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“I understand there are extenuating circumstances due to there being an ongoing investigation; but Theo’s symptoms, conditions, and concerns remain confidential, correct?”
“That’s correct… to an extent. Labs, test results, vitals: all things like that will be in his medical records which can only be obtained through a request from anyone to whom Mr. Owens has given access to his records. Or through court order. We do our best but it all depends on the situation.”
If Ethan could get into the police servers through some virus or something that he’d planted in a fake promotional email, then I had faith he could get into the hospital’s system and delete Theo’s medical records. While we needed to know what was happening with Theo, having my mate become a medical miracle and end up as some lab experiment was not going to happen. Theo and I locked eyes and, though our bond was in tatters, we could read each other well enough after the years we’d been together. I knew we were thinking the same things. I dipped my chin the slightest bit to tell him I was with him and the choice was his. Theo turned to the doctor and I saw his hold on Ethan’s fingers flex as he gripped our Omega’s hand.
“I woke up a few minutes ago and I purred when my Omega and my Alpha kissed me.”
“Purred?” The doctor looked as though he must have misheard, then Trevor spoke up.
“That’s what he said, and it’s what we all heard. His scent is stronger too.”
Trevor’s tone was clipped, and his posture was rigid as he stood with his arms crossed over his broad chest. He looked and sounded intimidating but I could feel the tsunami of worry building in the bond between us.
“I apologize; my response was more surprise than disbelief. But what you are describing does make your lab work clearer.”
“What does that mean?”
“Your blood work revealed nothing to suggest the compound you were injected with did any damage to your body’s normal functions. However, some of the results indicated an increase in the hormones and other markers we would see in someone whose designation is emerging. With what has been discovered about the others who were being held in the facility, I expected you to wake—as they have—Omega.”
A sharp and slightly hysterical bark of laughter echoed through the room, then Shae’s cheeks tinted in embarrassment at their reaction. I smiled at them, sharing their response, and Miles hid his grin by dropping his head to their shoulder before kissing it lightly.
“Sorry. Sorry, that was inappropriate, but only someone who’d never met Theo would imagine he would emerge as an Omega.”
Ethan was smiling as he nodded in agreement.
“Shae’s right. I’ve never met a more dominant Beta; he can resist an Alpha’s bark. Wait, can you bark now?”
Theo turned a teasing look on Ethan and grinned.
“Woof.”
“Very funny, asshole. I’m serious. If you’re emerging as an Alpha, what can we expect?”
As soon as he asked the question, Ethan’s cheeks heated and he ducked his head sheepishly as his perfume got stronger in the small space. What was our sweet Omega thinking about? When the doctor cleared his throat, I realized that all of us were staring at Ethan, none more intently than Theo.
“I honestly can’t say. Even though we know so much more about designations than we did even a decade ago, it’s still mostly a mystery as to what makes someone an Alpha or an Omega versus remaining a Beta. I would like you to let the nurses know if you have any additional signs of transitioning from your previously assumed designation. I’ll check in again before my shift ends this evening.”
Theo nodded and the rest of us agreed but the mood sobered once the doctor left the room.
“Shae, love, I don’t want to push you, but is there anything else you can tell us about the others who were being held with you? Anything you might have overheard or what you learned from the missing Beta lab guy?”
“It’s not pushing. I only really know what Dayton word-vomited when we went to get Cat and he thought Theo was going to kill him. He said everyone they kidnapped got an injection and, in some people, like Cat, it woke up… what did he call it? Latent DNA or something. He said it was different with me. I was the first Beta they’d injected who had a bond.”
“But Theo has a bond.”
“Maybe he’s closer to whatever pushes Betas over the line into Alpha or Omega than I am. Or maybe it’s because I have two bonds?” Shae shrugged and leaned further into Miles. “Cat has always given off Omega-but-not vibes to me and I think that’s one of the reasons why the Omega that her old pack bonded wanted her gone.”
A nurse came in and asked us to step out of the room for a few minutes to give Theo privacy. I bristled, and the low growl that came from me caused her to lower her eyes and tilt her head in submission. Theo was my mate. He was mine. I wasn’t about to trust just anyone outside of the pack with any of my mates right now. A soft hand slipped into mine as blackberry blossoms seeped into my senses. The wrongness of their scent was nearly gone and my growl cut off abruptly as I met Shae’s gray-green gaze.
“She needs to remove the catheter and things like that, Jade. It’s okay; it will only take a minute or two and we can come right back in.”
Oh. I ducked my face into their neck for a second to hide my embarrassment, then apologized to the nurse. We all filed out and stood on either side of the door. Trevor said he would go on a breakfast run and he kissed me quickly before heading off through the ward. Shae gave me a small, apologetic grin and sent love down the bond from where they leaned against Miles on the other side of the door frame. Since he met us at the ambulance, he had only stopped touching Shae when they needed the restroom, and I could tell even that cost him. I was giving him that space, because I’d had the chance to hold Shae when we rescued them, but soon he would have to let me be with my mate, too.
Ethan was staring at the floor as he stood by me, hands in his hoodie’s kangaroo pocket, chewing on his bottom lip. Catching his chin between my thumb and fingers I tugged his lip free and until he looked into my eyes.
“How are you?”
“I’m okay. Just worried and overthinking everything. I also really want everyone home, in my nest, and I’m trying not to be super Omega-y and selfish and?—”
