Page 56 of Duke's Baby Deal
I listened through three more stories, adding up the information in my head. Most of the omega stories were pretty ordinary, homemakers, organizers, big families. But there were a few, dotted here and there through all the different tales, that were…different. And I began to believe in the stories of the True Omega powers, because there were just too many coincidences in these memories. I really wanted to talk to Bax, or Jason, just to confirm some of the things I was listening to, to see if they saw the patterns as well as me.
But not the alphas. Not yet. I trusted Abel and Duke and Quin and Mac. But this was an omega concern and, in my gut, I felt it was up to us to make the first decisions about it.
We reached the outskirts of the city a few minutes later. I started to sit up, but Duke caught my eyes in the rearview mirror, so I lay back down again and was nervous. All I could see was the sky and trees and the tops of buildings from my horizontal position, but I didn’t want to get the recordings out again when we were so close. I wondered what the doctor would say, if he would have any ideas to keep my babies from coming too early, if he’d be happy with me.
I guessed I couldn’t shake that omega need.
We got the same curious, uneasy glances as we walked into the hospital. I was glad for the big winter coat I was wearing, because I was obviously pregnant, and all of a sudden, with the twins to protect, expressions that had annoyed me before now frightened me. I couldn’t run the way I was now, and we were incredibly outnumbered.
Duke kept me close, as if he too felt the unspoken threat in the air.
The doctor’s office was quieter today, thankfully. I took a seat in the corner and Duke sat beside me while Abel went to tell the nurse we were there. We got some nervous and some aggressive looks, but nobody said anything, which was a relief.
Abel came back. “She says it’s okay to stay here. They’ll try to get you in fast.” He sat down on my other side and gave me a reassuring look. “Apparently Adelaide filled them in. They’re all geared up for you.”
“Oh,” I said in surprise. “That’s good.” I leaned against Duke and closed my eyes. The pups did somersaults in my belly and one of them took aim at my liver. I grunted and Duke muffled a laugh. “Haha, funny,” I grumbled at him. “You wait until later, I’ll give you a demonstration of how it feels.”
“Only if you can catch me,” he murmured back.
I opened my mouth to snark back at him, but the nurse came out of her office. “Bram?”
It was time. I got to my feet, Duke right behind me, and made my slow way over to the hallway where the nurse was waiting. My belly ached, and the spot where the stitches held my omega line together stung uncomfortably. The smile she gave me was bright, the one for Duke somewhat less so, but at least she didn’t seem as unnerved and suspicious as she had the last time. She led us down to a different room and left us alone again, like last time.
I climbed up on the table with Duke’s help, then sat and waited tensely, my hands locked together between my knees. Duke leaned against the table, close enough I could feel the heat of him against my body.
“How’s the bathroom situation?” he asked.
“Not as bad as the last time. I cheated a little,” I confessed.
“Brat,” he said casually.
“Alpha,” I muttered back, which made him snort out a laugh.
The doctor came in about fifteen minutes later. “Hello, Bram. I hear you’re having some problems.” He was already shaking out a measuring tape and reaching to wrap it around my waist. “Yes, indeed, they are growing well.” He had me jump down off the table so he could weigh me, then let Duke help me back up so he could take blood from my arm. “There. We’ll just check a few levels there. It’s very different from human women, you know. I had to call Adelaide to make sure I was reading the tests right. There just isn’t enough data out there.” He smiled and I felt like a bug in a jar. But he was here to help me, and I supposed it was better if he was curious than if he didn’t care.
The doctor put a hand on my shoulder and another on my knee. I felt a wave of possessiveness coming from Duke’s direction and I threw him a smile to remind him that I was his. He smiled distractedly back at me, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the doctor’s hands on my body. I reached out and took his hand and wished him some of Bax’s calm. It didn’t seem to work, but he squeezed my hand.
The doctor chatted on with me, seemingly unaware of the shift in Duke’s temper. Maybe he trusted me to keep Duke in check. Or maybe he was really just that oblivious.
Down went my pants, and the doctor peered at my omega line with an intensity that made the blood rush to my cheeks. I tugged at Duke’s hand to remind him to behave, then turned my attention to the doctor.
“Well,” he said. “Adelaide did a good job with the stitching. I might add a few more on each side, just in case. I can see the effect of the pressure on them.” He glanced up at me. “You’re probably not very comfortable down there, are you?” I shook my head mutely. He nodded. “I thought so. Why don’t we have a look at those two, and then you can get dressed and we’ll talk about a plan. You’ve got about ten weeks left?”
“About the middle of May,” Duke put in. His voice sounded perfectly calm, except for that deep undertone that said he starting to forget his human manners.
This time, the doctor noticed something off. He regarded Duke with an air of concern. “Are you going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” Duke told him, but I could see the effort he spent to push away his urge to protect me, even though I didn’t need protecting.
The doctor watched him for a moment, then turned away to pull the ultrasound machine next to the head of the table. The gel was just as cold this time, but it was more than made up for by the images he showed us next. “This one is a girl here, and this one—” He moved the wand over my belly. “This is a boy. If you look right here, you can see what we call ‘turtle sign’. It’s basically his genitals—see how it looks like a turtle?” He drew an invisible circle on the screen with his finger. “So, one of each. Nice and even, though it means twice as many clothes if you hold with the pink and blue thing.”
“They’re more likely to just be wearing whatever’s clean,” Duke remarked absently, his gaze locked on the screen and our little ones. I hid a small smile—the ultrasound was a stroke of genius. Nothing like seeing your unborn children to soothe an anxious alpha.
The doctor printed out pictured for us again, then helped clean me up and let me pull my clothes back together. Once I was decent again, the doctor pulled a stool up to sit with us.
“So, it looks like Adelaide was right, and the tissue is separating prematurely under the stress of the extra weight. Bed rest is an absolute must, but I’m going to ask Adelaide to check on you twice a week for the foreseeable future. If that opening gets any bigger, I’m going to ask you to come here and we’ll admit you. As much for you as for the babies.” He turned his attention on Duke while I digested what he’d just told me. My stomach was churning, the medicine I’d taken completely overwhelmed. It was fear. I knew it, I could tell by the way my hands trembled. Some omega I was—I couldn’t even have a baby right.
The doctor turned back to me. “This isn’t unusual. Maybe you being omega is unusual, but a good part of my practice is keeping buns inside ovens until they’ve baked long enough. Your babies are healthy and I’m not going to let anything happen to them.”
