Chapter 25 Tessa #2
“Why did we go to a different decontamination booth this time? Didn’t I.
.. contaminate things in this area? Last time it was like a portal to this side.
” My eyes wandered, taking in their faces, and then falling to rest back on the stupid door.
I wondered if it could just stay closed.
Could everything stop here? I knew, beyond a doubt, that any chance of stopping what was happening was long gone.
For the first time since we’d left Grouse’s office, one of the female Betas locked eyes with me. “We try to keep potential products and verified products separate.”
Call me a product one more damn time, I mentally fumed.
“Because why?” I scoffed. “Worried the Omegas you’ve already tricked will warn them off?”
I was half-joking, but the same woman nodded as if I’d asked a serious question.
“So... Yes?”
She nodded again. They brought scent-matched Omegas back inside a different way so that we wouldn’t cross paths with other Omegas they were trying to trick. This whole operation couldn’t be legal.
I didn’t ask any more questions. I already knew too much. There was some truth to the old ‘ignorance is bliss’ saying.
One of the women finally tapped a badge against the security reader.
The entrance whooshed open, cool air kissing against me.
I felt sick now. The anxiety had built up like stomach acid, bubbling up and eating my insides.
There was zero reason for them to have delayed opening the door. It was psychological torment.
Beta Love number two was waiting for us, his face pinching with distaste when he saw me and Josie.
"Ah, yes. They told me you were coming back in today," he muttered, snapping on latex gloves with more force than necessary. "And the cat too."
"Josie and I are a package deal now. It's in the paperwork.
" I knew I sounded snarky, but I couldn’t help it.
This guy was acting like he was the only one annoyed at my being here.
Did he sign away his entire future without realizing it?
Nope, he was just the asshole who helped this company prey on Omegas in bad situations.
His jaw clenched. "Yes, I'm aware. Doctor Swann made quite clear that we're to accommodate your... attachment." The way he said it made it sound like I had requested to bring along a flesh-eating bacterium rather than a cat.
“Great, so glad we’re on the same page,” I said bitterly. He’d rubbed me the wrong way the first time around. This time he had the bedside manner of a crotchety goblin.
“Sit down,” Beta Love grumbled.
The women didn’t even give me time to react. They marched me over, parted ways, and then one of them took me by the shoulders, turned me around, and pushed me down onto the high, wide chair. Beta Love was already prepped, sitting near with the rolling table beside him.
"Right arm," he ordered, gesturing for me to make it accessible. He flapped down the right table arm, before turning to snag supplies.
I shifted Josie, struggling a bit since I was sitting awkwardly on the robe and it had pulled taut.
Even the right sleeve was uncomfortably tight.
After a few seconds of awkward movement, one of the white-suited females strode closer, grabbed the back top of the robe, and then yanked upward quickly.
I jumped, startled. It had the intended effect, loosening the robe around me, but it also sent a ripping sound rocketing through the room.
I cringed, really hoping that when I stood up, that my entire backside wouldn’t be exposed.
I’d double knotted the robe in front to prevent slippage.
Last time, I’d been subjected to a physical after the bloodwork.
I didn’t want to be naked and exposed again.
But the knotted tie wouldn’t do much good if the robe was torn to shreds.
“Thank you,” Beta Love offered, without looking at the woman.
Beta Love rolled the short sleeve up to my shoulder, then wrapped a rubber band around my upper arm.
He pulled it so tightly that I winced before glaring at him.
The jerk seemed to enjoy my reaction though, so I swallowed down the hurt and decided not to show him a single ounce of emotion, no matter what he did next.
I wouldn’t give him the damn satisfaction.
The horrid lab tech swabbed a cold alcohol wipe over my inner forearm, then made quick work of snagging a butterfly needle with cannula from his organized supplies.
He wasn’t gentle again—and I couldn’t help cringing ever-so-slightly despite my resolve—but at least he removed the tourniquet once the blood flash turned productive.
Filling each vial only took seconds. Watching the deep, crimson fluid flooding into each transparent tube felt like the draining away of my old life.
I found myself pretending this was some sort of transition.
Purging the old, heading towards something new.
Even if what I was heading towards was… totally foreign, strange, and mysterious.
