Home again…
Gray bustled into the cottage, slamming the door. He pressed his back against it once he was inside. He’d held himself together while at Jamie’s.
And during the long ride home.
But once he crossed the threshold of home, he couldn’t hold back any longer.
The tears came in a torrent. Sliding down the door, he fell until his butt hit the floor. Soon after, Avery appeared in the foyer, a kitchen towel over one shoulder and flour on his nose. As soon as he looked at Gray, he rushed closer and knelt.
“What’s happened? Are you okay? Is it the baby?”
Gray took a moment to capture enough air to speak. “The baby… is fine. I’m fine.”
“Then what is it?”
“Jamie’s cancer is back.” A sob rocked him. “And it’s bad. The outlook is grim.”
He was fresh out of hope in that moment. Gray had used every ounce of his strength trying to buoy both Jamie and Rohan. Now, he had nothing left.
“My gods,” Avery said. He frowned. “What about the baby?”
“The baby is fine.”
“That’s not what I meant. Who will be there to raise the baby?” Avery murmured slowly, frowning.
Gray looked away. He didn’t want to imagine a world where Jamie wasn’t there to play the proud papa he’d been all set to become. He turned back to face the question. “I don’t know. Jamie will soon return to treatment… and I guess we take it day by day.”
“Day by day?” Avery’s frown deepened. “There needs to be a plan. What if Jamie doesn’t make it? Do you hand over a baby to a grieving alpha? Who will raise the child? A nurse or a manny?” Avery paused. “Or you?”
All the questions that had been circling in the back of his own mind. He’d ignored them, not willing to make the situation so dire. Avery didn’t suffer the same compulsion.
“I signed over my rights,” Gray admitted, not wanting to think about Jamie not making it.
“And so you’ll just wash your hands of the whole thing? I know you were carrying the child for them… but the bond. There’s no way you’d be able to walk away if Jamie died. I know you too well, uncle.”
Gray looked away. “No. I doubt I would.”
His thoughts went to Rohan. He’d nearly lost it when he’d seen the alpha’s stare roaming over him. Gray knew it had been the instinct… just as it had been instinct with him.
“Are we eating tonight?” Lake called out sarcastically from the family room.
“Yeah, yeah,” Avery called down the hall as he rose to his full height. “It’ll come when it comes.” He turned to look at Gray, offering a hand. “I hate cooking. Have I told you how much I hate cooking?”
Gray took the towel from Avery’s shoulder. “You’re not all that good at it, either.” He started walking toward the kitchen, wiping his eyes with one hand.
Avery followed him. “I make do.”
After washing his hands, Gray checked the two pots simmering, tasting them one after the other.
“Uncle Gray!” Auggie cried, a smile on his face. He raced over and wrapped his little arms around Gray. “Thank heavens. I thought we’d starve.”
Gray placed a hand on Auggie’s back, thankful for the little bit of joy. “Good to know I’m appreciated for something around here.”
“We appreciate more than your cooking,” Avery said as he watched Gray adding some spices to one pot.
“This isn’t half bad,” Gray murmured to Avery. “You’re getting better.”
“Better than terrible still isn’t good,” Avery said before he went to tackle the dishes piled in the sink. How one man could dirty so many while cooking, Gray didn’t know.
“Avery’ll have to marry an alpha rich enough to hire a cook,” Lake said. “I know I plan on it.”
“You can’t plan things like that,” Gray told the boy. “You get who you get.”
Lake shrugged as he sat down along the island opposite where Gray was cooking. “Yeah, sure—the fated mate bit. I’m so tired of the teachers going on and on about that. Why can’t we just find our own paths?”
“Good question,” Avery said from the sink.
“I’m never getting mated,” Auggie said before heading back into the family room to watch a movie.
Gray nodded his agreement before the sadness of his reality hit him hard. He wouldn’t have what he wanted… yet there was Jamie, who supposedly had it all, and would never get his happy ever after, either.
It wasn’t fair.
