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“The fairytales usually end after the initial meeting and conveniently leave the rest of the story out.”
“Yes, but wouldn’t it also be hard going through life knowing everyone else has that possibility of being magically special, and the possibility of children, except you?” Margarette asked him pointedly.
Theodore immediately felt like a jerk … It wasn’t a secret only omega females, omega males, and alpha females could get pregnant. In addition to never having the possibility of a fated mate, all betas were infertile.
He’d gotten so caught up with his own misery he hadn’t stopped to consider—now that he thought about it, he’d never had much of a chance to talk with betas about this before. It was just too easy to assume most of his problems would vanish if he weren’t him; a soft and weak omega.
Theodore finished reading Mutt’s chart. “And no one has come to claim Mutt?”
“No,” Gerald said. “We contacted all the local businesses to put up posters. We had it added to the local paper. Nothing.”
“She’s recovering with Big Poppa,” Margarette added. “Since they seem to have bonded, we decided to let Big Poppa stay.”
“We’ve been doing routine blood work and scans,” Gerald said. “She’s not showing any signs of failed surgeries or relapses. She’s starting to try and walk more, but it’s slow going.”
“Any calls or concerns from the other patients?” Theodore asked while walking into the kennel.
Big Poppa meowed dramatically, then stretched his stubby legs in front of his large body, his tail curling up over his raised behind. Mutt lifted her head, sneezed, and tried to wag her tail from where she laid in a pile of blankets on her bed. She had neon bandages wrapped around her mid-section, a cast on the end of one leg, and a cone.
Theodore grabbed a pair of gloves and his stethoscope from the hook on the wall, then sat on the ground with the critters. He checked over Mutt’s incisions and listened to her vitals.
Big Poppa continued to meow and headbutt Theodore’s elbows and then resorted to swatting him, incensed he was left out. Theodore gave him a once-over too just because. The cat was purring so loud he couldn’t hear anything through the stethoscope.
Once he was satisfied with Mutt’s progress, Theodore coordinated with Margarette to come back to work part-time. While he was feeling immensely better, he still needed to rest and recover. The guilt he felt from not taking care of Elk Cove’s pets, however, was gnawing at his insides.
When the clerical work was taken care of, Margarette sent announcements to the clinic patients via the new messaging system. Beaming at him and Gerald, she proclaimed it to be the best thing she’d invested in for the clinic in a long time.
Theodore got up and stretched. Mutt was watching him excitedly despite her slowed movement. Theodore decided to hook her up to a lead and let her outside for some fresh air. Mutt limped alongside him, her ears perked up and her tongue lulling out. Once the crisp autumn air hit her nose, she lifted her head and did a happy wiggle. Or at least as much of a wiggle as she could manage.
Mutt couldn’t go far which was fine by Theodore. He was enjoying just standing outside. He’d been so frantic and ill when he first arrived in Elk Cove, he hadn’t had time to properly appreciate the town.
Set in a forest of evergreen and deciduous trees, the brilliant autumn colors were the perfect setting for the quaint town. The main strip looked like something out of a history book with vintage architecture and hand-carved signs.
The backdrop of Mount Rainier to the south was the cherry on top of the whole scene. The snowcapped summit could be seen from most anywhere in town. It was surreal, and Theodore was still trying to get used to it.
A light breeze moved through the trees, kicking up fallen leaves and bringing fresh air to Theodore and Mutt. She sat on the grass and lifted her head; closing her eyes, her nose snuffled and snorted. He smiled, appreciating the dog’s sweet temperament.
Footsteps padded down the sidewalk, pulling Theodore’s attention from the mountain and making him stiffen. It was an omega with thick glasses and a bow tie. He’d met this man a while ago when he brought his cat in for a checkup.
Theodore automatically recalled the pet’s information: Stardust, age eleven, weighed sixteen pounds, a tall cat not overfed, and had slightly elevated thyroid levels most likely due to age, no medication needed yet. He was hurrying down the sidewalk, holding a pink box.
“Doc!” he exclaimed. “I’m glad I caught you.”
“Was there something the matter with Stardust?”
“Oh no, she’s doing great. I heard through the grapevine you weren’t doing well, and then I got the automated message from the clinic that you were working part-time, and I was hoping to catch you before you left for the day so I could give you this.”
The omega handed the pink box to Theodore. He took it. “Oh, thank you …”
“Don’t mention it! We’re all happy to have you here and hope you get better soon.”
With that, the omega waved and went back the way he’d come. Perplexed, Theodore opened the pink box and peered inside. It was full of cookies and some type of pastry. What an odd occurrence.
Utterly puzzled, Theodore walked Mutt around the little patch of green between the cabin and the clinic before bringing her back inside. He bid farewell to Gerald and Margarette, then went to the cabin. He didn’t have long alone before Royce returned.
His stomach did a little flip, and he felt warm and comforted when the alpha walked in the door. He might have enjoyed that except it was immediately followed by a heated flush of his skin and an excretion of slick. Unbidden, his thoughts turned to Royce’s hand inside him; drooling, he had to stop himself from leaping on the alpha.
Shaking it from his thoughts, Theodore curled up in his couch blanket nest and crossed his arms and legs. He refused to let his heat turn him into a madman—again. He listened as Royce explained there was to be a security detail on the clinic and cabin. He mentioned a few other topics about trying to get omegas out of the territories and to safety as he unloaded groceries.
