Chapter 3
three
Xenia
Sitting in the waiting area surrounded by fidgety omegas all on the cusp of a heat they don’t want was not on my bingo card for this adventure.
But it’s exactly what is going on.
And their scents are overlapping, syrupy sweet and nearly suffocating. My skin is crawling at the sensory overload, and I want more than anything to dive into a pit of comfort. Instead, I force myself to stay still.
Needing a distraction, my head pivots around.
This room is bare except for all of us here and two doors—the one I came in through and the one I assume we will be taken back through…
Well I’m not exactly sure what’s next. Serena answered my questions as best she could, but she wasn’t sure on all the different steps.
She just assured me I would be safe and taken care of.
That I could ask for her at any point and end this.
“Hey, Skye. It won’t be much longer.”
My head snaps to the woman on my right who spoke. She comforts a young man, tucking his unruly dark curls behind his ears as he slowly sinks onto her lap and clutches his abdomen.
The woman glances up, meeting my gaze and flashing a forced smile. Her sharp brown eyes are nearly void of emotion, and I catch the clear evidence of exhaustion in their depths. “Is this your first time here?” she asks me.
It breaks the tension between us, and I fall further back into the scratchy cushion below me. “Yes.” My head inclines. “Is it yours?”
She cocks her head in confusion.
Before she can answer, the woman to my left lets out a startled grunt of pain and it tugs both of our attention.
“Fuck!” the woman rumbles in anger. “Where the fuck are the doctors!?”
A door opening across from us draws my attention next.
A small beta nurse walks through, holding a clipboard. She ignores the omega in pain, instead reading from it. “Jane Smith.”
Nobody moves.
But the omega to my left speaks. “If she isn’t here. What about you take me back? The name is Winter Ro—” The word is cut off as a sob breaks through her lips. She nearly folds over, and I want more than anything to comfort her.
But I know that I can’t.
She needs an alpha.
The nurse flips through the clipboard and then flashes to meet my gaze. “Jane Smith?” she asks again, this time the words are pointed. Sharp.
The woman to my right pokes me and I jump to my feet in surprise.
“Serena’s friend, correct?” The nurse raises an eyebrow.
That’s right, Serena mentioned this.
“Yes, sorry, uh…”
The nurse offers me a placating shoulder squeeze before guiding me out of the room.
“I see here you do not want to physically meet the alpha, but we find it is important to speak to them first. You need to have some sort of connection, so that during your heat, he can provide guidance and reassurance even if it is all done anonymously.”
“I—I… Do I have to?” I whisper. My hands find my pockets as we continue walking down the hallway. It is empty save for us and the doors that line the walls.
The nurse stops so quickly that I almost run into the back of her.
She turns and looks me in the eyes. “Miss Smith. I know this isn’t easy and you are putting quite a bit of trust in a practical stranger, but I promise you, this is for the best. This alpha, he is very sweet and soft.
Even still, he is quite young so it would be mutually beneficial to establish a connection prior.
Even if you will not see or interact during. It is for both of your sakes.”
Convinced, my shoulders lower in defeat.
I don’t want to hurt this man just because of my own issues.
Alphas in these programs typically aren’t even paid, they work as volunteers to ensure omegas are well kept.
And while I could imagine free sex comes with its appeals, from what I know from the process, it is grueling to become an approved alpha for these programs.
“Yes, I will speak to him first,” I agree.
The nurse releases a relieved sigh. “That’s good to hear.
” She opens the door directly to our left and gestures for me to go inside.
“Your bag is in there, along with several outfits, blankets, and pillows. The nest is off to the side for you. Please do anything you would like with it, and if you need anything else, just let us know. There is an intercom here.” She points just inside the room to the wall.
Stepping unsteadily in, I take a look around and the tension in my body leaves all at once.
The room is dimmed in flickering battery operated candles.
It is filled with my favorite scents—mahogany, spearmint, sandalwood, all swirling together in an intoxicating manner.
The walls are varying colors, three are crimson, but the fourth is darker.
They all appear to be covered in… Well, I’m not sure.
Reaching out to trace one, I find it is silky smooth across my fingertips, and I let out a mewl of appreciation.
