Page 12 of The Alpha: Part Two
I breathe a small breath of relief. Minos could still be an ally. “Not here, with the kids and your omega. I’d rather meet with you at your offices so we can get everything out in the open and settled.”
He sighs and nods. “Alright. I’ll set it up and give you a call. I’m glad you’re still here. Nice to meet you both,” he salutes Trent and Alex. “Beautiful children,” he smiles, then leads Mallory and his pack out of the otter display.
“That was Minos?” Alex asks, his brows furrowed.
I nod, leading us out of the display in the opposite direction that Minos took.
“I thought he was supposed to be a dick,” Trent says, pushing the stroller canopy up to block Iris from the sun.
I nod again. “He was. But he kind of isn’t. I told y’all, he seems like an alright guy. His omega is messed up, though. She’s the one who wants to talk to Elizabet. I’m pretty sure she’s one of the taken ones. Minos is as bad as you guys when it comes to her.”
“Good,” Alex says quietly. “He should be. Can we leave now? I’m hungry and the brats are out of cookies.”
Chapter ten
Desie
I have eight ultrasound appointments today and six general check-ups. I wish there were just a few less, I’d like a little more time to work up the nerve to carry through with my plan. It’s still better now that I know what I’m going to do. I’m not as weighed down with fear as I was when all this began, I’m thinking clearly.
I’m going to go into heat in a little more than a week. I will not allow any member of the Flores pack to touch me. I’d rather die a thousand deaths than let that happen. If I go into heat, I’ll never be able to fight them off and I don’t care how stringently Lopez watches me, if they try to cancel out Ben's and Michael’s marks I will find a way to jump off that balcony.
There is a last minute sonogram added to my schedule when I look at my charts to plan for my day. It’s got a yellow star paperclip at the top, which lets me know this patient is a big deal. Either she’s someone important, or she’s the omega of someone important. Great, just what I need, someone else to cater to. It’s fine, though. It’s just a sonogram, it won’t take long; and she’s my second appointment of the day. I just need to be extra accommodating to her and her pack.
My first appointment ran a little longer than I anticipated. The omega is due next week and her pack was way more concerned about it than she was, and that worried them more than anything else; so there was lots of assuring on my part. They left happy, but now I’m walking into my appointment with the star patient harried and tense. Not exactly ideal, considering whoever she is might be important enough to file a negative report on me. I take a calming breath and force myself to smile at the three alphas standing in the hall outside the exam room.
“We’ll wait for her down there,” the blonde one says softly and motions at the row of chairs a few feet down the hallway, and they each smile at me as I walk around them to knock on the door.
The omega perched on the edge of the exam table looks a little bit like a fairy out of a book with her sharp features and pale skin. A very delicate, very pregnant little fairy. “Good morning, Missus…” I glance down at the surname highlighted on the chart, “Nattier. My name is Desie. I’m going to be doing your scan today. I apologize for the wait. How are you feeling?”
She smiles at me, rubbing her rounded belly. “I’m okay. Thank you for squeezing me in with such short notice. I was just so worried after the flight. I’ll feel much better after I check on this little girl.”
As the words leave her mouth, I find myself wishing she’d stop talking. Her accent is nearly identical to Seth’s, and hearing it makes the hole in the pit of my stomach contract painfully. Hearing her sweet, little twang forces me to think about all the things I’ve lost and all the things I might never have.
“Perfectly understandable,” I try to appear kind and warm when I smile at her. “I’d be worried, too. Let’s get you settled back and we can begin.”
I help her lean back against the little pillow and tuck a towel under her belly to protect her leggings from the gel, then I dim the lights in the room. It doesn’t take much time or effort to find the baby’s heartbeat flashing and swooshing steadily on the screen, and I turn up the volume so we can hear it.
“See?” I say softly. “Such a perfect little girl. Let’s see if we can get a view of her face. Maybe we can get a good picture.”
“Thank you,” she says, her eyes flicking back and forth between the screen and me.
“Are you here on vacation?” I ask. I can’t imagine an omega as far along as she is traveling for a vacation, but to each their own I guess. Michael and Benny wouldn’t let me near a plane if I was even a little bit pregnant.
“No, not vacationing. A family emergency.”
That makes more sense. “I hope everything’s okay,” I tell her. “Are you from the Southern East Coast?”
She gives me another smile. “How could you tell?”
I move the wand to the side of her stomach, pressing at different angles in search of a clear shot of her baby’s face. “Your accent. I used to know someone that sounded like you.”
“Used to?” she asks. I can feel her eyes on my face.
I nod, moving the wand up a little and force a smile. “Yes. He was only here for a while. He had to go back home.”
“I’m sorry,” she says, her tone gentle. “He might come back.”
I swallow and smile, choosing to focus on the monitor rather than the pitying look in her eyes. I finally get the baby’s profile on the screen and capture several images to print out for her to take with her.
