Bondage and Marriage - 88

88

Noah thought blankly. How did I end up here…

“There’s a little noise, but it won’t harm your body, so don’t worry. If anything happens, press the buzzer in your hand.”

“Okay…”

The very kind nurse who led Noah into a round room positioned him on the marked spot on the floor, explained various things, and then left. Soon, there was a low humming sound of machinery starting up. Noah, leaning against the wall, rolled his eyes around. This place, aside from the evenly spaced grooves on the walls, looked like an empty room; it was a full-body scanner in the Frost family’s private hospital. It was an extremely expensive machine but worth every penny.

So, about an hour ago, after smelling an almost nauseating scent from William, Noah initially didn’t understand why everyone was making such faces. Did this smell from William indicate something serious? Not really understanding, Noah looked at Ian, who seemed to share his confusion, which reassured him. So, it’s not just me who doesn’t understand…

While Noah was bewildered, Alice smelled her husband William’s scent and then looked at Noah with a strange expression.

“It’s just the smell of Alpha pheromones. He just came back from a meeting, so other Alphas’ pheromones have mingled with his.”

The smell of Alpha pheromones? But he had never felt this repelled by Alpha pheromones before. Just like all Alphas are attracted to Omega pheromones and vice versa, there had been times when he felt uneasy or sensitive after his first knotting, but it wasn’t like this.

“Oh my, then maybe… could it be…”

Olivia opened her eyes wide and covered her mouth. Even then, Noah still didn’t know what was going on. Finally, Ian, who had less patience and a worse temper, asked in a voice mixed with slight irritation.

“What’s the matter?”

But even when Ian asked, Olivia, Alice, William, and Benjamin only exchanged significant looks, and Tanner… was looking at Noah with an expression of anxiety, trembling, and something indescribable. The young children, not understanding, also looked at the adults with puzzled faces, wondering what was going on. Olivia looked at Tanner once and then opened her mouth with an “Oh.”

“By the way, we’ve been keeping you standing in the hall. Let’s go inside for now.”

Even though they didn’t know what was happening, they couldn’t keep William and his family standing there, especially since they looked tired from jet lag, so everyone moved to the living room. Tanner, who had suddenly lost his words, sat down on the couch looking more tired than William, and after Alice sent the children outside to play, she asked carefully.

“Noah, have you had any… strange changes recently?”

“Strange changes?”

“Like, for example, feeling sleepy all the time, having a sudden increase in appetite… or craving only one type of food.”

“Well, um… I’ve always been like that, so it’s not really a change…”

Noah mumbled. Being sleepy or eating a lot of desserts was something he always did, so it couldn’t be considered a change. …Suddenly, Noah realized he had gained a bit of weight recently and flinched.

“Oh, right. Or maybe, are you intentionally suppressing your pheromones now?”

Noah tilted his head at Alice’s seemingly random question. Suppressing my pheromones? Noah didn’t do such bothersome things at home. Outside maybe, but at home, everyone usually released their pheromones freely… Noah shook his head no, and Tanner suddenly started to fidget. Alice glanced at Tanner and spoke very cautiously.

“I think it might be that Noah is pregnant.”

“Huh?”

At this unexpected news, Noah opened his mouth slightly. Pregnant? Of course, as an Omega, Noah knew he could get pregnant, but… pregnancy was not in his plans, nor had he even thought about it. Especially since he only decided not to divorce Ian this month! Noah looked at Ian, who seemed to be at a loss for words… for the first time, looking somewhat foolish.

“But I’ve been using contraception. I’ve been taking the pill regularly too.”

After expressing his confusion directly, Noah spoke, causing Tanner to cough awkwardly. Indeed, Tanner was the only one uncomfortable with this topic in the room. At Noah’s words, Alice shook her head.

“Contraception isn’t 100% effective, Noah. It’s… a bit rude to say, but the likelihood decreases depending on how often you’ve had relations. Especially if it was… rough… more so.”

Alice tried to euphemistically talk about knotting, and it seemed uncomfortable for Tanner, who had been silent, to be there, so he coughed again and left the room. After the door closed, the conversation in the living room turned even more direct.

“What, so are we getting another nephew?”

Benjamin exclaimed excitedly before getting a slap on the arm from Olivia and becoming sullen. After scolding Benjamin for his lack of tact, Olivia firmly grasped the stunned Noah’s hand.

“I’m an Omega too, so I know; when you’re pregnant, Alpha pheromones become extremely repulsive in the early stages. Later, even family or your husband can become unbearable to look at…”

Noah felt Ian flinch beside him.

