“My friend is an omega,” Shiloh said. “Found himself mixed up with a half breed. Alpha/Gray mix. The guy formed a life-bond between them that neither of them asked for.”
“Must have been inexperienced.”
“Yeah. That’s what I’m told.”
“So, what? They’re looking for a way to sever it?” Rhovan took another sip of Shiloh’s coffee, then finally set the cup down, staring off into space for a moment. “Is your friend pureblood omega?”
“Yes.”
“Then it should be doable.”
“Should be?”
“I mean, in theory. The Gray bond is meant to connect two Grays. Think of it this way.” He stuck a finger into thefrosting on the top of Shiloh’s cake slice, ignoring the way Shiloh cursed him out. Rhovan drew two dots, and then made an oval shape between them, with the ends facing either dot.
“The dots are your friend and the hybrid,” he explained. “This,” he pointed to the oval, “is the qi circling between them. It’s an invisible force, a stream of energy. Creating a life-bond captures that energy, turning it into a usable fuel of sorts. It’ll flow between them on its own at an even pace until one of them gets sick or injured. Then, one Gray can tap into this stream and pull from it. Life force is needed to heal and keep the body strong, but while many species can momentarily tap into it, not many can do so constantly.”
“But Grays can.”
“Exactly.” He flicked his finger through the edge of the cake and stole a smear of frosting, grinning. “Omegas, however, lack this ability.”
“So the well, or stream, is there, tying them together, but only one of them has access to it.”
“The hybrid can use it to heal himself or your friend, but your friend can’t do anything with it on his own. If, for example, there’s an accident and the hybrid is knocked unconscious, the well will remain at its same steady flow, untapped.”
“No boosted healing,” Shiloh surmised.
“That sort of one-sided bond is a big deal. It means even though it was formed, its purpose is unmet. I can see why they both want to break it. I doubt the hybrid is comfortable knowing he’ll never get the benefits of a Gray so long as he remains attached to an omega. This could be a serious life advantage if he’s able to find one of his own kind and form the bond with them.”
“His own kind wouldn’t be able to make a mating claim,” Shiloh pointed out.
“The life-bond is capable of keeping his alpha pheromones in check even without an omega stabilizer. If he has to choose between one side of himself or the other, forming the Gray bond is far more beneficial than an alpha/omega bond could ever be.”
That…
Rhovan tipped his head. “Why do you look pissed off?”
“If there was no life-bond,” he growled, “would the hybrid need a traditional mating bond?”
“It’d help regulate his pheromones, the same as any other alpha, sure. But need is a strong word in this case. He can still pull qi from other beings to help stabilize himself, and that qi will help balance the rest of his body. I imagine it would be impossible for a hybrid like that to be a dominant, so there’s little fear of him overloading on his own pheromones anyway.”
That was true. Sarang wasn’t a dominant alpha, that was the only reason Shiloh had a leg up on him. The only way he could control him.
“Would he react normally if they formed the mating bond?” he asked, practically holding his breath while he waited for an answer.
“He should,” Rhovan reassured. “He’s still alpha. If they manage to break the life-bond, and he falls for an omega someday, he should be able to bite them. They’ll form a connection, just like everyone else. During rut, he’ll only get hard for his mate, and knotting said mate will be the only way to satisfy him.”
Whenever they weren’t experiencing rut, all bets were off, but that was typical.
Shiloh would be able to get wet for someone else if he wasn’t in heat as well. The claiming bond turned them into mates and ensured they could only procreate with each other, but it couldn’t cut off arousal all together.
“Tell me how to sever the bond.” Equals. If that’s what Sarang wanted so badly, Shiloh would make it happen.
He’d put them back on even ground and go from there.
“You’d need another Gray. The life-bond could be transferred to them.” Rhovan shrugged when Shiloh’s gaze darkened. “What? That’s the only way I know of.”
“You said the alpha could go on to find someone else.”
