Sorcha fisted his hands on top of his thighs. “My uncles. They insist on it.”
“Don’t they know what could happen?”
Sorcha considered the question. He didn’t believe his uncles wanted him dead. But he’d been surprised when Dale gave him the tablets this morning, given how rough he’d looked lately.
“I think they know, but they just…think I’ll be okay,” Sorcha replied lamely.
Teal shook his head. “That’s crazy. They’re your legal guardians. That means they’re responsible for your health! Tell me, when was the last time you had an actual heat?”
“When I was eighteen, my first and only.”
“And how old are you now?”
“Twenty-one.”
“You’re twenty-one and you’ve only had one heat?!” Teal’s jaw dropped.
“Yes.”
“And how did you…handle it?” A stern expression settled on the older omega’s face. “Was it a terrible heat service? An uncaring alpha? Is that why you keep taking the suppressants? Because you think being sick and weak is better than…whatever happened to you?”
Sorcha knew enough about the Bannon case to surmise that Teal had probably been reading nothing but heat service horror stories for the past year.
“No, it wasn’t anything like that. I told you the truth. I take the suppressants because Dale and Abe want me to.”
“Then I still have the same question. What did you do for your first heat?”
“Not a service. My uncles didn’t want to pay for it.” Sorcha frowned, remembering. “And they don’t know any alphas well enough to ask.”
When he didn’t elaborate, Teal prodded gently, “So…”
“They gave me toys and bought some alpha semen on the Internet. I’d just graduated high school and had a few omega friends at the time. This was back when we lived on the other side of the state. One of them helped me use the toys and the…seed.”
Teal stared at him, open-mouthed. “Let me get this straight. You’ve only had one heat, and you got through it using toys and donated semen with only an omega friend to support you?”
“Yes.”
“Did your friend at least fuck you? Fill your hole?” Sorcha’s cheeks burned at the blunt question, but the older omega gave no quarter. Sorcha understood why Teal was so revered in the courtroom. He was an excellent interrogator. “My apologies for being so bold, little omega, but I am genuinely worried about you. I’m not trying to embarrass you. I’m just trying to get the facts.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to help you.”
“But why? What can you do?”
“I’m not sure. But I need to do something. And that means I need to understand. Please, Sorcha. It was your uncles’ job to take care of you, and it sounds like they failed miserably. I would be so grateful if you answered me.”
Sorcha wasn’t entirely sure he understood Teal’s question. He man must be asking if his friend had filled him with the toys, because omegas didn’t…top? Sorcha had dreamed about getting fucked, but he’d never once fantasized about doing the fucking.
“He just sort of, um, squirted the stuff in me, and used the toys.”
“I’m sorry,” Teal said, taking Sorcha’s hands in his. “That sounds terrible.”
“It was awful.” Sorcha closed his eyes. He hated remembering it. “I think that’s part of the reason I’ve been okay taking the suppressants. Because I’m scared to have a heat.”
“Am I correct in assuming you’re a virgin?”
Sorcha felt his face flame again as he nodded.
