Page 77 of Eight Count Heat
My heart pounds. "Is it ready?"
"I'm afraid there's been a delay. The manufacturer is experiencing supply chain issues. We're looking at another week before we can fill your order."
The words hit like ice water. "A week? But I was told Monday."
"I apologize for the inconvenience. We're doing everything we can to expedite the process, but with the current shortages..."
I barely hear the rest of his explanation. Another week means I'll be completely out of suppressants by Sunday morning. It means facing my heat cycle surrounded by the team, with my parents watching, during the most important regatta of our season.
"Miss Callahan? Are you there?"
"Yes." My voice sounds distant even to my own ears. "Thank you for calling."
I hang up and stare at the phone in my hands, mind racing through increasingly desperate scenarios. Emergency doctors who might prescribe something temporary. Alternative medications that could buy me time. Ways to fake illness and get sent home before anyone notices.
But deep down, I know the truth. Three years of suppressants have regulated my cycle to predictable intervals. I'm alreadytwelve hours overdue for my next dose, and my body is starting to respond accordingly. The elevated heart rate, the restlessness, the way every Alpha scent seems more noticeable than usual.
By tomorrow night, there will be no hiding what I am.
A text notification breaks through my panic. Cameron's name on the screen.
You okay? Saw Bo come back down looking worried.
I stare at the message, surprised by the contact. Cameron and I have barely exchanged a dozen words since I joined the team, yet somehow he's checking on me at midnight from three floors away.
Fine. Just nervous about tomorrow.
Want to talk about it?
The offer catches me off guard. Cameron Blake, the silent observer who speaks only when necessary, offering to be a sounding board for my problems.
Thanks, but I should sleep.
Fair enough. But Reese?
Yeah?
Whatever happens tomorrow, you've got backup.
I smile despite everything, warmth spreading through my chest at his unexpected support. The team might not know my secret, but they're already rallying around me in ways my own family never has.
Thank you. That means more than you know.
Sleep well.
I set the phone aside and prepare for bed mechanically, trying not to think about tomorrow's inevitable complications. Four suppressants. One race. Eight Alphas who will start to notice my scent changing within hours.
Bo returns quietly about twenty minutes later, moving carefully in the darkness. I hear him brush his teeth and settle into the other bed, probably thinking I'm already asleep.
But as I lie in the darkness listening to Bo's steady breathing from the other bed, one thought keeps cycling through my mind: for the first time in my life, I'm part of a team that values me for who I am, not what they expect me to be.
Whatever happens tomorrow, I won't face it alone. That has to count for something.
chapter TWENTY-ONE
Gray
The morning air sitsheavy with mist as our team carries the boat down to the water.
