Chapter Twelve

The hospital was noisy and busy, though Cullen had never minded either. Kara had rushed out after their little argument, and while he’d normally have tried to stop her, it served them well.

He waited for the other alphas to return after taking Grace to the airport. Kara being gone meant he, Damon and Reese could meet with their friend and find a few answers without her interfering. Kara did love to interfere.

Bryce stood by the door in the office that, while spacious, was still too small for all the large alpha bodies crammed into it. Still, seeing Bryce never failed to send a pang through Cullen. A longing for family, a reminder of an old life.

They’d served together, years before, and while Cullen valued his friendships with Kaidan and Joshua, the other alphas who worked with Bryce, he and Bryce had always shared a stronger bond. Maybe it was because they were similar, because they understood what it meant to feel as though they had to keep everything afloat.

It meant that when Cullen needed advice in a town that wasn’t his home, he’d known exactly who to call.

Reese shook hands with Bryce, the two friendly though not close. “Good to see you.”

“Likewise.” Bryce turned a look on Damon, who pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Didn’t realize you two were taking in cubs.”

Damon didn’t even flinch at the subtle jab. He smiled, the quickest flash of teeth as if to assert that while young, he was still an alpha. “I’m Damon. I take care of all the things they’re not smart enough to.”

A moment of silence fell at the joke before Bryce’s lips cracked into a large, rare grin. “Well, we all need one of those around. Good to meet you.” He gestured at the table before taking a seat himself.

“How’s Claire?” Cullen had yet to meet the omega who had stolen the heart of not just Bryce, but Joshua and Kaidan as well, months before. He wondered what sort of female could manage with those three alphas.

“She’s good. Tired all the time and grumpy enough to take a finger from anyone who bothers her. Joshua finished off the ice cream last week without telling her and I swear I didn’t think there’d be a body left to identify when she was done with him.”

Cullen chuckled at the thought of the three tough alphas all put in their place by one little pregnant omega. He’d bet they tiptoed around the house so they didn’t incur her wrath. “I remember when my mom was pregnant with my little brother. The best thing you can do is offer snacks and stay the hell out of her way.”

“Wise words.” Bryce laughed softly, a strange sound from the normally stern alpha. “And what about you? I have to say, when I got your call, I was expecting some help on a job, some insight into the area or the folks around here. Didn’t expect to be setting you up with a doctor who specializes in omegas.” The question wasn’t all that subtle, but then again, Bryce hadn’t ever been subtle. He was like Cullen, direct to a fault.

“Is this doctor any good?”

Bryce lifted an eyebrow at the way Cullen dodged his question. “Marshall Brown is an expert in omega care. He’s dealt with about anything you can imagine. In fact, he’s handling Claire’s pregnancy.”

That said more than anything else. If Bryce was trusting his pregnant mate to this doctor, he had complete faith in the man.

A knock on the door was the only warning before a new man came in, one who wore a white coat and a tag with Dr. Brown on it. He had the no-joke gait of a man who knew what he was doing.

The man shook hands with Cullen, Reese then Damon. When he did so with Bryce, however, they pulled in for a half hug with a pat on the back as well. “How’s Claire?” the doctor asked.

“Good. She’s out with Tiffany right now, having their nails done or something.”

The doctor let out a warm laugh as he took a seat. “Yeah, Kane took them, from what I understand. He’ll be complaining all night about it, I’m sure.” He turned a look directly at Cullen then. “Bryce didn’t tell me much about what you wanted to discuss.”

Reese spoke up, which was probably for the best, as he was better at keeping things delicate. “Thanks for seeing us, Dr. Brown—”

“Call me Marshall, please.”

“Marshall. We’re hoping to get some understanding about what can happen to an omega who is sterile.”

Marshall sat back in his chair, which was pushed away from the table so he could cross one ankle over the other knee. “It depends on why the omega is sterile. I’m going to guess this isn’t a hypothetical question?”

Reese shook his head. “Wish it were. We’re dealing with an omega who likes to lie. I know she’s sterile because a doctor blurted it out during an exam after looking at some of her labs. She won’t say a word about it, though. Even if she did, no one should trust her.”

