Page 82 of Harley & Her Ferals

This is something that I’ve been missing for years.

I feel safe in a way that I never have before.

I glance over Laurent’s shoulder at Feral, who is curled just behind us on the other side of the bars.

He’s still sleeping and lightly snoring.

He’s twice the size of Laurent. His neon-red hair falls over his face.

I relax back, knowing that I have my scent matched Alpha, as well as my Omega soulmate.

My Beta soulmate is just as much a part of our pack as well.

Just for a moment, an image of silvery hair flying wildly over sun-kissed shoulders, a tattoo of a howling wolf, and villainous green eyes shoots through my mind unbidden.

I grit my teeth.

Harbinger isn’t my Alpha. He’s an enemy.

He may be the most gorgeous Alpha that I’ve ever seen, but he’s a knothead.

Why the hell am I thinking about him?

I dedicate myself to licking Laurent’s throat more thoroughly above his shirt collar, and his breathing picks up.

I could write mutual licking into my morning schedule.

Maybe it is part of all Omegas’ routine in the Above…?

I should ask Laurent.

I pull back. “Do Omegas lick each other like this where you come from?”

Laurent stops nuzzling me.

“Only when they’re on first name terms,” he replies, dryly.

I ghost my fingers over Laurent’s high collar. “This doesn’t look comfortable. Why don’t you undo at least a couple of the buttons? I could lick you better then.”

Laurent drops his gaze, touching his shirt. “Why don’t I, indeed? Mom dressed me like this, prim and proper in polite society, while behind closed doors at herspecialevents, I was barely clothed. In magazine shoots, the designer clothing was so flimsy, I might as well have been naked. But this suit felt like a shield. I know that’s bullshit.”

He hesitates.

My throat is thick with tears. “You don’t need to…”

“I want to.” He tilts up his chin, determined. “Not only for you but for myself, as well. Defiance and standing up against those who’d break us, doesn’t always take big protests and violence. Sometimes, it’s as simple as…”

He snaps open the top two buttons of his shirt, revealing the vulnerable skin underneath.

When Laurent puffs out a breath, relaxing against me, I realize how tightly wound he had been.

“I’m proud of you.” I kiss him, lightly.

“I’m rather proud of me too.” Laurent rubs his cheek against mine. “I’ve spent my life fearing a forced bond. You think that my world of elite packs is different to your outlaw world down here. But I don’t. What I believe is that this Underworld is simply more honest about their cages. They still exist in my world for Omegas but they’re invisible. We must fight them, invisible or…”

He taps the bars.

“They exist for Alphas too.” I glance again at Feral. “I’ve only spent a couple of years caged. But Fer was raised here. Dad made him feral by isolating him and then forcing him to suffer his ruts alone.”

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