Page 5 of Harley

Not like me. As a beta-born omega, my value is low. The packs that will buy tickets for my lottery won’t be the elite. Not that I care, but my tickets cost half the price of a pure bloodline omega. That’s how much value I have here. My children won’t ever be pure and could end up as betas. Not that there’s anything wrong with being beta. I think it’s better to be honest.

“But you need to learn these things for your day,” she continues.

I sit up and throw my blankets to the floor, watching her eyes roll as she goes to my closet. With an arch of my brow, I taunt her to say something about my attitude. But she holds her tongue. Omegas tend to have attitudes… so I can get away with a lot more sass then I would have if I was a beta.

“What do I need to learn? I’m supposed to get dressed in whatever you tell me to, go up on stage and pull a name from the barrel, and whatever name is in there, that's my future, whether I like the alphas or not.”

Veronica shakes her head. “If you had listened during class, you would know there is more to it than that. Dahlia has already done her meet and greets, where she meets the alphas and their packs.”

She what? Meet and greet? My puzzled expression must give away what I’m thinking.

“It’s not just a pack you don’t know, Harley. You will draw out a pack that you have chosen to be in there.” Veronica huffs as she picks up my bedding.

I’m so confused. I’ve watched the Choosing my whole life. I've completed the classes here at the Omega House. Not once has anyone said I get to choose. The only choosing part is when I pull out a name, and even then, I didn’t choose to be up there or in here.

“So, I meet packs, and I say what? Yes to them? What if I only say yes to one pack?” I always just assumed they bought their tickets and entered the lottery without meeting the omegas. Because Choosing Day is really a lottery. Only, no cash prize. You win yourself an omega.

“You must select a minimum of fifty packs. If you don’t, they will be added at random. So, it’s important that you select the ones to be in there. This way, it’s fair to the alphas of Crescent City.”

Fair...yeah, that sounds fair to me.

It’s exactly what I expected. Shaking my head, I drop back onto my bed. Veronica comes over and hands me my pills for today. Scent blockers, and one to stop my heat from coming. I take them willingly.

Two years ago, I didn't take any of my medications in protest of being locked up here and not being able to see my father or my brother.

The alpha in charge, Jonathan, didn't seem to care. He told me I could do whatever I wanted. If I didn't want to take my medication, I didn't have to. I thought I was winning. That I had made a point and he actually cared. Then my heat came in.

I was begging for a knot by the end of the first day and was in so much pain, I thought I would die. I understood then that he knew this would happen. He didn’t care; he wanted me to learn my lesson. Never go against an alpha. It was my first heat, and I suffered for a whole week, even with the toys they supplied. I’ve taken my medication every day after that, but only because I don’t want that to happen again while I’m here.

I grumble when she hands me the clothes she selected. Not that I get much of a choice in the clothing I wear, but I prefer oversized hoodies and my black band tees. Some old, worn-in jeans and my black combat boots. Not this fancy dress shit. I hate it. I was never a girly girl and liked my style before being forced to wear the shit they make us don here.

“Come on.” Veronica snaps her fingers. “Storm is waiting for us.”

Why is Storm waiting for us? She’s my best friend in here and the only beta-born my age. We both just turned twenty last month. There aren’t many of us beta-born, so as soon as we met each other, we became instant friends. She hates her designation, and she messes with the guards and staff as much as she can. She regularly doesn’t take her meds and will perfume for days before Veronica, the beta house mom, clues in.

* * *

“This makes no sense; they've never had two omegas do a Choosing Day together. Do you think that's why we can't watch the news anymore? There’s something going on, and we seem to be caught up in it,” Storm whispers closely into my ear.

About three months ago, they started restricting the shows we could watch in our free time. One of them being the news. It was our only connection to the outside world, and they took it away from us. I assumed we’d done something wrong in the house and were being punished.

“Something's going on. Something that they don't want us to know about.” I’ve had this feeling for a while. I just didn’t want it to be true.

I can’t believe two of us are going up for Choosing Day. It’s never happened before in the sixty years it’s been running. Is it because we’re both beta-born?

Storm’s dark chocolate scent washes over me with a tinge of fear, setting off my Omega instincts. Nothing like the hormones of an omega, making me want to flee and retreat to my nest. Or scratch out the eyes of my best friend in some weird territorial move. Neither is what I want, but I don’t get to choose these feelings. Or be rational about them.

I quickly look over and see Daisy glaring at us from across the room. Her perfect, glossy black hair is done up as if she’s going somewhere to meet alphas. She isn’t. But that’s all the elite omegas think about—meeting alphas.

“Think there's going to be a war?” Storm asks almost too low for me to hear. “I hope they overturn the government and stop this Omega House bullshit.”

I knew Storm doesn’t like the way the government runs the country. Heck, neither do I. But I also worry about speaking my thoughts aloud. If the wrong person hears us, we’ll be in big trouble.

“Let's talk about this later.” I move away from her before my hormones lash out at her scent. She’s perfuming, and it’s setting me off.

She flicks her wild, curly auburn hair over her shoulder and stands tall, with her hand on her hip, as she stares daggers at Daisy. I hear Daisy squeak and run off. Storm turns and takes a cookie, like she didn’t just scare off Daisy.

I shake my head and grin at her. She’s unbelievable.

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