I was in hell. Stuck in a fancy prison, I was watched constantly. As shitty as my lucky was, two weeks after my meltdown, the doctor happily announced that I was pregnant. What would have been a happy moment in my life turned to ash in my mouth. Orion howled in my head for a full hour before I, too, started crying.
That night after I stopped crying, Dr. Steiner informed me she had told the Alpha of the Northern Ridge pack of my pregnancy. The news elated them, while my heart dropped to my stomach. I had to carry the pup for another seven to six months before I'd lose it forever. Afterward, the days stretched on in silence. I didn't talk to anyone, not even Terrence, the hunky nurse who tried everything in his power to make me speak, but I couldn't. I didn't want to. And what made matters worse... My traitorous family didn't stop calling or try to visit me. I refused to see them.
As my pregnancy moved forward, my belly ballooned to a point where I couldn't see my dick anymore. The inhumanity! I also had to suffer through morning sickness, swollen feet, back pain, and worst of all, fluctuating hormones, which drove me up the walls. I fuckin hated my life.
"Caleb?" our group-therapist called out, snapping me out of my funk. "Are you willing to talk?" Her blue eyes stared at me with hope in them.
We were sitting under a massive tree in a small group of six omegas and the therapist. She was a stocky woman, with a few strands of gray hair woven into her blond hair. A few beauty spots dotted her flawless olive skin. Her name was Malia, or Marine. Didn't care to ask. For the last couple of months, Dr. Steiner forced us to talk about our feelings, and they tried preparing us for the inevitable separation from our children. They tried to convince us we were doing a great service to our packs and their allies. That we could take comfort in knowing that our children would be cherished and looked after.
Yeah, right... If that made any difference.
Six pairs of eyes drilled into me, waiting for my answer. I would have sweated bullets under their curious gazes, but the gentle breeze that swept through the garden kept me cool. I didn't like any of my fellow prisoners. They had already accepted the bullshit the councilor kept spewing out of her mouth. Weaklings. But I still found a hint of sorrow and fear running behind their cracked masks. Even if they accepted their fate, they still had to suffer from the loss.
I shook my head, rubbing my swollen tummy. My bare, yet swollen feet dug into the soft grass while I stared off into the distant forest surrounding the compound.
The therapist sighed while scratching her forehead. "Caleb. It has been five months already. You can't bottle up your feelings… they'll consume you."
I scoffed while rolling my eyes. I didn't want to. Nothing I said would make a difference, and I wasn't about to act like a good little omega for them. They fucked up my life.
"You have two months left before you give birth. We want you to be in the right frame of mind when the time comes. Talking to us will allow you to get the feelings of resentment and anger off your chest before you have to deal with the separation. A person can only handle as much as they can bear before they snap, and I don't want to see that happen."
I chuckled, licking my lips at the same time. Here goes my ignoring them. "I find it funny that the people who's using us against our wills want to help us at the same time." I cocked my eyebrow. "Why? Are you afraid we'll break your perfect track record by committing suicide after we leave this wretched place?"
My comment to the therapist left her speechless for a minute before she continued. "We built this institution on the premise of creating a safe space for omegas to give birth without the packs taking it upon themselves to resolve the issue. You may see us as the enemy, but we're not. We're trying to make an unpleasant situation better.
"We're not trying to sweep your feeling under a carpet, hoping for the best. The separation will be hard on all of you, make no mistake." She glanced at the omegas. "But we can only assist you in the aftermath if you allow us to. Caleb, you don't have to bear this burden alone."
The meeting ended in a stalemate. I didn't need, or want their help. The only people I could rely on were myself and Orion. Lately, he's been sleeping more and talking less. However, I could sense the sadness oozing off him. I feared that the separation from our child that grew in my womb would hit him harder. I pray to the moon goddess that if the time came, I'd be able to pull him out of his depression.
