Ma and I argued for days over my going back into the houses again. “The pheromones won’t work for you,” she’d said, over and over.

“It’s two months, Ma,” I’d countered. “I think I can fake it that long. I did at the beginning of this mess.”

She hadn’t been happy, but I wanted that money and that security. Once I’d had the pup, the pack had offered to replace my wages for six weeks; I guessed they were feeling a bit guilty about the whole thing. Whatever. I wanted my wages replaced at my front of house rates, not my floor staff one.

After that… Hopefully the omega bond would have broken by then and I could get back to business as usual.

So now I was here, in one of the rooms at the Mink, getting new pictures done that would show off the curve of my growing belly and practicing nervously for a new video to put on the website. And Ma was there. Grumpy about it all, but there.

The photographer for the houses was off to the side, fiddling with lights and playing with the way they pointed at the deep blue of the bed cover. Unlike my previous pictures, which had just been me draped over a chair, for these we went with the bed and a massive pile of pillows, with the idea that it would let us make the belly more prominent and increase the number of bookings I might get.

Ma was over in the corner with me, putting a few last touches to the makeup on my face and on my belly.

“Can we turn the air conditioning up?” I asked. “I’m roasting.”

“That’s the baby,” Ma said. “Hold still.”

“I’m still hot,” I mumbled while she did something to my lips.

She threw me a severe look then shook her head and looked over at staff manager for the Mink. “Can you turn the temps down a bit for him? He’s finding it warm.”

“We don’t want goosebumps,” he told her. “They can be fixed in post, but it’s a cost I’ll have to pass on to him.”

Her lips compressed and I put out a hand to stop her before she lambasted the man. “It’s fine. We’re not here long.” I knew she was still upset with my choices—she’d been so proud when I’d been accepted into Silver. But this would do, for the two months it would take me to come up with the purchase price for my apartment. Once I owned that, between the apartment and my prydaya, I was set if I should ever decide to stop working and take a mate.

I could do this.

“Okay,” the photographer called. “Let’s get you set up and we’ll take a few test shots, see if we need to change anything.

I nodded to him and leaned in to give Ma a hug. “Thanks, Ma,” I said with feeling. “I’m lucky to have you. I know this isn’t what you wanted.”

“It’s not like we’re going to kick you out of the apartment,” she said with more than a hint of sarcasm.

“No, but imagine Xino after the fourth time the baby wakes him up in the middle of the night.” We both paused to contemplate my baby brother’s sleep habits for a moment, then shrugged off the nightmare thought of what it would be like to have him in the same apartment as a real baby. “It’s only two months,” I said, as much to remind myself as to remind her. “How hard can it be?”