When the doctor asks me to get ready for the exam, Eliano stands right next to me, his whole body radiating that possessive alpha energy. Doctor Cooper shows a lot of understanding when Eliano says that he will be the one to insert the probe into my rectum. He makes no issue of it at all, perhaps having encountered this kind of alpha possessiveness before.
Of course, it doesn’t take long before Doctor Cooper discovers my pregnancy.
He looks away from the screen displaying my enlarged uterus and says, "Am I correct in assuming that you already know you are pregnant, Salt?"
"Yes," I mumble.
A short pause. The doctor narrows his eyes slightly, waiting for a follow-up, and I turn my head away.
"Eliano sniffed it out, the vanilla scent," I add with a hint of sarcasm. "But I use a spray deodorant Eliano brought from the mainland. I do not want the other alphas to know."
"But that is excellent news, is it not? The program has proven to be a success in your case."
He shifts his gaze between me and Eliano and seems to catch the uncertainty in his eyes. Obviously, he is surprised that we did not come in here practically flying with pride and joy, that we did not announce at the door,Doctor, we suspect a pregnancy!
Our muted, hesitant energy dominates the room.
He removes the ultrasound probe and gestures toward the screen. "The pregnancy is about six weeks along. Everything looks good. The gestational sac, the yolk sac…" He scrolls through something and pulls up a chart. "Your blood work is also very good. You have high levels of hormones responsible for sustaining the pregnancy. Excellent. But I would like to talk to you."
I get dressed, and both Eliano and I walk over to the desk where the doctor is sitting.
There is a moment of silence, and then he speaks.
"All right, I’m listening, because I have a feeling there’s a story hiding here."
Of course, neither of us knows him, but somehow we have to push this forward. So I decide to just let it all spill out.
"Well, Doctor, the main issue is that neither of us wants to leave the program at this point. So even though this is good news, it also comes with a serious complication. Eliano is not safe outside the island right now. Life here on the island worked for us because we were isolated and protected."
Dr. Cooper stays quiet. He turns his pen slowly between his fingers.
"Unfortunately, the program’s rules are very clear. Couples who are expecting a child are required to leave the island within a week. The program focuses on fertility stimulation. There are no family-oriented services here, no prenatal care, and certainly no conditions suitable for childbirth or raising a child."
Both Eliano and I stare at the walls. I look to the left. He looks to the right.
"I have to admit," Dr. Cooper says, tapping the pen lightly against the desk, his expression thoughtful, "I’m surprised the pregnancy happened so quickly. It appears conception occurred around the first week, possibly the beginning of the second. That may suggest our diagnosis regarding your hormonal profile was insufficient," he adds, glancing at me. "You were very likely a beta with omega characteristics from the start, and I don’t know if you’re aware, but such individuals are generally not accepted into the program. We focus on betas with a classic hormonal profile and work on methods to increase fertility in those cases."
"Hey, I wasn’t that!" I scoff. "If anything, I had certain tiny tendencies in that direction. My hormone levels were just a bit elevated, sure, but that didn’t place me among betas with omega characteristics." I hesitate, but suddenly add, "In our case, something else happened that influenced this."
Eliano shoots me a sharp, assessing look, but I decide to go all in.
"We discovered that we’re True Mates."
Dr. Cooper’s eyes widen. He straightens abruptly, and the pen slips from his fingers. The news has clearly caught him off guard.
"Seriously?"
"Yes. We’ve already sealed the energy coil."
He blinks rapidly. "Well, that’s wonderful news for you two, but you see, that’s another thing that excludes you from the program. You should not have been accepted in the first place."
"We didn’t know then."
"Well, now there are two reasons for you to leave the island."
I sigh. "Just great. I mentioned it only because I kinda hoped that if you had the full picture, you could find something that would help us stay on the island."
Eliano glances at me with his eyebrows raised, as if he couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that I believed it for real. Duh! Every scenario has to be tried out!
