Page 5 of Empty Heat
“You’re to make yourself known to him in and around the area where he will be. We all thought gardening was a good way to go. You’ll be trimming the bushes and lawns around his cabin area and befriending him. You are free to tell him you are a surrogate, just nothissurrogate.”
“What? I don’t lie to my patients. That’s no way to build trust and healing.”
“The team went with the idea as the best means to a good end. We have assigned Soren as the initial surrogate.”
“Soren? For a patient who’s skittish? He’s good and everything, don’t get me wrong, but he is very big. All over if you know what I mean. His knots are huge. He can be intimidating for the skittish ones. This is wrong.”
“We know all of that. We want you to get to know Callum so when it comes time for the surrogate, he will balk at Soren and choose you. We think if he assumes he is choosing his alpha partner for his healing under his own free will, the results will be better overall for his healing.”
“You’re asking me to befriend him as a manipulation tactic to get him to choose me? It sounds, well, unethical.”
“A lot of people would say sexual surrogacy itself is unethical. But it does work for many patients. Do no harm is our first promise to our patients and we keep to that. Nothing is done without consent. This is just a tactic. Callum will either choose you or not, but either way consent is his.”
“But does he consent to being tricked?”
Kestor looked at me for a prolonged moment, the muscles of his face twitching. “He consented to coming here knowing this is a healing place that is outside the legitimate medical establishments back home. Technically, on every form he signed, he gave us the power to do what is needed to bring on his recovery from his dysfunction.”
“Yes, but everything is explained in detail to him first. That’s the foundation he knows for being here.” I glanced down. “His therapist is Rhodes. Okay. I know him. Is Rhodes in on this?”
“He was forwarded the plan last night, but I haven’t yet met with him.”
I read some of the notes, quickly scanning. “Callum arrived this morning. Why is this plan being implemented so late?”
Kestor shrugged. “The team met yesterday to review. Senta okayed it.”
“You were there, right? Who came up with this scenario?”
“Some articles were recently published on this sort of technique. After review, it was in the notes. It was discussed, as we do with all the new cases, and Senta asked for input. No one seemed to think it was a bad plan, so Senta signed off.”
My fingers gripped the tablet hard. “I hate this! It’s not how I operate. Nor have I ever been asked to lie to a patient. Can I get copies of those articles?”
“Sure. I’ll email them.” Kestor frowned. “Can you think of it like, well, a sort of part of the therapy? You’re giving the patient all the tools he needs to hopefully solve his own problem. He’s only ever been knotted once and that did not go well. The profile lists the injuries sustained by both him and the alpha. The trauma from that incident is not just physical. Part of it is post-traumatic stress. If he can’t get away from that trauma with an alpha he trusts, his healing is in jeopardy. This is why the team thinks if he picks his alpha surrogate himself, he’ll do better with the therapy.”
Kestor had always been a good talker. He had a way about him that could convince you buying swampland in Florida was a good idea.
I had to admit, the idea wasn’t bad. It was the lying that held me back. I didn’t like underhanded manipulation to get tasks done. I was more of a straight-forward guy. Honest. I always let my patients know ahead of time everything I would be doing. No surprises. No unwanted shocks.
“I just don’t work that way, Kes.” I sighed. “My job is hands-on. It’s not from afar. I can’t just watch my patient and talk to him and hope he does the right things and gets better. This is me holding him, guiding him, touching him intimately. It’s a big deal. A real big deal for most of them. I have to relax and coddle them, not lie. I have to make them comfortable and assure them deep in their core that I am there to help them. I teach with my body. I heal with my body. But the mind is also involved. A troubled omega will close right up if he senses I’m deceitful. Hell, if I think I’m being deceitful, I either fix the problem right then or take myself off the case.”
“Will you try it and see how it goes? Just for the next couple days. I’m always here, Lev. You can report any problems and I’ll get back to the team immediately. We’ll delay the treatment until we’ve figured it out.”
“But he heats in two or three days,” I replied, flashing him the tablet. “That lasts twenty-four hours. That’s the window.”
“No, it’s not.” Kestor argued gently. “Omegas take knots in and out of heat.”
“But for him it’s the window. It’s when he’ll be the most ready, the most amenable to the treatment I provide and that all of us are offering.”
“All we are asking is that you try. The only outcome we want is for him to request you so it feels like it’s all on his own terms. That’s it.” He set both hands on his desk, palms down. “You don’t have to fake being friends. Be real. Be yourself. How is that lying?”
I set the tablet down. “I want all the files. Everything you have on him.”
“Already done.”
“Okay.” I hesitated. “I’ll do it. But please make a note of my protest.”
Kestor started to smile wide. “Thank y—"
I held up my hand to stop his words. “The moment I feel anything wrong or off, if I say it is to be stopped, it must be stopped.”
