Chapter Twenty-Eight

Marcus

The whole hospital knows about Eve by now.

Her, and the pup.

I walk through the halls of St Mercy's with a newfound celebrity status. Doctors who never paid me any heed before are suddenly referring to me by name. Technicians are asking when I'm going to bring my omega in for a check-up. I try to explain we already have a doctor in the city.

"Pack Maddox too fancy for us regional techs?" Michaela teases, passing me some disinfectant wipes.

"No," I laugh, "not at all."

"I know she didn't have a great experience here last time, but really, we'd take good care of her."

"It's not that," I tell her, wiping down the ultrasound monitor. "Truth is, the judge wants to keep an eye on us. Apparently that's easier to do if we're visiting a court-mandated doctor."

"Oh." Michaela frowns. "The news story I saw didn't mention that."

I quirk a brow at her. "Not you too."

"What?" she says with exaggerated innocence. "Come on—you know everyone in this place has seen the news." She smirks. "Or did you think your sudden popularity was all thanks to your charm?"

I sigh, stripping the exam bed. "I don't know why they're so interested."

"Not much exciting happens in these parts."

"Isn't that why we're all here? To escape the chaos of the city?"

"Sure. But you're probably the most reclusive guy on staff, so we were all a little surprised to see your name in the press."

"Reclusive?" How have I been giving that impression ? "Reclusive, regional, you know what I mean."

I guess that's true enough—no-one else here lives as far out as I do. Maddox Den is like a secluded outpost on the outskirts of the outskirts.

"How's she doing, by the way?"

I look up. "Sorry?"

"Your omega."

"Oh." I consider, flattening out a fresh sheet. Even though Michaela is a friend—something hard to come by for Maddox alphas, ‘reclusive' as we are—I know I need to choose my words carefully.

"She's good," I tell her. "We're all really excited about the pup."

Michaela nods. "And her health?"

"It's … yeah, okay. Considering."

"Well that's good. I was worried, you know, having seen her file—"

"Yeah." I purse my lips. "Me too."

We're both quiet for a few moments, setting up the ultrasound room for the next patient. In truth, Michaela probably doesn't need to be here. Prepping exam rooms is a nurse's job. She must be more interested than she's letting on.

"Listen," she says at last, "I know you have a lot on your plate, and taking care of your omega must be a full-time job in itself. If you do need help, or just someone to talk to—"

"I have my packmates," I remind her, more sharply than I intend.

She gives me a vaguely reprimanding look. "And I have mine. But none of my packmates are trained medical professionals. Are yours?"

Now I see what she's offering. Not just an ear, and not someone who is legally obligated to report to the judge, but a colleague. It's never occurred to me as something I might need. But now I'm here, and Michaela's here, and she's offering …

"It has been hard," I confess. "Pregnancy is tough enough, but with Eve's existing health conditions, it's easy to get overwhelmed. Like something could go wrong at any moment if we're not careful."

She nods understandingly. "I'm sure you are being careful, though."

I sigh. Not careful enough.

Baxter probably thinks I didn't notice, but there was no disguising the scent of sex in the air this morning. Either he knotted or, or Thorn did, while the rest of us were sleeping.

It's not as if I told them not to—no-one tells Baxter or Thorn to do anything—but I thought we'd agreed: Eve is too fragile. Since her last appointment, it should've been obvious that even knotting is off the table. She has the instincts of an ordinary omega, but not the body of one.

My heart gives a pinch of guilt at the thought.

Noting my troubled expression, Michaela softens. "There's a lot riding on this for you, isn't there?"

I frown at her. What kind of question is that?

She explains, "Trying to keep the court happy, keep your pack happy, and keep your omega happy. That's a big task."

I laugh humorlessly. "It's made a lot bigger when they don't take my advice."

"Your advice?"

"Yeah, you know …" I avert my gaze, pretending to straighten up the sheet. "Lots of sleep, lots of time in her nest—"

"Lots of knots."

I choke. "Excuse me?"

"Sorry." Michaela tilts her head. "Are we not that familiar yet?"

My alpha is outraged—who does this outsider think she is, mentioning my pack's sex life so casually? Even hearing her say the word ‘knots' in the context of Eve—my omega, mine —makes my fists clench.

"We're all professionals here," she reminds me.

"Sorry," I say between my teeth, "it's just …"

"Sensitive subject. I figured. Look, Marcus, as someone who's been an ultrasound tech for a long time, just trust me on this." She smiles. "What a pregnant omega wants, she gets. Normally, around the second trimester, that's lots and lots of knots."

It sounds so simple when she says it. Tempting, even.

My body aches, reminding me just how long it's been since I was last inside Eve. Weeks? No … months. Not since that night after the tribunal.

"Eve is not just any pregnant omega," I get out.

Michaela quirks a brow. "She's made it this far, hasn't she?"

"Well, of course—"

"Clearly, her body is doing something right. You should give her some more credit."

Credit has nothing to do with it, I want to snap back. As the only person in Pack Maddox who knows the first thing about medical practice, it falls on me to make sure we're taking care of her the way she needs to be taken care of. Not the way the internet say she needs to be taken care of, or Michaela says, or even Doctor Perez says.

No-one else knows her like I do.

I almost consider scrounging up some suppressants before my next rounds, worried my potent pheromones will unsettle the patients. I decide against it just as quickly. My shift will be over soon enough.

And besides, I'm already fantasizing about scent-marking Eve the second I get home.