For a moment he hesitated and then seemed to gather his nerve. “Do you think…? I mean… Would you be willing…?” Zephyr stopped again, and then suddenly rolled away from her, staring up at the night sky. He took a deep breath, and then proceeded in a detached voice. “With your heat cycle so near, I was wondering if you’d given any thought to what you were going to do. Our infirmary has the usual drugs to curb it, if you’re opposed to having pups. I know we’ve only been mated a few weeks, so you might not be ready…” He let his voice trail off and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Nielle knew her face was probably expressionless at that point, giving him no indication of how she was reacting to his message, but she was completely thrown off balance by his question.
When she said not
