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Phoenix's expression softened slightly. "No, you're not dying. But you are changing."

Before I could ask what the hell that meant, Emery appeared behind him, his face a mask of worry and determination. He pushed past Phoenix, coming to kneel in front of me. He looked back to Phoenix. "Go get Bayer, then get out of here."

"I need a doctor," I mumbled again.

"Danny," he said gently, taking my hands in his. "I need you to listen carefully. What you're experiencing is called a heat. It's something that happens to omegas like me."

"Well, I'm not an omega like you," I gasped, another wave of scalding heat washing over me. "I'm human. Humans don’t do what you did."

"Human omegas do," Emery said, his voice calm despite the urgency in his eyes. "It's rare, incredibly rare, but it happens. Usually after prolonged exposure to an alpha's pheromones or after..." He paused, his eyes widening slightly. "Last night, with you and Bayer."

"We just fucked," I almost screamed out, but I was lying. I knew I was lying. I’d wanted more, so much more.

Emery smiled. "That must have done it, whatever you wanna call it. His alpha pheromones, combined with whatever latent omega traits you had...it triggered your first heat."

"This is insane," I muttered, pressing the heels of my hands against my eyes. "I can't be an omega. I would have known. Wouldn't I?"

"Not necessarily," Emery said, helping me lie back against the pillows. "Human omegas often don't present until they're exposed to a compatible alpha. I didn't know until Phoenix."

A thought struck me through the haze of discomfort. "Is that why you went into heat after meeting Phoenix?"

Emery nodded. "Yes. And now it's happening to you with Bayer."

The mention of his name sent another pulse of heat through me, along with a sharp pang of longing that had nothing to do with our argument. "No," I said firmly, or as firmly as I could manage while my body was betraying me. "I don't want him here. Not after what he said."

"Danny," Emery started, but I cut him off.

"I mean it, Em. Get me Esther or someone who can help, but not him."

Emery hesitated, clearly torn. "It's not that simple. The heat is going to get worse, and without your alpha—"

"I'll manage," I insisted, though my body screamed otherwise. "People survive fevers all the time."

"This isn't just a fever," Emery said gently. "It's a biological imperative. Your body is preparing to—"

"Don't say it," I warned, not ready to hear the implications. "Just...what do I do? How do I make it stop?"

Emery sighed. "There are suppressants that can help, but we don't have any here, and it's too late. Esther might know some herbal remedies that could take the edge off, but honestly, Danny? The only thing that's really going to help is—"

"An alpha," I finished bitterly. "Well, tough. I'll just have to suffer through it."

“Not just any alpha, and he’ll need to mate. You know this.”

A commotion in the hallway drew our attention before I could reply. I wanted to call him a liar, but it seemed my body knew differently. I heard Phoenix's voice, then another, deeper and unmistakable. Bayer. My body responded instantly, the heat intensifying, a new slickness between my thighs making me gasp in shock and shame. I'd never experienced anything like this—this desperate, urgent need.

"No," I hissed, pulling the sheets around me as if they could shield me from what was happening. "Em, don't let him in. He doesn’t want me, and I won’t ever be a pity fuck. Please."

Emery squeezed my hand. "I'll do whatever you want, Danny. But you need to understand—this is going to get worse before it gets better."

"I don't care," I lied, even as another wave of heat crashed over me, making me bite my lip to keep from crying out. "Just not him."

The voices in the hallway grew more heated. I could hear Phoenix trying to explain something, his tone placating, followed by Bayer's deeper rumble, the sound of it sending shivers down my spine even through the closed door.

"He's not coming in," Emery assured me, moving to stand between me and the door. "Not if you don't want him to."

But as he spoke, the handle turned, and the door swung open, and our eyes met. Bayer's growl was loud and demanding, and I half expected him to shift right there and then.

"Bayer, buddy," Phoenix started, but Bayer whipped his head around to his best friend and snarled, baring every one of his large teeth.