Chapter Three
Oliver
My head feels in a daze, but I don’t open my eyes. I wonder where I am as I pick up a few new scents. The first smell is freshly cut grass somewhere outside of the walls. I can sense it coming from a window in the hall, meaning that the gardener has begun his morning routine.
If it’s morning, then how long have I been out? I sniff again, this time I detect to a female beta. From her scent, I’d guess she was middle-aged and just on the other side of the room from me.
I don’t pick up much of Benson’s scent. It’s here, but he’s been gone for hours. I do sense another alpha… in the same room. It’s not Benson’s father, but someone else. I can hear him talking now. His deep voice makes my hairs stand on end.
My eyes blink in a dimly lit room. There’s a bit of soreness in my right arm. I’m guessing that they’ve given me a shot. I look around and see a female beta nurse. She has long hair, too, exactly what I expected; she looks sweeter than most betas.
My eyes scan to the only other person there. It’s a tall, striking alpha with light brown hair and gray on the side. He holds himself with high confidence, looking down at a tablet and back at the nurse.
“It looks grim for the king,” he says with genuine sadness in his voice. “But I’m glad his little shits for sons didn’t off him early.”
“Who does that?” asks the nurse. “They were attempting to start a beta revolution? I’ve never heard of that, Doctor.”
Doctor? This alpha is a doctor?
“I wonder if they were going to kill me, too,” the doctor sort of smiles in amusement. “I’d like to see them try.”
Suddenly, he turns, and our eyes meet. I can see the ice blue color of his irises. They are hands down the most striking feature on him—well, other than his tall, muscular frame. Quickly, I turn away in shyness.
“Well, well, well,” says the alpha doctor as he strides toward me. “Look who woke up. How’s it going, kiddo?”
I don’t say anything. I’m not even sure that I could speak if I tried. Instead, I just lay there on my side, squeezing my arm from the pain.
“He’s not going to talk to me,” says the doctor. “Maybe he’s mad that I gave him a shot? Or maybe it’s because he can’t talk.”
I wonder if he’s teasing me. Then I think of Benson. Would he want me to talk to this doctor? Does he know that I’m here? He must… but then, where is he? I can still smell his scent—a very worried one.
My stomach tightens just a little and I curl over. It’s not as bad as before, but the shock of it worries me a lot. What if there’s something very wrong with me? I decide that I should ask the doctor about my diagnosis.
“I’m hurting,” I say without stammering. I’m sort of surprised that I’m not a bumbling mess around this handsome alpha. “Why does my stomach… hurt?” The last word had a little bit of trouble coming out.
The doctor takes a second to respond. I can hear his tongue cluck, as though he wants to say something, but he’s taken aback. I look up to see him staring down at me. His mouth is open, and he looks puzzled.
“I’m sorry,” he begins, “but did you just say all of that without stuttering like a little idiot?”
“Yeah,” I answer, breathily. It takes a lot not to roll my eyes at him. Though, it may be difficult since he’s an alpha. “Who are you?”
“Wow, and demanding,” the doctor jokes. “I’m Dr. Kent. I was brought here to take care of the King during his illness. Yet, I’ve been stuck, somehow, with an omega.”
Stuck? What an asshole… “What’s wrong with… me?”
“Well,” says the doctor as he composes himself, “I would say that a speaking omega is an anomaly. Nonetheless, there are very few of you that have also carried an alpha’s young, so maybe you’re just a total anomaly on your own?”
“Anomaly?” I ask, then I rewind his words. “Wait—carry young?”
“Yep,” says the beta nurse. “You’re a smart one.”
“I’m pregnant?”
“You are,” says the doctor as he takes a seat next to my bed. “The thing is, omegas don’t always have all of the working parts to carry a baby. For those that do, they lie dormant until in heat. So, after you go into heat and have an alpha’s seed, sometimes your body reacts. For those with the dormant parts, they begin to accommodate new life, and that leads to a lot of pain. Does that make sense to you or should I slow down?”
I don’t like his tone. He’s cocky—which I expect from an alpha—but he’s also just kind of an asshole. Still, there’s this undeniable attractive quality about him that I can’t shake. I decide to look away so that I don’t get pulled into his gaze.
“I get it,” I say while holding my stomach. “Where’s Benson.”
“Not here,” says the alpha.
I feel rattled and annoyed by him. Clearly, he doesn’t have any respect for me. Then again, no betas or alphas have consideration for omegas. I get that taking care of someone like me is beneath him, but he can at least pretend.
“Can someone call him?” I wonder.
“Oh, sweetie,” says the beta nurse. “He’s—”
“He said not to bother him,” explains the doctor. “Well, that’s what he told my nurse. Why do you think that is?”
The doctor’s eyes look sharply at me. I get the sense that he doesn’t approve of Benson and me. Or, perhaps, he just doesn’t approve of Benson. Nevertheless, his question sticks with me.
“I don’t… know…” I say thinking about Benson. I can see that he might not want to be bothered, but surely he’d like to know that I’m safe and awake.
My eyes study the cold room. The windowless walls look uninviting. I wished that I were back in Benson’s bed, cuddling him. Maybe that would make me feel better.
“Don’t worry then,” says the doctor, standing back up. “I’m sure that he has his reasons. In the meantime, get some rest. Carrying an alpha’s young is very dangerous, kiddo. You quite frankly could lose the baby any moment—or die from carrying it.”
“Die?” I ask.
“Yes,” says the alpha as he touches me on the shoulder. I look up, and for a moment our eyes connect again. He stares back at me with eyes filled with sorrow.
Why is he looking at me like this? I wonder. There’s more to this doctor than he allows me to believe. I glance back at him for a second and then look away. I can sense how lonely he is.
When Dr. Kent releases, I watch him head for the door. He doesn’t say another word. I realize that his asshole attitude is just a front. Normally when other men look at me, they hate me, or they crave me. Dr. Kent, however, suddenly has a look of regret.
Suddenly, I think about this world where alphas are becoming fewer. Happiness, for them, must be a rare commodity. Even with all of their strength, the betas vastly outnumber them. The country is falling apart and everyone can feel it.
“A-alpha,” I say just before Dr. Kent leaves the room.
He stops and hunches his shoulders. “Don’t.”
Then, he shuts the door. I can tell that the doctor has more feelings than it appears. Though, the nurse is still staring at me with worried eyes. She trembles just a bit as she looks at the charts.
“Are you hungry?” she asks, concerned.
I almost don’t hear her. I continue to think of the doctor… and Benson. This world, for the alphas, is coming to an unnatural close. These men were designed to rule, yet they’ve been placed doing the impossible—keeping their heads down.
“Oliver,” says the nurse. “Are you hungry, dear?”
“Yes,” I answer, softly. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s quite alright,” she says. “I know that this news is shocking.”
“Yes,” I nod.
“Okay, I’ll get you some breakfast, sweetie,” she says before turning to a tablet on the table.
I watch her select a few items on the list. I’m not used to betas being so kind to me. Then again, maybe she’s just faking it as part of her job. She knows who my alpha is and doesn’t want to get on his bad side.
Still, she looks intensely worried. I can smell her musk souring with fear. Are things really getting that bad? A sinking feeling comes over me. I just want Benson here.
As I curl into a ball, I try to sense the baby inside of me. There’s another sharp pain and tears fill my eyes. Will this baby make it through? Can my body handle it? I begin to feel more lonely than ever.
Where is Benson?