Page 4 of Feral Alphas

The nurse arches her brows. “It’s not easy to suppress first heats for ten years, you know.”

I blink. Suppress heats? What is she talking about? “Who is this man, Jackie?” Everything feels wrong, and my muscles tense like my body’s telling me to run.

They both ignore me and the smoke-crusted man scoffs. “Yeah, the price tag says as much. But so long as it sends the dogs feral, we’ll pay.”

My heart sinks. The words buzz through my head, and I know they mean bad news for me, but in what way, I can’t fathom. Jackie has it all wrong. I haven’t been able to go into heat, but if I correct her, does that mean I’ll lose my only chance at getting out of here and joining a pack?

Still not meeting my gaze, Jackie unzips her bag. “Alright, in accordance with policy, I’ll do a health check which you’ll sign off on, and then you can take her.”

“I don’t want to go anywhere!” I cry, giving my fiercest snarl.

She shrugs. “You don’t have a choice, sweetheart.” She tips her head at the other man. “Help me get her in the brace.” The ice in her tone stabs at me, chilling my soul. Maybe this is a nightmare and I’ll wake up in a moment in a cold sweat.

I whine softly and back into the corner of the wall. I hate the brace more than anything in the world. Not that I’ve seen much of the world. Or any of it, beyond these four white walls and the sterile hallways beyond leading to a small exercise yard, the pool, and more examination rooms.

Both Jackie and the man ignore my statement and lean across the bed to grasp my wrists with painful strength. There’s no point resisting, so I settle for unhappy protest whines as I’m pushed to the other side of the room where they strap my wrists and ankles into the cuffs bolted on the wall.

“What the fuck is that sound she’s making?” The wiry man looks me over again and adjusts his crotch. “If it’s affecting even me, the dogs will go fucking nuts over it.”

One side of Jackie’s mouth tilts wryly. “Never heard a distressed omega?”

“Not like that.”

Jackie shakes her head. “It is what it is, and I don’t need to know what happens to her once she leaves so keep your plans to yourself.”

I’m leaving? Surely not like this. I clench my hands into tight fists. “Jackie? Where am I going?”

She unlocks the cupboard slotted into the wall and silently pulls out the heart and oxygen monitors, ignoring me.

I glare at the man. “Where am I going? What kind of dogs?”

He chokes on a laugh. “What does she know about the world?” They keep talking about me like I’m not even in the room.

Jackie straps the blood pressure monitor around my upper arm. “She watches TV and reads books. All the Os receive basic numeracy and literacy education, but that’s about it. We also give them hobbies for mental stimulation. This one likes to paint and play card games.”

The man laughs and flashes me a dark smile. “So, you’ve got questions, hey? Guess you’ll just have to wait and find out.”

Jackie writes my blood pressure and temperature down on a form, then places her hands either side of my dress collar. She avoids my questioning gaze as she unbuttons the simple gown.

“Stop that!” I cry, thrashing against the bonds. If this man isn’t an alpha from a pack or a doctor, he shouldn’t be here, and he shouldn’t be talking to me this way. “Leave me alone!”

She ignores me and strips me bare before stepping back. “Visual inspection of the O. Note any bruises or scars on the form.” She hands it to the guy who’s running his heated eyes down my bare skin in a way that makes me want to shrink into the floor. This is all wrong. I press back against the unyielding wall, wishing I could camouflage into it.

“Now those are some nice fucking titties,” he coos, running the end of a pen across my chilled skin. I bare my teeth, heat burning through my cheeks. I undergo enough medical tests to be used to being stripped, but not in front of strangers, and definitely not ones who eye me like I’m steak on a plate.

“Jackie?” I whimper, but she turns away to fill in paperwork, acting like I don’t exist, like we haven’t laughed and shared favorite movies for six years while she’s been working with us broken omegas.

The man who shouldn’t be here inspects every inch of me, kneeling for a long time to look between my legs, and a new, sourmale odor hits my nose. I close my eyes as his pen tracks up my thighs and rests between the folds of my pussy. I want to kick him away, but my ankles are trapped in the brace.

Jackie slams my patient file closed. “If you’re done, sign the form and take her.”

Tears burn behind my eyes as the man pops his lips and rises. “Sure. No noticeable bruises but one scar on the left knee.” He does up the buttons on my gown, his knuckles burning cold against my skin when he not-so-accidentally brushes me. I snap my teeth at him, powerless to do anything else.

Jackie puts the monitors away and relocks the cupboard. “She had a fall when she was eighteen. Nothing serious.” Yeah, I fell off the stepping machine in the gym. Even though I’m secured upright, I have that same falling sensation right now.

I watch through half-closed eyes as they both sign a form, and she hands him a small box. “It usually takes a few months for a suppressed O’s cycle to stabilize, but you can force a pre-heat within three hours with two of those. Another dose brings on a true heat. She’s all yours.”

“What?” I gasp. “How can you force a heat? What do you mean?” I rattle my restraints, a heavy pounding sound thumping in my ears. Is that what she meant by suppressed? My heats? No, that can’t be right. For ten years they’ve been trying to cure me.

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