Page 33 of His Surrogate Omega

“I wish you’d told me sooner. I would’ve loved to congratulate him myself before he left.”

Gray smiled absentmindedly as he gathered another large mug from the cup tree for Avery.

“Who is he? To you?” Avery asked.

Gray was silent as he placed a tea bag into each cup. He finally lifted his stare to Avery. “I’m in discussions to carry Jamie and his alpha’s babe.”

Avery frowned. “You can’t.”

“I can. And I will—if the meeting with his alpha goes smoothly next week. I plan to contribute to this family one way or another, Avery. I have no skills… no job. You’ll need me here to watch the boys after school while you’re off getting a college education. This way, I can help you pay for that educationandtake care of the boys.”

“And the child-bond?”

“Jamie and Rohan might agree to let me visit the boy on occasion. To be a small part of his life. An uncle, they can call me.”

“Is that wise? It could potentially make the severed bond worse.”

Gray shrugged. “Only time will tell.”

Silence fell between them… and was soon shattered by the screaming of the tea kettle. Gray walked over and lifted it from the flames before pouring their cups. One was slid before Avery, and the sound of spoons clinking porcelain was the only sound in the room.

“I know you think I’m irresponsible and this is a bad idea… but I’ve spent weeks getting to know Jamie. I’ve given surrogacy a lot of thought. I’m thirty-five, without an alpha, and my bodycravesa child. You of anyone understands the primal need to breed within us. Imagine what you feel now… eighteen years later without being sated. I’ve been onHeat Repressfor over half my life. It might calm the instinct, but itneverfades completely.”

Avery was silent.

“Jamie lost his womb to cancer. All his life, he—like all omegas—has been told he was born to give his alpha a child. That his whole life would revolve around pregnancy and giving birth to a family. Now that’s been ripped away from him.”

“And what aboutyourneeds? Your wants? If you have this child, your own alpha could refuse you.”

“Whatalpha? I feel like a broken record, repeating the same answer over and over again. Nobody listens.Enough. Let it go.”

Avery released a sigh.

“You’re refusing to sit back and let fate rule your life. So am I. It’s my body… and my decision. I can help our family, help you and the boys,andhelp Jamie and Rohan with this one single act. And perhaps it will help me, too. Once I have a son, my biological need to reproduce will hopefully calm some. My heats are getting unbearable, Avery. TheHeat Repress… it’s not working as well as it once did. It wasn’t meant for an omega to spend so long taking it without a pregnancy breaking up the use. I can’t go off of it… so what else am I to do?”

After a moment of thought, Avery nodded. “You’re right. Itisyour body… and I have no right to tell you what to do. It’s apparent you’ve put a lot of thought into this. I might not agree, but Icansupport your right to make this decision. I’ll stand behind you and help any way I can… if you go through with it.”

Gray sighed. “Thank you for that.”

“I just worry about the impact this will have on you and your future. That was my only cause for concern. I love you, Uncle Gray… and I only want what’s best for you.”

“I understand that. But thisiswhat’s best for all of us.”

Avery didn’t look convinced, but the boy had no right to make decisions for Gray—especially when he was being supportive of his nephew’s own drastic decisions. “I hope so.”

But his drastic decisions had been to eliminate Gray’s need to do something like this…

If he failed there, how else might he fail?

Chapter Ten

In a border conference room…

“I’m glad you made it through okay,” Tensen said with a smile as he opened the conference door for Gray a couple of weeks later. “Come in, come in.”

Gray stepped into the room, just as nervous and excited as he was when he’d met Jamie for the first time. Once through the door, he’d expected a big board table and chairs circling it like he’d seen in movies. Instead, this was a small room of chairs and settees in a semi-circle and felt a bit homier than business like.

It helped put him a little at ease.

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