Page 32 of Guarding the Runaway Omega

Don’t think that. It’s not the last one.

He hadn’t meant it that way when the words had popped into his head, but he didn’t dare put that energy out there, no matter what he’d intended it to mean. A small tap sounded on the door and he wondered if Nic’s dad, Max, was bringing him his next dose of remedies.

“Come in.”

Someone he didn’t recognize peeked around the corner. “Hi, Jasper. Is it all right for me to come in? I’m Elam, Nic’s mate.”

Jasper let out a gasp before he could stop himself. “Oh! Yes, please come in. I’ve been so excited to meet you.”

Elam’s eyebrows shot up. “Me?” He chuckled. “I can’t imagine why.” He dragged a chair over to the bed then took a seat. “How are you feeling? I don’t want to wear you out, but I promised Hawk I’d visit.” Elam grinned. “I guess you’re following in my footsteps, so to speak, and he thought you might want to chat about anything on your mind related to the pregnancy. Do you know how far along you are?”

Jasper kept staring at Elam in wonder, too many questions fighting to get his attention, the jumble making it impossible for him to speak. “Uh, I…”

Elam’s brow wrinkled. “Hmm. Maybe I’ll come back later. This might be too much for you right now.”

Jasper shot out his hand and grabbed Elam’s sleeve. “No wait! I do want to chat. What did you just ask?”

Elam chuckled. “As long as you’re not too tired, but make sure you let me know if you need to rest. I’ll be around. Anyway, I was curious how far along you are.”

“Right, right. Sorry.” Jasper pondered for a moment. “Gods, it can’t be more than a day or two.” He tilted his head, his belly tightening with anxiety. “Maybe it’s not for sure. I didn’t stop to consider any of that, I was just so excited.”

Elam shook his head, chuckling. “I’m betting it’s for sure. Asha, right?”

Jasper nodded. “She’s amazing. I’ve heard about her and about you and Nic and the baby, but only bits and pieces. My father never had anything nice to say about her—called her a meddling old witch.” He snorted. “And all I heard him say about you was how he wished he could kill—” Jasper slapped a hand over his mouth. “Oh, uh, sorry. I’m still loopy, I should probably just keep my big mouth shut.”

“Don’t worry, Jasper. Hawk filled me and Nic—along with our council members—in on all you’ve been through at his and the Russian scientists’ hands. If you hadn’t been so brave and escaped, we might have never discovered what was going on there.”

“Russian scientists?” Jasper frowned. “Did those shifters who were captured say what was going on, why the omegas were taken?”

Elam rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, it might be me who has the big mouth. You didn’t know why they kidnapped you?”

Jasper flushed as he picked at the blanket. “I suppose I assumed it was a sex thing, you know, like shifter trafficking.”

Elam nodded. “That was a big component of it, yes. But the dormant gene in male omegas that allows them to carry a child was uncovered when it became known I was pregnant.” Sorrow radiated from Elam’s expression. “It’s because of me that you and the other omegas were experimented on. The idea that male werewolves could give birth was thought to be a myth leftover from before the Alliance members migrated to Alaska.”

“But… That means there must be so much of our history that’s wrong.”

“Well, accepted history, anyway.”

Jasper considered Elam’s revelation. “But you’re, well were, human. How come you got pregnant?” He cleared his throat. “That was pretty rude. Just ignore me if you want.”

Elam chuckled. “That’s all right. A lot of questions have been asked by all of us ever since Asha first announced to me and Nic that I was pregnant, believe me.” Elam scratched his chin. “I’ll try to explain this as succinctly as possible. When the Alliance ancestors left Europe, it was to escape persecution, yes. However, it wasn’t only because they were shifters. The reason they were discovered at all was due to the men giving birth. They tried to hide it, knew it would give them away to the humans, but they were eventually found out. Once the packs relocated to this country, the men were no longer allowed to have children, the gay men were sterilized to keep everyone safe from being outed as an anomaly, being branded as of the devil then massacred because of it.” Elam sighed. “As the centuries passed, the gene apparently went dormant and the writings in the ancient texts deemed myth.”

Jasper’s eyes had gone wide, his stomach dropping over the devastation his ancestors must have endured. “But how did you get the gene?”

Elam nodded. “Yeah, we’ve been wondering that all along. I figured it had something to do with my Eastern European heritage—since my grandmother used to tell me plenty of werewolf stories when I was little—but we weren’t sure if it would happen with anyone else but me. Asha is certain that in my case, being turned from a mostly human state triggered the gene as I morphed into a shifter. Probably any male children I have will also carry the revived gene and have the ability to get pregnant as well.”

Jasper couldn’t believe it. “So, the Russian scientists are trying to make the gene come alive by forcing it, by experimenting and operating on the omegas?”

“Yes. That’s what the captured Deltas told us.”

“Wow.” Jasper clutched the blanket in his fingers, his worry over Sascha returning. “So, what did you mean by it being sort of a trafficking situation?”

Elam wiggled in his seat, his discomfort clear. “The omegas who are ready to be impregnated are being sold to the highest Alpha bidders back in Russia. However…”

Elam bit his lip and everted his gaze. When it seemed as if he wouldn’t continue, Jasper couldn’t stand it one more second.

“However what?