Page 1 of Harley

CHAPTER 1

HARLEY

“Fan-fucking-tastic,” I mutter under my breath, reacting to the news I’ve been dreading since I arrived at the Omega House.

My Choosing Day is next. Or, should I say, it’s the government’s Choosing Day. I have no choice in the matter.

Veronica, the “house mother,” a sturdy older beta with graying hair, shakes her head and gasps at me. As if my language would be different than any other day. I’m sure as hell going to curse at this news. Especially when there are older pure Omegas here. And it goes by age. At least, it usually does.

“All you beta-born omegas are the same.” She turns to the younger beta—Kiera—who only joined the house a few weeks ago. “It’s as if they don’t care about their designation as an omega.”

I scoff at that. Oh, I care all right. I care about having all my rights, my family, my friends taken away from me in one moment. Because that’s exactly what happens when you perfume as an omega after being raised as a beta.

“So many betas dream of being in your position, Harley. So, remember your training and start acting like a true omega.” Veronica gives me a stern look, and I just roll my eyes.

I know for a fact she wishes she was in my position. That’s why she works at the omega center, and most of the betas here feel the same way. This is the closest they will ever get to being an omega and around any alphas.

Not all of us beta-born wanted this. It’s on the tip of my tongue, but I bite my cheek. I didn’t want this. At sixteen, I was too busy thinking about boys and parties to worry about something so unlikely occurring. My best friend and I were just talking about our plans for the weekend when I felt a cramp...what I thought was my cycle finally coming. Finally becoming a “woman.”

I was wrong.

I didn't expect to present as an omega in the middle of physics class, with my fellow students watching on as I doubled over with cramps and my perfume flooded the room.

It had only happened one other time at my school, back in the fifties. It’s so rare for a beta to present as anything but beta these days, they don’t even teach us about it anymore in designation class. So, this was a huge surprise for everyone. Especially me.

It only happens if there’s omega or alpha blood in your family tree. Your family is supposed to “talk” to you about it. My father had no idea that my mother’s bloodline wasn’t pure beta. And if she were still with us, she would have told me if she had of known. But a drunk driver took her from us when I was only three. So I grew up with my father and older brother Aero.

We lived in an all-beta town. Most betas do. Alphas and omegas tend to live in the city, never straying far from there.

I’d never visited the city before. Betas also rarely stray far from where they grow up. Up to that point in my life, I’d never seen an omega in person. Neither had my classmates, so they were in just as much shock as me when it happened.

In that moment, of me perfuming and scaring my old balding teacher, Mr. Wicks, I thought of the alphas I’d seen only days before. The first ones I’d ever encountered. But one in particular...his scent. I’d been drawn to him as a beta, and I hadn’t understood why.

Did he somehow awaken the omega in me, or was this always going to happen? I wondered. Most omegas first perfume at sixteen, so chances are, this was bound to happen. He just might have sped up the process with that scent of his. If only I knew who he was, maybe I could have asked him if this was normal.

The bell over the door dings as someone enters the diner. The smell of blueberry pancakes hits my nose, and I practically moan at the aroma. I look up to see where Nichole is with my order, but I’m met with a wall of men wearing black leather cuts.

Not just any men—bikers.

Not just any Bikers—alphas.

My father shifts beside me as the energy in the diner changes. It goes from the usual Sunday chatter to deadly silent. A fork clatters on a plate, and everyone turns to the person who dropped it, including the alphas.

My brother, Aero’s, eyes widen as one of the men sits at the counter and orders coffee.

My father taps my leg, and I glance at him. “Don’t look at them, Harley,” he whispers.

I furrow my brow. Why? Are they bad bikers? Or is it because they’re alphas? My father looks over my shoulder and quickly turns to glance out the window.

Their scents are so strong in the room, I feel like I’m dizzy, but no one else seems as affected as I am. Why? Can’t they smell them? They don’t smell bad...but they make my head swim a little. In a good way.

I don’t listen to my father’s advice. I just can’t. When has this ever happened before? Never. I’ve been coming to this diner with my father and Aero for as long as I can remember. It’s our Sunday tradition.

I look over at the alphas again, only now, they’re all looking at me. And I feel a tingle down my spine at their intense gazes.

I swallow the lump in my throat. Why are they staring at me? A quick scan of the room tells me I’m the only beta here who is dumb enough to look at them. Well, I never claimed to be smart.

Is this one of those Medusa-type situations I’ve gotten myself in? If I stare too long, will I turn to stone? Maybe… but it won’t stop me from looking away.

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