Ember Of Winter

Im h*rny all day

A faint beeping sound was entering my ears from somewhere. My eyelids felt heavy, like cotton soaked in water. I couldn’t open them. I could hear someone whispering. I tried turning my head toward the sound.

“Jay?” A strangely distorted voice reached me. Someone patted my cheek and then pried my eyelids open one by one. A sharp beam of light hit my eyes and I tried to blink.

“It’s better now. His pupils look normal.” The voice was a little clearer now.

“R… Rich?” I opened my eyes and looked toward the source of the voice. Yes, it was Richard, Dr. Richard.

“You fool… you’ve regained consciousness?” He glared at me angrily.

My throat felt dry. I tried to speak but no sound came out.

“Give him something to drink.” Alec… my bodyguard understood my condition and told Richard.

“First let Dr. Amy examine him.” Richard said, irritation clear in his tone.

I was struggling to keep my eyes open. Richard’s words weren’t registering properly.

Where was I and why? Who was Dr. Amy and why did she want to examine me? I had no idea.

“You all go outside.” Suddenly the door opened and a soft but firm voice spoke.

“Come on, Dr. Amy. You’re sending me out too?” Richard’s annoyed voice came.

“Yes. You leave first.” She showed no consideration.

“Tch. Heartless woman.” Richard’s voice faded as he walked away.

Soon, silence fell over the room. Dr. Amy injected something into my IV drip. A few moments later, it felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from my head. Suddenly, I started feeling light. My eyes, which could barely stay open before, were now wandering around the room as if I were on a tour.

“Hello, Mr.! I’m Dr. Amy. A pheromone expert.” Dr. Amy’s voice drew my attention to her. She was a beautiful woman. Her red curly hair was tied back in a hair catcher. She wore a white overall over a knee-length skirt.

She pulled a chair and sat close to my bed.

“Hi. How did I get here?” Suddenly I remembered I had been with Domino.

“Ahem. That’s exactly what we’re here to discuss.” She cleared her throat.

“Dr. Richard told me you’re pregnant. He has referred you to the obs/gyne department. If they haven’t contacted you yet, you can make an appointment here. Well, I’m not a gynecologist, so this is outside my field. That being said, let’s get to the main issue.” She paused to take a breath.

I listened to her silently.

“According to your report, your primary gender is male while your secondary characteristic is Alpha.”

“Recessive Alpha,” I corrected.

“Yes, you are a Recessive Alpha. Which means there is a dormant uterus inside your body. Normally, it’s a vestigial organ like the appendix......... neither harmful nor beneficial. But in some cases, when you come in contact with a certain amount of an Enigma’s pheromones, that tiny uterus, which can’t even be detected on a normal ultrasound, slowly starts to grow in size. Do you understand what I’m saying?” Seeing me silent, she asked.

“Uh… hmm, yes.” Dr. Amy’s explanation made me realize why Richard had said I must have slept with that unknown person multiple times. An Enigma’s pheromones don’t enlarge the uterus all at once; they prepare it gradually for pregnancy.

“Good. So now it’s clear that your uterus is linked to this Enigma’s pheromones. You brought your partner along so we could…”

“What do you mean by linked?” I interrupted her.

“It means your uterus still needs to grow further. As the baby grows, the uterus needs to expand accordingly. Without the Enigma’s pheromones, this would be impossible. If you don’t receive those pheromones throughout the pregnancy, the uterus will stop growing and…” She fell silent.

She didn’t need to say more. The unfinished sentence was enough to understand that without the Enigma, I could have a miscarriage.

“I… I don’t know him… and…” And even if I did know him, would that person want to stay with me? Would he be willing to take responsibility for me or the child?

He had come for a temporary release, just like me so how could I put such a huge responsibility on him?

How could I tell him 'congratulations, you got me pregnant. You’re going to be a father, so now come live with me.'

I sat silently with my head lowered. But there was an even more difficult situation.

