Beta Complex

Chapter 72: Better to be Safe than Sorry

Ethan blinks up at the white ceiling and a wave of deja vu washes over him. Just how many times will the ceiling change without his knowledge?

It’s different from Zander’s bedroom ceiling, and when he looks around, he realizes he’s back at the hospital. He’s in a private room, the tv on the wall across from him is on, playing a soccer game he has no interest in.

His neck doesn’t feel so stiff, and when he reaches up to touch it, he doesn’t feel the cast that was once on it. He tilts his head to the left and then the right, relieved to know that it doesn’t hurt. He pushes up to a sitting position and sees that the cast on his arm is also gone. How long has he been asleep for his injuries to be fully healed?

Did he wake up from a coma? Or was everything just a really bad dream?

The door to his room opens and the doctor who took care of him last time pauses. "You’re up." He says before stepping further inside.

Ethan opens his mouth to speak but his voice croaks and he clears his throat, his hand raises to run along the column of his neck.

"You have a lot of people concerned about you." The doctor continues, his hand tight on his clip board. A pen is tucked over his ear, and it reminds him of the first time they met. He looks exhausted still, with dark circles beneath his eyes.

He pours Ethan a glass of water, and the beta takes a few deep gulps. "Just so you know, you’ll have to speak to the police once I tell them that you’re awake."

Ethan’s eyebrows furrow, talk to the police? Then his eyes widens, so it really wasn’t a dream. It’s all blurry, and while he didn’t witness everything with his eyes, he could understand the gist of what happened with what he heard.

"Uhm," He clears his throat again, his voice still thick and hoarse, "The drug-"

"Ah, yes." The doctor purses his lips. "You’re lucky. You were injected with high amounts of alpha pheromones, highly toxic and unstable. Fortunately for you, it healed your injuries and you came out relatively unscathed." Then he continues in a mumbled voice as if speaking to himself, "Dumbass chemists thought he could play god. What nonsense."

Ethan blinks, "Alpha pheromones?"

The doctor sighs and nods his head. "To an alpha, it’s only a boost of energy, steroids I suppose. If you were an omega, it could’ve been fine, you’d probably have gone into heat. But since you’re a beta, there was a major chance you could have died. The authorities are in the process of banning it from the medical field."

"Woah." Ethan whispers, reaching up to rub his eyes. He thinks back to everything Chris had said to him before everything fell into chaos. Did he just want to kill him? A shiver runs down his spine, but why would he do that? What has Ethan ever done to him? "Uhm, can I ask how I got here?"

The doctor tilts his head and blinks. "A man and a woman. They didn’t say their names." He shrugs. "But they had a whole story with them about an omega forcing the drug on you and how an alpha -" The doctor winces, "Well, I don’t need to tell you that since you already know."

Ethan bites the inside of his cheek. Ethan doesn’t actually. The last thing he remembers is Chris giving him the injection. Everything after that is a jumbled mess.

"When you’re feeling up for it, we’ll have to take a dynamic test. You may not display any signs now of any dynamic changes, but it’s better to be safe than sorry."

"Do it now." Ethan says. He’d rather get it over with now than wait in anticipation. He doesn’t feel any different, though he wouldn’t know what changed even if it did. He knows nothing about emitting pheromones or how they even suppress it. Would he feel different?

The doctor takes some of his blood and leaves to start the analysis.

While he’s gone Ethan tries to organize his thoughts. What happened after he was given the drug? He knows that Zander was also given it. The doctor said it would hurt an alpha, but is he alright?

And what happened to Chris?

After the police announce their arrival, Ethan does his best to recall everything that happened. When he asks about Zander and Chris, the two officers barely give him any information and instead tells him to focus on getting better. Although, he doesn’t think there’s much he can do now. He doesn’t feel sick, his body doesn’t hurt, and he’s starting to feel restless. Just how long has he been bedridden?

As soon as the two authorities leave, he stands up to get his blood flowing to his legs. They feel weak, probably because he hasn’t used them in a while, but it feels nice to finally move around.

He looks around the room for anything that belongs to him, like his cellphone or even some clothes to change into but there’s nothing. Does his mother even know that he’s back at the hospital?

Sighing he does a few stretches, groaning at how good it feels. Now that’s he all better, they won’t keep him here for long, right? He presses the button for a nurses help and is surprised when one comes right away.

"How can I help you?" She asks, her voice soft and polite. Her scrubs are a little wrinkled and she looks tired as if she’s been on shift for too long.

"I’m just wondering when I can leave." Ethan says. She raises an eyebrow and glances at the whiteboard across the room.

"Uh," She scratches the back of her neck, "The dynamic test will take an hour or two. You’ll have to wait till then. In the meantime I can get the discharge papers ready now. Do you have anyone to pick you up? The doctor said you should take it easy until you can get into your regular routine."