Two weeks later…
Gray awoke, the soft sun shimmering in through the gauzy curtains of his bedroom. The breezy sway of the grand oak just outside allowed the shadows from the broad leaves to dance across the wall. A movement caught his eye. He lifted his head to see Silver sitting in the oversized chair across the room.
“Sleeping late this morning? The day’s a-wasting.”
Gray sat full upright, the air sucked from his lungs. And just like that, his brother was gone and the terrible realization that he would never come back gnawed through him. Fighting back tears, he scrubbed his hands over his face, begging that this was the dream—the nightmare—that he needed to awaken from.
Still in a haze that had wrapped around him for nearly two weeks now, he forced himself to get up. A little part of him almost wanted to slip back under the covers and go back to a place where Silver and Gilead were still alive. After washing his face and taking care of his needs, he headed down to the kitchen to put on a kettle and saw Avery hard at work over the island.
“What’cha working on?”
Avery lifted his stare from his work. “Our financial situation.”
Gray eyed the boy, knowing his nephew was all about budgets and plans and savings—all the things that were completely counterpoint to the creative being he was. He’d never balanced a checkbook, and when Avery had come to live with him at seventeen the boy had taken over all things to do with money and paying bills.
Which had been a blessing. Gray hadn’t been able to do any of it well.
From the look on Avery’s face, this wasn’t a blessing.
More like another nightmare.
“How bad is it?”
Avery’s face screwed up, so apparently, it wasn’t good.
“After the cost of the funeral and all that entailed, the hospital bills, etcetera… and if we sell the old family home… added to what was left of the life insurance policies, papa’s and father’s savings accounts… we might be able to make it four to five years—if we live frugally.”
“Well, that’s a good thing,” Gray said. “Right? Five years. That’s enough time for you to make the rounds at the Alpha Balls. Find your alpha, and then you and the boys will be fine.”
Avery lifted his head and glared at Gray. “Did you really just say that? What happened to not being wombs with legs?”
Gray eyed his nephew. “I don’t like our situation any better than you do—and it makes me just as angry to think it—but what that beta said? He said it at the worst possible moment, but unfortunately, it was true. The only way to save you and the boys is for you to be mated.”
“And what if my alpha doesn’t come?”
Gray grew quiet a moment. He was unmated and nearly thirty-five. Omegas were typically mated by the time they were twenty-five, at the very latest. Most were much, much earlier. Avery’s age. His nephew could meet his alpha in a matter of months… and then he might end up all alone again.
Until Lake went into heat and was sent to live back in the Quad.
That’ll be a joy.
Gray let Avery’s last question roll over him again. He then steeled himself. “What if your alpha doesn’t come? Or rather… you mean… if you end up like me?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“But it’s what you were thinking,” Gray replied.
Avery didn’t speak for a moment, the crease at his brows making it apparent he was searching for the right words. “Maybe I was thinking it. But come on, Gray… what do we do if I don’t find an alpha?”
“We find jobs,” Gray said, knowing full well that wasn’t going to happen without a miracle or two. Or twenty.
Avery rolled his eyes. “In the O Quad? So, would you like stripper or… stripper? I hear they make all kinds of cash in the beta clubs, especially one as pretty as you.”
“There are other jobs.”
“Yeah, and they all have a line wrapped around the corner with a million other omegas just like us who desperately need the work. We’ve been lucky not having to worry. Until now.”
The steam kettle screamed out its warning, and Gray turned to pour himself a cup. When he spun to face Avery again, he spoke the thought that had been circling in his mind for days. “I could become a surrogate.”
Avery’s face twisted with disgust. “No.”
“Why not? The pay’s good, great if you find the right mated pair. I come from a good family. My papa and brother both had more than one live birth. I’d likely be in demand.”
Avery shook his head. “And what of your alpha? If you carry another alpha’s child, yours could deny the claim. And he’d have the law on his side.”
“What alpha?” Gray said. “You’re living in a fairytale if you think I have an alpha out there.”
“You stopped going to the Alpha Balls. Perhaps if you went back?”
Gray sighed, Silver’s words whispering through his mind. “To the shame of my parents, I quit attending. After eight years. Four times a year. I had over thirty chances to find my alpha… and he wasn’t there. I have no alpha. And as an unmated omega, I have nothing. I can be nothing. I am just a womb with legs and no alpha to fill it. I can go be a stripper and lose all shreds of self-respect—or I become a surrogate. Only one of those is something I can live with.”
“And what about the child-bond?”
Gray grew quiet. The bond between papa and child was strong. Severing that attachment and handing the child over would destroy him. He’d seen what became of the omegas sentenced to forced surrogacy. They were empty shells of the men they’d once been.
“What choice do I have?” Gray asked quietly.
“I have a plan.”
Gray narrowed his stare. “What?”
“If I can pull this off… we won’t have to worry so much about money,” Avery said.
Gray eyed his nephew, worry filling him.
“What do you know about scent blockers?” Avery asked, lifting a brow.
“Scent blockers? There isn’t such a thing.”
“There are. And I’ve found someone with a connection.”
Gray glared at his nephew. No, no, no… he’s not thinking what I think he’s thinking… “Whatever you’re considering… it would be illegal.”
“But… if an omega was to find a supply of scent blockers… he could be protected from alphas. He could go to college. Get a degree… get a job… and support his family.”
Gray sat there silently, panic settling in. “No. Absolutely not.” He shook his head. “No. You can’t do this.”
“I can. I know I can pull it off. I’m tall for an omega. I’m smart. I’ve got a good head on my shoulders. I can do this.” He smiled. “I can be a beta.”
Gray felt his stomach knot. If Avery was caught… he’d be one of those omegas in the forced surrogacy program—broken and empty when he was finally freed years and babies later. “I forbid you.”
Avery eyed Gray. “Forbid me? You have no right to forbid me from doing anything, uncle. I’m an adult.”
“Okay… what about the boys?”
“I’m doing this for them!”
“You’ve just gained temporary custody and are awaiting full legal rights. How are you going to pull that off while pretending to be a beta?”
“I can manage it. With your help.”
“What you plan is illegal.” Gray pointed toward the second floor. “What happens to those boys if you end up sent away? Forced surrogacy. Because that’s what’s going to happen when you’re caught. Not if. When. When you’re caught, Avery.”
Avery wouldn’t look him in the eye. “They’ll still have you if something bad happens to me. Which won’t happen. I know I can manage all this.”
Gray fought back the lump forming in his throat. “I need you as much as you need me, Avery. Please, reconsider this. You can’t go through with it.”
“I have to.” Avery turned to leave.
“Please, Avery. Don’t do this.” Gray spoke to Avery’s retreating back, sensing his nephew’s mind was made up.
Alone again, he reached for his cup but saw Lake’s tablet lying on the kitchen island—making him reach for that instead. Swiping his fingers over the screen, he searched for a browser. Once he opened it, he typed in his search.
Surrogacy solicitors.
A few listings came up before he saw an ad for one of the centers he knew catered to the wealthiest of clients—or so he’d heard. The only way he was going to get Avery out of this mess would be to come up with the money they needed to survive himself. Once he’d had a moment to breathe, he lifted the phone from the receiver on the wall and dialed the number.
“Hello? I’d like to make an appointment.”
A warm male voice answered him. “Yes, I can take care of that for you. Are you looking for a surrogate?”
“No. I wish to become one.”