Thalina was tired of lying.
So, she did what felt right. She told the truth.
"I took something to stop it," she said calmly, arms crossed. My body, my life, my choice.
She knew plenty of women who would kill for a remedy to skip their monthly cycle. As long as it didn't involve a baby, what was the harm?
Tharion's eyes widened. He stared at her like she had just confessed to committing a crime.
"…You what?" His voice was lower now, edged with disbelief.
He took a step forward. Thalina instinctively stepped back.
"Why would you do that?" His usual calm exterior cracked, distress creeping into his expression. "A female only goes into heat once a year."
His tail flicked behind him, agitation clear in every tense line of his body.
Thalina lifted her chin. "And?"
Tharion's jaw clenched.
"I—" He cut himself off, staring at her like she was an enigma he couldn't solve.
She shrugged. "My body, my choice."
Silence stretched between them.
