Page 28 of Talk About… History

Hailey gave her coworker a look but didn’t lose her smile as she led me through a back door. “I thought a conference room to start was best.”

The room in question was a small table with four chairs and a spread of snacks and drinks.

“Help yourself.”

We’d barely taken a seat and I snagged a bottle of juice to keep my hands busy when a man knocked on the door.

My jaw nearly dropped as Doctor Clark peeked in. I was expecting another old doctor or maybe a woman… not this supermodel of a man.

“Hello there, I’m Arden Clark, it’s nice to meet you, Avery,” he said, giving me a smile and stepping into the room. “Mind if I come in?”

“Of course,” I said, gesturing to the chair across from me. He slid in and held out a hand to shake mine. I hadn’t expected the doctor to be so handsome. The alpha was tall and strong, though he wasn’t as bulky as some alphas.

His demeanor was serious but warm, I could tell he was likely the meticulous type. Or maybe that was the way his slacks were pressed to perfection and his auburn hair was styled. It was slightly longer, hanging around his neck, but combed back out of his face.

He adjusted a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his nose before studying me and offering a kind smile. This man was so open and seemed genuine, unlike the awful doctor I saw before.

For some reason my hand was shaking as I slid it in his, but the warmth of his skin was almost searing against mine, calming the nerves.

His face paled and he leaned in slightly, breathing in deeply for a second before putting a mask on his face.

Did I stink?

The clinic had an array of air filters, and from both of their lack of scent I assumed they wore blockers, but mine was likely on display.

Hailey gave him a strange look but took over the meeting.

“Avery here was telling me she needs a new prescription. At her old clinic the doctor blocked her old one when she left her pack.”

“What?” That seemed to shake him out of his fog and his eyes narrowed in on her. “Explain.”

She glanced at me for approval first and I nodded, giving her the go-ahead. If she could save me from rehashing bad memories, I’d take it.

“The clinic in her old city was pack centered. They talked around her, decided things for her health, and didn’t include her in those decisions,” she explained with clinical efficiency.

“And your scent matches allowed this?” he questioned, raw fury dancing in his warm, brown eyes even though he was trying his best to keep composure.

With a deep breath, I met his gaze, refusing to not face this. “They used pheromone sprays to convince me we were matched. We weren’t actually matches.”

The stunned silence that followed had me shrinking in on myself a bit. I felt so fucking stupid and the shame that now followed any discussion about them had my cheeks burning.

“Avery, this is serious,” Hailey said.

“I told my lawyer about it when I left. My brothers picked me up when I found them knotting another omega on our anniversary,” I muttered before clapping a hand over my mouth. “Shit, sorry, I’m not trying to dump all this on you. No one needs all the awful details.”

“No, we really do,” he said as he jotted a few notes down.

“Okay,” I sighed. “My brothers took pictures and I sent them to my lawyer. I can leave his contact information if you need to discuss anything with him.”

“Thank you,” Arden said as he looked up at me. “We’re going to make sure that this doctor loses everything and doesn’t hurt any omegas again.”

“Good,” I said, my voice strong and fierce. “I want everything he has to be ripped away like he did to me.”

His lips tipped up in a smile that almost looked proud before he let out a breath. “I’m not interested in your old files, it sounds like there was nothing useful in them. I have another doctor here, an amazing beta woman who will take good care of you for the exam. I think it’s best if she handles the medical side of things while we look into this. We want you to feel safe and protected here, Avery.”

“I do,” I admitted quietly, my gaze locked onto my hands as I picked at the label on my juice bottle. “I don’t want to go through a heat right now and I’m due in a month.”

“We can help with that. Give me a second to go talk to Dr. Barnes. Eat something, take a breath, let us help you,” he said gently.

---