Gray fought back tears as he checked the other pot.
“Are you okay, Uncle Gray?”
Gray lifted his stare to see Lake, watching him with concern.
“I’m not,” Gray answered. “Not really.”
“What’s wrong?”
“A friend of mine is very sick. Very sick… and he might die. And I’m sad because I don’t want to lose him.”
Lake’s face suddenly went devoid of emotion, and Gray wondered if it was too soon to talk about something this heavy with the boy. They were all still so raw from Silver’s death as it was.
“Is it Jamie?” Lake asked. “I know he didn’t look well when he first started coming to visit you here.”
Gray nodded. “His cancer has come back, and the prognosis isn’t good.”
Lake was silent a moment. “Papa once said you were his best friend,” Lake said, catching Gray’s stare. “That’s not fair for you to lose two.”
Gray felt the tears threatening to fall, but he held them somehow. He nodded. “You’re right. It isn’t fair. And I’m going to do everything I can to help Jamie live.”
Lake slid out of his chair and rounded the island before wrapping his arms around Gray. Gray smiled and held on to the boy, thankful he was finally seeing a different side to the teen.
“I hope he lives,” Lake whispered.
Gray felt two more sets of arms wrap around him, and he smiled. He loved his nephews so very much. “Me, too.”
* * * *
Another heat…
Avery popped a Heat Repress pill before he slipped into his very first Ancient History class of the new Spring semester. It didn’t feel like spring. Not yet. Snow still covered the ground. But there was a promise of one to come.
For most of us.
Avery frowned, thoughts of Jamie and Gray coming to his mind. He hated that his uncle was going through all this pain, but he’d also warned Gray it was a mistake in the first place.
Don’t be that asshole. He was trying to do something good.
He sighed and took the first available seat in the front row. Exhaustion hit him hard. He’d gone through the whole of last semester and luckily only had to deal with two heats while in class. It had felt serendipitous. They’d either been on a break or a weekend when the moon was full. Now, here was the first day of his new semester and he was in heat.
The professor stormed in the auditorium style classroom and tossed his beleaguered briefcase onto the top of a very long black counter before the series of blackboards lining one wall. An alpha professor. Avery gasped inwardly and began closing the textbook he’d just been opening. He needed to put some distance between him and the alpha.
“This is Ancient Civilizations 102,” the professor roared as Avery slid from his seat. The man eyed him and continued, “If you are not supposed to be in my class, I suggest you leave now and don’t interrupt my lecture.”
Avery made his way up the stairs, fatigue making each step seem ten times harder.
“Excuse me, sir… where might you be going?”
Avery saw a few stares coming his way. He turned to look at the professor glaring at him. “I just wanted a better seat.”
“There was something wrong with being up front?”
Avery didn’t know what to say. Every eye was on him, and he felt his face flame. “I see better from the back.”
“Ahh,” the professor said, cocking one brow. “Well, find your seat and fast. I don’t have all day.”
Avery turned and stepped at the same time, nearly missing the stair. He almost fell—but was luckily grabbed by the arm and held upright. When he lifted his stare, he saw the most gorgeous set of hazel eyes he’d ever witnessed. A rush of desire ran through him, nearly bringing a moan to his lips.
“There’s a seat by me, if this is back far enough.”
Avery smiled and nodded. “Yes, thanks.”
The guy grabbed the notebook he’d dropped as Avery slid past and took a seat. His new friend handed it over with a sultry smile that nearly took his breath away. The guy’s a beta… I can’t be attracted to a beta.
Can I?
“Good, are we all where we need to be now?” the professor asked, pointedly looking Avery’s way.
Avery nodded, feeling embarrassed as hell.
“Don’t worry about old man Buckshot. I hear he’s actually a big old softy.”
“Buckshot?” Avery whispered, leaning in a little closer. He drew in a breath and loved the warm, spicy smell of the guy.
“He’s got this huge deer’s head in his office,” Mr. Hazel eyes said before offering a hand. “Brett Boyd.”
