Page 47 of Loving My Omega (The Perfect Designation Trilogy #2)

Chapter

Forty-Seven

MARCUS

C olton was going to kill me. An impromptu meeting for all current teachers and staff for the changes that were going to be implemented for the summer ended up being mandatory. It made me so late that I left the Jeep in the parking lot at school. I was flying back as fast as I could but I’d already been well past the time I promised Colton I would be home before even taking off.

Today, Eva Faulkins was coming over and Colton has specifically asked me to be home before she showed up. She was supposed to be there fifteen minutes ago. We originally were going to do it last week but Colton ended up not feeling well. We skipped out on New Years festivities but he didn’t feel good pretty much all week. It didn’t help that we had construction going on to complete the renovations for the nursery and moving the guest bedroom downstairs.

My dragon hummed though, happy as a clam. Colton’s Christmas gift actually shifted with us in every form I took. We didn’t realize it until later and my dragon was so happy to have something to prove that we were taken. Normally, when shifted, you couldn’t see the claiming mark through our scales. Even though we were completely black now, it still didn’t really prove that we were taken.

Banking as quickly as I could into the back yard, I didn’t even bother landing as a dragon. Shifting mid-air, I landed in a sprint on the grass. Skipping all three steps up to the deck, I flung open the back door door. Stepping in, I grabbed the clothes folded on the table next to the door.

Mrs. Faulkins was smiling at me from the kitchen. She looked exactly like I remembered as a kid. Though, she did have different colored hair this time around. I pulled on my clothes and stepped forward. Every time I saw her though, it always took me for a loop.

She was a stout, short by dragon stands, elderly woman. I knew she was in her two hundreds but I didn’t know how far and I was not about to ask. There was always a warmth to her and her smile that felt a lot like my mother’s or even my grandmother when she was alive. What was always shocking was the punk esthetic her clothes gave off. Her hair was bright teal and she wore a multitude of chains around her neck. Her shirt was a an old school Scream movie shirt and she wore a heavy layered black skirt that went down to her ankles. The platform shoes were an indicator that she was actually much shorter than I realized.

“You’re late.”

I winced at Colton’s tone. “I know. I’m sorry. There was a mandatory meeting after class for all staff. They are changing policies for Summer session and summer break.” I pulled my shirt over my head and walked over to him sitting at the island. “I’m sorry. I came as quickly as I could.” I kissed his head even though he didn’t turn to look at me.

He was frowning, his hands wrapped around a mug of tea. From the smell of it, it was the mint blend he had been favoring for the past few days. His finger was tapping the mug and I knew I was in serious trouble.

“I’ll make it up to you. I can make curry for dinner tonight?” The frown twitched a bit and I knew I had him. “I’ll even make some garlic Naan.”

The frown shifted slightly. “Fine.” He grumbled. “You’re lucky I really like Eva.”

I laughed and nodded. Coming around, I held my hand out. It really had been at least twenty years since I had met Mrs. Faulkins. I’d only seen her husband when I had custody of the kids. He was the one who saw them for their checkups.

“I apologize for my tardiness.”

Mrs. Faulkins took my hand with both of hers, smiling widely. “Oh dear, don’t you worry. It’s no problem. I’m just glad you were able to make it home. I know it’s been many years so let me reintroduce myself. I’m Eva Faulkins, but please call me Eva.”

“Marcus Alford. My mom and sister wouldn’t stop singing your praises. Thank you for fitting us in.”

“Oh Marcus, I know all about you. Your mom is quite a blabbermouth when it comes to her kids. But then, aren’t we all.” She laughed. “I usually keep my schedule pretty open as of late. Only take on special cases where I know I can help.” Eva looked at Colton and smiled. “I’m happy to help.”

Colton nodded and smiled. “We were just talking about my appointments with Dr. Raine. I was filling her in on the information I had.”

I walked back over behind Colton and rubbed his arms. “Did you go over what’s happened the last couple of weeks?”

Colton leaned his back against me. “No…not yet.”

Eva looked between us and I’m sure our faces told her a lot. Colton and I took turns explaining the events from when I asked to court Colton. She continued to look more horrified the further we go. Colton grumbled it low but I told her about Colton’s weight loss that completely ruined the progress he had been making.

I knew he had lost weight again after last week but I didn’t have a scale in the house to check. It frustrated me that it felt like we were a step forward and then two steps back. It was so hard for him to gain weight but so easy to lose it. I didn’t hide the worry in my voice but Colton laced his fingers with mine that were sitting on his shoulders.

“You beheaded the bitch, right?”

Colton barked out a laugh. ”Which one?”

“Both of them! You don’t threaten peoples lives! Both of them should at the very least be committed somewhere far away from here.” Eva was pissed, her hands on her hips. “Both of them are self brats and if I could get my hands on them.

“Well, one of them got taken down a notch or two by Colton.” I kissed his head again. “She isn’t doing well after losing her company. Suddenly, she has nothing and now she has to realize that it wasn’t her life.”

Eva huffed. “And the other? This panther bitch?”

Laughing, Colton shook his head but I answered. “There isn’t anything she can do now. The Council can’t step in and there is nothing her family can do. Anything else and she would be inviting a war against her pack and we all know that if you pit kittens against dragons who would win.”

“Well, let’s hope she takes this loss to heart and moves the hell away.” Eva nodded with finality. “You don’t need anymore issues. We want it to be smooth sailing for here.”

“I am going to do my best to make sure that happens.” I wrapped my arms around Colton, pulling him into a hug. “Colt deserves some peace after all this.”

Eva smiled. “Your mom was worried about you for a long time, Marcus. She was worried first that you’d end up like your brothers. Then she worried they ruined your ability to open up towards other people.” She reached out and patted Colton’s hand. “But you’ve found yourself a good one.”

