Page 62 of Omega's Fever

“Neither do I.” His thumb brushes away a tear. “We can figure it out together?”

I nod, not trusting my voice. He holds me a moment longer before gently settling me back in my seat. The drive home is quiet, but it’s a different kind of silence than before. Softer. Less sharp-edged.

The reality of it all repeatedly crashes over me in waves. I’m pregnant. With Kellen’s baby. The suppressants I’ve been taking could have caused irreparable harm. Everything is changing.

“I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow,” I say as we pull into the parking garage. “First thing.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“You don’t have to-”

“I want to.” He parks, turns to face me fully. “Unless you don’t want me there?”

I think about facing this alone. I can’t imagine sitting alone in a sterile exam room getting news that could shatter me. “No, I... I’d like you there.”

His smile is small but genuine. “Okay.”

That night, for the first time in six weeks, I don’t take my evening dose of suppressants and for the first time, Kellen sleeps in my bed, holding me as I cry.

19

Kellen

The chair in the doctor’s waiting room is too small.

My knees jut out awkwardly as I watch Milo fill out forms. He’s pale this morning and there are dark circles under his eyes. He spent the night rushing to and from the bathroom.

Even when he wasn’t bent over the toilet bowl, I could scent the fear rising from him. He’s terrified that the baby has been hurt by the drugs. His terror is driving me crazy. I want to just hold him and take all of his fears away, but that’s not going to work.

Without the suppressants, his sweet omega scent is already filling the space between us. It would calm me if it weren’t for the terror threading through it.

“Previous pregnancies?” he reads from the form, then marks ‘none’ with sharp, decisive strokes.

An elderly omega across from us keeps glancing between Milo’s unmarked neck, then to me. I shift forward, letting my bulk block her line of sight. My protective instincts are getting worse by the hour. Every person who looks at him too long, every alpha who passes too close, sets my teeth on edge.

“Warren?” A nurse in purple scrubs calls from the doorway.

Milo shoots to his feet. I follow, ignoring the nurse’s slight frown when we both move toward the exam rooms. I never much cared when people gave me wary looks, but now it bothers me. I don’t like that Milo is being judged because of me.

“He’s with me,” Milo says.

The nurse just nods and leads us back to a small room with anexam table. “Change into this, opening in the front. The doctor will be in shortly.”

Milo stares at the paper gown after she leaves. “This is really happening.”

“Yeah.”

He’s been off the suppressants for all of half a day but his scent is driving me half-mad with want. I try not to look as he changes into the gown. I have seen every beautiful inch of him but that’s not going to stop me from wanting him afresh when I see his bare skin, and this is not the place.

When I look up, he’s perched on the edge of the exam table, the paper gown making him look younger, vulnerable. His hands twist in his lap.

“What if something’s wrong?” The words burst out of him.

“Hey.” I cross to him. My hands settle on his knees, grounding him. “Whatever happens, we deal with it. Together.”

“You keep saying that.”

“Because I mean it.”