"No,Clija. He is unable to bear offspring due to internal damage. Shall we terminate?"
My breath catches in my throat as the wordterminaterepeats in my head.
"No. I am curious—is he repairable?"
I don't dare to hope that they can fix me so I can finally have the kids I've always wanted. What a failed omega I am; I can't even bear an alpha's child. It just makes me glad to have Wen, because I know he'll never abandon me, no matter my flaws.
"Inconclusive without further testing," the strange-suited alien says with zero inflection in his voice.
“Very well, proceed and repair him if possible. This one will be quite popular, I should think, provided he can carry a child. He would certainly be a hot commodity, though I'm not sure I'd sell him. Keeping him might mean he breeds more males like himself." There's a long silence before he speaks again. "Where is the seed for insemination inserted?"
"In his rear hole, Clija."
They're… They're really discussing this right now. I know I should feel mortified to be talked about like this, but I can't find it in me to care when the wordterminateis still echoing in my mind.
"I'm not sure I understand. That hole is for waste. All humans, male and female, have rear waste."
"That is correct, but this male has a dual function rear hole."
What. The. Fuck.
There's a loud sigh, and I can't tell who it came from. I just want to snap at the bastard who did, because he's not the one tied to a table being discussed like a science experiment.
"Very well, Klubo. Run all the standard tests and whatever else you need so you can give me answers. Make sure to start the repairs as soon as possible. I want to breed him."
"Understood."
The beep tells me the call is over and Clija is gone, leaving me alone with Klubo. Yet just as I think that, the door opens, and in walks another alien in the same protective garb. This one has fur around its eyes, and he goes right to the wall, grabs something, and returns to flank me with Klubo on my other side.
My stomach is in knots, and try as I might, I can't do more than twitch in my restraints, something both aliens no doubt see and very much ignore.
"Beginning the blood analysis," the furry one says, his voice gravelly.
"Understood. Scan starting and repairs pending."
The two aliens work in silence, one pricking me with a needle before walking back to the counter. The other, Klubo, hovers off to my side, studying his holoscreen and pressing keys. A healing dome starts to slowly encompass me, and I startle.
I've heard of the domes—we even have them on the ship grounded in Straf—but I've never seen one actually in use. I know it folds into the base of the table when inactive and expands to cover a patient completely during full-body repair procedures. It was used a lot in the beginning of our life on Strafor, as some of the adults accidentally ate or drank something that poisoned them. They'd spend time in the healing dome until they fully recovered or passed away. To see it used now, on me, is alarming and frightening.
The damage to my insides must truly be extensive for them to use the healing dome on me. Or perhaps they use the dome for every repair, minor or extensive.
A strange sort of heat envelopes me. Thankfully it's not painful, but it is uncomfortable. It's centralized around my stomach and lower extremities, which means that's where the healing is focused.
Hope is a dangerous thing.
I'm… excited. And I shouldn't be. Yet this could finally be the chance I've been wanting to fix me. This could be my chance to have children. This could be the healing I needed, the healing the council refused me. This could beeverything.
I shouldn't be hopeful.
I shouldn't.
But I am, and I'm nearly desperate for it despite the fear.
Chapter 13
Wen
I'velosttrackoftime without windows for me to read the sun through. I have no idea how long my mates and I have been separated, but I feel the ache in my chest from their absence, which tells me it's been too long.