I nodded. “Trust me, I know just how lucky I am. I do my best not to mess it up.”

Colton laughed and shook his head. “You put up with all my baggage. I’m the lucky one.”

He looked up at me and I wanted to melt right there. His smile was so genuine and I savored it, kissing him gently on the lips. Eva cleared her throat and rolled her eyes.

“So, now that you’re both here, I can get down to business. Not that all of the previous stuff wasn’t business, but I can explain what I do and how I help. Plus, what the both of you need to do moving forward and give yourselves a bit of a weekly plan.”

I nodded and so did Colton.

“Now, I’m not just a midwife and doula but I’m also a certified nurse. I’m a little bit different in that I help before, during, and after birth. When I take on a client, you are my only one. My sole focus. I am there for any questions or concerns. Freaking out at three a.m? You call me. Wanting to know if something is okay to eat? You text me. I am at your disposal one hundred percent of the time. For both of you.” Eva looked from Colton to me before she continued.

“I’ve been doing this job long enough that most of the time, the one pregnant isn’t the one freaking out. Even if they should be. Usually, it’s the mate not pregnant that has the most questions and wants answers and freaks out. That’s okay. That’s perfectly normal. And it’s what I’m here for.”

I smiled and felt a tiny weight lift off my chest. I’d gone through Colton’s notes from Raine at least ten times but I had so many more questions that I felt like I wasn’t able to ask.

“Do you do check ins?” Colton asked.

She nodded. “I do weekly check ins actually. Especially when it’s the last three months. In the last month for the first two weeks of it, I come bi-weekly. The last two weeks I come three times. Then I obviously am on call for any extra times I need to come.”

“Doesn’t that take over your life? I mean…I wouldn’t want to take you away from your family that much.” Colton sounded worried and I smiled, kissing the head of my sweet mate.

Eva also smiled, a look of a caring grandmother. “It’s why I only take on special cases and I don’t do it too often. Even then, my kids are all grown and only show up on holidays or when they want my cooking. My mate works more than I do still. I’ve got nothing but time.”

“It just seems excessive…” Colton trailed off.

I thought it was perfectly fine since I wanted him to have the best care possible. There would be no chance that I would say that out loud and risk him being mad at me all over again. If anything, I had been keeping down how much I was not okay with us being on our own. Sure, I had my mom but she wasn’t a doctor and that’s what Colton needed.

“It might seem like that sweetheart but there are a lot of issues with your specific case. It’s not all cases that I do that many check-ins. But you’re an Omega, which due to your smaller size, pregnancy tends to be a little harder on your body. Then there is the fact that you’re male. That already puts a strain on you. Let’s add that you are high risk due to your weight. And on top of all that, you as a wolf shifter are having an alpha hatchling. They are much larger than your average wolf pup. That all combines into a ball of exceptionally high risk and warrants the seemingly excessive amount of visits.”

Colton chuckled hollowly. “Well…when you put it that way…”

My grip tightened on his shoulders. Putting it that way indeed. My heart just kept sinking further and further.

“If anything, a positive is that you both decided to mate. It is significantly harder for unmated Omegas to give birth. So, I’m glad I don’t need to try and convince you of that.” Eva winked. “Now talk to me about the nest situation.”

Colton looked down and I sighed. Eva looked between the two of us, her eyes narrowing. Finally, she decided to take on Colton for this rather than me.

“Colt, dear?”

“I don’t…need a nest. Marcus offered to renovate but I didn’t…want to do that.”

Eva snorted. “Of course you need a nest. How could you not? Sweetheart, you’re an Omega. What about your previous nests?”

Colton shifted in his seat. “I’ve…never had one.”

Eva blink a couple times before confusion took over. “What do you mean you’ve never had one before? I know you said you were hiding as a Beta but weren’t you living on your own since getting pregnant? What about a nest at home?”

He shook his head. “I was…too afraid they would find me. So I didn’t. Everything was just normal. I only really slept there for three to four hours since I was working at the docks and the cafe. I was there for class and you could see the apartment in the background so I always kept it tidy. I just…I lived there. It wasn’t my home.”

The more Colton talked the more shocked and confused Eva looked. After he finished, she looked from him, to me. My lips pursed but there was nothing I could say. I’d already went through all this in the beginning. Her struggle to wrap her head around Colton I knew well.

“I’m sorry, did you say you worked at the docks?”

He nodded.

“As an Omega?”

He fidgeted in his seat. “I mean, I was registered as a Beta-1 and I passed the exam to work there…”

“Right, but you aren’t an Alpha, you’re not even a Beta, 1 or otherwise. You’re an Omega. A pregnant one at that. And you were working at the docks?”

He nodded again.

“Then you also were working at a cafe?”

He nodded again.

“While going to school full time.

Again.

“With no nest and no comfort.”

Again.

“While hiding your condition from everyone around you. Forcing you to keep everyone at arms length. When as an Omega, you crave that touch and comfort.”

The shake in Colton’s shoulders told me he was crying. I growled, warning Eva not to continue. Gathering him up in my arms, I kissed his head and rubbed his back.

“She’s not judging you, little wolf. You know that. She’s just shocked. Just like I was.”

He sniffled. “She’s doing better than you did.”

Chuckling, I nodded. “You’re right. She hasn’t shifted.”

“Plus, she deals with Omegas on the regular. I’m sure she’s seen some exceptional ones, but I told you that you are special. You are my one of a kind.” I lifted his head and he was smile already. “Now you know I’m not just saying that cause you’re my mate.”

Colton nodded and brought my palm to his lips, kissing it gently. I reveled in his softness and pulling him tight for another hug before letting him turn back around.

“I’m sorry, Colt. I just…that was a shock. I don’t think…” She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I guess that just means we need to spoil you more, now doesn’t it.”