“No. You won’t have him.”
“You can’t stop me from trying.”
“I order you to stop this nonsense, Vale. Stop it. Now. Stop it!”
Vale rubbed a hand over his face. “I love you. More than my own life.”
Jason’s lips quivered, his face splotched with fury. “I don’t want you to do this for me. I don’t want this baby.”
“But Jason, you do.”
Vale held himself firm as Jason crumpled to the floor, curling in on himself, and begging with every breath. Finally, Vale slowly rose from the bed and crouched down beside Jason on the floor, wrapped his arms around him and murmured, “This isn’t your choice. It’s mine.”
Jason had neverthought himself capable of hating Vale, but as he stood beside him inside Urho’s clinic, he thought he might. He felt so helpless and betrayed, but Vale was calm. Deadly calm. Stubborn as hell. Mind made up. He’d only seen him like this one other time, and he’d nearly lost him then.
He wasn’t going to lose him now.
“Just make him take the pills,” Jason gritted out when Urho stood gaping at Vale like an especially handsome fish. “Or inject him. Please. Urho. Help me.”
Vale shot him a dark glance but kept his mouth shut otherwise, and Urho ignored Jason like he didn’t even exist.
“You want me to examine you? Vale, we’ve been over this—”
“No, that was years ago. At my last checkup, you said the scar tissue was—”
“He had his fingers in you? When!” Jason placed himself in between Urho and Vale, anger and fear making a muddle of all his protective instincts. “You’ve touched him?”
Urho scoffed and shoved Jason aside. Jason had grown a lot over the last few years and was more a man than ever, but Urho was muscled, and he could still move Jason like he was a dumb, teenaged pup. “I’m a doctor. Get over yourself. Good alphas don’t prevent their omegas from receiving medical care.”
Jason huffed and lunged at Urho, but Vale cried out. “Enough!”
It took everything Jason had to let go of Urho’s shirt.
Urho dusted himself off, gave Jason a disdainful look, and then said, “If you want to stay in here for the examination, you will get your act together, and you will not touch me again.”
Jason felt dizzy. The idea of being expelled from this room while Urho touched his pregnant omega, put his fingers in his body…
“I’ll stay,” he gritted out.
“Jason,” Vale said sharply. “I understand that you’re scared and angry, but you willnothurt him or interfere in this examination, do you understand me? Or there will be consequences. You won’t like those.”
Jason wasn’t sure Vale had ever spoken to him in that way, and he jerked as if slapped. The sting of Vale’s tone brought him up short, and he nodded. “I understand.”
Vale sighed, rubbing a hand over his beard. “You said that there was elasticity now that wasn’t there before. Remember?”
“Not enough to grow a child, Vale,” Urho said gently with that emotional tenderness he reserved for Vale alone. Jason hated him. Hated this entire moment and hated himself for being such an uncontrolled baby alpha that he’d been unable to prevent himself from impregnating Vale to begin with.
“Just…check again. I used to feel it on Jason’s knot. But this last heat…” Vale shook his head. “Nothing. Not on his fist. Not on his knot. The scars didn’t hurt at all.”
Urho gave Jason a dark look. “Behave yourself.” To Vale, he said, “Undress and climb on the examining table. I’ll be back in a moment.” Then he went out the door.
Jason stood in a corner, shamed and angry, watching Vale take his clothes off and slip on a hospital gown. He left it open in the front, which made Jason nearly vibrate with irritation, but he held himself back. If he hadn’t been able to control himself during the heat, he’d control himself entirely now. His breath came in and out in fast, obnoxious gulps.
Vale settled himself on the examining table and then reached out to Jason, silently asking for his hand. Jason relented and came to stand by the table, his eyes aching from the tears and lack of sleep the last few nights. Everything seemed to shift and tremble around him as if he were in a dream state and not reality.
“It’s all right,” Vale soothed. “Urho is going to check me. Don’t get possessive. I’m all yours.”
Jason bent to nuzzle at Vale’s beard, loving the soft scratch against his cheek. Vale stoked the back of his neck reassuringly.
