and that’s, ah, not exactly going to be easy for them.”
“But you’d let them try?”
“Sure, if I thought they might be my Fated Mate.”
This makes me chuckle. “So even if you met your Fated Mate, you’d still resist them?”
She grins. “Of course. That’s what Voorians do. That’s the way of the Vostra.”
“Why would you resist someone who you thought was your Fated Mate?” Aspen chimes in, sounding confused.
Milana shrugs. “If he really is worthy, and if I really am Fated to him, he’ll be able to overcome my resistance. If he’s not, then he won’t, or I’ll flash my beacon. Either way, I’m sure as fuck not going to make it easy for anyone to claim and mark me. That’s a permanent fucking thing. Once a man marks you, he owns you.”
This gets us closer to what I want to ask. “What about...” I hesitate. “What about when you’re in heat?”
Milana chuckles. “Well. When I’m in heat, all bets are off. But I don’t let that happen around men.”
We both laugh, my laughter more nervous than anything.
“Can I ask you a question?” Aspen asks hesitantly as our laughter dies down.
“Of course,” Milana replies, patting her stomach. “Man, those funnel cakes were good.”
“Sorry,” says Aspen. “My mom was human, so she never really taught me about certain things. “
Milana turns to face her, her demeanor almost parental. “Okay. No worries, Aspen, you can ask me whatever you want.”
“How do you know when you’re going into heat?”
There it is. My question. Except Aspen asked it first. Lucky me.
“You’ve never had a heat before?” Milana asks, looking surprised.
“No,” Aspen admits. “Until I met Draga, I never displayed any Voorian characteristics.”
“Well,” says Milana, “I think you kind of get a feel for it once you’ve gone through it a few times. For me, at least, honestly, the main thing is that my sex drive starts to go through the roof, and then I start getting super bitchy with any guy I’m attracted to. That’s pretty much my sign I need to seclude myself until it passes. Because once the bitchy phase is over...”
Her voice trails off, but we all know what she means. When a female Voorian goes into heat, her desire for sex becomes almost completely out of her control.
“So what do you do about it?” I ask, leaning in, my attention rapt.
“Like I said, seclusion,” Milana replies. “You’ve got to find somewhere private where you can basically just hang out for the next week without being interrupted. Believe me, you do not want some random guy walking in on you while you’re in heat. If you need someone to bring you supplies or something, have another woman do it.” She glances at me, and then at Kora. “Are you... Is this something either of you are worried about imminently?”
Aspen shakes her head.
“I am,” I admit, my cheeks going red. “I haven’t had my first heat yet, but I think it’s coming any day now. The stuff you described just... keeps getting stronger for me. Every day.”
It’s true. The urge for me to get irritable with just about every guy I meet has been terrible lately, and so has the weird, conflicting feeling that I also want to fuck them. On top of that, my beacon keeps flashing weird colors, and I can’t always turn it off.
Milana turns to me, and her eyes are kind. “Do you have a place picked out? To hide out until it’s over?”
I sigh. “No. I think it’s going to be hard to get privacy anywhere in the mansion. There are always people coming in and out.”
She scratches her head. “Hmm. That does present an issue.”
“What about the Epeshi ship?” Aspen offers. “In the hangar. I don’t think anyone has gone on board since we landed. I know it has bedrooms and bathrooms and a kitchen you could use.”
I smile at Aspen gratefully. I hadn’t thought of that, but it makes a lot of sense.
“That’s a good idea,” says Milana. “Better if you don’t tell anyone else that you’re going to be there, or why. Aspen, are you able to help her with getting supplies or whatever else she needs? I would offer, but I can’t guarantee how long I’ll be staying on Doros.”
“Definitely,” says Aspen, giving me a reassuring look.
“I’d recommend not waiting, and isolating yourself on the ship tomorrow,” says Milana. “Since this is your first heat, you might not notice all the warning signs. Believe me, it’s better to spend an extra day in seclusion