Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
NOVA
Dr. Royal and Caleb are waiting for us when we arrive, and the doctor hustles us into a more private exam room.
“Hollis made it seem like this was really important,” he murmurs, his gaze making me squirm.
“I mean…it could be?” I squeak out. He’s very intense and it’s making me uncomfortable. “How important is a three week old bond bite that isn’t healing at all?”
Taking a deep breath, the exhale sounds like a growl before he stretches out the tendons in his neck.
“I would say it’s pretty damn important,” he sighs. “There’s infection to consider, feral alphas, and heats that could make an omega insane.”
“I didn’t bring her here for you to scare her,” Tyde grunts. “She had a really rough heat just after Hollis got hurt. Nova had a seizure, a panic attack because alphas were attacking her truck, and?—”
“Suicidal thoughts,” Lars finishes, taking the anger out of Tyde’s sails as he sags against the wall. Caleb’s eyes widen but he doesn’t say a word, his arms crossed as he listens to the conversation.
Before, this would have made me think he didn’t care. I’m realizing now that he’s collecting information so that he can examine it. I still find it unnerving, because both brothers can be so still, you may forget they’re there but for their size.
“I went to a gynecologist last week, and he said I should suppress my heat until I’m able to get more comfortable with my alphas,” I rasp. “We didn’t exactly get off on the right foot.”
“You’ve been having a rough go of it,” Dr. Royal says, his eyes going softer. “For the record, I’m pissed at them, not you. Can I see the bite, or are they going to come for my throat?”
“Only two alphas are killers in the room that I know of. I don’t know how good your odds are,” I shrug. I don’t think Dr. Royal can be friends with my sister and not be aware of the mafia world. “They’ll behave if you need to see it. That’s why we’re here: to figure out why this is happening.”
“The Finnegan brothers are well known for their prowess in the killing business. Sorry guys, she should know that.”
“Remember who her sister is,” Caleb says, rolling his eyes.
“Hollis can be much scarier than us. It’s because you don’t see her coming.
I very much doubt you’ll be able to dissuade Nova from making us pack.
We’re her scent matches, and the bond between us is fledgling.
It’s new. As my omega just fucking told you. ”
“That’s all true. Okay, Nova. Show me this bite,” Dr. Royal says begrudgingly. “I lean heavily on the side of choices regardless of biology. If an omega isn’t being treated well, she or he should be able to make their own decisions about whether or not she accepts the scent match.”
“Noted,” I grumble, opening my dress and pulling it forward enough that he can see the bite bond mark without flashing him.
Dr. Royal pulls on a pair of gloves and examines it, his brows knitting. “Do you have any other bond bites?”
“I have one under my knee. It’s a couple of hours old,” I explain, my cheeks heating.
“I have bitten her in other places,” Tyde says.
“Those are healing though,” I say quickly. “They’re all in different stages of it, but they don’t look as fresh as this one.”
“Caveman,” Dr. Royal mutters. “Who gave you the other bond bite?”
“Lars,” I murmur as Dr. Royal gestures for me to fix my dress.
“How did Tyde’s bite come about?” he asks. “It was during your heat I assume?”
“It was,” I say. “They didn’t…I mean, we weren’t…”
“Out!” Dr. Royal yells, pulling off his gloves and tossing them in the garbage. “Alphas, out of the room. I need to know what happened without her getting nervous that she’s going to say the wrong thing.”
Tyde blows out a breath, nodding before he comes closer to me and pushes Dr. Royal’s chair away from me. My lips twitch as I hear the doctor make an annoyed sound.
“Tell him everything,” Tyde murmurs, kissing me hard. “I love you, Little Queen.”
Caleb and Lars look stricken, but leave as Tyde stands and strides out the door. As soon as they’re gone, Dr. Royal crosses his arms and leans back in his chair.
“So this sounds complicated, Nova,” he says.
“The three of them were terrible to me when we first met,” I sigh. “I didn’t know that Hollis was my sister, and Caleb and Lars are loyal to her.”
“And Tyde has a very long record for being an ass.”
“I think that’s how it appears,” I correct. “His brain and mouth have a disconnect, and very odd things come out. As you can see, he can also be very sweet. Now that I can hear his thoughts, there are less misunderstandings.”
“So that part of the bond is working. Now how bad was your heat?”
I explain everything to Dr. Royal, and he asks questions about my interactions with the alphas before and after my heat.
“While they’re making strides to fix things, you’re still not completely comfortable with them,” he muses.
