Chapter 14 'Good afternoon, dear. Do you have an appointment?' The sweet-looking, older beta woman looks us over as Miles and I enter the heat clinic, hand-in-hand. Her name tag reads 'Pearl', and she reminds me a little of my mom. I smile sheepishly, 'No, we don't, I'm sorry. I came off heat suppressants not too long ago so we didn't know how soon I would need to set things up. I did have bloodwork sent over by Doctor Mejia this morning though? For Bethany Thomas?' After my massive heat spike last night, Miles and I both called out of work to get everything set up for when my heat inevitably comes. It doesn't help that I had been on heat suppressants for three years by the time I came off them, making the timing of this heat unpredictable. I felt bad for having to leave my brother's party, but when I tried to explain why on the phone this morning, he merely started shouting, 'La la la, I can't hear you and I certainly do not want details on my baby sister's sex life!' Like I said to Miles, he can be a little shit. Once the heat spikes start, I have anywhere between a few weeks to a few days before my full heat hits. Before I lived with Pack Hansen, I spent all my heats in clinics, but I'm not sure if they'll still have my information on file. It's likely when an omega doesn't check-in after a certain amount of time, their preferences are deleted out of the system. It's what we do at the OMS. 'No worries, dear.' Pearl smiles kindly at us. She glances at Miles. 'We can get you set up. Is the gentleman here for moral support or is he going to be helping to ease you through your heat?' Now's the hard part. We'll have to see if they'll play along with what we want. 'He'll be the only one helping me.' I do my best not to let my voice shake. 'We just need a safe place to ride it out.' Pearl frowns. 'That's a lot of work for one alpha, are you sure you don't want to look at the scent cards?' Huh. I've never seen Miles be mistaken for an alpha before. Maybe it's because of all the scent neutralizers being pumped through the vents. 'Oh, I'm not an alpha,' Miles says quickly, glancing at me. 'I am her mate though.' 'Ah, I did think you seemed more like a beta,' Pearl nods like the world makes sense again. 'Though, that just means you'll definitely be needing some assistance from alphas-' 'Not a beta either,' I chime in. I don't know why it's so important to me that she knows exactly who Miles is to me, but it is. 'He's my scent-matched omega mate, and we want to ride the heat out here with toys, under supervision in case things take a turn for the worst.' Pearl's mouth snaps shut and I see the wheels turning in her head. 'No...no alphas...' she says, almost to herself. She shuffles through a few papers on her desk like she's looking for something, and I catch snippets of her muttering, 'unprecedented', and 'liability'. Miles and I exchange a worried look. This appointment is not off to a great start. 'Excuse me,' Pearl has pasted on her brightest customer service smile, 'this has never happened before and I am unsure of what to do. I need to contact my supervisor.' She immediately turns to her office phone, picking it up and hastily dialing an extension. Her hushed whispers tell me she's gotten a hold of someone, and Miles squeezes my hand reassuringly. Never? Surely my parents aren't the only two other scent-matched omega pair in the world. This has to happen at least a little, right? Enough that they should already have procedures in place for this sort of thing. 'Okay,' Pearl's voice snaps me out of my own head, 'Mr. Johnson is on his way, he should be able to sort something out for the two of you.' Relief fills my chest at her words and I give her a bright smile. 'That would be great, thank you.' Only a few seconds later, there are footsteps echoing down the hallway that leads right to the reception desk. A man, tall, but lacking the bulk that normally comes with alphas, rounds the corner and his eyes settle on us. The beta's suit and tie are spotless, not a wrinkle in place, and his hair is perfectly styled. His voice is nothing but kind and respectful as he looks us over. 'Are you two the omega pair I was called about?' 'Yes,' Miles speaks up, angling his body in front of me slightly. 'I'm Miles, and this is Bethany.' 'It's nice to meet the two of you. I'm Cameron Johnson, the operating manager of Sweet Heat: Heat Clinic. Let's get the two of you sorted out.' 'Mr. Johnson-' He cuts me off with a wave of his hand. 'Please. Cam is perfectly fine.' 'Cam,' I correct myself, 'you're saying we'll be able to do what I've requested?' 'As long as we have some proper precautions and safeguards in place, yes.' 'Like what?' Miles frowns at him. 