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“Do you still want us to bond with you?” He asks.

“It’s okay if you’ve changed your mind or want to wait until next time,” Blaise adds.

Panic floods my chest and I swallow hard. Have they changed their mind? Has my behaviour last night – pushing them away, not acting like aproperomega – put them off?

Before I can reply, Xar chimes in. “Or even much further in the future. Or never. It won’t change how we feel about you. You’re our omega, no matter what, and we’re not going anywhere, little dew drop. We just want you to be happy.”

I force myself to breathe while I try to get my racing heart under control.

It’s okay, Evie. They haven’t changed their mind. They still want you.

“I…I’d like to still, if that’s okay? But?—”

“Go on, wildflower.”

“I think I’d like to be…with it when it happens. I don’t fully know what to expect but I think I’d like to know it’s happening, if that’s possible?”

“Of course,” Dane says smoothly. “We can wait until the very end of your heat. When you’re more lucid if you’d like?”

I nod eagerly, relieved. “Yes. Please. If that’s okay?”

“Evie, of course it’s okay. This isyourheat. And whilst we know you’ve not done this before, you still get to choose and make all the decisions. We’re just here to help you through it, okay?”

“Thank you.”

“I can think of a couple more things we need to go over actually,” Blaise interjects.

“Oh?”

Blaise leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his gaze intent. “Yeah. Look, I know this might be uncomfortable, but it’s important. We need to talk about what you want. What youdon’twant. Sexually.”

My entire body flushes hot. “What – right now?”

“Better now than when you’re halfway delirious and can’t properly consent,” he says, softer this time. “We need to know how to take care of you therightway, Evie.”

Xar clears his throat, clearly caught off guard. “He’s right. We don’t want to assume anything.”

Dane nods slowly, folding his arms. “If we’re doing this, we need to do it properly. And safely.”

I stare at them, mouth dry. The room is suddenly way too warm.

Blaise offers a crooked smile. “So. We’ll start easy. Are there any hard nos? Like, anything that’ll make you uncomfortable or shut down?”

I squirm a little, biting my lip. “I don’t...I haven’t really thought about it much. I mean— I don’t think so? I just...I’ve never you know... So, I don’t know what I like. Or hate.”

“Okay,” Dane says gently. “Then we take it slow. Check in often. And if anything feels off or too much, you tell us.”

“I will,” I whisper, cheeks burning.

“What about names?” Blaise adds. “What do you like being called? Any kinks? Praise? Degradation? Daddy?”

Xar makes a choking noise and Dane mutters, “Bloody hell, Blaise?—”

“What? Better now than mid-heat when we’re fumbling through it and mess up,” he defends, looking back at me. “Do youlikebeing called things like that, Evie? Or do you prefer soft stuff – love, sweetheart, things like that?”

“I don’t know,” I whisper. “I think...I think soft. But maybe – if I feel safe – I might like being pushed a little.”

Blaise grins. “Oh,someonelikes a bit of teasing.”