Chapter 16: Theodore - Marked By Love

He hadn’t the faintest idea where the heck he was. He was, however, aware of the fact that a jackhammer had taken up residence inside his skull and was currently trying to break free. Next, he noted the sharp pain in his stomach had reduced to a dull ache.

He tried to force his eyes open. Whoever thought something as simple as opening one’s eyes could be so difficult? He fought and pushed, and still the darkness persisted. He tried again; the only result was an increase in his head’s pounding and an odd gurgling noise.

“Hey, go easy.”

Someone was with him in the darkness. Their voice was muffled and distant as if echoing through a long tunnel. That thought should terrify him, yet the voice was comforting. His body relaxed as the disembodied voice washed over him, speaking about medicine and blankets. It didn’t matter, so long as that voice never stopped.

Large and warm hands, he assumed belonging to the disembodied voice, held his head up, and a thick liquid was poured down his throat. He was too tired to try and fight it, and it tasted faintly of cherry which was pleasant. The voice continued talking, but Theodore was already slipping into the darkness.

Light pierced the fuzzy shadows shrouding his consciousness. Theodore tried to sit up, to turn his head from the onslaught of light. His muscles wouldn’t move; they were too heavy.

The light came into focus. It was still too bright, but he could make out shapes and colors. Rich brown walls covered in knots and grain, rows of shelves made from the same rich brown. A black rectangle in the corner with a long chimney running up to the ceiling, orange light danced in the center of the black rectangle.

He was in the veterinarian’s cabin; from the looks of it on the sofa nestled into his blanket cocoon. He was surprised to find he was warm. Theodore had previously come to the conclusion that the cabin would never be warm.

A figure walked across his line of sight. Tall, messy blonde waves falling over bare shoulders. He crouched in front of the cast-iron furnace, opened it, and fussed about before standing again.

It was Royce, shirtless and covered in sweat, his jeans hanging low on his hips. He had a bundle of split wood in his arms, moving from the main sitting room off to other corners of the cabin. Presumably to add more wood to those furnaces as well.

Theodore still despised alphas, but at this moment, with the fires roaring, making him warm and cozy in his blanket nest, a sliver of appreciation for them swelled in his breast.

The alpha returned and knelt in front of the sofa, his face broke out in a grin.

“Hey, Doc, how you feelin’? Your eyes are open, are you actually awake this time?” Royce raised a cloth and gently drew it across Theodore’s brow. It was damp and cool and felt amazing. “Your eyes are tracking my movements now, that’s a good sign. Here, it’s time for your next dose of stomach meds, can you sit up?”

Theodore watched Royce fiddle with a prescription bottle and measuring cup. Theodore tried to talk, to move, all that happened was his head lulled to the side and an odd groan rattled in the back of his throat. Royce just smiled.

“That’s alright. I got you, Doc.”

Something warm and rough wrapped around the back of his neck, steadying his head and lifting him upward. The cup of medicine Royce was holding was brought to Theodore’s lips and gently poured into his mouth. Cherry.

“This is supposed to help with your stomach lining and some of your other symptoms. Buford said if you’re up to it, you should start with some broth or soup.”

With a groan, Theodore’s head lulled to the side again. For some unfathomable reason, Royce smiled wider, his tan face glowing and all his teeth on display. He looked so darn happy, and Theodore couldn’t fathom why.

“I saw you had something that looked like pumpkin soup in your fridge, you want some of that?”

Squash, Theodore wanted to correct him, but all that came out was a groan.

“I’ll heat up a little bit, and we’ll see how much you can have, yeah?”

Royce’s eager face disappeared. Somewhere in there, Theodore must have dozed off, because the next thing he knew he was being woken by the strong scent of soup and someone rearranging him in his nest. To his credit, Royce took care to sit him up without overtly disturbing his cocoon of blankets.

Spoonfuls of warmed soup were brought to his lips and carefully tipped into his mouth. He swallowed reflexively, surprised to find with each spoonful his stomach cramping lessened. He was also confused; he expected to smell the rich pureed squash and spices, but there was an undertone of oranges, and was that ozone? Why did his soup smell like the outdoors?

“There ya go, Doc. Good job, you got almost half a bowl.” Royce kept up his monologue while he fed Theodore.

“That’s not my name.” Theodore’s words were slurred, sounding more like sthsnmnas. Somehow Royce understood him.

“Yeah … I figured Dr. James Abbott wasn’t your real name, after I, ah … looked in your truffle tin.” Royce blushed. Theodore had half a mind to think it was cute. “Don’t worry, I kept it to myself. I wanted to call every enforcer in Elk Cove and hunt down—but I also wanted to wait until you woke up so I could ask you some questions. We don’t have to talk about that now though. The only thing that matters is that you get better. I’ll keep you safe until then.”

Royce fed him more soup until Theodore turned his head away. He needed a breather.

“That’s good, you ate a lot, Doc. Here, give me a sec. Buford will want to know you’re awake. Maybe since you’re eating, he’ll take out your IV.”

Royce left, and Theodore heard a muffled conversation from somewhere in the cabin. He blinked, his hazy eyes strained to focus on something while his mind slushy tried to piece together what was happening. He attempted to get up and look around, but his trembling arms betrayed him, and he collapsed back into the sofa.

“Hey, hey, take it easy, let me help you.” Royce had appeared out of nowhere to help. “Oh yeah, you probably need these.”

Theodore’s wire glasses were slid onto his nose.

His breath faltered. Royce was very, very close. Royce’s sun-tanned face was hollow, large circles settled under his eyes. Theodore could have sworn those purple bruises hadn’t been there when they first met. Or at least not as prominent. He was also sporting a healthy coating of stubble, and his waves were a tangled mess.

