Kintsukuroi_Chapter 9
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Chapter – 9
Two weeks
later the headlines splashed across all the major and minor newspapers dealt
with the story of a child who had been kidnapped from school some months ago
and whose body had just been discovered. Although –thankfully-none of the papers carried pictures of the actual body,
there were enough of the child in happier times- a tow-headed boy whose a gap-toothed smile reminded Jayna of Benny; and
of the blood splattered crime scene to keep her up with nightmares for days.
After waking for the second time with a scream trapped in her throat the day the
news broke, Jayna decided to cut her losses and bunk with Ben for the night. She
stepped out of her room quietly, hoping to keep the sleep of the alpha camped out in their living undisturbed
and yelped as she stumbled over a pair of unexpectedly out-stretched legs in
front of her son’s room.
Warm,
callused hands caught her just as she tumbled into the door and Jayna let herself
go lax, just breathing deeply and allowing the spike in her heart rate from the
near fall to settle.
“Couldn’t
sleep?” Janardan’s voice was a deep rumble that sounded intimate in the
darkness of the room.
“No,” Jayna
admitted, confessing: “Nightmares,”
“Hmmm...”
“It’s
just...” Jayna began, running a frustrated hand through her hair and abruptly
realizing that she’d made no move to get out of the alpha’s gentle hold and
that she was currently being cradled against the warmth of a muscular chest.
“Uh-”
“What?” Janardan’s
voice was barely more than a whisper, his breath blowing in warm gusts off the
top of Jayna’s head where she had it pressed against the man’s chest.
She peered
up into the alpha’s eyes- the position was pure hell on her back, given the way
she was arching and hunching simultaneously; but it was still oddly soothing.
“How could they do that to a child?!”
“Sometimes
the monsters look all too human, ‘Mega...” the alpha murmured. Then, “I was
thinking... in light of the... well, today’s headlines; I’d like to accompany
Ben to school from now onwards and stay there. Keep an eye out, so to speak.”
“You think
they will strike again?” Jayna questioned, pulling back sharply.
“The culprits
are still in the wind,” Janardan shrugged. “And maybe not immediately, but now
that the...” Janardan shot a look at her and paused. “Let’s just say that
there’s no harm in staying vigilant.”
“What about
Chief Deer? He hasn’t called you yet?”
“He has,” Janardan
answered, “Don’t worry about it.”
Jayna
furrowed her brows at the obvious evasion but decided to let it go for the
moment; re-tightening the cord of her robe and moving to open the door to her
room and finding the action blocked by the alpha’s hand on the door. She turned
back to face Janardan, “Yes?”
“Is- is
everything alright, ‘Mega?” The alpha enquired; his eyes gentle. “There’s...
there is something else that’s been bothering you apart from-” The man waved
his hand to indicate their discussion. “I... uhm... I scented your distress
when you got back but didn’t want to enquire in front of Ben, so-?”
And
something about the heartfelt query snapped the tenuous thread of control that
had been holding her together and she collapsed wordlessly into the alpha’s
arms again, sobbing. Janardan didn’t protest, pulling her in and cradling her
tenderly. She buried her face against the warrior’s neck- the warm, protective
scent soothing something deep inside her. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply
as she struggled to calm herself: she had known it was going to be a tough day
for her today even before seeing the disturbing headlines- had known it the moment she’d gotten the memo for today’s mandatory
staff health check-up last week, but she hadn’t anticipated just how much
it would shake her.
Health check-ups
were never fun, but they were even less so for omegas and betas due to all the
intrusive tests. At least the alpha doctor who was the appointed University
physician was not an outright creep, but somehow his unctuousness always rubbed
Jayna wrong. With everything that had happened over the last few months, she
had forgotten that most omegas and betas had their mates accompany them for the
check up and she had never missed Adam’s presence more keenly than while
waiting her turn today. Watching the happy couples around her had been nearly
unbearable but Jayna had grit her teeth and endured, but then it was her turn
and the doctor’s alpha musk had nearly made her puke in the room itself. She’d
had to breathe through her mouth in an effort to ignore the overbearing scent
and the man’s over the top sympathy had her biting her tongue to keep from responding
with a sharp retort. The only good thing to come of the check-up had been the
physician’s suggestion that she take a medication to hold off her biannual till
she was ready to be intimate with an alpha again. She would have to suffer
through one after a maximum of five years to reset her system, but with Adam’s
passing still fresh on her mind, Jayna couldn’t conceive being intimate with
another alpha and had jumped at the offer. The man didn’t have the medication
on hand but had made an appointment for her the next week at his private clinic
to administer the injection...
