Page 76 of For What It's Worth

Or no announcement.

“For the nuisance I expect you to fix,” Kelly said. “Now stop blubbering. You aren’t being dismissed from Braker.”

“I’m not?”

“She’s not?” My alphas asked together.

Kelly exhaled like dealing with the four of us was bothersome. “Reporters have been patrolling campus since I came to the office this morning. They were harassing Ms. Wallen, demanding to know your schedule so they could meet you.”

“Because of the article?” Enzo asked.

“Yes.” That was all Kelly said. No more information.

“What the hell is going on, Kelly?” Aidan asked.

All three of my alphas were putting out aggressive pheromones, and while their scents calmed me, it did nothing for my sadness.

“The article gained traction overnight,” Kelly said, turning to walk away and simply expecting us to follow. Anne walked dangerously close to the alpha chancellor, but he didn’t seem to mind. “Koda has become pseudo-famous. Now everyone wants to watch her, learn about her, you name it.”

“But protestors—” Jen started, before he was cut off by Kelly.

“They aren’t a concern of mine, right now.”

All my alphas growled at the disrespect, and Anne shrunk behind Kelly at the sound. The chancellor’s woodsy scent became frustrated even as he pushed his secretary more behind him, as if protecting her from my alphas. “Enough with this. The beta stays because she is currently in the limelight. She can do more good for the beta designation just by continuing to go to school here than she can do bad if protestors were to show up. It was a 50/50 on which group would show up first. You lucked out. And for fuck’s sake—put her down.”

Enzo obliged, although he took my hand and let Aidan take the other, Jenson walking between Kelly and us like a guard. Instead of heading in the direction of Elder Building and his office, Kelly took us to the front of the school where a bunch of reporters were standing together, chatting to one another.

The moment someone noticed us, however, the shouting started along with flashes of cameras. I stared, shocked at the bright lights, before I managed to look at my alphas. They didn’t look happy at all and even moved closer to me, completely blocking me from view. This only incited the group to be louder.

“Enough,” Chancellor Kelly announced. The cameras continued flashing, and I was sure I saw a few video recorders between the gaps in my alphas’ arms. “I have with me, the beta student, Koda Tucker, and her pack containing Aidan Braker, descendant from Braker Academy’s founder, our own Quantum Mechanics Professor Jenson Fields, and Lorenzo De Luca.”

Enzo grunted, either because he didn’t get a title or because of the use of his full name. The normal gesture had a corner of my lips turning upward which grabbed my alphas’ attention so quickly, all three turned around to stare at me. At least my tear-stained cheeks hid the blush.

“Any questions you have, you may ask now, but quickly. We don’t want to keep Ms. Tucker from her classes.” Kelly seemed to survey the group before pointing out a reporter I couldn’t see but could hear.

“Will Ms. Tucker be allowed to continue her courses at Braker Academy now that she’s bonded?”

“Yes.” Again, that was all Kelly said. Each question solely getting a yes or a no.

Had I bonded all three alphas?

Kelly looked to Jenson, who nodded.

Yes.

Was I truly a beta?

Yes.

Did I pick this pack?

Yes.

Would I be graduating from this academy?

Yes.

I didn’t answer a single question, but that was the way the world worked. I might have won this battle as a beta at a predominately alpha school, but betas were still fighting for their rights to be equals to alphas. Omegas had an even longer war needing to be started. But that was someone else’s fight.

My phone buzzed and I pulled it out, looking at a message from Hannah: You’re on the news, bitch. Smile!

I was just a half-beta-half-omega member of a pack with three more semesters until graduation. I might have had the public’s attention and be flying much higher on the radar than I’d wanted, but that was okay. I had my alphas. My education. And a new friend.

For what it was worth, I was happy.

The End

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