Page 94 of His Surrogate Omega

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 ofthe 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 withonlyone 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. Ireallyhate being bald.”

“Hair grows back,” Gray said. “As long as you’re here, that’sallthat 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, itwouldbe nice to have hair again, but they’resoexpensive… 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.

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