Mind on the
impending doctor’s visit, coming home had been like a slice of heaven, the familiar
scents calming him despite the visceral reminder of the day’s horror-story at
the sight of Ben’s innocent face ... It took
a long moment for her to become conscious of how she was pressed up against the
alpha and Jayna whimpered as she realized that Janardan’s scent was familiar and comforting for her now. Horrified
at herself, she lurched away, hurrying to the cupboard where she’d kept Adam’s
things and pulled out her late-mate’s favourite sleep-shirt. She pressed it to
her face and hissed in distress as she realized that the scent of damp had
replaced her husband’s scent. She tried a few other items of clothing but they
all had either the same moist stench overpowering the faint lingering traces of
Adam’s scent or that of the water lily detergent she used as laundry powder…
Adam’s once oh-so-familiar scent long gone.
Jayna
crumpled to the floor as she realized that she’d lost that one tenuous
connection to Adam she’d still had and the saddest part was she could barely
even remember Adam’s scent now. When she
thought of her mate’s scent nowadays, she thought of woodsy-musk overlaying a
delicate lemony tang and it was just now that she was realizing that that was Janardan’s scent, not Adams...Her late-mate’s scent had
been similar, Jayna remembered; but there were slight differences that she’d
catalogued that first night Janardan had spent in their room back in the
pack... but gradually she’d forgotten those minor variances and Jayna could now
only weep as she clutched Adam’s old shirt to her chest.
“‘Mega...”
The alpha’s voice was plaintive; concern and distress threaded through the soft
call.
She peered
up through reddened eyes and stiffened as she was scooped up into a hug.
Despite not being her mate, Janardan’s scent provided a sense of serenity with
its familiarity and Jayna hated her weakness as she buried her face against the
older man’s neck and wept. She became aware of being moved but refused to let
go, curling tighter into the alpha as she was cradled close to that warm body
and lifted off the floor. She felt herself deposited gently on the soft mattress
and when the alpha moved to draw away, Jayna simply tightened her arms and
refused to let go.
Janardan petted
her hair till she calmed a little, “I’m not leaving, just getting you some
water.”
She reluctantly
released her hold and lowered herself until she was lying curled on her side on
the familiar bed. She lifted her head to take a few tentative sips when a
tumbler was held to her lips and fisted the hem of the alpha’s nightshirt to
keep him from leaving; not keen on being left alone after the day she’d had. Callused
fingers carded through her hair and Jayna closed her eyes at the offered
comfort, tilting her head into the touch.
“Do you want
to tell me about it?” Janardan whispered, crouching down on the floor next to
the bed to be at the same level as Jayna.
Jayna
nodded, clearing her throat to answer: “Had our annual health check up at the
university today.”
Janardan
didn’t move away, but Jayna could feel the alpha stiffen: “Bad news?”
She shook her
head, and offered a watery smile when a bunch of soft tissues was held against
her nose for her to blow- Janardan had clearly been watching them when Ben had
gotten that bug from school the previous week. She moved her hand to accept the
bundle but the alpha refused to relinquish his hold, just waiting patiently
till Jayna blew her nose; feeling like a small child. Janardan folded them up
and tossed the now soggy tissues into the bin, washed his hands and came back
to continue the caffuné. “So what happened to upset you?”
“It was my
first check up without Adam there.” Jayna confessed softly.
The warrior’s
answering snarl was instinctive, “Was the vaid
inappropriate?!” [vaid= healer/doctor]
And Jayna
smiled at the protective anger underlying the words. “No... It’s just, with
Adam there; I never realized how much I hated his- uh, the doctor’s scent...
and how embarrassing the procedures were.”
Janardan
sighed, “I’m so sorry, ‘Mega... would-would it help if I accompanied you next
time? If you want?”
Jayna
looked up at the alpha in surprise before sitting up as she registered that the
alpha’s offer was the solution to her problems. “Yes, if it’s not too much to
ask, I’d like that very much!”
“I’d be glad
to be of assistance.” Janardan assured, “When is the next check-up?”
