AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A sliver of shame spiked through Avery. “Honestly? I’m no saint. I did it as much for myself as you guys.”
Lake eyed him.
“I wanted to prove I could be more than the expectation. That I was capable of using my brain and offer something more than a womb.”
“Iwantto do the same. I can’t live like this, Avery. I want to go out into the world and live my life. I don’t want kids… I just want to be me. Why is that so wrong?”
“I wish you could, Lake.”
“I can. I can do the same thing you did. Buy the drugs, cut my hair. Go to college… my grades might not be as good as yours, but they’re not bad. If I actually put my mind to it, I might do even better.”
“So you’re finally admitting you slacked off?”
Lake scoffed. “What was the point of trying hard when it leads to nothing?”
Avery held his brother’s avid gaze. Lake was right. There was no point in an omega trying harder.
“So? What do you think of me following in your footsteps?”
The word “no” was on the tip of Avery’s tongue. The danger Lake would be in terrified him… especially coupled with his brother’s mouth. There’s no way Lake would stay under the radar like he had.
Yet, how could he deny his brother the same thing he’d reached for?
He couldn’t.
“My instinct is to tell you no, but I have no right to do it. You comprehend the dangers, though I’m not sure you truly understand the weight of them.”
DidAverytruly understand the weight of them? He wasn’t sure he did. He’d spent years living inside a bubble, sure he’d never get caught. Sure no one would ever find him out.
“They might send me to prison. Force me to carry babies they’ll sell to the highest bidder.”
“Adoption. It’s not an auction.”
“What’s the difference?” Lake asked. “We all know those who can pay the most would ultimately get the baby. It’s a fucked up system.”
His brother had a point.
“It’s wrong, all the way around,” Lake said.
“It is.”
“The only way is the path you’ve walked.”
Avery met Lake’s stare, knowing his brother was right.
“Once you’re legally an adult. Not before.”
“A year? You’d make me suffer an entireyear?”
“I’m sure Uncle Gray has already contacted your doctor to make your first appointment after a heat. The ball is already rolling.”
“Or maybe he hasn’t. If I can useHeatex, I can stay in the FQ and pretend I haven’t started it yet. No one would be the wiser.”
“Don’t you think you’ve already got eyes on you for not having started it yet? You’re seventeen. A late bloomer. If the school doesn’t see you have a heat soon, they might report it. Then the government might bring you in for medical testing… and then they’d see youhadstarted. There would be questions… and then they might figure out what I’ve been doing.”
“So… in other words… I have to suffer… to keepyousafe?”
“That’s not what I said.”