'Let's go to my office, and we can discuss it further there.' The walk to his office is short, as it's only a few doors down the hallway until we enter the small room. Once we're all sat down, Miles and I look at Cam from across his desk. He tents his fingers and takes a breath. 'So. Walk me through exactly what you're looking for.' 'We're looking to have my heat here, just the two of us. We figure we can have the moderator keep an eye on us to make sure I'm not in any medical danger, and you can step in if things take a turn for the worst.' Cam nods. 'Yes. We'll have you select some alphas to be on standby just in case-' Panic seizes my chest. 'What? No. No alphas. You can sedate me if things go bad.' Cam shakes his head. 'We can't. We're not licensed to administer the drugs needed for sedation, and transporting you to the hospital in the throes of your heat is more of a life-or-death thing. I know that 'Extinguish Heat Clinic' is licensed for sedation-' Miles' hand tightens in mine. 'They get booked out so far in advance we would have had to have known this was coming six months ago. Not to mention they cost about four times what you do a night.' He huffs a breath and his shoulders tense. 'So either we have alphas on call...or she can't have her heat here? Nobody else in our price range has flexible scheduling like you guys do.' My head shakes vehemently. 'No. I'd rather risk it at home, rather be sedated than this-' 'Absolutely not.' Miles' voice is harsher than I'm used to. 'This is your health we're talking about, Bethany. Let's just pick out some alphas. I'll be with you the entire time. Nobody touches you without your permission and I'll make sure everyone behaves themselves.' A scoff escapes me. 'And what about the jealousy? I don't want anyone else touching you and I know you don't want anyone touching me-' His eyes soften as he turns to look at me. 'It doesn't have to mean anything, little nymph. Yes, it'll drive me up the wall to see other men pawing all over you if it comes to that, but you know what's worse? You being in pain. Your health being put at risk because I'm being selfish. At the end of the day, you're coming home with me, and they know that, I know that, and you know that.' My heart beats wildly in my chest as I swallow, thinking about what he's saying. It doesn't have to mean anything. It never meant anything before I joined Pack Hansen, so why would that change now? Well, I know exactly why it would change. The sweet, selfless blue-haired omega sitting next to me has changed absolutely everything. 'It doesn't have to be any different than a knotted dildo...it'll just be attached to someone.' Miles grins at me, and a protective growl rumbles in my chest. I don't miss the way Cam's brows shoot up to his hairline. I don't blame him, I'm pretty surprised too. His words make sense, but they also make me think of Miles being in the room with me...with other alphas. Alphas that will no doubt try to touch him. It won't even be their fault. They'll be in the haze of pheromones, and two omegas in a room together during a heat isn't exactly typical. 'I...' I clear my throat, turning in my seat to face my whole body towards him. 'I don't want any of them touching you either. You know they'll try, and I know it's not fair to ask since they'll be...all over me, but I might literally rip out their eyeballs if they lay a finger on you.' Miles gives me a goofy grin. 'You know, you're especially hot when you threaten bodily harm to people in my honor.' A very unattractive snort leaves me, and Cam gently chimes in. 'All volunteers will be made aware of any...stipulations you may have, including Miles being off limits. Our moderators will be vigilant and on the lookout for any alphas pushing boundaries and not listening. The moment you demand it, we can kick out any wayward volunteers and bring up a replacement.' The smirk on Miles' face is downright sexy and I have to suppress a shiver. 'So, like, if one of them doesn't behave we'll get the second string volunteers? How many alphas will be on standby for 'Operation: Fuck Bethany's Brains Out'?' If Cam is surprised by Miles' jokes, he doesn't show it, instead he keeps his professional demeanor while giving him an amused smile. 'We'll have you pick from the scent cards, which includes a mix of single alphas and omega-less packs. We'll let you pick the ones you want first, and then organize an on-call system from there.' 'And don't forget,' Miles grasps my hand tighter, 'we may not even need to call on them. It's all just a precaution.' Right. Just a precaution. I can do that, right? A Fated Encounter movie summary talks about Emma Brown who is forced by her father Henry to take her sister Bella's place and marry Tommy Anderson to save her business. Unlike the rumor Tommy turns ou...