Avery smiled, taking the big, warm hand in his. “Av—” Damn… I almost said my real name. “Abraham. Abraham Norcross.”
“Abraham, hmm? Good to meet you, Abe.”
Avery chuckled, looking into those warm hazel eyes before turning and trying to focus on the professor. Wetness leaked a little between his cheeks, and he squirmed a little in his seat.
“If you were in my class last semester, we’re picking right back up where we left off. If you didn’t have me last semester for 101, I wish you well in trying to keep up.”
Avery sighed inwardly. He, of course, hadn’t had Professor Buckshot… erm, Conover… the previous semester. He took out his recorder and laid it on his desk, ready to take notes.
“We’ll begin today with the Resurgence.”
A student’s hand shot up near the front.
“Yes?” the professor asked, lifting a brow.
“We usually just go over the syllabus and review what’s expected on the first day of class.”
“Oh?” the professor asked. “So I’m to lower my expectations because other professors have coddled you?”
“Well, maybe,” the student joked.
And got a deadly evil eye. “I think not.”
Avery looked at Brett, hoping that ‘old softy’ bit was true. It sure as hell didn’t seem like it.
“As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted. The Resurgence. This era began right after the Dark Period. Of course, historians argue over the exact beginning and end of either, but for our class’s purposes, we will use the year 3225 as the first signs of the Resurgence Period. This was a great time for historians as we began to see some of the first true masters of painting, philosophy, and the other arts begin to emerge. After the nearly two-thousand-year period following the Great Catastrophe, and it’s utter lack of recorded history, we then come into this period where almost everything is charted in one way or another. We’ve moved from famine to feast.” The professor began to move about the room, looking into their faces as he traveled. “The early years of the Resurgence were still very barbaric, holding fast to stringent rules for all classes of men. Alphas continued to maintain strongholds, protecting their wealth, resources, and the harems of omegas they called mates and their children.”
Harems? Avery’s head bobbed up from his notetaking. He raised his hand.
“Yes?”
“Alphas had more than one omega? And called them all mate?”
“They did. Some had as many as a dozen—but of course, those were the days when omegas outnumbered alphas ten to one. Of course, that’s just an estimate—that ten to one number—as there were no true censuses then. We can only extrapolate using more recent losses to the omega number and adding data we find from written histories of the time.”
“What of the fated mate? Is that a more recent occurrence?”
The professor sighed. “The idea of fated mates—in my opinion—is a construct of the alpha government.”
A gasp went about the room.
Avery leaned forward in his seat. “How so?”
“What most history books won’t tell you is that for thousands of years, alphas claimed as many omegas as they could. Weaker alphas had fewer omegas, if any, and their lines ended. Strong alphas had many children, increasing our number exponentially. Of course, wars, plagues, and famines occurred plentifully, claiming many of those number. Eventually, the number of omegas began to lessen. No one’s completely sure why, but I credit it to a larger population and smaller family sizes as our provinces grew in size and the onset of urban living. No longer was the ratio ten to one… but five to one… then three to one… and when it went to two to one, we suddenly see the government pushing an agenda of the fated mate. No more harems—they were outlawed over four hundred years ago. One alpha to one omega. The government did an excellent job in convincing our people that this was the way it needed to be and in time, it became the way things were.”
“But how did it work? The AO bond… how did the omegas not fight over their place with the alpha?” Avery asked.
The professor smiled, moving closer. He took a few steps up before answering. “There’s believed to have been another bond, one almost lost to time. That between the omega brothers who would share their alpha.”
“What kind of bond did they have?”
“From what we understand, it was much like the bond the alpha and omega shared, but less sexual and more familial. They loved one another as brothers, tied almost instantly by a chemical reaction in the brain. The same instinct to care, protect, and provide would be there, but not necessarily in a sexual manner—although some omegas did share their beds with one another.”
A murmur ran through the auditorium.