“You look like crap,” Theodore mumbled.

Royce laughed; it did something odd to the pit of Theodore’s stomach. His nostrils flared. Oranges and rainstorms wafted into his senses. Royce took a deep, deliberate breath through the nose, his eyes flashing gold.

“Ho-how long?” Theodore croaked out.

“What?” Royce rasped, his eyes unfocused.

“How long have I been …”

“Oh, this is day four.”

“Wha-wha … my patients, my—how?”

“Easy, easy, Doc. The clinic and all the pet parents have been very understanding. I called Margarette and told her you got real sick and were bedridden. No one except me, Buford, and Dr. Shera know what really happened. Okay?”

Theodore turned his gaze from the alpha kneeling in front of him. The furnace in the living room was blazing and had a pile of split wood on the side. The coffee table had been moved against the wall and was littered with prescriptions and handwritten notes. There were pillows and blankets on the floor; had Royce been sleeping next to him? Sleeping on the floor, giving him medicine, and monitoring his symptoms for four days?

“Theodore,” he whispered.

Royce hummed in question.

“My name, it’s Theodore Quinn.”

“Nice to meet you, Theodore.” Royce brushed the hair from Theodore’s face. In an instant his sappy smile turned intense, and his eyes flashed gold again. He inhaled then stiffened, his jaw locked. “Firewood.”

“What?”

“I’m going to chop more.”

“Huh?”

“Buford is on his way, I’ll be back. Firewood.”

“Firewood …” Theodore watched quizzically as Royce leapt to his feet and ran out the back door.

That was odd, wasn’t it? Why had Royce suddenly jumped at the chance to get away? He’d also seemed uncomfortable which made no sense.

Minutes later, raised voices echoed from outside the cabin. Right, hadn’t Royce said Buford was on his way? Who was Buford? A medic of some sort, most likely, because he was the one who was apparently removing the IV.

Theodore watched the door expectantly. A woman, beta, mid-fifties came through the door alone.

“Buford?” he asked.

“Dr. Shera.” The beta smiled. “Nice to meet my fellow medical doctor in Elk Cove. I just wish it were under better circumstances. Buford is a nurse, he’s outside. Royce didn’t want him coming in.”

“Huh?”

“Buford’s an alpha. Has Royce been behaving himself?” Dr. Shera asked. Theodore could only nod. “Hmmm, we’ll see. Enough about him, I’m here to see how you’re doing. Would you like to be moved to the hospital?”

Theodore’s palms started to sweat, his body trembled. He was fairly certain what little blood was left in his face, drained.

“Oh, I see Royce’s description of your reaction to hospitals was not an exaggeration. If it helps, it’s more of a medical center in the house where I live and see the patients of Elk Cove. But that’s okay, I won’t force you. I hear you’ve been eating, how does your stomach feel?”

“Better, actually. Probably better than it has in um …”

Dr. Shera furrowed her brow. “Dr. Abbott, I don’t mean to be insensitive, but how long have you been taking those pills? And why? You’re a medical professional, you knew the risks. I just would like to understand.”

“It’s been over three years. I was up to four pills a day. I-I’m hiding from an alpha. A dangerous one.”

Dr. Shera let out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, Dr. Abbott, I really am. As your doctor, I can’t force you to stop taking those pills, or the witch suppressor, but I can strongly advise you against the damage they are doing to your body. The alpha birth control alone is enough to permanently harm your system.

“As a fellow citizen of Elk Cove, I tell you this town is safe. As much as I sometimes dislike alphas, Royce is a good one and will do anything to protect his mate. Hell, any of the alphas here would do the same for any omega, mate or not.”

Theodore nodded.

“Now back to you and your condition. The fact that you’re eating is good. I need you to concentrate on eating as much as you can any time you feel a little hunger, if you don’t feel hunger, try every few hours anyway. And since you kept your soup down and it didn’t increase your pain, you don’t need to stick to just liquids. I want you to eat whatever sounds good, but go slow. Now I know you dislike hospitals, but I do think we should get you in for some scans.”

“Please, no,” Theodore whined. But his further protests were cut off by an irate growl.

At some point during his conversation with Dr. Shera, Royce had come in. His lean frame was outlined in the doorway, still shirtless. His muscles glistened and flexed, his eyes furious.

“He said no hospitals,” he snarled.

“If you don’t mind, I’m having a private conversation with my patient. If you can’t handle that, I’m more than willing to call Argus,” Dr. Shera said cooly.

“What scans?” Royce asked without missing a beat. Dr. Shera was dutifully ignoring him.

“I don’t mind,” Theodore said. “Royce can hear this.”

Why did he suddenly not care if Royce was involved, he had no idea. Perhaps it was the shock of an alpha openly fighting for an omega’s wishes instead of trying to browbeat them into submission.

“Ultrasound, CT scan, possibly a scope depending on what those show,” Dr. Shera said.

“Does the vet clinic have those?” Royce asked.

“They do,” Theodore said.

“Would it be possible for you to get the scan done there? Where you feel safe?”

Theodore wanted to cry. How long had it been since someone, anyone, had given a second thought about Theodore and his needs?

Royce gave Theodore his phone, and he’d called Margarette who put Gerald on speakerphone and talked to Dr. Shera about what they needed. In no time Royce was carrying Theodore across the lawns and in through the back of the vet clinic.

Margarette and Gerald about had a heart attack fussing over Theodore when they saw him. He must look worse than he thought …

Thankfully it was determined the scope was unnecessary, but he needed to continue the stomach meds and rest until further notice.