Page 6 of Puck My Life

I shake my head, wishing desperately that she will jump at me and scream surprise. I’ll take the jump scare just to undo this nightmare. Pregnancy would be a more welcome surprise than this.

“But, I mean, how exactly?”

Doctor Warren is a beta with an aura of warm reassurance. She’s been my doctor for the past four years. I was lucky to get an appointment today. Her hair is tied back in a bun, and her brown eyes regard me with deep concern.

“You should have come in for the results earlier.”

I shake my head. “I don’t want this.”

She reaches forwards and takes my hands in hers. “I know this is scary, but you’ve got all the symptoms. All the signs are there. Hot flushes, cold sweats, increase in arousal, change in appetite and mood. You’ve even started nesting.”

“I have not!”

“Oh, and how long were you up cleaning last night?”

I look down at our joined hands. “That’s different; my housemates are slobs.”

“Yes, slobs.” She points a finger at the floor, counting, “but still alphas and living with you. Maybe you wouldn’t have awoken for a while, maybe you mighthave stayed a beta forever, but the fact is that the close proximity of so many alphas in your space has pushed this heat forward, which explains the elevated symptoms.”

I close my eyes. “Are you sure?” I sniffle. “Are you sure I’m an omega?”

She squeezes my fingers. “I’m sure. We’ve done all the tests, and they’re all showing positive for omega. There can be no more doubts.”

I sniffle again, struggling to hold back the tears, yet another sign of my emotional changes.

“What am I going to do?”

She inhales and holds it before sitting back. “Well, that’s what we’re going to have to talk about. Do you think your housemates will be able to help you with your heat?”

I almost throw myself back in the chair. “No! I mean, no. They have a girlfriend, and they don’t think of me like that.”

Her lips thin, and she looks down. “Okay, I don’t like these options, but let’s put the information out there. If you go into heat there, they will either help you or you will be left to fend for yourself. But you said they have a girlfriend. Is she an omega?”

I nod.

“Right, so you absolutely cannot stay there.”

“What?” I ask, stunned. Of course, I was planning on leaving, thinking about it, but to have my choice just so suddenly stripped from me is shocking.

“Omegas tend to lean towards being territorial. The usual catty jealousy between females will intensify and could roll into violence, especially with two females fighting over the same alphas. So, you're going to need to move out. Now, I have the numbers of some shelters, places that will help you.”

I stare at her, unable to comprehend the horror her words are inflicting.

“I need to move out right before my heat? But I’ll be vulnerable.”

“Yes, you will be vulnerable wherever you are. Of course, you have to move out. And here is a list of places that can help you find someone to help you withyour heat.”

“But can’t I just take suppressants? There are heaps of medications that stop heats from happening.”

I’m almost desperate, but she just keeps passing pamphlets into my hands. I drop some and bend over to pick them up, watching her in some kind of shock while she pulls open drawers and grabs more.

“Yes, but I don’t like to prescribe them because there are dangers that may occur later in your life. It’s not worth it. Just go out and meet some of these alphas, choose one to sleep with, and get it over and done.”

I bite my lip as a tear slips down my cheek. “I don't want it to happen like that.” The admission is whisper-soft.

She pauses, swinging back from where she’d been peering at her computer. “Oh, sweetheart, is this your first time?”

“I wanted it to be with someone I loved, with someone special.” I burst into noisy tears. She pats my knee and hands me a tissue, letting me cry.