“Think about it,” the professor said to the room. “You’re an alpha with a dozen omegas. There is no way you can focus more than a fraction of your time on each of them. No doubts there was loneliness… and from letters we have found written by omegas to their families, there are hints that speak of marital love between omegas. And in some, it even seemed to be spurred on by the alphas themselves.” The professor chuckled. “I’m sure those poor alphas were exhausted all the time.”
“So you’re saying an alpha can have more than one mate?” Avery asked.
“Yes. An alpha can have many mates. Whereas, omegas mate with only one alpha, but can have the omega bonds with many.”
“This sounds like heresy,” another student said from across the room. “The Book states one alpha to one omega.”
“The Book was written by man and ignores most of our own history,” the professor stated loudly. “You can call me a heretic all you want. I don’t care. I follow the facts, not some myth in a fiction you read.”
Avery smiled as more chatter raced through the room.
The professor moved closer and stood beside Avery. He inhaled deeply just as Avery felt another few drips of liquid easing from beneath him. Oh shit.
“I will speak with you after class,” the professor murmured before spinning and going down the stairs and continuing his lecture.
Avery caught a glimpse of Brett staring at him from the corner of his eye.
Fuck. I’m caught.
* * * *
Chemo, Day One…
He was back.
Jamie had spent so many hours here, being injected with poisons to kill his cancer. Rows upon rows of large recliners beside IV machines ready to be loaded with toxins. He sat back and watched as the needles were stuck into him and the first of the poison entered his body. On one side sat Gray. On the other, sat Rohan. Both of them had argued about who would be the one to accompany him there that day—until he demanded them both be there. They both hovered close now, silent as his treatment began. He could sense worry filling them both and wanted to lighten the mood.
He slid a hand through his still too-short locks. “I finally got some hair to grow and now I’ll likely lose it again. I really hate being bald.”
“Hair grows back,” Gray said. “As long as you’re here, that’s all that matters.”
Jamie squeezed his hand.
“I kind of like the short hair,” Rohan murmured.
“Liar,” Jamie spat. “You have a thing for long hair, and we both know it.” Jamie turned to Gray. “Did he demand you pull it down for him? He did, didn’t he? I remember seeing it was a complete mess.”
Both their faces grew red, and he had his answer.
“Maybe we can get you one of those wigs,” Gray said. “Give you long hair again.”
“What a waste of money,” Jamie replied. “I mean, it would be nice to have hair again, but they’re so expensive… and for what? My vanity? I mean, I used to be much vainer than I am today, but after you go through this torture, you gain a little perspective. Now, I’d much rather waste money on better things than that. Like spoiling the people I love.” He grinned at Gray. “And the baby.”
Gray smiled back.
Still the tension surrounding them was thick, and he didn’t quite understand it. The last couple of weeks—as they’d waited for treatments to begin—both Gray and Rohan had seemed to be avoiding one another. Rohan left for the office just before Gray arrived. Gray left moments before Rohan returned home, as if on cue. The new nurses, Jefre and Serge—who he had originally hated the idea of—were wonderful and made sure he was never alone.
And never a burden on the men he loved.
The time passed slowly with the both of them silent. He rested back into his recliner, ready to take a nap, when a familiar face appeared in his sight.
Wilder.
His brother made his way across the room. He caught a glimpse of Gray and Rohan and almost looked like he reconsidered his trek, but came nonetheless. When he stopped before them, he reached out and took Jamie’s hand.
“How’s it going?” Wilder asked with a slight smile.
“It’s going as well as can be expected, I suppose,” Jamie answered.
Wilder looked around, his stare finally falling on Gray. “I didn’t expect a full house when I got here.”
“I can leave and give you some time with your brother,” Gray murmured.
“No,” Jamie said, squeezing Gray’s hand. He wouldn’t let Gray be pushed aside. Not even for his favorite brother. He looked back up at Wilder. “Grab a chair. We’ll have a little party.”
“I don’t want to be in the way,” Wilder said, backing up. “I just wanted to let you know I was thinking of you today.”
