Chapter Fourteen

Talon

Rowan did not look well at all to me, but he shrugged off my concerns, insisting he would be fine, that omegas got pregnant all the time and lived to tell the tale. This was not like the omega I had grown to know with his cheerful attitude, and that worried me more than anything. Things came to a head late one afternoon when I suggested he go into my private club playroom and lie down for a rest, and he said things to me I hadn't even known he had the words for. To prove he was fine, he flounced out to his desk and dropped his head onto his hands, sobs shaking his shoulders.

A couple of calls led me to a healer who specialized in omega pregnancies, and I was able to get an appointment for that very afternoon. I cleared my schedule myself and then marched to the outer office and stood over him. "Omega?"

"Yes?" he said, but his head remained in his hands. "Sir? What can I do for you? Do you need coffee?"

"I need you to stand up and come with me." I waited, but he remained as he was. I opened my mouth to bark an order then closed it. Rowan responded to kindness and especially praise. "Come on, Rowan." Gently, I lifted him to his feet. "We are out of this place for the day."

He turned his face into my shirt, soaking it with his tears. "You don't really want me. Why would you?"

"Oh no, we're not going there." I guided him down the hallway and toward the employee exit. My car was parked right outside in my assigned space. "Where we are going is to the healer to make sure we're not totally screwing up this pregnancy thing."

I heard a footfall behind us and turned to see Samuel looking out the door. "Everything all right?"

"More than that." We hadn't announced our good news to anyone, but when Rowan vomited on the ground next to the car, Samuel's grin told me he got it. "No telling, okay? We want to keep things private for a bit."

"Yes, sir." He went inside and came out with a bucket of soapy water. "I'll take care of this. You two go do what you need to do, and if I can be of any help, anytime, say the word, okay?"

Rowan smiled back at him. "You've been a good friend to me since I started. Interested in godfather duties?"

"You know it."

We drove away, leaving the bar manager to clean up the mess. I didn't like asking anyone to do it, but we needed to get to the healer and find out what was going on with my grouchy, nauseous omega. I prayed to the goddess that there was nothing wrong with Rowan or the baby.

The healer was just far enough away for my anxiety to spike, but my omega was so pale and quiet, I stole a few minutes to stop at a juice/smoothie place and got him a banana/ginger/pineapple/yogurt and I wasn't sure what else because I reasoned an empty stomach is an unhappy stomach. The omega who behind the counter took one look at him and said, "Leave it to me, Daddy. I got you. This saved me with our last one. Sip it slow."

Whatever all was in it, by the time I opened the passenger side door for him at the healer's cottage-style home clinic, he looked and claimed to be a whole lot better. "I probably don't even need the appointment…"

Of course, that nonsense wasn't happening.

The healer took us in quickly and had us sit in the living room first while he asked both of us questions and made notes. Then he opened a door and waved us into an exam room that looked nicer than any I'd seen on a TV show. Shifters were generally so healthy and immune to most human diseases, so we primarily needed help with injuries too severe to heal by shifting and, of course, pregnancy support.

"Undress and up on the table, omega," the healer, Amir, said. "Your alpha said you've been out of sorts and still having some stomach upsets."

"I'm starting to feel better," he protested.

"He just lost his cookies in the club parking lot," I put in helpfully.

"And I had a smoothie."

Amir looked back and forth from one of us to the other then shook his head. "Exam time then we can talk some more."

I sat in a chair while he looked over Rowan and then he leaned on the edge of the table. "Everything looks fine, for now, and I'll give you some dietary guidance that may help settle your stomach. Try to rest when you're tired. Don't skip meals. Just generally take care of yourself. Or let your alpha help with that."

We both blushed. Great minds.

On the way to the car, I suggested Rowan stop working, but he was having none of that.

"Fine, then move in with me, so I'm there if you need me."

He stopped and turned to face me. "Do you mean it? I'm really all right where I am."

"Where else should you live, omega? You're my mate. I love every minute of your company."

He beamed.

Such a good omega.