Worth Twice His Weight in Gold (Robby/Miguel)

Chapter 7: Guilt by Association

{Later that night, around six o'clock.}

Robby left the cabin and headed into the mess hall.

During the last trimester, omegas were usually kept isolated since they were high-risk, but that was a nearly impossible task on a cramped ship, and he couldn't exactly stay locked away in the captain's room. The pregnant man's stomach had been growling for the past ten minutes, and he felt famished, but as usual, his unborn child was being particularly fickle.

Strangely, he'd been craving beef stew, which was far from the norm for him.

The estrogen in his system heightened his senses, precisely his sense of smell, and it made it impossible for him not to detect the pungent smell of boiled meat drifting from the direction of the kitchen.

Unfortunately, the scent was apparently enough to rouse his unborn baby just as he was approaching the clutter of tables, and he winced under his breath as a wave of pain shot through his abdomen.

He grasped the back of a chair.

Fuck.

Maybe it wasn't a good idea to come here.

What the hell was that?
• • •

"Are you ok?" Chris's timid voice pulled him back to reality in time for him to force a smile and pretend everything was alright. The last thing he wanted was to frighten the crew over a bit of stomach pain or dizziness.

"I'm fine," Robby's lie wasn't terribly convincing. "Just a little seasickness."

The heavily muscled pirate looked at him skeptically.

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Hawk, of course, showed up just as the navigator was helping to his feet.

He sneered at the sight of the other pirate's arms around his waist.

"What's wrong, omega? You decide the captains not good enough for you anymore? Thought you'd twist the knife in his back that much deeper by fucking one of the other crewmates right under his nose?"

"Hey, man! Leave him alone," Chris snapped, rising to his defense.

~ ~ ~

Hawk took a menacing step forward in an attempt to intimidate the other male into backing down, but the effort was lost on them both since neither could never take the short-tempered pirate seriously.

The quartermaster sneered down at the omega like the sight of his pregnant swell was an abomination. "Don't think I didn't hear you moaning like a whore in the captain's cabin earlier? It seems like you'll spread your legs for anyone who looks at you twice. I guess you get that from your mother."

"Don't you dare talk about my mom," Robby snarled.

Talk about his mother's promiscuity had always been a sore spot for him. She'd been a tavern wench when she fell into bed with his father, and she'd continued to spread her unique brand of love with little remorse.

"Why not?" Hawk asked mockingly. "Everyone knows she was a whore."

Robby let his bottle-green eyes sweep over the faces of the pirate crew, who were watching his dressing down with looks of contempt and smug satisfaction. He was the worst kind of traitor in their eyes, and many of them probably wished they could punish him for his "promiscuity."

'I'm not a whore,' he thought furiously. 'I was a virgin until that bastard--'

Robby's heart ached as the realization the crew likely wouldn't believe him even if he told the truth. He was the only omega in the entire pirating operation, and a lot of them already resented him for it.

If he tried to claim rape now —especially after hiding out for the duration of his pregnancy. It would just look like an attempt to avoid taking the blame, and he'd be perceived as even more of a burden.

Robby could feel the cold, icy, and resentful stare of several of the men boring into his own from a distance. Their outrage at him for disappearing was apparent — ever more so for having to chase him and bring him home.

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"I'm talking to you, bitch!" Hawk didn't like being ignored.

The omega was so lost in his thoughts he didn't even hear him.

Robby nearly jumped out of his skin when the arrogant pirate smacked him up on the butt to get his attention. "You're awfully sensitive for someone who bends over at the slightest provocation."

"Funny, I don't seem to be bending over for you," the omega spat.

Honestly, Robby didn't know where the sudden urge to spit those particular words originated. It must have been simmering under his skin all along, and this was finally the straw that broke the Krakens back.

CRACK!

The suddenness of the slap took him by surprise, and he lifted his hand to his cheek in disbelief. It wasn't the first time he'd been attacked, far from it actually, but never by one of his father's own men.

It wasn't like he made a habit of consorting with the pirate crew since most considered him off-limits due to his classification, but he had a feeling that striking him so blatantly was against at least a dozen rules.

The mess hall became so deathly quiet he could have heard a pin drop.

"Ahh!" Robby cried out as another wave of pain ripped through his stomach.

Liquid spilled down the inside of his thighs, soaking his trousers and leaving him lightheaded. He fell to the ground with a cry of shock and began panting as his insides tried to turn themselves inside out.

"Ewww! Did he just piss himself..." Hawk's lip curled in disdain.

Chris dropped to his knees instantly beside the commander's son as another contraction hit and gripped his hand in order to keep him calm. "No, you blockhead. His water just ruptured!"

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Robby barely even registered it when the navigator scooped his smaller body up in his arms and carried him to sickbay. He was so preoccupied with the labor pains he didn't even process the change of scenery.

He remained disoriented and confused as the pirate set him down on the metal examination table. It wasn't until the doctor made a move to pull down his pants that it dawned on him that he had an audience.

Robby's face contorted in shame and irritation at the thought of being spied on in such a state. Most of them were already laughing at him behind his back and making remarks about him being his "mother's son." The last thing his sullied reputation needed was any of the crew seeing him naked.

The thought of anyone seeing him naked from the waist down, legs spread, and fluid trickling down his thighs made him feel as helpless as he had the first time he'd been raped.

"Get out!" he screamed through the contractions.

The voyeurs who had been crowded in the sickbay like sardines scampered out of the room and left him alone just as the physician peeled the soaked fabric away.

"Not a sideshow attraction," the omega growled bitterly as he let his head fall back and cried out as another wave of agony coursed through his body.