Page 37 of Guarding the Runaway Omega

“They’re stopping at one of the bigger towns along the way where we have a shifter orthopedic surgeon working out of a human hospital. Hawk’s going to need his arm set, so he’ll be there for a couple days. Cameron will stay with him then bring him back here.”

Jasper’s mouth shut with a clack.

Won’t be jealous, won’t be jealous… He frowned and stuck out his bottom lip. Maybe a little jealous.

“Okay, sure. Good idea.” He wriggled in bed. “Hawk should have the best care.” Jasper tapped his fingers on the blanket. “Of course, I could always go there, be by his side while he recovers. Then we can come back here together.”

Elam patted his hand. “I know, Jasper. It’s very hard not to be with your mate when something’s happened to them. But he’s in good hands and you still need to recover.”

Jasper crossed his arms as he built up to a healthy snit. “Yeah, well. As long as the hands he’s in aren’t Cameron’s.”

Elam’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh dear.” He regarded Jasper with a compassionate gaze. “So, we talked a bit earlier about my pregnancy and how my emotions became so jumbled up, how I would surprise myself when anger or hurt or feelings of rejection would seem to attack me out of nowhere. And poor Nic would sometimes be the unfair recipient of my ire when those errant feelings would hijack me.”

Jasper sighed. “I understand, Elam. And I figured once the pregnancy advanced, I’d probably get all weepy about nothing, but this is different. I’ve been pregnant for, like, what? Ten minutes?”

Elam snort-laughed then seemed to regain his composure. “That’s very true, but remember what Asha warned you about earlier when she came by with the tea?”

Jasper ran the discussion with the Healer through his mind. “Oh. You mean the hormones?”

Elam nodded. “Yes. If her theory is correct, they would’ve had to give you and the other omegas very high doses of hormones to jumpstart the pregnancy gene.”

He considered Elam’s words and the explanation Asha had given him earlier about what she speculated had been done to him and the other omegas. And once he had the ultrasound, she was sure they’d discover that a laboratory-created womb had been surgically attached within his abdomen.

The drugs could explain why I’ve been so moody and cranky for a while.

He’d just assumed he was bitchy because life had sucked even more than usual over the past several months.

But now I have Hawk and we have the baby. My life is better than I could’ve ever hoped for, so I need to quit being such an ungrateful brat and grow a pair.

Jasper’s eyes widened and he sat up straighter. “The omegas! You never told me if the omegas were safe, what else happened.”

Elam took his hand again and Jasper wondered how much more bad news he could handle.

“Nic wanted to make sure you knew that your friend Sascha has been rescued, and that he’s okay. He’s a little banged up, but he wasn’t shot or anything like that.”

Jasper let out a long exhale, happiness filling him that his friend had survived.

“However…”

Jasper regarded Elam. “However?”

“He’s going to need you as a friend more than ever, Jasper. At some point during his captivity, Sascha was impregnated.”

Jasper’s hands flew to his mouth. Had Sascha been inseminated? Raped? His gut churned from the horror of it all. Even if Jasper hadn’t wanted what happened to him, the end result had been miraculous and wonderful. He was carrying his fated mate’s child. Whose child was Sascha carrying?

“Where is he now?”

“He’ll be returning in the morning with Nic and an Alpha from another pack. They’re still doing clean-up at the site. Sascha is desperate to see you, but this Alpha won’t let him out of his sight.”

Uh-oh.

Elam smirked. “Yeah. Nic is pretty sure the Alpha who was with Hawk when they rescued the omegas is Sascha’s fated mate.”

Damn. “That sounds complicated.”

“Very,” Elam agreed. “Look, this has been a lot for you to handle. Why don’t you get some sleep now that you know Hawk and Sascha are okay. Then tomorrow, I’m sure you can give Hawk a ring at the hospital after his surgery. It’ll make you feel better to hear his voice.”

Jasper nodded absent-mindedly, his mind filled with the events Elam had just shared with him. Right as Elam rose to leave, another thought jumped in his head.