“And you’re not respecting her privacy why?” The expression on the doctor’s face said that while he might have a jovial attitude, he also wasn’t above digging in when he needed to, and it seemed the protection of omegas was a good reason to him.

“Because we’re working closely with her, and the doctor said he was surprised she was functioning so well with her condition. If this was just a case of her not being able to have kids, I’d leave it be. Her business. But it sounds like this is something that’s affecting her. The last thing I want is to have her get hurt, or have any of us get hurt because she’s got a condition we don’t know about.”

Marshall said nothing for a long while, his brown eyes studying the alphas. Finally, he nodded. “Without examining her myself, I can only give you general ideas. You said the other doctor looked at her labs? Do you know what the labs were?”

Damon answered. “He took a blood sample and put it into a machine to analyze it. He said the machine looked at hormone levels to ensure she was actually an omega.”

“That means they’d be looking at a few specific hormones. Sterility can be caused by a few things. Physical, meaning there’s a specific mechanical barrier—say, damaged fallopian tubes. Hormonal, which can cause the body to not release eggs or to otherwise throw an omega’s cycle out of order. Lastly, there’s idiosyncratic, which is a fancy way of saying an omega doesn’t conceive and we aren’t sure why. Given what you’ve said, it has to be hormonal, though there could be a physical component. Remove the ovaries, and the hormones are damaged as well. Are you with me?”

Cullen nodded, even though he was sure a good portion of what the doctor said was still above his head. He got the main parts, though. Maybe.

Marshall continued. “The hormonal effects associated with sterility are usually a menopausal reaction. Lower sex drive, loss of bone and muscle mass. Those can be handled through hormonal replacement therapy.”

Reese shook his head. “She doesn’t have any of that.”

“Mood swings?”

“Mostly anger.”

Bryce snorted. “Typical omega, then?”

Reese rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, as though he didn’t fancy saying the next part. “She’s actually got a pretty high sex drive. And her scent? It’s not like any omega I’ve smelled before. It’s not the smell of heat, but similar.”

Marshall winced, his gaze softening, which was a bad fucking sign. “Well, then what the other doctor said makes sense. It sounds like she had a hysterectomy and some damage to at least one ovary. I’ve seen it before, and it’s not a condition I enjoy seeing in omegas.”

“Just say it,” Cullen snapped, frustration poking at him. He didn’t like not knowing, not understanding, and it seemed as though the conversation wasn’t going to be a good one.

“For a typical omega, a heat occurs about once a year. That can change based on a few things, like their exposure to alphas, their health, their stress level and certain medications. When an omega goes into heat, they experience a large hormonal shift that causes heightened libido. Basically, biology demands they mate. Exposure to semen will help, and to alpha semen specifically. A heat can last twelve to forty-eight hours, usually shorter if serviced by an alpha. However, omegas with this condition don’t reach a full heat state. The hormones will rise, but they won’t peak. This means they don’t experience the full effects of a heat, but it also means it doesn’t fully abate. Depending on the individual omega, they can experience these pseudo-heats as often as every few days, and the other things, exposure to alphas and stress, can cause them to occur more often or to be stronger.”

Cullen let his gaze rest on the table, his mind working as he thought about Kara’s reactions. Could this be what she’d not wanted seen? Did her shirt hide a hysterectomy scar? Was that why she refused to remove it?

The scent she gave off made more sense, like the first beckoning of a heat, and her actions fit Marshall’s explanation. That she’d taken males to bed and seemed to regret it later? He’d seen omegas going through heats before, knew the pain and stress and need it caused them, and even if Kara never reached that level, the thought that she suffered through even a fraction of it so often had his hands drawing into fists.

Not that he could do a damned thing about it.

“What sort of treatment is there?”

Marshall’s voice was kind. “There isn’t much. A lot of omegas in this condition don’t last long. They often do things that are dangerous and end up in bad places. I’ve had some luck in the past, but there just hasn’t been much research in the area. If you wanted, she could come in and I could see what I can do. There are a few hormonal regulation medications we could try, but…” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t get your hopes up. This isn’t something I’d wish on anyone.”