Page 130 of His Surrogate Omega

The babes awakened, and Gray did all he could to quiet the pair, his vision blurred by tears.

Serge came rushing in moments later with Lake and Auggie behind him. He spun and called for a nurse to come help before the chaos truly erupted.

All Gray could do was lie there in shock, holding the babies, and sobbing. Later, once Jamie’s body had been removed and Serge had taken Lake and Auggie home, Gray looked at Rohan.

He was shell-shocked.

The alpha looked completely lost and empty… his expression numb and his eyes glazed over.

They should’ve all been celebrating the two new lives… instead they mourned the one taken too soon.

When a nurse rolled the babies back to him a little while later, all Gray could do was burst into tears again, remembering Jamie wouldn’t be there to see them grow.

I needed him, damn it. Gods be damned… because I needed him…

* * * *

An ending in the middle…

Gray hated funerals.

And this one was hitting him harder than any of the others he’d endured during his life. Of course, that could be because he was still coming down on his pregnancy hormones, healing from being ripped apart, and lacking sleep as he’d been kept up the last few nights trying to take care of barely week-old twins.

Rohan was doing his best, but the alpha had been hit even harder than Gray. Jamie and Rohan had been together over fifteen years. His year of loving Jamie paled in comparison to what the two of them shared. Between the nurses, who’d stayed on to help with everything, and even help from Lake, Auggie, and Avery, they’d managed to survive a few days post hospital.

Much more past that, and Gray wasn’t sure.

Soon, his free pass would expire and he’d be forced back to his old life, imprisoned in the O Quad. His stare went to the front of the room and realized it could bemuchworse.

Jamie’s casket sat on a dais at the front of the living room. Flowers crowded the space. Rows of chairs lined the room, now empty and awaiting well-wishers. Jamie’s brothers, Wilder and Vaughn, had arrived early to help make sure everything was in place. Wilder looked almost as rough as Rohan, his eyes rimmed in red with dark circles under them.

Wilder walked over before the service began and knelt beside the large basket carrier where both babies lay swaddled side by side. He reached in and caressed each one’s cheek with his forefinger before lifting a tear-filled stare to Gray.

“Rohan tells me the last thing he saw was these two.”

Gray held back his tears as he nodded.

Wilder eyed him a moment, silent. “I know I wasn’t as kind to you as I should’ve been. I’m sorry for that.”

“You saw me as a rival to your brother. I wasn’t.”

“I know.” Wilder smiled. “All he could talk about was you, Rohan, and these babies.” Wilder looked down at the babies again before lifting his tear-filled stare. “You brought him a lot of joy before he was gone. And for that, I can’t thank you enough.”

Gray couldn’t help but let a tear slide, too. “Thank you… for saying that.”

“What happens with the babies now?”

“I… I don’t really know. Rohan and I haven’t discussed things.”

“My brother told me his wild plan for the two of you.”

Gray met Wilder’s stare. “Your brother was a bit delusional when it came to that.”

“Was he?” Wilder asked before rising to his full height.

Gray’s gaze sought Rohan’s… who stood off to the side, watching him. Rohan broke off the stare and turned to the casket, his back to Gray.

Two men swept in, an alpha and omega pair. Almost instantly, he recognized the familial resemblance and assumed it was Jamie’s father and papa. Gray lifted his chin, trying not to instantly hate the pair. In all the months of being at Jamie’s side, he’d not once seen either man. Of course, the two might’ve come on the days he wasn’t there—but near the end, he’d been there every day.

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