Page 6 of Harley

“What?” she asks around a mouthful of cookie, and I laugh.

“The bitch wouldn’t quit staring at me.” She shrugs and stuffs another cookie into her mouth. One thing I learned early on with Storm—don’t get between her and cookies. You might lose a finger.

The beta bitch in charge this morning glares at the two of us. I watch as she approaches and then remember to lower my head like I’ve been trained, not making eye contact with her as if she were an alpha. It’s bullshit, but it keeps me from getting into trouble...unlike Storm.

“Miss Harley,” she says, and I look up at Miranda. Her lips are pursed tight like she sucked on a lemon. “A little too late. As soon as you see me, you must acknowledge my status. Not wait for me to approach you.”

I wish I could tell her what to do with her fucking status. She can shove it right up her ass, but I hold my tongue and give her a small nod. I don’t want the alpha in charge to come down. I never know which one it’s going to be, and I don’t want to find out.

I glance over at Storm and instantly realize my mistake. I have to bite my lip to stop from bursting out laughing. Storm has finished all the cookies, and she twirls around on the spot with a grin. Oh gosh. I see her gum wrapper on the table.

She’s chewing gum in front of Miranda. Storm has to get Frankie, one of the guards, to sneak it in for her, since it’s banned in the Omega House.

“Miss Storm, I don't have words for your manners. It's like you don't even want to try to be a good omega.” Miranda looks like she's about to have a coronary, the way her eye twitches.

“Miranda, what crawled up your ass?” She grins and winks over at the beta.

A snort passes my lips, and I quickly slap my hand over my mouth as Miranda's eyes land on me. I pretend to cough, but it’s too late.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Storm go one step further and blows a bubble with her gum. My mouth drops open. She’s going to lose all her gum, and Frankie will get in so much trouble if they find out he snuck it in.

Miranda surprises me when she reaches out with her index finger and pops the bubble. I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from bursting out laughing as Storm’s eyes widen.

“All right, Miss Storm, this is your final warning.” Veronica’s voice booms through the room as she stomps over to us.

I tilt my head down at her entrance. There’s messing with the Omega House betas in charge, then there’s messing with fire.

“What happens after my final warning? Do you spank me?” Storm teases.

That’s it for me. I can’t hold on. I double over, gripping my knee as I bark out a laugh. Holy shit, my best friend has omega balls.

“That's it. Neither of you will be going today.” Veronica stands straighter as she hands down the best news of the day. She doesn’t get it. What she thinks is a punishment is so much better than what's coming for us when we’re left with a bunch of alphas who only want to use our bodies.

“Thank fuck,” I mutter, and she gasps at my language.

Her eyes narrow at me, and I hold her gaze. I was a beta longer than an omega. I curse. Hell, I have more where that came from, if she wants the truth.

But I want some truths of my own. Why are Storm and I sharing a Choosing Day? We’ll be the only two beta-born to go up on that stage in at least two years. It would make more sense if eighteen-year-old Goldie and her twin, Angel, went up together in a few years. Not us.

I turn my back on Veronica and Miranda. Storm closes the distance between us, and I feel her happiness coming off her in waves. Wow, she hasn’t been taking her meds for a while. Her scent is strong.

We start heading toward the common room, where the TV is.

“You wanna watch Friends again?” Storm is practically skipping, and I have to shuffle to keep up.

“What about movie first? How about—”

“Stop.” A deep voice cracks through the air, and I gasp as I come to a sudden stop. Storm freezes only a few steps in front of me, her hands curling into fists.

An alpha’s bark. As if we didn’t have enough shit thrown at us, now we get this, proving how weak we truly are. Who really holds the power in this world.

“Turn,” he barks again.

The power of his bark is too much, and I can’t stop myself. My instincts want to please him, but my mind screams to stop. He’s one of them, one of the government alphas who run the Omega House. We don’t see them very often. Hell, I think I have only seen one this year, and it’s October. But that’s because I’ve been very careful not to attract attention, since there’s something I’ve been hiding, even from Storm.

But if Jonathan is here, then something really is up. They never come into the house before a Choosing Day. Shit.

I glance over at Storm. Her smile is absent as she stares down the alpha in defiance. But her scent says otherwise. Even though she would never admit it, and she pokes and teases all the betas in charge, the government alphas scare her. They scare all of us.

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