Page 7 of Follow Your Instincts

I nodded. “Maggie Carter,” I said.

“Date of birth?”

“June 8, 1998.”

Steffi looked up at me, wide-eyed. “Well, no wonder your perfume is so strong,” she said.

“Why? Because I’m so ancient?” I snapped.

Steffi was unfazed. “Twenty-six is not the latest presentation I’ve ever heard of, but when this happens, it tends to make things more intense at first. Your perfume, your reaction to compatible scents… even your first heat will most likely be stronger than most other Omegas’.”

“Great,” I said through gritted teeth.

“What’s your family history? Any Omegas in the family?”

“I have no idea,” I said. My headache had spread across both temples and was pounding in time with my pulse. “I was raised in foster care.”

“Oh dear, I’m sorry to hear that,” Steffi said, and it seemed genuine. “Do you know anything about your family’s medical history?”

“No, I was left in the baby box at a fire station,” I said bluntly. “Whoever my parents were, they were obviously not ready for a child.”

Steffi, mercifully, didn’t respond, but I could see her eyes welling up a bit. Other people’s reactions to this story were always so much more dramatic than I’d ever felt about it. I didn’t know my parents, I certainly didn’t remember being a newborn dropped off in an emergency box, and though foster care was not always the ideal upbringing, I’d been incredibly lucky.

“I do have a sister, though. Kira. She’s my foster sister,” I corrected. “I want to call her.”

“Of course, chicken, as soon as we’re done,” Steffi assured me. “Can you tell me about what happened today? How are you feeling?”

“Well, to be honest I feel like shit. I’ve had a migraine all day, and I’ve just been… unsettled. Scents that had never bothered me before were overwhelming, I couldn’t stand to be around people. I thought I might be pregnant or something.”

“Are you sexually active?” Steffi asked quickly.

“No, I’m too busy to date. Or hook up or whatever. I mean, I have been in the past but not for the last year or so,” I said.

“Hm, okay… go on, please,” Steffi prompted.

“So… yeah I felt like shit all day but I still went to work. I responded to a 10-65, an armed robbery, and I was helping the victim, who was in shock. Detective Murray, he’s a Beta at the precinct I work at, showed up and I…” God, how was I supposed to explain this?

“You responded to his scent?” Steffi guessed.

“Um, yes, I guess that’s what you guys call it? I really, really wanted to… have sex with him. Out of nowhere. I’d never really even looked at him like that before.”

“Interesting,” Steffi said. “A Beta, you said? Usually we hear of scent responses to Alphas, but perhaps since you haven’t been sexually active for so long, you were primed to react to any compatible scent.”

“Thanks so much,” I said sarcastically. “So this is my fault?”

“Of course not, I’m so sorry dear, I am letting my curiosity get the better of me. Please continue, and I promise to keep my scientific thoughts to myself.” Steffi mimed locking her lips together.

“Okay, well, after that, I went back to the station to work out and wait for Detective Murray to come back so I could share my thoughts on the crime scene with him. I want to become a detective, and I figured it was important to meet with him, even with my temporary insanity. I thought it was like just some weird fluke,” I said, trying to justify myself. “If I had known what was happening, I would’ve just gone home.”

Why was I cryingagain? I wiped the tears away and clenched my fists in my lap. Steffi, true to her word, didn’t interrupt me.

“After my workout in the precinct gym, I was in the locker room to shower. And I started thinking about Soren - I mean Detective Murray - again. And I…” I said, my cheeks burning. Steffi didn’t need to know about my work masturbation. “And I guess I was perfuming or whatever because this asshole Todd came in and tried to… I don’t know, rape me. But he didn’t,” I said quickly at Steffi’s quiet gasp. “Murray came in and Tasered him. Then Harcourt showed up, and now I’m here.”

Steffi stepped from around the desk and sat in the armchair next to me. “I’m very sorry you had such a traumatic presentation,” she said quietly, and placed her hand on my arm. I didn’t pull away this time. “I hope that I don’t have to tell you, a police officer, that none of this is your fault, but I will anyway. Being an Omega is not something we can control, and we can’t control the reactions of others to our scents. You do not bear responsibility for someone else’s behavior, ever.”

I finally let myself cry. Steffi pulled my teacup out of my hand and folded me in a warm embrace. Her scent was calming, and I let it all out. The fear, the indignation at my life being completely upended, the shame that I hadn’t been able to escape Todd on my own. I cried until my headache was all-consuming and my throat was raw. Steffi hummedcomfortingly to me and stroked my back. We rocked in place until my tears slowed, then stopped.

“Better?” Steffi asked as I pulled back. She gave me a small smile and tucked a wayward curl behind my ear.

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