Enigmas make up less than one percent of the entire population. Betas are the most common, around fifty percent. After that, Omegas and Alphas are almost equal in number. But Enigmas… finding one is almost impossible. To be honest, I had always considered them a myth.

“I understand your situation. Obviously, this is complicated. But if you want to keep this child, you will have to find him. I’m sorry.”

“How? I can’t sense other people’s pheromones unless they’re in heat, rut or extremely aroused. Why do you think I’m here?” I said with some bitterness.

To find him, I would have to get close to him, arouse him enough so that he would release a large amount of pheromones. Omegas and Alphas release mild pheromones even in normal conditions, but they are usually in unnoticeable quantities that have no effect on other Omegas or Alphas.

“Your body is rejecting other people’s pheromones. That’s why you went into shock. As for sensing pheromones, you can continue intimacy but avoid full penetration or s*x. I’ll prescribe you some medicine. It will stop your body from rejecting others’ pheromones or going into shock. You’ll have to take this medicine daily.”

“Oh, thank you.” I looked at her gratefully.

“But…” She hesitated.

“Yes?” I looked at her in surprise.

“The side effect of this medicine… the reason we give this medicine… meaning the side effect itself is its effective function.”

“What?” I asked anxiously.

“My baby won’t be affected, right?” The child hadn’t even come into this world yet and he had already become my biggest concern.

Ahhh these pregnancy hormones…

“No, no. This is a pregnancy-safe medicine. Actually, this medicine increases libido. So…” She trailed off again.

“You mean I’ll be horny all the time?” The words slipped out of my mouth.

“Ahem… pretty much.”

“But I can’t have s*x?”

“Not in the first trimester at all. After that, if your doctor clears you, light activity might be possible.”

Ugh. I leaned my head back against the bed. How was I supposed to manage this?

“Any other questions?” She looked at me with sympathetic eyes.

“Not right now.” I closed my eyes and answered.

“Here’s my number. You can contact me anytime. Feel free to ask any questions related to pheromones. And when you find your Enigma, make sure to bring him along for the check-up.” She placed a card on my side table.

“Yes, definitely. Thank you.”

“Alright, I’ll take my leave. In a little while, someone from obs/gynae will come to examine you.” She informed me as she left.

Her words proved correct. She had just left when a team entered with an ultrasound machine. They took blood samples, applied gel on my stomach and started pressing the probe around.

“Your partner didn’t come?” they asked.

“No,” I replied.

“Your pregnancy is only four weeks along right now, so not much is visible yet. Make an appointment for one month later.” They wiped my stomach clean and handed me a printout from the machine.

“You won’t be able to see it clearly right now. But this tiny dot is your baby.” Smiling, they pointed to a spot on the black image.

“My baby.” I repeated under my breath.

“The first pregnancy and first trimester require a lot of caution because the risk of miscarriage is higher. So avoid physical exertion. Try to keep your mind as calm as possible. Stress can be harmful. Try to inhale your partner’s pheromones as much as possible. And congratulations..... this miracle baby is something only a few get.”

She smiled gently. I, who had been making a face at the word ‘partner,’ burst out laughing at ‘miracle baby.’

These pregnancy hormones were really going to drive me crazy.

“What are you so happy about?” Richard entered with a smile still lingering on my face. Alec followed behind him. I had been so absorbed in looking at the ultrasound report that I hadn’t even noticed when the gynecologist left.

“Ready to go home?” Richard said, handing me the discharge papers.

“Of course.

” I immediately swung my legs off the bed and tried to stand when everything went dark in front of my eyes. I expected to hit the floor but when I opened my eyes in shock, Alec was holding me.

“Are you okay?” he asked worriedly.

“Uh… yeah.” His hands were touching my body. I flinched.

“Sorry.” He quickly sat me back on the bed and stepped back to a distance.

“Thank you for saving me from falling.” I lightened the mood. He just smiled faintly.

Richard was packing my things into a bag.

“Can you walk or should Alec carry you?”

“I can walk.” I glared at him.