“It does appear that Tyde is figuring out his shit. I’ve never seen him so put together and dominant before.
He typically lets the first thing in his head fly.
So Lars gave you his bite. Where did this happen? ”
“Erm. Do you know the Vino y Vida Ristorante?” I ask.
“Corbin Murphy’s new place? Is that where he took you on a date?” Dr. Royal asks.
“Mmhmm. I have a gluten allergy and he thought it would be nice for me to have a meal without having to worry,” I explain. “He called ahead and made sure it wouldn’t be an issue. Ambrose was our waiter.”
“Are you sure you’re not a mafia daughter?” he asks. “I swear you make the strangest friends.”
“I’m open minded, and I still grew up in a mafia household,” I say.
“Yeah, Hollis told me,” he murmurs. “You’re the midwife to some pretty powerful packs as well, and I hear they adore you. Now, tell me about how this bite happened.”
Wincing, I bite my lip. “Lars and I had sex in Corbin’s office and it happened on his desk.”
Dr. Royal’s hand clamps over his mouth as his face turns almost purple.
“Don’t die,” I say, shaking my head.
Dr. Royal coughs as he shakes his head. Dropping his hand, he wheezes, “You had sex on a mob boss’s desk. He used to make the streets run red when he cleaned them up with the Senior Mafia Families. What did he say?”
“Ambrose dropped off bleach wipes and told us to make sure we cleaned up after,” I squeak.
“Holy fuck,” he gasps. “You’re like the scary alpha whisperer. Ambrose doesn’t like anyone.”
“I mean, he was nice to me,” I shrug.
“Okay, you’re definitely rejecting your bite, Nova. While that’s the bad news, this can be turned around. You need to move in together, spend as much time as possible with them. Your inner omega is running scared. What has your experience with alphas been growing up?”
“It was terrible. John, well he worked for Mr. Domino, he used his alpha bark on me often. When Lars used it on me, it felt like a trap. He was trying to get me to stop running away from him. Needless to say, I broke his bark and kept running. It was too close to a leash, and I’ve been caged too long to go back to that,” I say.
“I don’t think Lars wants to cage me for what it’s worth. ”
“No, but what you think and your inner omega does are two different things,” he says. “Have you always spent your heat alone?”
“Yes. I lived in my van until recently…”
I explain how I spent my heats before this, tell him about the one time that I indulged in a heat clinic, and he simply nods along.
“I think you should solidify your bonds before you have a heat, but often doctors don’t like to prescribe heat suppressants for long periods of time. I don’t want to rush you. However, this should be your priority,” he explains. “Nasty shit happens when an omega is actively rejecting a bond.”
Taking a shuddering breath, I nod. “You said omegas could go insane?” I whisper.
“It feels like you’re being torn apart,” he says, wincing. “I don’t know why there aren’t more records of it. If there were, I think people would take more care of their scent matches.”
“Okay,” I rasp.
“I’ll call them back in, but do you have any questions?”
“Did I…do something that could have caused this?” I ask almost inaudibly.
“It doesn’t seem like it to me. You were living your life before you found out you had a sister and scent matches that are assholes,” he says.
“And I’m sorry, but that’s what they are to everyone else.
Though, Hollis has this ridiculous sweet place for Caleb and Lars.
You’ve had a lot of upheaval from your own words, so it stands to reason that you’d feel vulnerable.
The only way to fix that is to sit with those feelings and let your alphas in. ”
“I’ve started to,” I say, wrapping my arms around myself. “Caleb and Lars have dropped the attitude.”
“Good. Despite the fact that you may feel the pressure to bond with them all, take your time. Having three bites that you don’t feel completely safe with just means that you’ll be rejecting each bite.
Get to know them, have their scents near you, scent mark them.
These omega tendencies are important. If it was as easy as having three bites, you wouldn’t be rejecting any of them. ”
I’m in a daze as I leave the appointment with the guys, quiet and worried.
How do we fix this?
TYDE
I can tell that Nova is full of nervous energy the entire ride home. Dr. Royal explained what is happening, and while we’ve come a long way, I’ve been working a lot. I leave her bed at odd hours, time when I should have been with her when Kane burned down her childhood home.
What kind of security could I give her before?
“Hey,” I murmur, watching as she wrings her hands on her couch. “What’s going on in your head?”
She gives me a droll look before sighing. “Everything. I love that the three of you are here but I feel like there’s not enough air in the room.”
“Do you have a nest?” Caleb asks gently.