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)
He’d been in a strange, dark mood as it was ever since his bond’s dissolution. His life felt unexciting and bleak. Purposeless. Even his job failed to keep him interested lately, but that probably made sense. He’d gotten into this field for the sole purpose of breaking his bond to Nadine. Now nothing seemed to interest him anymore. Except the persistent thoughts about Eric—and the choice Hugh had made three years ago.
Fuck, he shouldn’t have come to Pelugia. He was tempting fate by testing his own resolve. Testing if he was a good man.
You are not.
If he stayed here, it was only a matter of time before he gave in to his desires and approached Eric, his husband be damned.
The sound of the door opening snapped him out of his dark thoughts.
A middle-aged alpha was the first to enter. He was tall and good-looking, his blond hair nearly reaching his shoulders. He was dressed with care, and had the air of an alpha who knew his worth.
A slimmer figure followed the alpha into the office, and Hugh’s polite smile froze on his lips, his body stiffening and heart starting to pound.
It was Eric.
Eric.
Hugh was distantly aware that he was staring rather unprofessionally, but he couldn’t help himself. Eric looked… he looked slightly older and his hair was longer, but other than that, he looked the same: a heart-shaped lovely face and pretty blue eyes, which were staring at him as though seeing a ghost.
“Hello, I’m Greg Ascott,” the alpha said, laying his hand on Eric’s shoulder. “This is my husband, Eric Ascott.”
Husband. Eric. Eric Ascott.
It took every bit of his willpower to put on a professional mask and speak. “Dr. Hugh Randall,” he said and nodded toward the chairs. “Take a seat.”
He looked at the chart his nurse had sent him, his eyes skimming over the information without really registering it. All his attention was on the omega on the opposite side of his desk.
Eric. This is his alpha.
Hugh felt a dull ache in his jaw. He was grinding his teeth too hard.
“So what kind of problem do you have?” Hugh said tersely, without looking up. He was careful to breathe shallowly, trying not to inhale the intoxicating scent in the air. It was so familiar—he remembered Eric’s sweet scent very well, but now that he was an unmated alpha off his suppressants, it affected him exponentially more than it used to years ago.
Why did it affect him so strongly? Mated omegas had muted scents. Was Eric not mated to his husband?
“I wouldn’t call it a problem,” Ascott said pompously. “We decided it’s time for us to have a little one.”
Hugh had to quash the surge of irrational dislike. The man didn’t sound smug or pompous; Hugh’s emotions were affecting his perception, which was unacceptable for a doctor. “And what is the issue?” he said in a carefully neutral tone, meeting Ascott’s eyes. Eric was looking down at his hands.
Ascott coughed slightly, his expression somewhat uncomfortable. “The thing is, we want a little one, but for the time being, I abstain from sex for religious reasons.”
Hugh stared at him before looking at Eric.
The omega still wouldn’t look at him, studying his hands as if they were the most fascinating things in the world. Hugh was unsettled by how quiet he was. It wasn’t like him. Eric had always been so curious, constantly asking questions about everything and nothing. Hugh had always found it endearing.
He also had to admit that… it was odd not to have Eric’s attention on him. He was used to it. He had been used to the kid’s eyes always gravitating toward him whenever they were in the same room. Now it seemed their roles had been reversed: Hugh couldn’t help looking at him while Eric avoided eye contact.
Of course he does, he’s a married man now, a nasty voice said at the back of his mind. Or did you think he’d have a puppy crush on you all his life?
“Religious reasons,” Hugh repeated slowly, wondering what the hell it was supposed to mean. Most Pelugians weren’t religious, as far as he knew, but there were small, obscure religions worshiping some old gods. He couldn’t question it, of course, without being slapped with a discrimination lawsuit. People could be very sensitive about such things.
Not that he cared much anyway. His mind kept fixating on the part about Ascott not having sex with Eric, at least “for the time being,” whatever that meant.
“Yes,” Ascott said. “I’d rather not discuss it—I’m a private person. All you need to know is that my husband and I want to have a child and we can’t do it traditionally.”
Hugh pinched the bridge of his nose. “With all due respect,” he said, barely keeping his irritation out of his voice. “But it’s all but impossible for a male omega to get pregnant through artificial insemination.”