I huffed, not bothered to reply. Instead, I uncovered my arm, sticking it out to where he could get to whatever he needed.
“Well, if you’re comfortable,” Alpha Moore said, his voice steady enough to make me jump anyway, “I’d like to ask a few follow-up- questions since the last time I saw you.”
I jerked at the sound, then nodded quickly.
“Any nausea?”
I shook my head. Nothing new. Nothing was worse than usual.
“Any new pain?”
Another shake.
“Going to the bathroom without pain or blood?”
I nodded this time. No problems there.
“Good to hear.” Moore’s tone softened. “After my Omega gets your blood drawn, I’ll have you take your shirt off so I can check your back.”
“Okay.” My voice cracked, and I forced myself to stay present, to not drift somewhere safer in my head.
Adrian gave me an encouraging smile. “We’ll go slow. You’re doing great already.”
“Did you have any friends at Lockswell?” Evander asked, trying to draw my attention to him. Maybe he knew where my brain was trying to go as the edges of the world began to darken.
“Omegas aren’t allowed to have them there,” I answered, my words thick. “I…I was one of the ones who never shared a room. They…. the handlers…. wanted me by myself.”
I never questioned why. Sometimes Omegas shared rooms, others got their own space, even though it was smaller. It wasn’t like we needed much anyway. The younger ones had to share rooms that fit up to ten in each, sometimes more, depending on how many Omegas were in that age group.
“True. I had my own space for a bit before rooms were moved around. Then I had a buddy for a bit. He was okay. Other than the snoring.”
Adrian pressed the tip of the needle into my arm, and surprisingly there was no pinch, no pain whatsoever.
He beamed up at me as he pulled one tube of dark red liquid. “Now, something very important,” Adrian scooted a bit closer, pulling out another vial of blood. How much did he need?
“Important?” I blinked at him in confusion.
“Oh, extremely.” He nodded solemnly then grinned. “Like…what’s your favorite breakfast food? Because Moore here things oatmeal is a personality trait.”
Alpha Moore sighed behind him. “It’s healthy.”
“It’s sad,” Adrian corrected, then winked at me. “So? Pancakes? Eggs? Something sugary and chaotic?”
I stared at him for a second, thrown off by the question. My arm lay there limply as he stuck a band aid over the spot he had picked.
“Uh…toast?”
“Toast!” Adrain gasped dramatically. “A classic. A man of culture. Moore, take notes.”
Moore didn’t look up from his phone where he seemed to be taking notes on something much different than breakfast ideas. “I’m taking no such notes.”
Adrain leaned in conspiratorially. “He pretends he’s not listening, but he absolutely is.”
Of course he would be, because that’s what Alphas do. But seeing how easy Adrian spoke, not afraid to speak his mind, was different. A good different.
“All done. And you didn’t flinch!” Adrian announced proudly.
Crying had never been an issue for me. Blood draws didn’t hurt. Not compared to other things I’ve lived through. The needle was nothing. A momentary sting.