“You came all this way to see me,” Jamie said, holding both Rohan’s and Gray’s hands in his tightly. “You should stay for a bit. Let us catch up.”
Wilder looked uncomfortable, but ultimately didn’t argue. He stole a chair from one of the empty recliners and slid in closer to Rohan’s side of the chair.
“I don’t think you had a proper introduction to my friend Gray,” Jamie said once Wilder was seated.
Wilder’s stare flickered to his and then to Gray before sliding back. “No. I didn’t,” he answered coolly. His jaws set some afterwards.
“You won’t disrespect Gray,” Jamie said. “I love him almost as much as I do you. So I won’t have it.”
“Tell me how you really feel,” Wilder murmured.
“Look… I don’t know how much time I have left. I won’t waste one minute of it. Either you accept the choices I’ve made and let it all go, or you can leave.”
Wilder’s eyes widened some before he gave Gray a little more than a cursory glance. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Gray.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” Gray murmured.
“We have Gray to thank for convincing your brother to go back into treatment,” Rohan said to Wilder.
Wilder’s stare went to Jamie. “You weren’t going to go into treatment?”
“No. I wasn’t. But Gray reminded me I have a baby to meet soon. And I need to last until at least then.”
“Then my whole family owes you thanks,” Wilder said to Gray, with only a tiniest hint of rancor in his tone.
“The whole family? I doubt it,” Jamie said. “It’s not as if I’ve seen papa since the row.”
“You did tell us you didn’t want to see us again,” Wilder admitted.
“You had no problem ignoring me,” Jamie said.
“No, but then, I knew you didn’t mean me.” He smiled. “You love me too much for that.”
Jamie grinned. “Maybe I do.”
Wilder leaned back in his chair. “I could ask papa if they plan to come see you.”
“Don’t bother,” Jamie answered. “I meant it. I’m done trying to gain their approval. But their absence is also noted. It only proves my whole point.”
“Don’t let them bring you down,” Rohan said, squeezing his hand. “The people who matter are here. And will always be here.”
Wilder turned back to Jamie. “As you will be.”
Jamie looked to both Gray and Rohan before giving their hands a squeeze. “I would like a moment alone with my brother.”
Both Gray and Rohan rose and left them. Once they were out of earshot, Jamie faced his brother. “I know you don’t want to hear the truth, but I don’t have much longer.”
“Don’t talk like that.”
Jamie lifted a hand to silence his brother. Wilder’s stiff upper lip began to fade some, and fear entered his eyes.
“I need your help. You’re the only one I can trust,” Jamie said. “Will you help me?”
Wilder frowned. “What do you need?”
* * * *
After class…
Avery approached Dr. Conover after class was over. His heart beating madly, he stayed back, letting other students ask their own questions before he meandered closer. Add in the fact he was fighting off his heat, and he was in misery.
“Follow me to my office,” the alpha said, once he’d packed up his things.
Avery watched the man take off, wondering if he was about to be turned in. A little part of him considered just running for it and heading back to the O Quad, but it wasn’t like the guard wouldn’t be able to find him there.
Maybe I run even farther than the O Quad.
But where?
“Are you coming?” the professor shot out as he sailed through the door and out into the hallway.
Avery raced to catch up. If he was done for, it was easier to go ahead and face the music. Luckily, they didn’t have to go far. The professor’s office was just up one flight of stairs. Avery followed him inside and shut the door.
The office was tiny. The building itself was old, nearly three hundred years old—if not older. There was a myth that it had been a school before the Great Catastrophe and the elders had used the bare bones of the building to rebuild again centuries ago. Now, doors didn’t close well. Everything was off-balance a few inches here and there. Floorboards creaked and groaned on occasion. There was a smell, not necessarily bad, but just age.
Dr. Conover walked over to his window and opened it before drawing in a deep breath of fresh air. Avery’s stare roamed over the office, stopping on the huge deer head mounted above a wall of awards and certificates.
