Page 27 of Not Ready

That’s my baby.

No one needs to assume anything else.

I toss open the door, close it behind me, and aim for my omega.

Marina wasn’t lying.

Vale looks rough. Her eyes are slightly puffy, and there are circles under them.

“Oh,” Garza says, watching me stomp over to Vale. “My mistake. Bishop?—”

“He can’t give you the baby’s father’s medical history either,” she says, sounding exasperated. “This is not my favorite thing to talk about, but I don’t know how to get in touch with him…” She gestures to her stomach. “He disappeared long before I had the chance to tell him about this. Let’s all just accept that we don’t have that information and move on, please?” The last word comes out very close to a whine that has me itching to rip Garza’s head off for not being able to take a hint.

I wrap my arm around her shoulder, pulling her face into my stomach. Her hand immediately slides around my back as she roots around, huffing deep hits of my scent. She basically ends up with her face buried in my pec just under my armpit. Even with her sitting on the exam table, she’s not tall enough to reach my shoulder.

“I apologize. I shouldn’t have made assumptions.” Garza turns to face us and his eyes widen. “Vale, did you happen to skip a dose of your APT during your drive yesterday?”

“I need to see if I get a new prescription for the same brand of prenatal vitamins. They’re the only ones that don’t make me queasy, but I left in a hurry and forgot them.”

“That’s no problem. I’ll call your previous office and make sure we match the brand. Back to the APT.” Garza rolls his ridiculous rollie chair over. “You’re having aches and pains. You also had a temperature two degrees above normal on intake, but you have no other symptoms of an infection.”

“I don’t know what that is,” she says, but it comes out muffled, as her face is still buried in between my chest and arm.

“Alpha Pheromone Therapy. You checked no to bonds. Do you have a pack?”

“No,” she says.

“And your doctor didn’t start you on APT at all during your pregnancy?” Garza asks.

“No, listen. I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t have insurance. The old doctor’s office only charged me a hundred dollars per visit, but today alone is two and a half times that. I don’t think I can afford any other medicines right now. Only if it’s an emergency.”

My eyes fly to Holt and his jaw hangs open.

Garza looks equally taken aback.

If Holt didn’t pay for this appointment…

My fists clench, and I barely stifle the snarl that bubbles up.

Why the hell does he think I’ve been sending her so much money? Not that I don’t have an addiction to hearing her voice and watching over her, but neither of her old jobs offered insurance, and she made too much to qualify for any of the government insurance programs.

“Money isn’t an issue.” I clear my throat. “Is there something she should be taking?”

“Omegas used to almost never conceive outside of a heat,” Garza says. “Something like three to five patients a year is what my partner would see twenty or so years ago. Now, with suppressants in widespread use, we’re seeing close to a hundred a year. It’s an astronomical increase.”

“I wasn’t in heat when I got pregnant,” Vale says, which I already knew.

“When conception primarily occurred during the heat cycle, it was even rarer that an omega got pregnant when unbonded, but that’s simply because compatible alphas and omegas almost never make it out of a heat without claiming bites. But now that things have changed, we’re seeing a higher percentage of female omegas pregnant with no pack. This is extremely dangerous because the risk of miscarriage, preterm labor, and even severe maternal complications go up exponentially when the omega isn’t exposed to alpha pheromones regularly during the pregnancy.”

“What?” she gasps, finally pulling her head out to look at Garza.

“The solution is APT. It’s a two-fold process. Daily packets of a simulated pheromone solution. You apply it to your neck and wrist. There’s also a suppository that’s used vaginally…” Garza gives me an unimpressed look when I growl. “Certain parts of alpha and omega biology are a mystery to us, even after all these years, but we do know female omegas are more likely to carry to term when exposed to alpha pheromones and semen throughout the pregnancy. It’s only become blatantly obvious in recent years because, as I already explained, omegas are now becoming pregnant without a pack at higher and higher rates.”

My system instantly puffs up with pride. I’m more than capable of helping her with whatever her system needs. My hand falls to run over her stomach as she leans into my chest.

“I’ve gone this long without it…” Her head shakes. “Is it really expensive?”

“Hey, money isn’t an issue,” I murmur close to her ear. “Whatever the two of you need to be safe and healthy, you’ll have it.”

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