Page 1 of Omega Tricked

Chapter One

Dylan

Was it normal to think about ending my life on a daily basis?

Probably not. Of course not.

But life held nothing for me anymore. Nothing inspired me. Nothing excited me. Day after day, I helped pregnant solar eclipse omegas through their pregnancies. I weighed them. Counseled them. Held their hands during their C-sections. Yet inside, I was dead. I was a dried-up twig of the omega I’d once been. I didn’t care. Not about the babies. Not about the omegas. Certainly not about the alphas. The last alpha I could tolerate, besides Dr. Peters, was Jack, and he’d gone weeks ago. He and Carter had left the compound with their son, Paul, embarking on a complicated but hopefully bright future.

And here I was, trying to think of a reason to go on.

“Dylan.” Dr. Peters’s sharp voice cut through my mental fog. “I need a hand here.”

I jolted into action, rushing to his side to help him, as he tugged the wiggling infant from the omega pouch. I held the squirming child while he clipped the umbilical cord efficiently. The omega’s alpha hovered at the head of the bed, having already expressed no desire to cut the cord. He seemed squeamish about the birth process, like most alphas.

“Is it a girl?” the omega asked, lifting his head, his cheeks flushed pink.

“Yep. She’s perfect.” I forced myself to sound cheerful.

I took the baby to the area where we cleaned and weighed the newborns. The baby wiggled and whimpered, and I had to stuff down memories of my late son, Ayden. Memories didn’t help. They made it worse. It was probably a horrible idea to work as a labor delivery nurse after losing my own child. But that was really all I knew how to do. If I was going to keep breathing, I needed to eat, and that meant I needed to work.

I was definitely disconnected, but I didn’t want anything bad to happen to the omegas or the babies. I held on to the hope that by doing something useful like bringing babies into the world, my life still hadsomemeaning. I needed to believe there was a reason for me to keep living. A reason other than the obvious reason: breeding. Omegas were made to breed, but I wouldn’t go down that road. Never again. I’d done my duty once. I’d bonded with Jacob and had a child by surrogate. Then Jacob had taken everything from me. Everything worth living for. I couldn’t imagine ever having another child. I couldn’t take that chance. Alphas couldn’t be trusted. It was that simple. I’d never put myself in the position of relying on an alpha again. They could so easily tell you what you wanted to hear, even as they did the complete opposite behind your back.

Once Dr. Peters had sewn the omega’s abdomen closed, I plastered on a smile and carried the now clean infant to the omega. “She’s hungry.”

The omega nodded. “Okay. Will you help me? I’ve never breastfed before.”

I set the child on his chest. “Of course. We need to be mindful of your stitches.”

“Okay. I can’t feel anything now because I’m still numb.”

“You’ll be sore for about a week, but then the incision should start healing. Ready to breastfeed?” I asked.

The omega nodded, looking anxious. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

I met the gaze of the alpha, trying to keep resentment from my gaze. “Did you want to go grab some coffee?”

The alpha frowned. “No.” He put his hand on his omega’s shoulder.” I want to be here for support.”

That was surprising; most alphas couldn’t wait for a reason to bolt when the subject of breastfeeding came up. “Sure. Whatever you want.”

The omega smiled gratefully at his alpha, and the alpha kissed him.

My gut tensed, but I focused on my job. I opened the upper flap on the front of the omega’s gown. “Hold the baby up to the nipple. She should instinctively latch on, but sometimes they need a little nudging.”

“Okay.” The omega did as instructed, and the baby sniffed and fussed. “She’s not doing anything.”

“Lift her higher,” I said softly. “She’ll get there.”

He frowned, a sheen of sweat on his forehead. “You sure?”

“Yes.” I smiled. “It’s your first time. Just relax.”

He blew out a shaky breath. “Okay.” He adjusted the position of the baby, and she suddenly latched on. “Whoa!” The omega winced and laughed. “That feels… weird.”

I patted the omega’s shoulder. “Good job.”

“You did it.” The alpha watched with a wondrous expression. “You’re a natural, love.”