Haydn stared at her.
“What?” Royce said tersely.
Dr. Jordan looked at him. “I know it sounds unbelievable. But it’s true. It took me a while to notice the irregularities in Haydn’s genetic code. It’s not my area of specialization, so I had to consult a good geneticist—without revealing Haydn’s identity, of course. He said that it looks like Haydn’s genetic code was altered while he was an embryo—”
“You mean someone genetically modified Haydn when he was in his mother’s womb?”
Dr. Jordan nodded.
“But we don’t have such advanced genetic engineering,” Haydn managed. “And we certainly didn’t have it thirty years ago.”
“Eila doesn’t,” she said. “But the planets of the Inner Core do. Planets like Irili and Calluvia have very advanced genetic programs. They’re so advanced that they can design every trait their children will have. As long as the parents have the desire to fix something—and money—such things can be done.”
Desire to fix something and money.
Haydn’s stomach seemed to turn into a ball of lead.
He heard someone laughing. He thought it sounded a little unhinged, and it took him a moment to realize that it was him. “I’m not really an alpha, am I?” That was the only explanation he could think of. The only thing his father would want to “fix”: if they discovered that his future heir was an omega.
The doctor winced. “You are an alpha. It would be more accurate to say you weren’t an alpha originally.”
“My medicine,” Haydn whispered numbly, thinking of the pills he’d taken all his life. “I don’t really have an allergy, do I?”
“You do, actually,” Jordan said. “We’ve found antihistamines in your system. Your ‘allergy’ seems to be an overreaction of your immune system to the alpha hormones you produce. While you’re biologically an alpha now, those alpha hormones still seem to trigger something in your biology that rejects them.”
“Are you saying that if I stop taking my usual medicine, I’ll become an omega?”
The doctor shook her head. “I can only speculate, but I think it’s unlikely. You’ve been an alpha all your life, and I can’t imagine that you’re capable of becoming a regular omega without some medical intervention.”
“Like kerosvarin,” Royce said.
“Like kerosvarin,” the doctor agreed. “Except Haydn has been an alpha for so long that even kerosvarin barely affected him. He’s still mostly an alpha. All kerosvarin managed to do was destabilize his genetic code with a few dormant omega traits.”
Haydn didn’t know what to think. How to feel. He would’ve liked to say he was shocked, but a part of him wasn’t. This explained so much: his father’s perpetual dissatisfaction with him, the way he had always regarded Haydn with faint disapproval and suspicion, no matter how well he did. Haydn had always thought it was just because he wasn’t alpha enough for his father’s liking. Apparently he simply wasn’t a real alpha, period.
Laughter erupted from Haydn’s chest, harsh and uncomfortable. He turned his face away, feeling… He didn’t know what.
“It is a good thing, Haydn,” the doctor said, her voice gentle. “The fact that you used to be an omega is likely why you and your husband have a stable, healthy dynamic, even though it’s usually impossible to sustain an alpha-alpha relationship.”
Haydn’s stomach clenched. “Are you saying my original designation is the reason I’m attracted to my husband?” He didn’t like the thought. He wasn’t an omega. He was… He didn’t know what he was, but he didn’t really feel like an omega.
“No,” she said. “You’re hardly the first alpha physically attracted to a member of your own designation. But homodesignation is not like homosexuality: homosexuality is completely normal, but homodesignation is not.”
Royce stiffened beside him.
The doctor must have noticed it, because she made a placating gesture. “I’m not being bigoted, Royce. It’s a medical fact. It’s biologically difficult to overcome one’s designation. Designations were evolution’s answer to sexuality: that a mating compatibility goes beyond female and male sexes. That’s where the first alphas and omegas originated from. Alphas and omegas have perfectly compatible complementary instincts and traits. But alphas and alphas… they are biologically wired to aggravate and repel one another. Alpha-alpha relationships inevitably turn toxic because of the aggressive, domineering hormones alphas produce. It’s likely that Haydn’s dormant omega genes simply help somewhat mitigate his alpha aggression; that is all.”
Haydn breathed out. That was… okay. It made sense. And he had to admit it was a relief to know that his and Royce’s relationship wasn’t in danger of deteriorating and turning toxic just because they both were alphas. It was something he had been afraid of.
Royce laid a hand on his shoulder, tucking him slightly into his side. Haydn allowed it, letting Royce’s familiar scent soothe his frayed nerves.
“Are there any long-term effects of that drug?” Royce said.
The doctor’s brows drew together. “One can never be certain. The kerosvarin’s effects seem to have stabilized, but Haydn’s designation is now neither alpha nor omega, but a little bit of both. He will likely still have more alpha traits than omega ones, but…” She looked at Haydn sympathetically. “You should be prepared for some changes to your body. They’re unlikely to be major, but don’t be alarmed if you start feeling strange.”