Alec took the bag from Richard’s hands and walked ahead of us. For some reason, I quickened my steps and started walking beside him. Alec stopped abruptly and looked at me in surprise.

“What happened?” I looked at him in confusion.

Alec continued walking silently. But this time, his pace was slower.

****************************

When we reached the parking lot, he opened the back door for me as usual and waited for me to sit. As soon as I sat down, he closed the door and moved toward his seat. I was feeling strangely unsettled. As if something had been taken away from me. My heartbeat quickened.

“Are you okay?” Richard, sitting beside me, asked.

“Ha… yeah.” I wiped the sweat from my forehead and answered.

“Wake me up when we reach home.” To avoid further questioning, I closed my eyes and rested my head against the seat.

On the way, Alec stopped at a pharmacy and got my medicines. When we reached home, the car stopped in the driveway, but I remained lying with my eyes closed. I was feeling an odd weakness. My entire body felt numb.

“Jay?” At Richard’s voice, I barely opened my eyes.

“We’re home,” he said gently.

As the door on my side opened, a gust of cold air rushed in. I took a deep breath and started feeling a little better. Maybe it was because of the closed car. Alec was a Beta but Richard was a Dominant Alpha. At that moment, I couldn’t sense his pheromones, but perhaps my body was unconsciously rejecting them, which had filled the enclosed space.

I gathered my courage and got out of the car. Alec and Richard walked on either side of me. Their attention was on me. Both were alert, ready to catch me if needed.

Suddenly, I felt like laughing. My mood improved instantly. I liked their worried gazes, their concerned expressions, their anxiety. Their attention felt good.

To test them, I took two more steps and stumbled slightly. As expected, both rushed forward at the same time and caught me before I could fall.

“Hahahahaha.” I laughed.

Both looked at me in confusion, then at each other.

************************************

Alec sat on a chair near the bed. I kept staring at the ultrasound again and again.

“Did you see anything?” I handed the report to him.

“I’m not a doctor.” He shook his head.

“You’re only twenty now. Why don’t you enroll in medical college?” I looked at him.

Without saying anything, he just looked at me with quiet eyes.

Oh, I remembered… because of his family situation, he had been forced to work at a young age. His brother had taken a high-interest loan for business, but unfortunately the business failed and the debt kept growing. One day, in depression, his brother took his own life. Since then, the responsibility of his parents and the burden of the debt had fallen on Alec’s shoulders.

“Drip, drip, drip...” Suddenly tears started flowing from my eyes. The thought of a young boy’s hard life made me sad. Alec worriedly handed me a tissue.

F*ck these pregnancy hormones.

“What happened?” Richard entered holding a food tray and looked at the scene in surprise.

“The boss got tears in his eyes thinking about my family situation,” Alec said in a flat tone without any hesitation.

Richard’s face turned red as he tried to suppress his laughter.

“Here, fried rice.” He placed the tray in my lap. He had made it especially at my request.

“So, what now?” Seeing me eating with relish, he asked with a faint smile.

“Domino is out. I’ll look at the next one,” I said.

“You got lucky and escaped without any harm that time. Be careful next time. Make sure Alec stays in the room. Once these Alphas get horny, they won’t let go easily. Didn’t the doctor tell you that you can’t have s*x?”

Richard asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” I replied irritably.

“What were you thinking having s*x with him? Even an i***t knows you don’t have s*x during pregnancy, so…”

“Enough…” I slammed the spoon down on the tray.

“Stop whining at me.” I addressed Richard angrily.

Alec understood my mood and silently picked up the tray and set it aside. Then he started opening the medicine bottles, placed the pills on a small plate and set it in front of me.

“Take your medicine.” he said gently. I, who had been glaring at Richard in anger, melted at his soft voice.

Wiping the tears welling up in my eyes, I took the glass of water from his hand and swallowed the pills one after another.

“Get some rest. I’ll sit outside with Alec.”

“Go home.” I muttered, which perhaps no one heard. As soon as the lights in the room turned off, I slipped back into drowsiness.