Josie was settled against my side. When I’d nearly had the robe ripped off my person, she’d been shaken from her post-decontamination stupor. I focused on her gentle purring and how absolutely beautiful she looked now that she was clean again.
“There.” Beta Love snapped the needle out, making me jump.
Carelessly, he slapped a gauze pad over the prick and then wrapped stretchy bandage over that and around my arm.
“Beta Tan, I should have the new results uploaded to her product profile within the next hour.” He was inverting and straightening tubes, exposing them to the anticoagulant at the bottom of each.
“Doctor Swann finished reviewing the genetic panels from her previous blood samples as well, confirming adequate results.”
“Genetic panels?” I asked quickly. That wasn’t mentioned last time.
“It’s part of The Eros Institute promise,” Beta Love glanced at me only for a second, as if answering me was an inconvenience. “It gives the client peace of mind that our product has the potential to produce healthy pups.”
“Pups?” My voice cracked. The last thing on my mind right now was becoming a parent. I hadn’t even met the client, and I was already a certified, checked-over breeding machine.
“Surely you didn’t think scent-matching and gaining a mate was… it?” Now Beta Love did look at me, his expression completely disgusted at my stupidity.
“Right,” I mumbled. “Obviously.” It was obvious, but that didn’t mean I’d ever considered the possibility.
I stroked Josie, mostly to comfort myself, my brain stuck on that terrifying little word—pups. Here she is, folks. Straight from the street. Certified free of defects. Ready to knot and catch.
“Yes, obviously,” Beta Love pressed, his obvious annoyance with me reaching a fever pitch. “Why is it that Omegas like you can scent-match with the very best clients? It must be purely chemical, because it certainly isn’t intellectual.”
“Who the hell pissed in your cereal?” I snapped back. “You were kind of a jerk last time, but you’re taking it to a new level now.” Josie stirred as my voice got louder, uncurling from my side and moving to stand on my thighs. She did a full body shake, as if sloughing off any remaining trauma.
"I wonder why that is?" he replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Maybe because you’ve got a stick up your ass that keeps you from being a decent human being?" I suggested.
"Or perhaps it was because Dr. Swann felt the need to personally reprimand both my brother and me due to you and your damn cat!
" He nearly shouted, standing up and pushing the tray of supplies and tubes towards the vented workstation.
The supplies rattled and jumped, a cacophony of sharp metallic notes slicing through the air.
“It’s not like I was trying to get you guys in trouble,” I countered, voice pitching wildly. “I couldn’t let anyone take Josie. Not then, and not now.”
Beta Love cleared his voice, eyes flicking up to the mounted camera as if he’d just realized his outburst might have been seen.
Had that camera been there before? I wondered absently. I couldn’t recall.
The ornery lab Beta closed his eyes and took a few breaths, seeming to forcibly calm himself down before speaking again. “Yes, well. The Institute has now implemented new protocols for difficult Omegas. There won’t be another cat situation, I can assure you. So, water under the proverbial bridge."
I didn’t know what to say. Part of me worried my actions were going to make the next Omega’s life hell, but honestly… I wouldn’t change it. Josie was safe and with me. That was all that mattered.
“Take her to beautification now. I have what I need.” Beta Love suddenly blurted. He didn’t give the instructions to anyone in particular, yet all four female Betas marched over as if he was the leader of their little army.
I didn’t stand, though I knew it was expected. Eventually, one of the Beta women took me by the elbow. She flinched as Josie made her disapproval obvious with a sharp, angry hiss.
“I’ll get up on my own,” I muttered, pulling Josie against my chest.
I scooted off the patient phlebotomy bench, reaching behind me with one free hand to assess how badly the robe had torn as I stood up. The back seam had given way when the Beta had yanked, but the tear was positioned at my lower back. That was fine; I wasn’t horribly exposed.
Impatiently, the women moved and manipulated me back into the center of their stoic cage.
I functioned robotically, shifting into place like an already well-trained rat.
I just, didn’t have any fight left. Talk of genetic panels, and pups, and other hapless Omegas suffering for my behavior swirled around in my head.
It was exhausting. No, I was suddenly exhausted.
Before we could leave, Beta Love moved to block the exist and our little procession. His eyes bored into me as he spoke coldly.