10. Avery
Avery
M y stomach churned as I stepped up to the doors of the omega clinic. Omega Network, or The Network as most of us called it, was a nationwide string of omega-centered clinics, though they were far less frequent in the rural areas than the city.
The ones in the city were awful and I shuddered at the creepy doctor who had forced me to bring my alphas and talked around me, making it clear I had no say with my own body.
Having them there at the time had eased my mind, but now I suspected that doctor helped alphas more than he let on.
Like with illegal pheromone sprays.
He always joked about scent matches in a way that rubbed me wrong. Now I was seeing through all the smoke screens they set up.
Would this place be the same?
“Is that you, Avery Whitaker?” A voice I couldn’t quite place had me plastering on a fake smile and turning.
“Oh my god,” I gasped, realizing I did know the girl, it had just been long enough, placing the voice wasn’t easy. “Grace, how have you been?”
She rushed forward and crushed me in a hug that should be impossible for her tiny five foot frame. I hugged her back, the soft scent of green tea and sweet mint taking me back to high school.
“I heard you were back, I just didn’t expect to run into you,” she admitted as she pulled away.
Her dark hair hung around her shoulder in waves. I always thought the contrast of her bright green eyes and dark hair and freckles was gorgeous. Right now her eyebrows were furrowed as she glanced from me to the door.
“You okay?”
“Maybe?” was all I could offer. Grace always had a way of getting anyone to open up to her. I swear she was a hybrid beta and omega, though I knew she was an omega.
“Come on, my sister works the desk and she’s amazing,” she said gently, offering me her arm. I took a breath and one last look up at the building before sliding my arm through hers.
I don’t know what I expected out of Rockwood’s clinic. Sure, I went to one when I came into my designation for the first time, but it was on campus and quite a bit different.
Rockwood Valley’s Omega Network was a cute brick building just off the center of town. It was called ‘The Den’ and they made that sign much bigger than the usual network ones.
Inside it was all neutral grays, whites, and soft pastels. Usually, I was more of a fan of bold colors but it definitely had a calming vibe I could appreciate.
The room was wide open, with cozy couches off to one side, a desk in the center, and the right was a play area for kids.
Open archways showcased a small snack kiosk and another was a quiet study space and a few shelves which probably had omega and pack information ready for anyone who needed to know more.
Sometimes the occasional omega presented as a beta for years until they found their scent-matches and it kicked in their dormant omega instincts. The Network prepared for anything and everything.
“Grace!” A dark-haired girl said as she stood up and rounded the corner to hug her sister. It was obvious that they were related, but her sister was at least five to seven inches taller.
“Hey, Hailey. This is my friend Avery, she just got back in town,” Grace said, giving me a warm smile.
“What can I help you with, Avery?” Hailey asked, her smile just as welcoming as her sister’s.
“I need suppressants and birth control,” I said. “When I left my exes, they blocked my refills.”
Her eyes darkened. “The network did?”
“The doctor did, yes,” I admitted, not willing to keep him out of trouble. “They pretty much talked to my alphas to decide my care so if I left my alphas, that was likely a mark against me in their eyes.”
“Oh fuck no,” she growled. “Can you give me their information?”
“Actually, yes,” I said, following her to the desk. She slid over a pad of paper and a pen for me to jot down the details. I gave her everything, including his exact details and description.
“I’ll make sure this goes to the right people, Avery. I’m so sorry you dealt with that and I assure you that will not be your experience here. We are here for the omegas first, not their packs.”
My shoulders sagged with relief and Grace took that as her sign to leave, giving my arm a squeeze before stepping back.
“Good luck. I’ll step back but please reach out, Hailey can give you my number and I’d love to hear from you.”
“Thanks,” I said, giving her a quick smile before Hailey had my attention again.
“We’ve got an opening in thirty minutes if that works for you. I’d also like to have someone sit in to make sure you’re comfortable. I can do that if you’d like, or our other omega advocate can,” she said before quickly tacking on one last reassurance. “No hard feelings either way, I promise.”
“You can sit in,” I said without hesitation. She’d been angry on my behalf and if she was going to be the one to kick that old doctor’s ass, I’d give her the rest of the gory details.
“Perfect. I’ll grab us some snacks while we wait for Doctor Clark. Though he prefers Arden and will correct us the moment I introduce him,” she said, her fondness clear in her smile and small chuckle.
She hurried off and I took a seat on one of the cushy armchairs. A pang hit me, the soft cushion a reminder of the nest I had. For a second I expected the hurt to hit, but I only felt gross, standing quickly and stepping away.
Anything nest related was a reminder of what they’d done, what they’d forced me through.
If I did form a pack with Cohen… would he understand my hangups?
“Are you alright?” I jumped, not realizing someone had come out to replace Hailey. The omega was giving me a smile that said she thought I was like a skittish animal. Maybe I did look like one, jumping out of the chair like a crazy woman.
“I’m fine,” I said quickly, relieved when Hailey came out of the back and ushered me forward. “Excuse me.”
