Chapter 26 26
POV LOIS
One hour away from them—just that—and my mind could only think of Ezequiel’s somewhat cold stare or Emmanuel’s sad eyes.
I went with the director and now I was undergoing a check-up to see if I was alright.
I was alright.
The doctor’s name was Moises. He was a dark-skinned man, tall and thin, with a smile full of very white teeth.
“Let’s see, Lois. Get on the bed. Aren’t you a bit small?” —and what was wrong with that?— “I’m going to ask you a few routine questions. I don’t know how long I’ll be your doctor, so I need to be aware of certain things, alright? No matter how strange the questions seem, answer honestly. When was your last period?”
“About five days ago.”
“Last sexual intercourse?” That one was an uncomfortable question, and I couldn’t start calculating which day I’d been with the twins on the train. I just stayed silent, and he moved on to the next question. “Have you… mated in your wolf form?” Apparently the questions were only going to get more uncomfortable. I had only stopped being a virgin very recently! Yes, I did a lot on my first time. But we didn’t go that far—that was a whole different level.
Besides… I couldn’t even remember the last time I had shifted into her, being happy and beautiful, running through the forest or howling at the moon. I didn’t remember, but I missed the feeling.
“No.” Omegas spent most of our lives very busy, and shifting required time we simply didn’t have. Most of us shifted only a few times in our entire lives—so few that you forgot the sensation, and when it finally happened again it became unbearably painful because of the lack of practice. You ended up giving up, because even that was denied to us.
The last time I did it—I think—was when I got rejected the first time. Since then, my body had not gone through the change again. So when it happened… if it ever happened again, it would hurt like a thousand demons, like the very first time.
“Your record says you were already rejected once, but you have another mate. You’re one of the few lucky ones who get a second chance.” I didn’t have one—I had two. That no longer counted as luck; it was more of a problem. “Are you taking any medication? It says here—” he flipped the page, still reading— “something about transfusions. Did you bring any reserves? How many do you have?”
“Reserves? We don’t have reserves, doctor. Every time I need one, we buy it.” If we were wealthier, of course my parents would have reserves! But we couldn’t afford such a luxury; we barely managed to save enough to pay for the next one, and the price went up every time.
“So your parents will come here every time you need one?”
“I don’t understand, doctor. I told you we buy the blood.” He kept silent, set the report down on the table, and peeked out the door. The director entered immediately and I stood up.
The man scared me a little—I didn’t know why.
“Lois, wait outside for a moment, please,” the director said.
I left the room and closed the door behind me, leaving the two of them alone.
I stepped away from the door so I wouldn’t hear them. I started walking down the long, narrow hallway—it seemed deserted, very quiet. The light at the end was flickering, and that was the only thing I could use to keep myself entertained, so I walked toward it.
I reached the end of the hallway looking for that little distraction, always glancing back in case the director came out and the doctor needed me.
From behind a white door—though they were all white—a man stepped out and sat right where I was heading. He slammed his fist against the wall, and the light stopped flickering. So what would entertain me now?
I scrunched my face and turned around. I’d go back to the other end so I’d be there when the director came out.
“Are you waiting your turn too?” the person who had just come out spoke to me. I tilted my face to finally look at him—or look again, but this time actually pay attention, which I hadn’t done before. “What time is your appointment? I got here first, so I go in first.” He looked as bored as I was. And he didn’t look like anything was wrong with him, so what was he doing here?
“I have an appointment, but at the door in the back, with Doctor Moisés.”
“Ah…” He looked toward where I pointed. “Then what are you doing on this side?”
Good question.
With a very dumb answer.
“I came to look at the light, but you just fixed it.”
“That?” He hit the wall again, and the flickering started back up. I smiled when it returned to its previous state. “I’m Aidan.”
“I’m Lois.” I offered him my hand and he shook it gently.
Aidan’s body was covered in tattoos—some even came out from under his clothes. Part of his hair fell over his forehead. He didn’t smile, but he had a kind face.
He looked like a good guy—not in appearance; with all those tattoos, in a dark and lonely night he would scare me to death—but something in his eyes. He wasn’t unpleasant.
“Sit down, Lois. Let’s wait together.”