“You go,” Ronan said to Teal. “I’ll wait here.”
“Thank you,” Sorcha whispered to them both.
The nurse left to arrange the transport. The doctor attempted to follow, but Teal stopped him to ask about the scarring Sorcha could expect from his stitches. Then Teal wanted to know about post-concussion symptoms to look for and what over-the-counter medications Sorcha was allowed. Dr. Braswell begrudgingly answered the questions but grumbled that he had “more urgent matters to attend to.”
It was a fair point, Ronan thought. The nurses could have easily answered Teal’s questions. Ronan suspected his husband took pleasure in forcing Dr. Braswell to be helpful tolowlyomegas.
The beta nurse returned with a colleague and they rolled Sorcha’s bed out of the room. Teal followed them down the hall.
“How long will it take?” Ronan asked the doctor.
“Not long. You’re lucky the hospital isn’t very busy today. If it had been, I don’t give a flying fuck who you are. I wouldn’t have come down here.”
Ronan startled at the other alpha’s vitriol. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Or are you such a whipped little bitch you can’t handle a conversation with a real man? Because somebody needs to set you straight. There’s lots of folks out there who don’t appreciate all theprogressthese omegas have made. Ten years ago, twenty years ago, there was an order to things, a way of life that worked. We didn’t have all this nonsense about omegasbeing the same as alphas. I’ve seen you on TV, standing next to your husband. Standingbehindhim. It makes me sick.”
A low growl emanated from Ronan as he stepped closer to the other man, who answered with his own rumble.
“Something I’ve learned over the past year since Teal’s been in the spotlight is that it’s worthless trying to argue with someone like you,” Ronan stated. “You wouldn’t know the first thing about being a real man.”
“That’s rich coming from the alpha who carries his omega’s bag.”
Ronan recalled the time Teal had handed him a briefcase before making a speech in front of the courthouse. Ronan had stood behind him on the steps as he’d spoken. The next day, the headlines hadn’t been about Teal’s words, but about his “shockingly submissive” alpha husband.
Ronan hadn’t cared then, and he didn’t care now.
“Your little omega friend’s scan will come back clear,” Dr. Braswell said. “I’ve seen enough concussions to know. But you’re correct that we would have scanned for sure if he’d been an alpha.”
“Are you waiting for me to thank you?” Ronan huffed.
“No. I’m just making sure you understand that nothing significant has happened here. Fun for you that your husband’s famous. But the next omega who comes in with a scratch on his head and a concussion won’t be getting a scan, and they certainly won’t be seeing me,” the alpha sneered. “Thanks for the chat, friend.”
Balling up his hands as the doctor walked out the door, Ronan sank down into a chair and willed himself to calm down.
He knew there were omega rights detractors out there. This run-in with Dr. Braswell was far from the worst he’d had. But now the stakes felt higher. Because Teal had been holding Sorcha’s hand. And Ronan had been touching Sorcha’s leg. If Dr.Braswell hadn’t been so focused on being an asshole when he’d come into the room, he might have wondered at the couple’s obvious closeness with their neighbor.
Having an enemy discover Ronan and Teal’s preference for occasionally sharing their bed could be catastrophic—for Teal’s career, and for omega rights in general.
They’d maintained discretion with Niall for years. Ronan had no idea if the connection he and Teal felt with Sorcha would ever develop beyond friendship, but if it did, it needed to stay behind closed doors. Not displayed in front of arrogant alpha doctors who would love a reason to destroy their reputations.
Chapter Eight
Niall
Niall sat at the kitchen table with Ronan as the alpha relayed their adventure at the hospital. Sorcha’s scans had come back clear, but they’d evidently dealt with an absolute alphahole of a doctor. The boys were already in bed when the three men returned home, and now Teal was upstairs settling Sorcha into the guestroom after insisting the younger omega stay the night with them.
“When will Sorcha’s uncles be home?” Niall asked.
“He wasn’t sure. Tomorrow or the next day.”
The beta couldn’t help but recall how many nights he’d spent in that guestroom. Although he doubted Sorcha would be slipping across the hall to Ronan and Teal’s bedroom as Niall so often had.
Then again, in only a few days, Sorcha had gone from a rarely spoken-to neighbor to someone sleeping in their home.
It was difficult not to feel replaced.
Inwardly, Niall admonished himself for being so uncharitable. He liked the young omega, he truly did, and he’d had months to get used to his platonic relationship with Ronan and Teal.
