Even more so as his cheeks start to redden under my stare. Never have I had an alphablushfor me. The sight gives me a little bit ofconfidence.
Taking a deep breath, I sit up, letting the covers fall into my lap. “I would like to know your qualifications, please.”
Maverick’s brows shoot up. “My…qualifications?”
I nod. “What qualifies you to provide medical care to omegas?” How he reacts to this will tell me everything I need to know about this alpha. “As I’m sure you’re aware, omega-care is so drastically different from caring for a beta or even an alpha, doctors are required to take an entire extra year of schooling if they wish to include omegas in their client base.” It’s not even that I think he isn’t qualified—Teddy wouldn’t have let him set me up like this in the first place if he wasn’t—but I’d like some insight on these men I’ve been fated to.
Teddy snorts a laugh, and there’s a soft twinkle in the still-unnamed alpha’s eye.
“Well…” Maverick rubs the back of his neck. “I was in the Marines for ten years, where I was trained as a medic for special forces. After I got out and started my business, I enrolled in omega-specific courses so I would be properly prepared if we happened to be assigned an omega for extraction.”
My throat goes dry. “Extraction?”
“We save people from bad…home lives,” the blonde one chimes in, “removing anyone—men, women, alphas, betas—from abusive situations and helping them start new lives. Sometimes we’re contracted to help the police, but mostly we’re hired by the victims’ family members. Petrov Recovery Services—headed by our very own Maverick Petrov.”
Maverick gives him a dirty look at the interruption before turning back to me, his face softening again. “So, rest assured Wren, I am fully qualified to remove your IV.” He holds his hand out, a request for mine.
My hand is shaky as I nod, reaching over and placing it in his. Something like lightning shoots through my veins at the contact, and I wince at the way my fingers flinch.
“Shhh, it’s alright,” Maverick soothes, gently running his palm over the back of my hand. “You need to be still. Will you be a good girl and stay still for me?”
Well, fuck.
My perfume blooms in the air at the words “good girl”, something I didnotsee coming. Pained groans sound around the room, and all I can think is how damn embarrassed I am.
“I’m sorry,” I stammer, moving to pull my hand away. “I don’t—”
“No.” Mavericks voice has me freezing, and I look up to see his dark eyes peering right at me. “Never apologize for having a reaction to us. Fuck knows we’re all having the same kind of reaction to you. Okay?”
With my parents, or with Pack Caruso, I would have put my head down. Apologized. But with Maverick? Something keeps my chin tilted up as I keep my eyes on his. “Yes, Alpha.” The words that Pack Caruso tried to force on me come naturally, and that ashen taste doesn’t burn my mouth.
Instead, the words feelright.
So right, that a sound starts rumbling in Maverick’s chest, and his eyes widen briefly before he clears his throat. Did he just…purr?
“I, ahem. Sorry, I—”
Before I can stop myself, the words fall out with a small smile. “Never apologize for the reaction you have to me.”
His lips tilt up as he shakes his head. Maverick’s smile is a beautiful thing. “Yes, Omega.”
Andshit, there goes my perfume again.
Before anyone can react, I’m sitting up a little straighter. “I’m ready forthe IV to come out.”
And then we need to talk about the one thing nobody has actually mentioned yet: what the fuck this all means.
Chapter 13
Wren
“Will you…will you come sit with me?” I sniffle once, looking over at Teddy, who had been just about to grab a chair and pull it up next to the bed.
After my IV was removed, I was able to use the little omega’s room, and when I came back, it was only Teddy in the bedroom, much to my relief.
Not that Idon’twant the others here, but…it’s overwhelming, having them all in the same room like that.
They seem to have picked up on my anxiety, opting to give Teddy and I a brief moment of privacy.
