Chapter 54 Liza #2
“Your white blood cell count is a lot higher than it should be. With you being an omega, they already multiply rapidly, but now they’ve multiplied exponentially. Suppressants wouldn’t help you at this point.”
I swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat. “Are you sure there’s nothing you could get for me? Maybe a higher dosage from Mexico. Something experimental. Anything?”
He shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Even the strongest legal dosage would probably have little to no effect on combating the cells multiplying so rapidly within your body.” He took a seat on a black leather stool and tossed my file on the table. “Are you in heat?”
I rolled my eyes. “I think I’d know if I were in heat, and I’m not.” If I was in heat, I would’ve been all over Ty. Yeah, we’d had some fun, but it wasn’t the same as me having no control over my sexual urges.
“Hmm.” Doc Reynolds crossed his arms. “Your bloodwork is suggesting otherwise.”
I frowned. “Sorry, but I certainly don’t feel like I’m in heat. Are you sure the bloodwork is correct?”
He scratched his forehead. “I’ll admit that this is confusing. The bloodwork doesn’t lie, yet I also believe you when you say you don’t feel like you’re in heat. I’m assuming you haven’t had the typical urges you’ve seen in the past when you were in heat?”
I nodded. “That’s correct. I haven’t.”
Reynolds frowned. “This is concerning.”
Great. Just the words you wanted to hear from your doctor.
“Have you been spending a lot of time with Ty?” he continued. “I wonder if your wolf might be reacting to Ty’s regular proximity.”
“Yes.” In fact, we rarely left each other’s side, only for work. Even then, we rushed home to spend the late afternoons and evenings together. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Well, he’s your mate, and as an omega, your wolf will want to be… bred.”
I choked on air, gasping and spitting.
Doc Reynolds handed me a glass of water and gave me a moment to recover.
“It’s quite normal for your wolf to want to start bearing cubs now that she’s no longer being suppressed.
She may be feeling like she needs to exude pheromones to…
entice Ty to breed with her. Which, to me, would explain the high white blood cell count. ”
My head pounded as I tried to make sense of this new and confusing diagnosis. “What the hell am I supposed to do with this information?”
He gave me a pointed look. “You need to stop putting off the inevitable. You’re not going to reject Ty as your mate, and the longer you wait, the more your wolf suffers.
” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
His voice lowered as he asked me the question I was afraid of answering.
“What is it really that you’re waiting for?
Ty is fated to you, and fate is never wrong. ”
I thought about my conversation with the doctor all the way to my parents’ house. When my brothers met me at the door with hugs and teasing, I had to force myself to smile and at least seem interested in conversation.
“Come on in.” Dad gestured for us to join him in the living room.
Before I could protest, Mason scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder like he used to do when we were much younger. “Look what I caught, Michael.”
Michael leaned in and pretended to inspect me, lifting my hair, and tugging on my ears. “It’s a dud. Throw it back in.”
“If you say so.” Mason flipped me over and tossed me onto the couch, both of them falling into chairs as they laughed at their own ridiculousness.
“How’s the catering business, sis?” Michael opened a can of soda and took a swig. “Haven’t heard from you in a while. I bet you’re staying busy.”
He could say that again, though it wasn’t the housewives’ dinners that kept me occupied.
I certainly couldn’t tell my brothers the truth.
What would I say? Oh, I’ve actually been spending most of my time trying to live through the attacks of a sociopath.
The same one who tried to kill my biological parents.
Also, since I’m an omega, I’m shifting out of rage and could snap at any moment.
Instead, I forced a smile. “Yeah, things are starting to pick back up for the season. In fact, I thought you all might want to try one of my new Italian recipes. I picked up the ingredients on the way in.”
“My mouth is watering already.” Mason turned his attention to his phone, and I took the opportunity to sneak out of the living room and into the dining room.
Mom had already set the table, and a gorgeous floral centerpiece, no doubt from her garden, adorned the center of the table. I touched the delicate petals as I allowed myself to contemplate Doc Reynolds’ question.
What was keeping me from moving forward with Ty?
Mom rounded the corner and startled me with a light touch on the shoulder. “Sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
I turned to face her, trying my best to hold back the tears. There was something about being in her presence that allowed me to drop the pretenses and let my emotions move to the surface.
“Oh, sweetheart.” She cupped my face with both hands. “What’s going on? Did something else happen with that Castro character?”
“No.” I shook my head and stared at the floor. “Apparently, my wolf wants to have Ty’s cubs.”
Mom took a step back, her reaction very similar to the one I’d had back at the clinic. She took a moment to compose herself while I explained the situation.
“I stopped in to have bloodwork, hoping Doc Reynolds would go ahead and put me back on the suppressants. I’m losing control more and more lately. When that happens, my pheromones go crazy. It’s just not safe.”
“What did he say?” Mom pulled me down into a chair and sat next to me.
“My white blood cell count is higher than it should be, so the suppressants won’t help at all, no matter the dosage or strength.”
“I see.” Mom picked at invisible lint on the white tablecloth. “So, what did he suggest?”
I cleared my throat, finding it somewhat uncomfortable to explain the next part to my mom. “Since Ty and I have been spending so much time together, my wolf expects us to mate. As an omega, she has an even stronger desire to bear Ty’s cubs, and she won’t be satisfied until I do.”
Mom took a deep breath. “You know what, Liza? Being claimed and claiming someone isn’t something to sneeze at.
Most mated pairs spend years courting each other before deciding to mate, much like humans do when they decide to get married.
The desire for one another is stronger, and I imagine with you being an omega, your wolf feels it ten times more than others.
We suppressed you for so long, though, that you’re feeling everything all at once. ”
I hadn’t considered that there would be a buildup after all the years popping pills to suppress my desires. That would explain the intense reactions I’d been having.
“I understand your hesitancy, sweetheart.” Mom squeezed my hand.
“You want to be sure about your mate, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
I just want you to take some time to think long and hard about your reasons to hold off.
Are they really valid enough to keep putting yourself at risk and causing more stress on your wolf? ”
We spent the rest of the day cooking, eating, reminiscing, and laughing at old family videos Dad had found when he’d cleaned out the basement.
We talked about all the fun times we had together, back when the hairstyles were much higher and the biggest problem I had to deal with was choosing soccer over basketball.
As if it was an unspoken rule, no one mentioned Ty or Castro.
Just family memories and fun times. I couldn’t have been more grateful.
I watched my parents as they laughed together, scooting their bodies as close to one another as they could. They’d built a life that they could easily look back on with joy and contentment.
Was it possible for Ty and me to have the same bond in the future, not just at the beginning when we wanted to devour each other’s bodies? What about when I got older, and my tits weren’t as perky as they were now? Would Ty still look at me the way my father looked at my mother?
I hated to leave, but I finally told everyone that I was tired, which wasn’t a lie. The rage and adrenaline I’d experienced earlier in the day had completely zapped my energy.
When I walked through the front door, I turned on the alarm system and took a long, hot shower, mulling over the question that had been posed by Doc Reynolds and Mom.
Was holding off on being claimed really worth it? Ty loved me, and I knew he meant it. So, why was I so hesitant? Why was I holding back from letting the man I was fated to be with claim me?