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Another wave of heat courses through my body, and I’m too caught up in that to worry about her response and what it could mean. I haven’t told Trina about the mess I came from, even though she’s done nothing but be kind to me and take care of me—and without asking for something in return.

When we get inside the building, I feel slightly better, but again, I know it won’t last. This will be my life for the next three to five days.

“Good morning,” a woman from behind the desk says with a bright smile. “Do you have an appointment?”

“We called for an emergency visit. Spoke with Josh,” Trina explains.

“Oh, he just left. It was the end of his shift. But I’ll be happy to take care of you. My name is Debbie. May I have your name?”

“Raewyn Forester,” I say, breathing slowly.

“Yes, I see you right here. As long as you’re okay with it, I have some things for you to fill out. We have a mini apothecary that sells calming teas, if you think that would help you.”

I nod.

“I’ll go get that, honey,” Trina says, patting my shoulder.

“Thank you,” I say.

Debbie goes on to explain a ton of things like costs, scent-matching, preventatives, and how they choose a match. She asks when my last heat was, how long I’ve been taken suppressants, and how long I’ve been without them. I feel like I’m just laying out my life story for her, but if it’s going to make me feel better, then I’ll tell her anything she wants to hear.

“All right, Raewyn, we’re almost finished. I’m going to have you go into our Emergency Triage room to speak with one of our specialists who can pair you with someone who will help. If it’s all right with you, I’ll send your friend in there when she comes back with your tea.”

“Yes, that’s okay. Thank you.”

I’m lead down a hall and into a small room by another worker, where I’m told to wait. I’m still sweating, my skin feels too small, and I’m light-headed. I haven’t ate or drank anything, and though I don’t feel like I’m thirsty or hungry, my body likely needs it.

The room I’m in is comfortable. Calming. A color palette that reminds me of the river at home during the summer, with soft sandy colors and dashes of pinks and blues, like the wild flowers that bloom in the spring. It makes me homesick.

There’s a soft knock on the door, that pulls me from going too far down that road. I’m thankful for it. The last thing I need is to get sad while dealing with my first heat in six years.

“It’s me,” Trina says from the other side of the door.

I call for her to come in. She offers me the take-away cup of tea the moment she steps inside. It’s too hot to sip, but I inhale the sweet scent and that relaxes me slightly. Two weeks ago, if someone had told me this is where I’d be, I’d have laughed in their face.

Chapter Seven

Forge

We sit in the car and watch as our suspect walks into the Heat Wave clinic with Trinity Meylard, owner of Honeybun Bakery in Falling Oaks.

It took longer than we’d have liked, but wasn’t impossible to follow Miss Forester’s scent all the way from her home to Falling Oaks. We lost it for a while from being outside, but we caught onto it again after scouring the woods. It was lingering on some of the trees and by the river. Eventually, it became so strong neither Pierce nor I could ignore it, and it lead us right to her.

As we stood outside our car, not far from the bakery, Pierce laughed and said what we were smelling was the bakery. I told him he was crazy and an idiot because there’s no food that would smell as good as that. It was my mistake to let on that I like the way our suspect smells. It’s not exactly professional. He didn’t say anything about it though. He wouldn’t. Not to me.

At that moment, our suspect came out of the side door with the bakery owner and got into her little Honda Accord. The breeze brought her scent over to us, and I had a visceral reaction to it. My skin prickled with goosebumps and my chest grew tight.

Seems Raewyn is hitting her heat and needs some help handling it. I ignore the way it doesn’t settle right in my chest, because she is nothing but a suspect to us. Her heat means nothing, and just because she smells good, doesn’t mean a damn thing. A lot of things smell good.

We got into our car right away and followed them—right to the Heat Wave Clinic.

Thanks to the contemporary design of the building, we can easily see inside through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The two women chat with the receptionist. After a moment, Trinity walks off, leaving Raewyn alone. She reads over paperwork, signs a few things, and chats further with the person behind the desk. A short time later, she’s lead into the back and out of sight.

That's when I open my door.

“Where are you going?” Pierce calls after me.

“To do detective work,” I mutter as I shut the door.