“Oh.” She lifted her brows in surprise. “Well, you could have fooled me.”
“I don’t have an alpha.” My tongue felt sluggish as I admitted that.
“No?” She knitted her brow. “But you have an alpha’s bite.”
“It’s… I… it’s complicated.”
She grimaced. “It’s not good if you don’t have an alpha.”
“It’s not?” Was she one of those purest who thought all omegas needed to have an alpha? Or was she just confused by the bite on my neck?
“Not in your condition, no.” She tapped her chin, studying me. “Naturally, we all assumed you had an alpha because you have an alpha’s bite.”
“Right, but I don’t so...” I cleared my throat. “It’s a long story and I’d rather not talk about it, if you don’t mind.” I wasn’t about to share the sordid details of my life. She could think what she wanted to think.
“You’re going to need a lot of help.” Her gaze was now more pitying than anything else. Why was that?
“I’m sure I can manage.” I assumed once my hand healed, I’d be fine. Why was she being so dramatic?
“You’re being very brave, but you have a lot of challenges ahead of you. Especially without an alpha by your side.”
Why was she so fixated on whether I had an alpha or not? “I’m doing okay, right?” I asked,feeling muddled. “You said my vitals were pretty good.”
“Yes. But complications can occur in situations such as yours.” She straightened the thin blanket that covered me. “You’ll have some soreness in your hand for a while.” She glanced at my bandaged arm. “But at least the swelling’s gone down, and you’re responding well to the treatment. We’ll keep you on antibiotics for a bit longer just to prevent any infection.”
“Okay.” I closed my eyes, feeling groggy, my mind sluggish as it tried to catch up with everything that had happened. “I definitely don’t want an infection.”
“No. Absolutely not. But don’t worry.” She patted my shoulder. “The antibiotics won’t hurt the fetus.”
The fetus.
My eyes flew open. “What did you say?” I assumed I’d heard her wrong. Why would she be talking about a fetus? I wasn’t pregnant. Was she getting me mixed-up with another patient? “I’m here for a snake bite.”
“Right.” She gave a confused smile. “I know.”
“But you said ‘fetus’ just now.”
She nodded, wrinkling her brow. “Yes. I was reassuring you that your baby is going to be perfectly fine despite what’s happened.”
My mouth fell open and I gaped at her in shock.
She took a step back, covering her mouth with her hand. “Oh, no. Don’t tell me you didn’t know you’re with child?” Her voice squeaked.
“With child?” I mumbled weakly. “That can’t be right.”
Looking mortified, she whimpered, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I just ruined the surprise. That’s awful. What a terrible way to get the news.”
“You’re s… saying I’m…pregnant?” My voice was close to a screech.
She nodded, looking embarrassed. “I’m so sorry I just blurted it out like that. I’ve never done that before. Please, forgive me. How tactless of me.”
I shook my head. “There must be a mistake. I can’t be pregnant.”
She grimaced. “You mean because you don’t have an alpha?”
“No,” I grated. “Because I just can’t be pregnant right now. That’s impossible. I… Ican’tbe pregnant.”
She gritted her teeth. “Well, according to the doctor, you’re two months pregnant.”