Check-Mate

25. Hospital visit

Terk Pov

Calling my feelings 'worry' is an understatement. I am beyond the limits of worrying about this stubborn little omega in front of me.

I understand his reluctance to put his trust in me. But how am I supposed to put my heart at ease?

Only the Moon goddess and I know how I managed to make the little omega come out of his house and visit a doctor.

I could have just called the doctor over for a house call, but that would only garner more attention. 

I had arranged for one of the doctors from my dad's pack to take a look at the omega. The omega was way too cautious about this.

"The pup looks healthy," The doctor says as she stares at the screen of the ultrasound machine. Her other hand moves the transducer over the slight bulge on the omega's tummy.

I am holding the omega's hand. I can sense that he is very nervous just from how cold his hands are right now.

"I don't see any problem with the pup. The growth and development are normal." The doctor places the transducer down and hands some tissues to the omega. "Please wipe the gel off and come to the consultation room. There are a few things I would like to tell you two as first-time parents."

The doctor walks out to the consultation room leaving me alone with the omega. 

I take the tissue and help the omega wipe off the gel.

"I can do that myself," The omega says. His ears are a deep shade of pink. He must be embarrassed by my actions. After all, I am not his mate. 

I let the omega do it and step away.

I can't help but notice how tiny and frail he is. His limbs are so thin. How is he going to carry the pup to the full term?

I have heard that delivery can be really painful. Will he be able to take the pain? Just thinking about him having to undergo so much because of me makes me feel guiltier.

I help him get off the bed after he is done wiping. We head out to the consultation room.

"Please take a seat," the doctor says as she gestures to the two chairs in front of her. "You two aren't mates right?"

"No, Khrab," The omega answers.

The doctor nods after sweeping her glance between me and the little omega. I am masking myself as an alpha, so she doesn't know my real identity.

"Do you two plan on becoming mates?" She asks.

"No Khrab," The omega says firmly.

"Are you two dating?" She asks again.

"What does it have to do with my pregnancy, doctor?" The little one is starting to lose his temper.

"That, I~" Before she can say anything further, I take off my mask and reveal that I am an enigma. She gasps loudly.

"I can't mark him, doctor," I say frankly to her.

"That explains everything," She mumbles.

The omega frowns. "Explains what, doctor?"

"How the signs shown by the fetus are stronger than other fetuses in unmated coalitions. It's because the fetus is the pup of an enigma," She replies excitedly.

I understand her excitement. As far as I know, we are the first enigma-omega couple who have conceived a pup. I know we can't be addressed as a couple but still...

"Signs? What signs?" The omega is panicking now. 

I grab his hand and give it an assuring squeeze.

"It's not something that you have to worry about. It is just signs like the pheromones you have been emitting. Initially, when you entered the room, I didn't feel the scent. But once you were lying on the bed, the scent was almost overwhelming. Now it is not there. Didn't you smell it, Khun Pawis?" She asks me.

This is really embarrassing. The smell had been driving me crazy for the past few days. I don't know how many times I had to use my hand to satisfy my cravings. "I had placed a shield on him so that the scent wouldn't leak. I removed it earlier for a while so that you could do the checkup."

The doctor smiles at me. "That is very thoughtful of you, Khun Pawis. Given how alluring the smell Khun Anek was emitting, I am sure he would have been attacked by some alphas if not for the shield."

I can feel the omega's eyes on me. It is clear as a day that he was oblivious to everything. He is looking at me gratefully. Now I am starting to feel like a pervert for having dirty thoughts about him.

"Then again, Khun Pawis, didn't you feel anything after smelling the pheromones?" The doctor directs the question at me.

How am I supposed to be answering this? Won't I be exposing myself if I said yes? What will the omega think of me then?

"If you didn't feel anything, I would suggest you get a full body checkup. The pheromones are supposed to attract you to the person who is carrying your pup. If you don't feel it, then either your smell receptors are damaged or your reproductive capacity is~"

"I relieved myself." I cut her off. Isn't being exposed better than the mother of my child thinking that I am turning impotent? 

The omega is looking at me in utter shock. "I thought you had diarrhea."

Can somebody just kill me? Diarrhea? He saw me running to the washroom to jerk myself off and the first thing he thought was that I had diarrhea? No wonder he insisted that we use the jasmine white rice and egg noodles in the past few days for food. He was worried about my gut.

"I- I mean, I am sorry for making you uncomfortable," He apologizes.

"You don't have to apologize. It is not your fault," His apologizing is making me more uncomfortable. It just keeps reminding me that I am nobody to him.

"That's right, Khun Anek, it is not your fault," The doctor supports me. "It is very normal for the fetus to want both its parents together. In the case of mated couples, this problem doesn't arise much as the fetus can feel its father's scent through the mark. But in non-mated couples, this is quite normal. That is why most of the non-mated couples mark each other after getting pregnant."

The omega still has his head hung low. I can see that he is feeling bad now.

But why? Why is he the one feeling bad? Should it be me who is feeling bad? Aren't I the villain here? He is one who is suffering. 

"The fetus needs its parents to be connected mentally and physically. That is why it emits these pheromones to attract the father towards the mother." The doctor adds.

"What should we do, doctor?" I ask. I know she wants to say something related to this.

"Do you help him with nesting?"

"Khrab" I have already given some of my clothes that have my scent in them to help the omega create his nest. 

"Good. But that won't be enough. You two will have to do it at least once a day so that the fetus can feel his father's presence," The doctor says smilingly.

"Do what, doctor?" I have a bad feeling about this.

"Coitus." She answers simply.

"What?" I and the omega say in unison.

"You will have to have coitus with each other. This will do good for both you guys and the fetus. Just be careful not to be too rough."

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Nesting- Nesting during pregnancy is the act of preparing a home for the baby's arrival, often fueled by bursts of energy and a strong desire to clean, organize, and make sure everything is in order. It's a biological urge, driven by an innate desire to prepare and protect.

Omegas start nesting with the things that often smell like their mates (mostly alphas). They use these nests during pregnancy as well as in heat.

The nesting done during pregnancy is more comprehensive and is done with soft articles like cushions, pillows, blankets, etc to provide a warm space for both omega and the newborn.