"Okay, Eliano. I’ll manage," I say sourly.
"A reasonable decision," Miller replies, giving us a cool look. Fucking chameleon, switching from friendly to total bureaucratic prick in an instant.
A sudden thought strikes me. Maybe the whole program is like this? Pleasant until something goes wrong, then suddenly much less so.
After all, the betas here are still felons. They may have no problem showing who’s in charge at the first sign of resistance.
Eliano studies me for a moment, then exhales lightly. "Alright, if that’s what you want."
We step into the room with grim faces. Even though I don’t want to admit it, it feels kind of nice that he tried to have my back when he saw I was uncomfortable. Doesn’t matter though. We’re not meant to be.
When we step inside, Miller stays outside, thankfully. The room is spacious and modern, all white surfaces, metal, and glass. In the corner, near a machine with a screen, a lone beta sits studying something through what looks like a microscope.
The man stands when he sees us. He looks to be around forty, with neatly cut black hair and thin glasses. His expression is very official. With a brief gesture, he indicates two chairs by his desk, where a laptop sits.
"Please, have a seat, and welcome to the center. I’m Dr. Lee."
We both sit down. Neither of us speaks. The mood is tense.
The doctor opens a program on his laptop and studies some data for a moment. "At this time, I have very incomplete medical records," he says in a rather robotic tone. "I have a complete set of files for you, Salt. But I don’t have any medical records on you at all," he adds, turning to Eliano with an almost accusatory look. "Only your name. Not even your last name."
"Second Chance didn’t have any of my medical records. I basically showed up straight off the street."
"Oh, how very… unwise on their part. Have you had any recent blood tests? Any screening for STDs?"
"I was a professional fighter, so I had regular blood work done for doping control. They also ran tests for various diseases, because fighters can’t risk infecting each other during matches where there are open wounds," Eliano says slowly, looking slightly to the side, as if skirting around the core of the question.
"Unfortunately, admission into our program requires a current STD panel. No way around that."
I notice a subtle tightening in Eliano’s expression. He goes quiet for a moment.
"We can, of course, perform the tests here on site," the doctor adds in a gentler tone, "unless there’s something you’d like to tell us."
"The STD tests won’t be necessary," Eliano says reluctantly. I can see his jaw tense.
"May I ask why?"
"I’m not sick."
"And you know that because?"
"Because there was no way for me to catch anything."
Silence falls. I feel my heart speed up slightly. Is it possible that Eliano has never… It seems almost unbelievable, and yet at the same time I feel something strange ripple through me, an unexpected spark of pleasure I don’t quite understand. Could it be that, in this one respect, we’re actually similar?
"You’ll need to be more specific. We’re talking about health matters here. Your new partner deserves clarity. These aren’t trivial issues."
Eliano doesn’t look at either me or the doctor when he answers. His voice turns dry, almost sharp, as if the forced admission greatly bothers him.
"I’ve never had sex."
Dr. Lee’s face remains calm. He shows no visible reaction. Mine, however, is another story. My heart is racing now, and I can feel heat creeping into my cheeks. I don’t even understand my own reaction. This shouldn’t matter to me at all, and yet somehow it does. I catch a brief, assessing glance from Eliano. He can definitely hear my heart pounding like this. I wonder if he has any explanation for it, since I certainly don’t.
"Very well. I can accept that statement and proceed without STD screening, assuming your husband consents. Would that satisfy you, Mr. Einarson?"
"Yes," I mumble, staring down at my hands. I doubt Eliano is lying. If anything, most alphas would be proud to talk about a rich sexual past. Instead, he looks almost angry with himself for not having one.
"Any other health issues I should be aware of?" The question is directed at Eliano again.
