Page 92 of His Surrogate Omega

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. Itisn’tfair. 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 aHeat Represspill 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. Analphaprofessor. 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 seatand 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.

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