Summary:
Mountain Springs Omegas #4
Sean just wanted to get rid of his nausea before finals, but when the doctor tells him he's pregnant his whole world changes.
Sean doesn't remember the party that led to his baby, but he knows that it wasn't his choice. He'd long before decided to wait until the right alpha came along, and learning of his pregnancy gave him the determination to fight back. It would be easier though if his baby wasn't making him knot-crazy.
Russell needs more experience as a lawyer, but the gorgeous, pregnant, omega tests all his instincts.
Russell is ready for a break after a case with a trying client, but he's not one to turn down a chance to work on a major case. But when he sees the gorgeous omega, and learns what happened to him, his alpha side rages. All he wants is to ptotect the handsome man, and his baby. Can he keep his alpha side in check when all he wants to do is enact revenge on behalf of the man his instincts claim is his?
Recipe for Romance:
One Determined Omega
One Protective Alpha
An unplanned baby
An impending lawsuit
A field of spring clover
Clover Kisses for the Omega is a 13K word , non-shifter, M/M, Mpreg romance, featuring an omega determined to do whtat's right for himself and his baby, an alpha determined to protect them both, some knotty fun, and a bit of luck.
Trigger warning: Sexual assault is a background topic, though not graphically discussed
Original Review March 2023:
Being the 4th entry in the author's Mountain Springs Omegas series, having read the 3rd, and not yet having read the first two is not how I usually roll. I've always been a series-read-in-order kind of gal even with series' that contain standalones. Again, as I said in Candy Kisses(#3 for Valentine's Day), I was not lost at all though there was a cameo scene with characters from that holiday short as friends to the MC. That cameo did not effect my enjoyment of Clover Kisses, good or bad, it just gave me a bit more of a community feel and increased my desire to go back and read the first 2 to see if anyone else popped in and out😉.
As for Clover Kisses. I do think there was a bit more of a darker side to this entry but not dark enough to cast a shadow over the love at play between Sean and Russell. Truth is, in my reading experience at least, that balance of dark and light isn't often found in short stories and when it has been there it's hard to get that balance realistically entertaining. Okay, so "realistic" seems like an odd term for the mpreg genre but emotions are always real no matter the genre or subject.
It's something that happens too often(perhaps not for the same reasons or results as this mpreg tale) and you can feel Sean's fear AND fight response jump off the page and it made me root for him all the more. The anger and protect mode that Russell faces when he meets Sean is also palpable. The two of them together had me warring between wrapping them in bubblewrap and Mama Bear hugs to keep them safe and giving them whatever they needed to fight and protect the little one inside Sean.
A wonderfully emotion charged, heat-filled story with plenty of heart and the right dash of humor that sucks you in and leaves you not ready to say goodbye when you swipe the last page. Definitely a winning gem.
RATING:
Chapter 1 - Sean
~Beginning of December~
My stomach roiled, and it was probably only the lack of anything in it that kept me from vomiting into the doctor’s trash can.
I’d been sick off and on for the better part of a week, ever since we’d returned from the Thanksgiving holiday. I figured I’d just ate something bad, and it needed to work its way out of my system.
Unfortunately, finals were the next week, and I didn’t have the luxury of waiting to kick it naturally. I needed to study if I was going to pass all my exams, and running to the bathroom to vomit every time the nausea hit wasn’t conducive to good study habits.
“Good afternoon Mr. Murphy,” the doctor said as he strolled into the exam room of the campus clinic, eyes on my file. “What brings you in today? Nausea?”
I nodded. “Yes doctor. I’ve been feeling sick for about a week.”
He scanned my chart again. “Well, it looks like your vitals are good. Blood pressure, pulse, O-two and temperature are all ok.”
“I think it’s food poisoning. I’ve had nausea and vomiting.”
The doctor frowned. “For a week?”
I nodded.
“Any other symptoms?”
“I’ve been tired, but I think it’s just my body trying to work through this thing.”
The doctor was silent for a moment, going over the chart again before looking at me. “I’m going to have a nurse draw a blood sample to test for a couple things.”
