I waved at Nolan, making him do the talking for me as he sat on the sofa near my feet.
“She’s going into heat. Something like a mini one, I guess?” I nodded at him as Nolan looked to me for confirmation. “The doctor said it was because of her unique situation. Her body is looking for a way to stabilize the first bond by getting her to bond with the rest of the pack.”
A groan escaped me as a low-level cramp washed over me. I didn’t even get five whole minutes to just sit here and attempt to relax.
“So, she’ll need us to bond with her.” Nolan’s words made me crane my neck to find him looking right at Wilder with a nod. “I know you’re good to go, and I am, too, so I think it’s best if we—”
“Wait.” I pulled on Nolan’s sleeve, getting him to look at me. “You’re good to go? Are you serious right now?”
Without even blinking, Nolan smiled at me. “Yes. Seriously. Wilder’s been obsessed from the beginning.”
“Damn straight,” he chimed in, making me giggle because the excitement on his face was too genuine to fake.
“And I know it took me a second, but yes.” Nolan’s smile grew wider than I’d ever seen before.
“Yes, Hailey. I’m in. I have to say, from the first moment we got here, your scent has been like a drug.
But beyond that, I respect the hell out of you.
I know how much your work means to you, how much you care.
You’re funny and charming, and I want to. So, yeah, what do you say?”
I glanced over at Merrick, who gave me a knowing grin, like he’d seen this coming from a mile away. I was in shock, but I couldn’t deny that, yeah, I was enjoying the alphas quite a bit.
Wilder was as much of a rambunctious golden retriever as Blaze, and Nolan had proven that his first instinct was to protect and care for his pack, revealing the marshmallow center underneath it all too.
I wanted to do what was best for the baby, and I wanted to do what was best for me.
It looked like, yet again, even though the timing was hell, I was getting both those things.
A wave of fire washed through me, demanding need funneling through my veins and doubling me over. I smashed my hand down on Nolan’s thigh, gripping the fabric of his pants until my knuckles ached.
“Yes.” I was already breathing hard, slick pouring from me. “Now.”
All three of my alphas jerked in surprise, but even I could smell how my perfume was drenching the air, making theirs swell in return.
“Oh, shit.” Merrick stood up, hoisting me into his arms, then turned around and started deeper into the house, undoubtedly to the nest. “All right, Hails. We got you. Don’t you worry about a thing. We got you.”