Next, I go to the over-stuffed corduroy couch, a single table next to it.
That is where my bag sits, along with a pill bottle I don’t recognize.
Continuing my exploration of the space, I discover a closed door and open it to reveal a full sized bathroom, complete with scent-blockers on the counter.
Leaving there, I return to the main room and move in a trance towards the far wall where a door is opened to reveal a smaller space.
My nest.
Exactly as she said, it’s filled with cushions, pillows, and blankets. It’s enveloped in the same salivating aroma, and I want more than anything to dive into the middle and wrap myself up, but I turn back around instead.
“This is perfect.”
“I’m glad you like it. Serena sent us the instructions, and we prepped it as quickly as we could.
Your alpha will be on the other side of that wall.
” She points in the direction of the darkest wall.
“He will be there in about thirty minutes to chat with you. After that, it will be up to you to decide when you want him. You will both first wash up with the scent-blockers to ensure there is not an accidental scent match. These are industrial, and they will last until you wash them off. He will take a rut suppressant so that he will not lose control.” She points to the bottle next to my bag.
“You will just need to swallow that medication before you call him in for the first time and it will work for the entirety of your heat as birth control.”
Serena didn’t say the birth control would be self-administered. But I guess it will be easier to just swallow the pill when I’m ready.
The nurse pauses, her eyes softening. “If at any point this is too much, there is a button in your nest. All you need to do is press it, your alpha will leave, and a nurse or doctor will come check on you.”
In her entire speech, I notice she has not stepped inside of my space, and for that, I am incredibly grateful. It makes me feel safe, protected here. As if this is my nest. Not a sad replica.
“Do you have any questions for me?” she asks, watching me with a critical intensity.
My gaze flickers to the darkest wall, to where the alpha will speak to me through.
Reaching down, I fiddle with the hem of my shirt. Her words have done nothing to calm me. Instead they put reality into the situation at hand. “How will this remain anonymous? Won’t we be able to see each other when he comes in here?”
The nurse furrows her eyebrows. “I suppose Serena didn’t have time to go over that with you.
” She flips through the clipboard. “Since you are doing this in a nest, we have blindfolds that will be utilized. You are to put yours on once in your nest and shut the door. He will put his on before joining you.”
“Is there another option?” That seems too intimate.
“We can utilize the mounting table and use a sheet to keep you separated, but it typically is done best when you are medicated. It isn’t the best for your designation.” The nurse’s tone holds an edge of warning.
My designation. The fact that I am a needy, heat-driven omega.
“The blindfold, please,” I request, frozen in place.
She points behind me and I follow her finger to one already hanging on the wall just outside of my nest. “There’s another inside of your nest too. You are not permitted to remove yours either. Mutual respect and trust are important in these types of…situations.”
Before I can ask the thousand more questions swirling in my mind, there’s shouting from down the hallway. It’s coming from the direction of the waiting room, and I jump at the sound.
The nurse turns her head toward the yelling, but doesn’t react otherwise. “I have to be going. He will be across from you soon. If you need anything at all, come find one of us or utilize the buttons in your room,” she says, shutting the door and leaving me to this empty and unfamiliar space.
Moving shakily towards the couch, I fall down onto it. Reaching over, I grab my bag off the table and dig through it until I find what I’m looking for.
Tony’s clothes. A hoodie and a pair of sweats.
Even after all this time they hold his essence.
The sight and smell fill me with an immediate relief that cannot be replicated.
His scent had been sickly sweet when we first met.
I had written him off, but as time passed, I grew more and more accustomed to it.
Until one day, I craved it. Needed it. Like it was an addiction.
Tony didn’t have a pack, which as an alpha, was practically unheard of.
It was almost too normal, surreal. As if our designations didn’t even matter.
It was one of the things I loved so much about him.
Once we started dating, he said he would accept more alphas if I wanted them. But he always said I was enough for him. And he was always enough for me.
Tony was always enough.
But now he’s gone.
And I’m here in a clinic waiting to be fucked by another man.
Steeling my nerves and breathing in and out a few times, I prepare myself for what’s to come.