Hailey gave her coworker a look but didn’t lose her smile as she led me through a back door. “I thought a conference room to start was best.”
The room in question was a small table with four chairs and a spread of snacks and drinks.
“Help yourself.”
We’d barely taken a seat and I snagged a bottle of juice to keep my hands busy when a man knocked on the door.
My jaw nearly dropped as Doctor Clark peeked in. I was expecting another old doctor or maybe a woman… not this supermodel of a man.
“Hello there, I’m Arden Clark, it’s nice to meet you, Avery,” he said, giving me a smile and stepping into the room. “Mind if I come in?”
“Of course,” I said, gesturing to the chair across from me. He slid in and held out a hand to shake mine. I hadn’t expected the doctor to be so handsome. The alpha was tall and strong, though he wasn’t as bulky as some alphas.
His demeanor was serious but warm, I could tell he was likely the meticulous type. Or maybe that was the way his slacks were pressed to perfection and his auburn hair was styled. It was slightly longer, hanging around his neck, but combed back out of his face.
He adjusted a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his nose before studying me and offering a kind smile. This man was so open and seemed genuine, unlike the awful doctor I saw before.
For some reason my hand was shaking as I slid it in his, but the warmth of his skin was almost searing against mine, calming the nerves.
His face paled and he leaned in slightly, breathing in deeply for a second before putting a mask on his face.
Did I stink?
The clinic had an array of air filters, and from both of their lack of scent I assumed they wore blockers, but mine was likely on display.
Hailey gave him a strange look but took over the meeting.
“Avery here was telling me she needs a new prescription. At her old clinic the doctor blocked her old one when she left her pack.”
“What?” That seemed to shake him out of his fog and his eyes narrowed in on her. “Explain.”
She glanced at me for approval first and I nodded, giving her the go-ahead. If she could save me from rehashing bad memories, I’d take it.
“The clinic in her old city was pack centered. They talked around her, decided things for her health, and didn’t include her in those decisions,” she explained with clinical efficiency.
“And your scent matches allowed this?” he questioned, raw fury dancing in his warm, brown eyes even though he was trying his best to keep composure.
With a deep breath, I met his gaze, refusing to not face this. “They used pheromone sprays to convince me we were matched. We weren’t actually matches.”
The stunned silence that followed had me shrinking in on myself a bit. I felt so fucking stupid and the shame that now followed any discussion about them had my cheeks burning.
“Avery, this is serious,” Hailey said.
“I told my lawyer about it when I left. My brothers picked me up when I found them knotting another omega on our anniversary,” I muttered before clapping a hand over my mouth. “Shit, sorry, I’m not trying to dump all this on you. No one needs all the awful details.”
“No, we really do,” he said as he jotted a few notes down.
“Okay,” I sighed. “My brothers took pictures and I sent them to my lawyer. I can leave his contact information if you need to discuss anything with him.”
“Thank you,” Arden said as he looked up at me. “We’re going to make sure that this doctor loses everything and doesn’t hurt any omegas again.”
“Good,” I said, my voice strong and fierce. “I want everything he has to be ripped away like he did to me.”
His lips tipped up in a smile that almost looked proud before he let out a breath. “I’m not interested in your old files, it sounds like there was nothing useful in them. I have another doctor here, an amazing beta woman who will take good care of you for the exam. I think it’s best if she handles the medical side of things while we look into this. We want you to feel safe and protected here, Avery.”
“I do,” I admitted quietly, my gaze locked onto my hands as I picked at the label on my juice bottle. “I don’t want to go through a heat right now and I’m due in a month.”
“We can help with that. Give me a second to go talk to Dr. Barnes. Eat something, take a breath, let us help you,” he said gently.
I nodded, unable to look up right away, waiting until his chair scraped back and he stood, his footsteps heading down the hall.
“Are you okay?” Hailey asked, then let out a hollow chuckle. “I hate asking that. I know this is awful to re-live.”
“It is, but I just want this all over with. To move on with my life,” I said with a sigh, finally glancing up. “I just hate that in some small ways, they broke me.”
“You’re not broken,” she said, reaching over and taking my hand. “You’re a strong omega.”
“I am, but just sitting on that cozy chair I had to get up again, it reminded me too much of a nest and that just brings me back to that apartment. No pack is going to want an omega that can’t nest.”
“You don’t know that the feeling will last forever. And any true matches you find will understand.”
“They will,” Arden said. I hadn’t heard him approach, but hearing it from an alpha, not just another omega, had some of the fear draining.
Maybe they were right. I might not be the easygoing omega, but I was still an omega. I deserved a pack and a life I wanted, one I had a say in.
I couldn’t imagine Cohen running because of that. Maybe the others I would find would be just as gentle as he was in their own ways.
Until then, I had plenty to keep me busy here in Rockwood Valley. And if anyone treated me with anything other than the respect I deserved, I had three alpha brothers who wouldn’t hesitate to remind them of my worth.