“Next
week,”
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“Hey! So
how is my favourite ome...?” The doctor trailed off uncertainly as he caught
sight of Janardan, hastily amending, “uh- favourite patient?!”
Jayna bit her
lip to stifle a laugh, noting that Janardan had straightened to his full height
behind her. He was wearing one of Adam’s black hooded- teeshirts; but given he
was more muscular than her late mate and was wider at the shoulders as well,
the thin cotton was straining against the impressively corded muscles his
crossed arms hinted at and made for a rather scary image. She caught Janardan
doing a visual sweep of the room and headed towards the changing room to swap
out her street-wear with the patient gown.
“Uhm...
wait,” Doctor Baid called. “Please,”
Jayna
paused, turning inquisitive eyes towards the doctor.
“Is... is
your alpha agreeable to you going on this medication?”
“Janardan’s
not my alpha,” Jayna corrected the assumption automatically even as –much to her surprise- Janardan spoke up:
“What does this mendi-mendication
do?”
“Medication,”
Jayna corrected, elaborating at the alpha’s puzzled frown, “there is no ‘en’
sound in ‘medi’. It means dawa.”[dawa=
medicine/ tablet]
Janardan nodded
his acceptance of Jayna’s explanation but then turned to the doctor, “What does
this medication do? Is she bimar... uh... indisposed?”[ bimar=
ill/unwell]
“No, your omega
is perfectly healthy.” The doctor smiled, ignoring Jayna’s assertion that Janardan
was not her alpha and using the possessive pronoun much to the omega’s
aggravation, “But, she wants to avoid her heats, so I’m not too sure about how she
feels for you-”
Jayna gaped
at the chauvinistic presumption of the doctor in consulting Janardan regarding Jayna’s
health- when she was right there in the
room- and was pleased to note that Janardan’s brows furrowed in annoyance
as well.
“It’s
possible to avoid heats?!” was the alpha’s perplexed enquiry instead of the response
the doctor had been obviously anticipating.
The doctor
nodded.
“Is it
safe, though?”
“Not when
used for prolonged periods, but yeah, as long as certain precautions are in
place, it’s fine.”
“What precautions?”
“She must
go off medication periodically to allow her body to recoup.”
“What if she
doesn’t?”
“Stop
medication periodically? Well, its going to affect her reproductive health. Maybe
her metabolism. Will speed up aging because of the consequential hormonal imbalance...
And uhm....”
“And?”
“May cause
cancer? It’s not been established as yet, but studies are underway about the plausible
link in reproductive carcinomas and prolonged use of suppressants.”
“Right. I-
I understand.” Janardan turned to Jayna, “Omega-heir, were you aware of these
side-effects?”
Jayna
nodded nervously, uncertain about letting Janardan in on the details since it
was becoming obvious that Doctor Baid would be reluctant to administer the
suppressant if Janardan objected.
“And you
still want it?” He checked.
“Yes.” Jayna
answered firmly, hoping the alpha would not object. Janardan had no legal say
over her, but if he objected it would mean an unnecessary hassle before she
could get her shot.
“Right,
uh... for how long?”
“I- uh... I
was thinking I’d start off with fi- five years...?” She stuttered, confounded by
the matter-of-fact question and the unexpected absence of opposition from the
otherwise traditional alpha.
“That’s a
long time…” The warrior’s brows furrowed as he contemplated her response, “Is
there- uh.. is there any possibility of a shorter option?”
“You can go
for the annual dose. Take a booster every year until you want to stop taking
it.” Doctor Baid spoke up, finally joining the conversation.
“You have
that option here?”
“Yes. We-”
“Good.” Janardan
cut off the doctor’s unctuous rambling and turned to her, “Omega-heir, would-
would you consider this option, please?” Green eyes pleaded with her to agree
and Jayna found herself unable to deny them. Besides, renewing the shot
annually was not that big a hassle and it would allow her greater freedom with
her choices as well. She wondered why the physician had not divulged this
option at her earlier consultation during the staff health check-up. She sighed
and gave in.
Janardan
stayed by her as the shot was administered and given her aversion to needles, Jayna
found herself grateful for the friendly support the alpha provided.
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Earlier Parts: Prologue- Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter-3- Chapter 4- Chapter 5 - Chapter 6-
As always, comments and critique is welcome :-)
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