Something about that answer put me on alert.
“You know?”
“Of courseIknow.”Sheshrugged one shoulder and turned toward the back room.“Ialready pulled them.”
I watched her disappear through the door behind the counter, my instincts prickling.Icouldn’t have said exactly what bothered me, but something did.Shecame back a moment later carrying several boxes and set them down on the counter with a little more force than necessary.
“There you go.”
I looked them over.Atfirst glance everything appeared normal.Thelabels were intact, and the boxes didn’t look damaged, but asIreached for the largest one, something caught my eye.Thetape had been disturbed.Thestrips had been lifted and pressed back down again—not enough for most people to notice, perhaps, but enough for me.MyWereinstinct stirred uneasily, andIfound myself looking up atBarbarawith growing suspicion.
“These have been opened,”Isaid.
Barbara rolled her eyes.
“Oh, for theGoddess’ssake.”
“They’ve been tampered with,”Iinsisted.
“No, they haven’t.”Shefolded her arms over her chest.“They’reexactlythe same as when we received them.”
I wasn’t buying that and neither was my wolf.Thebeast inside me had been restless lately anyway, but now it stirred again, making my voice lower whenIasked,
“Sonobodylooked inside them?”
“No,”she snapped.
The answer came a little too quickly and her cheeks had gone faintly pink.Interesting.
I held her gaze for a long moment and finally she looked away, which told me everythingIneeded to know.Unfortunately, proving it was another matter.Withno evidence beyond a few disturbed strips of tape, there wasn’t muchIcould do in the middle of the post office.
SoIcarried the packages outside and loaded them into the trunk of theMustang.Iwas just lowering the last one into place when something shifted inside the largest package.Aflap popped open, and a plastic object tumbled onto the pavement at my feet.Frowning,Ibent to pick it up and turned it over in my hands, trying to figure out whatIwas looking at.
At firstIhad no idea.Itwas some kind of plastic device with tubing and suction cups attached to it and for a second,Ithought maybe it was some kind of kitchen gadget or medical equipment.ThenIfound the product description on the side and suddenly everything clicked into place.
A breast pump.Fuck—Viviennehad ordered herself a breast pump!
For a momentIsimply stood there staring at it as everything clicked into place.Theoversized robe…the exhaustion…the way she’d barely touched her breakfast and the strange sweetness in her scent.
“Oh,Goddess,”Imuttered.
Heat.Viviennewas going intoHeat.Andif she needed a pump to deal with it, it wasn’t just a mildHeatCycle.Onlythe really strong ones filled a woman’s breasts with nectar.
The realization hit me so hardIhad to lean one hand against the open trunk.Ifelt a sharp stab of hurt beforeIcould stop myself.Whyhadn’t she told me?
The question struck deeper thanIwanted to admit.Aftereverything we’d shared—after the way we had held each other and talked and trusted each other—Icouldn’t help wishing she had come to me instead of trying to handle this alone.
Then guilt followed almost immediately because the answer was obvious.
Vivienne hadn’t hidden this from me because she wanted to hurt me—she had hidden it because she was frightened and embarrassed and probably trying to protect me from the consequences of helping her.
Also, she had spent twenty years with a cruel man who didn’t love her—twenty years learning that no one would care for her, even if she was in really deep trouble.She’dlearned to rely only on herself.
I couldn’t expect that kind of fear to disappear just becauseIwanted it to.
The hurtIfelt faded and was replaced by something much worse—fear.
Heat wasn’t a joking matter among femaleWeres.Amild cycle could be uncomfortable, but a severe one could be dangerous—especially if it was ignored.