Page 7 of Outback Mate
I shoot a pointed look at the Alpha hovering behind us. “I don’t mind answering any questions, but a bit of gas isn’t usually what we consider a ‘medical emergency’ or warrant shouting ‘break every speed limit to get here’.”
“But—“
“It’s normal, Alpha,” June soothes, running her hands over her mate’s hand.
I get it.
Overprotective behaviour in Alphas when their Omegas are pregnant is normal. For an Alpha like Ben, his protective instincts are heightened. He’s been a pain in my ass for the last eight months, and the closer we get to June’s due date, the worse he’s become.
I grab my bag and get up to leave, nodding my head. “I’ll let myself out.”
Ben is scrutinizing me. It’s almost enough to make my skin prickle and the hair on my neck stand up. Growing up and living in the small Bodella community means we’ve known each other our whole lives. Even as a kid, he was a dominant Alpha, quick to fly off the handle. June is his perfect match. A calming influence that tethers him to reality.
A pang of jealousy hits my chest so suddenly it almost makes my feet falter. It would be life changing to have an Omega at my side. I shove the feelings down and refuse to examine them.
There is no use dwelling on something I’ll never have. I’m not mating material. I’m too old. Too past my prime. Too closed off. Too grumpy.
The words of my ex echo in my mind. “Cold. Unfeeling. Clinical.”
I couldn’t believe my luck that such a gorgeous Omega wanted a country-bumpkin like me. I met her in the last year of my training and we dated for half a year. We weren’t scent matches, but were compatible and both looking for a mate. Or at least, that’s what I thought.
I’ll never forget the look she gave me when I popped the claiming bite question. It remains seared into my mind.
She told me I was just a fling with disappointment and pity in her eyes. Someone to spend her heat with while she finished up her studies. I was unable to provide her with what she required. Omegas have specific needs to flourish. They need to feel loved, cherished, protected, heard, and understood.
My inner Alpha instincts should have provided that for her. Except, my instincts are locked down tight.
An Omega deserves more than a grumpy Alpha like me is capable of giving.
My ex was right. I’m cold. Unfeeling. Clinical.
Years later, with my aura sickness running rampant, it’s more true than ever.
I have a job to do, and it doesn’t include finding a mate.
I’ve found purpose in my work. Serving my community as a doctor is where I’m needed. I’m lucky; my aura sickness won’t kill me. I’ll only become more and more withdrawn and unapproachable. That’s fine. I live in a remote town with a small population. As a doctor, being professionally detached is a positive. Besides, I hired Matilda Myers as my nurse to provide the empathy I’ll soon be incapable of showing.
I turn, waving to June as I pass, but she grabs my hand in a firm grip.
Ben growls in possessive warning, and she swiftly frees me, rolling her eyes at her mate.
“I hear Ida has another Omega coming to Bodella,” she says, smiling shyly up at me from her seat on their front porch. “Perhaps they’ll be your mate?”
“Don’t get your hopes up, Omega Cunningham,” I smile tightly and shake my head. “It’s not in the cards for me.”
“Don’t underestimate scent matches, Doc,” she insists. “Just… be open to the possibility. Okay?”
“Alright,” I say, playing along with the hormonal, pregnant Omega.
I wave, return to my four-wheel-drive ute, and set off back towards Bodella.
Dark clouds build on the horizon, threatening the arid red plains with rain. The weather forecast has been harping on about the incoming dangerous storm for a week. It’ll be a break inone of the longest droughts in history, and the air feels almost electric in anticipation. There will be flooding and extreme wind gusts. I’ll need to be on call for injuries.
My ute eats up the stretch of road which leads back to town and I let my mind drift, ‘The Greatest Hits of Slim Dusty’ playing softly in the background.
I have my doubts I’d even know if an Omega was my scent match. Lately, my instincts feel so closed off I could walk right by her and never know she was my soulmate.
The dark clouds come closer as the sparse landscape passes in a blur.
