Chapter 11: Pre Heat

She knows her heat, when it hits. Knows it in the marrow of her bones; the itch across her skin, the tiredness, the ache in her muscles, the way her skin feels too tight and too hot for her body.

It’s not exactly a surprise, but it comes with a certain dread. Something ingrained into her mind, that she’s about to lose control, to lose herself.

“We can get through this,” she tells herself after a miserable day at work, splashing cool water on herself. It stings her skin, doing nothing to cool her off.

Beth looks at her messages from Sean— the ones from weeks ago, when she’d promised to tell him if she had a heat. The thought of actually subjecting him to it makes her so anxious her stomach rolls. Instead, she calls Josh, as though another Omega might be able to see her through it.

“Hey, Sweetie, what’s happening?”