“And crucially, you can’t control your pheromones well, to the point where you might be mistaken for a Beta because your pheromones almost disappear. Noah, your symptoms are exactly like that, no matter how you look at it…”

Is that… so? Listening to Alice and Olivia, Noah began to slowly think that he might be pregnant. So, how often have Ian and I… had relations… and knotting… hmm… uh… twice this week? At least, here he hadn’t done any knotting. Even Noah didn’t want to show signs of that in front of his family.

Of course, that’s just talking about not doing knotting.

Me? Pregnant? Me?? While Noah was completely dumbfounded, Olivia and Alice suggested going to the hospital for a check-up, and they got Noah up by patting his behind, put a coat on him, and sent him off in the car with Ian. When he came to his senses, Noah found himself inside the full-body scanner at the Frost family’s modest(?) private hospital.

Only then did Noah start to gather his thoughts. Since he started going to Tear, he had been very careful with contraception, but after marrying Ian… he might have forgotten once or twice, or maybe he did it well… It was such an unexpected situation that Noah was confused about what he had done in the past. Even looking at his flat stomach, he felt nothing. It was kind of amazing.

After finishing the full-body scan, Noah came out to find Ian pacing in the hallway. Ian’s face looked a bit dark as if he was deep in thought, and seeing that expression, Noah’s heart sank a little. While Noah was surprised, he didn’t hate the idea that much, but thinking that Ian might dislike it didn’t make him feel good. Last time he said he liked me, he couldn’t mean he doesn’t want a baby… What if he says he doesn’t want it? With all these thoughts, Noah called out to Ian, who seemed to be in deep contemplation.

“Ian.”

“…Ah.”

Even after Noah nudged his shoulder, Ian’s reaction was a beat slow. Ian looked at Noah as if seeing him for the first time and then shook his head. He seemed both confused and anxious. Seeing this, Noah couldn’t just stand there and blurted out.

“Do you not want to have a child yet, Ian?”

“What? No, no. It’s not that…”

Surprised by Noah’s direct question, Ian even stuttered a bit before letting out a sigh.

“It’s just… I think I’ve been too harsh.”

“On what…?”

What does he mean by being harsh? Having relations every day? Indeed, thinking about the play they had in the movie theater bathroom with the onahole made Noah feel a little anxious. It was quite an intense play… Was last night too much too? Before Noah could ask what Ian meant, the nurse came to say the test results were ready and kindly led them to the examination room.

The Frost family’s private hospital was literally a private hospital that catered to the upper class with very expensive treatments and care. Since there were few patients, the hospital was somewhat small, but the interior and equipment were state-of-the-art. Of course, the fees were also top-notch, but none of the clients cared about such minor(?) things.

Following a hallway that sparkled like a hotel rather than a hospital, they entered the examination room where there was a very plush sofa, water in crystal bottles, and cups neatly placed on the table. The doctor, dressed stylishly in a medical gown, greeted them as warmly as the nurse. Perhaps to make Noah feel comfortable, the doctor, revealing he was an Omega, was releasing pheromones. After seating them on the sofa, the doctor displayed Noah’s scan results on the table.

“Congratulations, you’re about 4 weeks along. It’s still smaller than a finger, but the implantation is good…”

The doctor pointed out the details on the scan image, but to the dazed Noah, it just looked like a black dot. It’s… really tiny. As the doctor explained and Noah looked at Ian, Ian was staring intently at the scan image. Seeing him like that, Noah finally felt the reality of being married to Ian.

“Usually, Omegas know they’re pregnant by this time at the latest because they can’t stand Alpha pheromones.”

As the doctor listed the symptoms, Noah nodded, still dazed. While the doctor kindly explained the symptoms and precautions to expect, Noah felt like the information was going in one ear and out the other. Ian, however, was paying close attention to the doctor’s explanations.

“If you want to use an artificial womb to grow the fetus, you must let us know before 6 weeks. After that, the fetus won’t adapt well.”

“An artificial womb?”

Hearing a term he’d never heard before, Noah’s eyes widened. An artificial womb was very expensive but created an environment very similar to a real womb, used by people who didn’t want to ruin their figure early on, transferring the fetus to an incubator until fully grown. It was a service often used by popular actors. With all these new terms, Noah just sat there with his mouth slightly open, and the doctor gave an understanding look.

“You might not adapt to it right away, but seeing how close you two are, you’ll soon get used to it.”

The doctor looked at Noah and Ian, the young couple, with a pleased expression before sternly listing some precautions. Most were about not smoking, drinking, or engaging in strenuous exercise, but Noah suddenly looked up at the doctor’s next words, which were delivered without any hint of embarrassment, very doctor-like.

“Also, in the early stages, you should not engage in sexual activities involving penetration.”