Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 294(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 294(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
“No, the longer you leave your condition untreated, the worse it will become.” A pause. “It has already become worse, hasn’t it?”
Reluctantly, Eric nodded. His heats had grown in their intensity, and the last one had been so intense that he had been literally sobbing all the time. Considering that Vos omegas had heats every 13-15 days, it didn’t exactly look good.
“It will become worse,” Hugh said. “The issue of your heats aside, your regular life will suffer, too. You’re already showing symptoms.”
“What symptoms?”
“Your fingers are unsteady. You keep squirming in your seat, unable to sit still, because you’re still aroused from the simple medical examination and the proximity to an alpha.”
Eric’s face was burning. “It’s not my fault your scent is all over the place.” He couldn’t quite hold the doctor’s eyes. Talk about mortifying.
Hugh lifted his eyebrows. “I’m on suppressants.They don’t completely suppress my pheromones, but you shouldn’t be able to smell me from such a distance. The fact that you can shows how much sharper your instincts and senses are compared to the standard curve. You’re spiraling and it’ll only get worse. Before long, you’ll start losing control of yourself around unmated alphas, and that leaked picture would be nothing compared to the scandal you’ll cause when you jump some alpha in public.”
“It’ll become that bad?” Eric whispered, his insides going cold.
Hugh’s expression was grim. “I’m afraid so. Type 3 disorder is no joke. It’s the type that makes uninformed people call omegas certain derogatory terms. Judging by your hormone levels, you probably have six or seven days at most before your symptoms get that bad.”
Eric didn’t know what to say. He had noticed his increasingly heightened awareness of alphas, but he had written it off as the consequence of his stronger heats rather than something to worry about. It helped that he almost never left the Cleghorn estate, so he barely saw any unmated alphas. But if what the doctor was saying was true…
“I need a solution, then,” Eric said, desperation making his chest tight. “I can’t be seen jumping strange alphas—not after what happened. My family can’t withstand another scandal. I’ve already ruined my brothers’ life once. I can’t do it again—I can’t let them down again—I can’t—maybe I really should get mated to someone—anyone—”
“Calm down,” Hugh said, his pheromones flaring. Alpha, they said. Obey.
Eric gasped, his panic gone in an instant, replaced by animal need. He felt his underwear become uncomfortably sticky.
He glared at Hugh, his face hot. “Don’t do that,” he ground out.
To the doctor’s credit, he looked slightly chagrined. “You were on the verge of a panic attack. Alpha doctors are allowed to use their Voice in an emergency for the benefit of their patient’s health.”
Eric knew he was right, but it didn’t make him feel better—or less aroused.
Sighing, Hugh leaned back in his chair, his expression pensive. “I understand your situation,” he said. “I understand that you want to avoid any scandal. But getting mated to some stranger isn’t a good solution, given the time constraints. Six days is nowhere near enough to find and mate a strange alpha. That would be an extremely rash decision, and you shouldn’t settle for someone you can merely tolerate. You deserve better, kid.”
Eric’s eyes were suddenly stinging. Terrified that he might actually cry in front of his doctor, Eric looked down, trying to blink the tears away.
“I’m not a kid,” he said without much heat. Frankly, he didn’t mind being called that. He was used to it, as the baby of the family, and he kind of… he kind of missed being treated like that. The Cleghorns were good people and they treated him well, but they were always politically conscious and treated him like an equal—which was great, don’t get him wrong, but it only made Eric miss his family more. Having this man call him kid made him feel more normal than he’d felt in months.
Coughing a little, Eric said, “Can’t you prescribe some suppressants for me? My brother Jules was taking them for years and he’s fine. Not sterile.”
Hugh shook his head. “Your brother must be a Dainiri omega. They’re exponentially more fertile than Vos omegas, and suppressants can’t damage their fertility. Strong suppressants are never prescribed to Vos omegas because there’s generally no need for them, and Vos omegas’ fertility is already on the decline as it is, on the evolutionary scale. Only very weak suppressants are allowed to be prescribed to Vos omegas, and even they are considered harmful for them. Weak suppressants will not help you.”
Eric sighed. “So is there no other way, then? Besides the drugs?”
“There might be.”
Eric looked up, frowning. “What do you mean?”
Hugh drummed his knuckles against the desk, his expression pensive. “There’s an experimental treatment I have come up with. Its effectiveness hasn’t been proven yet, so there’s a chance that it may not work or that it may not be as effective as the traditional methods.”