Page 14 of Double Kisses for the Omega
I shook my head. “I had nothing to do with what happened to me. I was in the arena for my college graduation. Medical students about to graduate stabilized me long enough to get me to the hospital. But it was my parents who did this to me.”
“Was it in your living will?” Nate asked, horror in his tone.
I shook my head vehemently. “No. Absolutely not. And I didn’t think I needed to say not to either. What kind of monster makes that decision for somebody else? I should have been allowed to live or die on my own.”
“Would you have died?” Tyler asked.
I nodded. “Probably. I’d been mated for just over a year at that point. Our daughter was only a few months old. I’ve never heard of an omega surviving the loss of their mate so soon after bonding.”
“It is extremely rare,” he replied.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
Silence fell over the table for several seconds before Nate spoke again. “So this surrogacy…”
I licked my lips and stared at the steam rising from my coffee, feeling the warmth from the mug seep into my hands. “It’s… it’s part of my treatment. I’m out of suppressant options, and they’re worried about damage to my womb if I go into a non-productive heat. But my doctor… he says that some omegas who go through a healthy pregnancy after what happened to me…” I paused. “He says that it might force my hormones back into some balance.”
Neither alpha said anything for several minutes.
“I can see why they contacted us first,” Nate finally said.
I winced. “I am sorry. I had nothing to do with the selection process. You’re both wonderful men who deserve a baby, but it’s apparent that they want as many medical professionals keeping an eye on me as possible.”
I almost expected them to walk out right then. These men who’d fought so long to get a baby, were being used by the agency to keep an eye on the omega they were badgered into taking. They deserved better than that.
“It’s ok,” Tyler said.
I looked up, and saw caring in his eyes. “What?”
“Ty?” Nate asked.
Tyler reached over and rested his hands outside mine. “It’s ok. What they’re doing is pretty blatant, putting the undesirable couple with the omega who needs more oversight. But maybe it’s better this way too. You seem a perfectly lovely man, and you’re not worried about yourself, but how we’ve been treated. Do you know what that means to us?”
Nate nodded beside him. “When we were on our way, we wondered if you’d tell us about being severed, or if you would string us along for several more meetings. But as soon as the agency wasn’t overseeing things, you were honest about it. You were more focused on knowing that we had all the relevant information, than you were about your own needs. We can respect that.”
I looked down again. “There is… one thing I haven’t mentioned yet.”
“What’s that?” Tyler asked.
My fingers tightened around the mug. “I… I’m supposed to…” I squeezed my eyes shut. “My doctors don’t want me artificially inseminated. They want it natural.”
Neither of them said anything, and finally I couldn’t take the silence. I opened my eyes and looked up, expecting them to have left.
Nate was frowning, and Tyler looked between the two of us with a worried expression.
I took a deep breath, then pulled out my wallet. I fished a business card out, then slid it across the table.
Nate picked it up after several seconds and examined it quizzically. He turned his gaze back to me, and I nodded.
“That’s my endocrinologist. I’ve already given him the authorization to discuss anything related to my possible pregnancy with you. I think you’re about the only ones I would be comfortable doing this with, but you will be in a better position to understand. If… if you still want to proceed with me that is.”
Nate tucked the card into his pocket. “I will admit, I’m not thrilled with it.”
I nodded. “I expected as much. The agency didn’t want me to say anything, probably for this reason. But Doctor Erickson would have told you anyway, and… I couldn’t keep something like that from the two of you.”
Nate finished his coffee and set the empty mug back on the table. Tyler looked between us again, then finished his own drink.
“We’ll need to discuss things,” Nate said, standing. “We’ll call Alice when we’re ready to set up another meeting.”