“Umm… ok?”
He cast a smile at me, but for some reason I wasn’t reassured. “She’ll be in shortly. We do our own testing with student assistants, so we’ll have results quickly.”
I nodded. “Should I come back?”
“No, you can wait here.”
“Ok.”
The doctor tried smiling at me again, but it only served to further convince me that something was bothering him.
He left the room, and a female omega nurse came in a few minutes later. I turned my head as she took a blood sample, and noticed the same unease that the doctor displayed.
My thoughts went wild once I was alone in the room. Was there something contagious going around campus? Did I have signs of something more serious than a serving of some bad leftovers?
The questions ran through my head. Luckily I was spared from them continuing for too long by the reappearance of the doctor.
Unfortunately, his expression left me worried.
“Mr. Murphy, when was your last heat?”
I blinked. “They’re not very regular for me, but…” I thought about it. “Beginning of October?”
“You’re sure?”
I bit my lip, then nodded. “It was before midterms. I remember being frustrated because I needed to study.”
The doctor made a note. “And when was the last time you had intercourse?”
I shook my head. “I haven’t.”
The doctor scowled. “You’ve never…?” He left the question unfinished.
“No.” I raised my hands slightly. “My family is a bit conservative and have dissuaded sex before mating, but I just haven’t met an alpha I was willing to go that far with yet.”
The doctor licked his lips and took a deep breath. “I don’t know how to say this Mr. Murphy… but… you’re pregnant.”
I stared for a moment. “That’s impossible.”
He shook his head. “The hormone levels in your blood test are conclusive. You’re just about a month along.”
“No. I’ve never…”
“Has there been any time in the past month or so that you can’t remember, or may have been incapacitated?”
“Not that I…” I paused. “There was a party… a few days after Halloween. I didn’t mean to be drinking, but I must have been handed something. The night is a bit fuzzy, but I woke up in my own room.”
The doctor pulled the stool around and sank onto it. “Mr. Murphy… have you ever heard of a berry party?”
I shook my head.
He sighed. “It’s when… well… Sometimes they’re planned and consensual, but it seems you’re a victim of the other kind. A group of alphas targets several known virgin omegas, spike their drinks at a party, then… pop the berry.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. “You mean I was…?” Anger, anguish, disgust, and more emotions than I could name combined and curled through me.
He nodded. “If you’re being honest, and have never had consensual sex, then…”
I curled around myself. I’d been violated, and the baby now growing inside me was the result.
“What do I do now?” I whimpered.
The doctor reached out and rested his hand on my knee. “You have options if you decide that you can’t raise the baby. We have counselors who can help you decide if adoption or termination are a better choice for you.”
I bit my lip, and moved my hand to press on my stomach. I hated how it happened, but I already knew I could never hate my baby. I shook my head.
“I’m still going to recommend a counselor to help you deal with the trauma, and you don’t have to decide right now. Ok?”
I nodded, numb.
“Mr. Murphy?”
I looked at the doctor.
“I can’t give you details, confidentiality laws, but I can tell you that you’re not the only victim. I’ve personally seen other omegas who were likely at the same party.”
My heart dropped. “Pregnant?”
His silence was enough of an answer.
Suddenly anger was my prevailing emotion. “When is the soonest that you can determine paternity?”
The doctor looked startled, then nodded in approval. “That’s what I like to hear. We can schedule a test for that in the next few weeks. It’s not as good as after birth, but these circumstances warrant it.”
“Good. I’ll be testing for paternity then.”
“May I give you some non-medical advice?”
I blinked. “Ok.”
“Don’t talk to the school administration. Their track record isn’t going to help. If you’re fighting, go right to the cops.”
I nodded. I owed it to my baby to prove that their papa was an omega willing to fight for what's right.
Lacey DaizeLacey lives in New Mexico with her four critters. She’s a Jill-of-all-trades by day, but loves writing in her spare time. She dabbles in a variety of pairings, but jumped feet-first into the deep end of omegaverse the first time she read it. She loves the play on social expectations and the different ways to express romance.
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