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“I didn’t even think about that. Honestly, I was so worried about my suppressants that—”

“What about them?” she asks.

I sigh, looking down at my hands. “I dropped them in the river. I’ve been without them for a few days already.”

“Oh my,” she says.

“Yeah. I was so worried about my heat coming that I hadn’t even thought about my scent…”

Dread hits me then. If she can smell me so well, then it’s possible there was someone following me in the woods. Someone who was following my scent. I’d never thought about it before because we didn’t deal with outsiders. But now? This is something I need to pay attention to.

“Trina, how strong is my scent?”

She smiles. “Let’s just say I’ll get comments about it lingering in my bakery tomorrow.”

She says it like it’s a good thing, but I’ve just realized I’ve left a trail that could lead a murderer right to me.

Chapter Six

Raewyn

I toss and turn all night, unable to get into a deep sleep, even though all I’ve wanted the last few nights is nothing more than to sleep in a safe, comfortable place. Now I have that, but I can’t seem to rest. I feel like I’m burning from the inside out.

Nothing makes sense in the middle of the night because I’m half asleep and I just want to go back to sleep. My brain isn’t functioning fully. The realization doesn’t come crashing down on me until I wake in the morning. I should have known this is what was going to happen. If I’m being honest, I guess I did know. I just didn’t want to deal with it.

“Your scent is so much sweeter today.”

It was a quick comment; something Trina mentioned in passing. She talks about my scent a lot, so I didn’t think much of it.

But now I realize I should have paid more attention. Because there was more meaning to it.

My heat.

I have only experienced this one time in my life. The first time. I’ve taken suppressants ever since, and that’s how I chose to live.

The last thing I need to do is panic, but I’m already shaking and my stomach is cramping.

It takes me three tries to grab the sheets and throw them off me because my hands are trembling so badly.

My skin is too tight; the way it feels when you’ve spent hours in the sun and heat. I want to tear it off.

Not being trapped under the blankets should help, but I only feel like I’m about to burst. And all I can smell are oranges and rosemary. My scent is so strong that even I’m noticing it in an almost overwhelming way.

A headache starts right behind my eyes. All the lights are too bright.

Warmth starts in my lower stomach, growing hotter and hotter by the second, then starts to spread through the rest of my body. Then my stomach—oh my stars, my stomach does something that has me falling to my knees and crying out.

Trina barges in the room, something she hasn’t done the entire four days I’ve been here because she said I should have privacy.

“Honey, oh my—”

“He… H—” I can’t get the word out. I sound like I’m choking.

“I should have known,” Trina says right before she hurries out of the room.

I stay on the floor, unable to move because everything feels like too much. A cramp starts again, followed by a gush of slick. My stars, I forgot what this felt like.

Trina comes back a moment later and places something cold and soft on my forehead. “We need to get you some help. We should go to the clinic before this gets worse.”