Professor Buckshot.
His mind went back to Brett and those eyes, and he felt a bit of his cream coating him. Conover spun to face Avery and glared.
“If you ever come into my classroom in heat again, you and I will have issues.”
Avery froze. The gig was up. But wait. If I ever come again? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play coy with me,” Professor Conover said. “Do you really think you’re the first omega who tried to reach above his station in life?” The man walked closer and grabbed a mechanical pencil from his desk and scribbled something on a piece of scrap paper and handed it to Avery. “See the pharmacist there. Mr. Pelham. Tell him I sent you and that you need the good medicine.”
Avery took the slip and frowned. “What is the good medicine?”
Dr. Conover walked back to the window and took another deep breath, his back to Avery. After a moment, the professor turned to look at him. “Heat Repress is a joke. There are other medicines that will work much better and nearly stop your heats completely.”
“What?” Avery asked, dumbfounded.
“They’re illegal, of course, but I’m sure you’ve likely found the scent blockers already, so you’re already breaking the law. Am I correct in my assumption?”
Avery wasn’t sure if he should answer or not, but sensed he could. After a couple of seconds, he nodded.
Dr. Conover pointed at the slip. “I did not give you that, if you’re caught. Do not tell anyone else what I’ve told you. Understood?”
“But other omegas could benefit from this.”
“If too many omegas went on it, people would take notice and it could end for everyone. I won’t have the people I care about hurt because you blabbed.”
“But it only serves a few when it should serve us all.”
“We cannot overthrow the system overnight. It comes in stages. For now, only a small few use this drug.”
Avery stared at the older alpha, shocked by the man’s obvious disdain for the system that benefitted… him. “Overthrow?”
“I don’t mean by violence. Omegas are no match for alphas physically and there aren’t enough men like me on your side. It needs to be a peaceful change. It won’t happen overnight, so we’re playing the long game here.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because I’m an alpha, there’s no way I could believe in omega equality? Is that what you’re thinking?”
Avery was silent. He didn’t want to further offend the professor.
“While I know I’m a rare breed of alpha, I do believe omegas have the ability to be more than what they have become. History proves we can be different. Our government has effectively imprisoned omegas, and I’m shocked more males like you don’t try to escape.”
The man’s words were a balm to his soul. “Thank you,” Avery said, wholeheartedly.
“You’re welcome,” the professor said. “But I have high expectations of you, Abraham Norcross.” He chuckled. “If that’s even your name.”
Avery wasn’t ready to give himself completely away. “What kind of expectations?”
“You cannot be mediocre. You have an opportunity here to prove yourself. One day, when the truth is found out, you need to be the best of whatever it is you plan to be. It’s the only way to change minds.”
“I’m only planning to be an accountant. I won’t change the world.”
“But you will. Be the best damned accountant you can be. Learn everything you can. Prove yourself not only capable, but exceptional.”
“Yes, sir.”
Dr. Conover smiled before growling low in his chest. “It’s well past time for you to get the hell out of my office. Before I do something that will embarrass us both.”
Avery rose quickly and tossed his backpack over one shoulder. “Of course.” He lifted the scrap of paper. “Thanks for this as well.”
The alpha nodded. “Don’t come back to my class until you’re on it. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“One last thing. That small tome on the corner of my desk before you… the dark blue one. Take it. Read it. And we’ll discuss it sometime soon after class.”
Avery lifted the book and looked to the man before getting a nod to ensure it was the right one. He tucked it into his backpack before offering a wave and exiting the room.
He stopped in the middle of the hallway, a smile crossing his lips. Looking down at that scrap of paper, he’d possibly found even more freedom. His uncle came to mind… the Heat Repress that had failed him. Had they known…?
Everything would’ve been different.
Before he left, he reached into his backpack and pulled out the small book. A History of the Omega.
Avery turned to the first page and began to read as he walked down the hallway. By the time he was on the trolley home, he was captivated.
By the following morning, he was ready for change.