By the time they’d sat down to eat the quick lunch she’d made for them, the delivery guys had arrived and were happy enough to bring the furniture in and set it up. They were quick about it, having the bedroom in place, several shelves built for the study, and a small pub table with chairs for the breakfast nook. Olcan saw them out, tipping them and thanking them for their help.
“Well, I guess that’s it for today. We’ve got at least enough to buy us a little time to shop,” he said.
“We should have gotten a television while we were out. What are we going to do for the rest of the evening?” Niamh asked.
“Well, it’s not that late. We could go to the electronics store and get one, or . . . we could find some other way to occupy our evening.”
“I suppose. I saw a whiteboard and a marker left on the fridge. We could play tic tac toe,” she purred.
“Or we could not,” he replied, leaning in and kissing her.
Niamh felt her heart begin to race, thudding heavily against her chest as his tongue explored the warm crevice of her mouth and his hand rested on her breast. She felt short of breath, faint, and then things around her began spiraling inward. Everything went blank.
When she awoke, she was stretched out on their new bed with Olcan hovering over her and a strange man approaching. Olcan was saying something that she had trouble grasping at first. Finally, she realized he was trying to reassure her.
“This is the doctor from our clan. You passed out, and he’s going to check on you.”
“It’s probably just a reaction to the stress your body has been under the last couple of weeks,” the doctor was saying as he began to examine her.
“Okay,” she muttered, feeling parched. “Can I have some water?”
“I’ll get you some,” Olcan said, standing up and walking out.
“We don’t have any glasses,” she told the doctor, despite knowing it was a ridiculous comment under the circumstances.
He smiled at her and nodded. “He’s resourceful. I think he’ll figure something out.”
Niamh nodded, still feeling a bit silly that she’d made the comment at all. She felt lightheaded and wasn’t thinking clearly. She tried to focus as the doctor asked her questions, all while pressing her body here and there and taking vital signs.
“Niamh, when was your last period?”
“I don’t know. It’s been a while, since before I left Ireland. I hadn’t had one there for a couple of months. Doctor said it was due to some damage my body suffered.”
“What kind of damage?” he asked.
She looked toward the door and then back at him, whispering, “I was attacked by some men. They, they assaulted me. Sexually.”
“You were raped,” he clarified.
“It was punishment,” she said, unwilling to say the words.
“It was rape, Niamh. You have to be able to say it to get past it.”
“Okay,” she told him, still not willing to say the word on her own.
“And you haven’t had a period since then?”
“No, just some spotting, but I’ve seen a doctor, and I’m not pregnant. He said I might have a hard time after what they did to me,” she said, almost choking on the words.
“Here’s your water,” Olcan told her, returning with what looked like the bottle from juice he’d had with his food earlier, except it was now full of water. “Sorry, we don’t have any glasses.”
Niamh smiled and looked at the doctor as if to say she told him so, though she knew that was just as silly as the original comment. There was also a plea in her eyes. She’d broached the subject of what happened with Sorley and his men, but she hadn’t told Olcan the entire story and wasn’t sure she wanted to. She was ashamed and afraid of how he would react, even with Sorley being dead. There were others that weren’t.
“I’ll have to draw some blood to be certain, but I believe you’re pregnant. Your abdomen is showing signs of tightening, usually an indication of an Omega expecting a litter.
“Litter?” she said almost simultaneously with Olcan.
“Yes. Omegas usually have more than one cub, but surely you know that. I’d say you aren’t more than a couple of weeks along, so it’s a bit early to tell you much of anything beyond I’m quite sure you’re expecting. I’ll draw some blood before I leave and make sure, but I think that’s what caused your fainting spell. Your previous troubles with your period and your current condition have weakened your system. As long as I don’t find anything else in your lab results, I think we can patch you up with some prenatal vitamins and a bit of eating the right food. I’ll call you in a prescription to the pharmacy and have them drop it off.”