Page 141 of Broken Dreams

CHAPTER 28

DUNCAN

Quinn and Linus asked that we stay in the room with them during the reading of their results, and my brother and I were more than happy to do that.

“Linus still has a build-up from the medication he’s been given,” Dr. Adrain says, looking at the results. “His body is doing exactly what it’s supposed to, and is fighting it. Therefore, his hormones are spiking steadily. What that means is that he’ll be able to have a natural heat in the coming weeks, but it’d be impossible to be able to predict when that will be.”

Nodding, I glance at my brother. We’re going to have our hands full with a potential heat along with a mafia political balancing act. We can only hope he’ll be able to hold out until after the party. And if not, we’ll work it out.

His heat is just as important as everything else that’s going on.

“That’s exciting, but it’s also really awful timing,” Linus snorts.

“I was just thinking about that, but we’ll manage,” I say shrugging. “We’re not going to mess with the work your body is already doing. We’ll let it ride.”

He makes an adorable scrunched up face, before nodding.

“As for Quinn, her hormones are also fluctuating. If I had to guess, you’ll both have spotty heats for years. It’ll be very difficult to keep track of, which means you’ll have to watch for the signs of feeling overly warm, irritable, needing to constantly tweak the things around you until they’re just right,” the doctor says. “Every omega has things that tell them they’re heading into their heat outside of just feeling more sexual, it’s simply a matter of finding what yours are.”

Dr. Adrain speaks very matter of factly about these things, which I am appreciative of. He simply lays it all out, without any fanfare.

“When and if,” he says, “you decide you want children and find yourselves wondering if it’s possible, come back and see me. However, since everything is working itself out of your body, Quinn, I believe whatever method of birth control he used is also disappearing. Therefore, you may want to discuss birth control methods if you’re not ready for children yet.”

Quinn’s eyes grow wide, and I can feel her heart leap. I force myself to breathe normally and think of absolutely nothing. I can only imagine that my brother is doing the same because his face is impassive.

Callum and I want kids, but we would never push that on Quinn. If she decides she doesn’t want them, then that’s it. The problem is, neither of us know if she does or not.

I’m usually the one who can let my emotions run away from me when it really matters. Dealing with my father, Quinn’s father, or mafia politics? I can keep my shit squared away. I don’t want to pressure Quinn about this in any way, so I force myself to breathe as I watch her reaction.

“Really?”she asks him, scrawling across her tablet quickly.

Quinn has always had a very distinct way of writing. The tablet is at an angle on the table in front of her, and it’s part cursive, part print. It’s a piece of who she is, and it’s nice to see that it hasn’t changed.

Fuck, the things a person notices are wild. I’ve always been very intune with Quinn. She’s mine, despite the way our fathers tried to keep us away from each other.

“Absolutely,” Dr. Adrain says, his face trying to hide a smile. “Again, whatever you decide, Quinn, is the right decision.”

Quinn nods, looking a bit shell-shocked. There’s a knock at the door, and the doctor calls out for whoever is there to come in. It’s the nurse, and she pops her head inside with an apologetic smile.

“The results of the X-ray have been sent to you, Doctor,” she says. “It’s under Patient A.”

Anonymity was something we insisted on, and Dr. Adrain was the first to agree. The nurse leaves again while the doctor checks his computer.

“This states what I suspected,” he murmurs. “There’s no scar tissue on your vocal cords, nor is there anything showing me there’s a physical reason for not being able to speak, Quinn. While speech therapy is something available, I think that'll be frustrating and unhelpful. I suspect your problems speaking have to do with emotional trauma.”

Sighing, Quinn inclines her head in agreement when he glances over at her. I’m personally unsurprised by those results, and I want to know what’s happened to her, while being terrified of what it’ll mean as well.

I know this will be a tough road for her, and no magic wand is going to make it all go away. Linus and Quinn have good days and bad.

Sometimes, I swear she’ll get unnaturally still when she hears something that’ll remind her of someone or something and shut down. The bond goes completely quiet, which means she doesn’t want any of the things going through her mind to filter through.

I don’t think she even realizes that she’s doing it. It’s her instincts protecting us from whatever memory is playing in her mind. The nightmares haven’t stopped occurring for either of them, but we’re able to help by holding them until it passes.

It’s no longer every night, either. Day by day, we’re making it through.

“The things you’ve both gone through are incredibly difficult,” Dr. Adrain says. “Therapy is an option, but I know there’s not a ‘one size fits all’ approach to trauma, especially the kind that you’ve experienced. Whatever you find that helps, please continue to do it.”

I’ve seen that dancing helps quiet the chaos for Quinn and Linus. It’s a way to work through their trauma, while also helping their bodies get the exercise they need. Linus has even started getting up with Callum or I to run before dancing with Quinn.

---