🌕🩸🌲🌙🐾 Deputy Omega 🐾🌙 🌲🩸🌕
The time had come and gone. A week before, in the middle of the night, I went into labor. After that, everything twisted into a blur. The nurses burst into the room with Dr. Steiner hot on their heels. She cooed at me the whole time as they carted me to the nearest delivery room, where I gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
The only thing I remember was the image of my baby being carried out of the room while the pup cried its lungs out. I tried to reach out for my child, but soon his cries faded to silence. After the labor, they stitched me back up and took me to a recovery room. I slept for the rest of the night until that afternoon.
As soon as I woke up, I called for the nurses. They quickly attended to me, but when I asked them where the pup was, they left the room. Dr. Steiner eventually arrived and then told me that the Alpha and Luna of the Northern Ridge pack had taken my pup in. They didn't even allow me to hold the child before they ripped him from me.
For hours, I sat in my bed, rubbing my distended belly where my pup once lay. I didn't react when the nurses or the doctor tried to pull me out of my trance. I cried. For the first time since they locked me in the hellhole, I bawled my eyes out, fighting against the nurses who tried to calm me. They had to sedate me.
I found myself yet again sitting on the edge of my bed, staring out of the window. Raindrops pelted the windows. The foul weather reflected my mood, as if the moon goddess cried for the atrocity committed against me. Orion hadn't talked to me since, hiding in the shadows of my mind, leaving me alone to suffer. I couldn't blame him; he too suffered at the loss.
The bedroom door creaked open, but I didn't take my eyes off the window. The scent of jasmine and lavender chased away the petrichor scent of the rain shower, dirtying up the room. My jaw tightened when I heard the footsteps I'd gotten used to over the last few months coming toward the bed.
"Caleb?" Dr. Steiner called out. I didn't reply. Not that I wanted to. "This is the last time we'll speak. I've already notified your pack that you've healed up and are ready to return. They'll be here at four o'clock this afternoon.
"I've also informed and given them the psychological reports of your time here. When you return to your pack, Dr. Liegemen recommends a mental health assessment to help you cope with the separation. You can't continue to ignore everyone and allow yourself to wither away. You have a bright future ahead of you, and I hate to see you like this."
I continued, ignoring her. All the bullshit coming out of her mouth nearly made me vomit. The gall of the woman... She was the delusional one who continued to destroy the lives of omegas at the behest of the werewolf council and their pathetic mutts.
She sighed and then said for the last time, "I wish you all the best. Hopefully, one day you'll see that your sacrifice had helped an entire pack, and maybe one day your son will seek you out. Goodbye, Caleb."
She then left the room. The room was silent again, except for the light patter of rain against the windows. A red light flickered through the room from across the room. A camera in the room's corner kept its lens on me. Luckily for me, they had removed the bracelet around my left wrist after I gave birth. I hated the damn thing. It kept us from doing anything we weren't supposed to do.
After a while, I stood up from the bed and made my way toward the candle that sat on the shelf. I removed it from its holder. I had no intention of going back to my pack. The thought of seeing the faces of those who betrayed me would have sent me into a murderous rampage.
I walked over to a chair and quickly propped it against the door handle, preventing anyone from entering. But I was no fool. The flimsy barricade would have bought me mere seconds. I used the candle and began drawing runes on the surface of the door. Just as I finished the last sequence of the runic circle, rushed footsteps neared my door.
I slammed my hand on the door and whispered, "Seal forth and contain." The runes burned red and then raced around the room, locking all the doors and windows.
It was foolish to think that I could hold out a witch for long, but the sealing rune was of my creation. It would stall the witch long enough. The doorknob rattled as the nurses and guards tried to enter the room. Several shouts echoed out, calling for the doctor to aid them. Not taking any chances, I began another drawing, another set of runes in the shape of a door on an open space on a wall. Once finished, I held the candle's wick in front of my mouth.
"Ignis," I said, over the ruckus behind the barricaded door. The wick of the candle burst aflame with a spark.
Several guards rushed up to the patio doors and began bashing their batons against the windows. However, the runes prevented the windows from shattering. They began shouting at me to stop what I was doing before I got into trouble.
In response, I flipped them off before pressing the flame onto the runes. The runes burst into purple flames. A door-shaped wall of flames burned before me, but no heat burned my flesh. Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward to my freedom.