Page 8 of Harley

It’s raining again, and it’s fucking miserable, just like the situation we’re in. I fucking hate this so much, and there’s nothing I can do. We need more time, more money. More omegas in this fucked-up world.

“Should we wait, just a little longer?” I ask.

The uprising is gathering steam, and I know they’re hiding more omegas than they say they are in that house. Hell, it’s not even a house. It’s a fortress. The only people who come and go from there are the beta guards and the alphas who run it. Elites. They think they’re so much better than us because our bloodlines are muddied with beta blood.

The tension in the air is high. It's time for us to take on the elites. They have everything; their alphas never go feral. They have enough omegas to make sure of it, leaving the rest of us packs with a few omegas a year. Last year, there were no beta-born. Hundreds of packs—a few thousand alphas—all vying for one thing.

Their omega.

I don't care about pure, and I don't care about money or fancy cars or my bike. All I care about is saving my packmate. Saving all the alphas who go feral. I smell him. His scent is thick, tarnished with the smell of burned pancakes. Fuck, Dash and Zayd are in there with him. I can feel them through the bond, trying to calm Knight. But he can’t control it. His growl rips through the house...rips through my chest.

Jax stands. “We can't wait any longer, and you know it.” Moving around the kitchen, he places his mug in the sink as he goes to the door where Knight is losing his mind.

My shoulders drop. I’m pack leader, and I just feel useless. I know the only way we can help Knight is with an omega’s bond...at least, in theory. If he really found his scent match that day in the diner, no other omega will ever be able to heal him.

“Maybe go back to that diner?” I could see if anyone knows this girl. The one with the big brown eyes and the sweetest smile. I’ve heard Knight talk about her so much, I feel as if I already know her.

Jax hesitates for a moment as we feel the fear and anger leach through the bond Knight tries so hard to shut down when he comes back to us. He hates us knowing that he’s scared.

“I’ll set up the meeting day for the omegas,” I tell him. “We’ll watch tonight’s Choosing and see which omegas will be up.” I know it’s a formal meeting to make sure the omega likes your scent. And only then will they accept your name in the lottery. But if Knight is like he is now, I don’t think we can even attend as a pack.

Jax nods before he slips into the room. I see Dash lying on the bed beside Knight, running his hands over his turned back, trying to comfort him.

“Just let me leave. I can’t do this to you all,” Knight growls out.

The door clicks shut, and my heart splits open as I grip my hair.

“Fuck.” I slam my fist onto the table, the wood under it groaning at the force.

When alphas turn feral, they sever ties with their pack. It hurts those left behind. A piece of your soul leaves with them. But I’m a year off forty. I will be gone in five years. I’m okay with that. Came to terms with it years ago. I’ve lived a pretty good life.

But Knight?

His life has only just started.

CHAPTER 4

HARLEY

The black town car pulls up to the sidewalk where the red carpet is laid out, ready for the Choosing Day ceremony. Nausea threatens to overtake me. I’m not ready. I can’t do this.

I place a hand over my heart and feel it racing. I feel...wrong.

This is the first time I've been out in years. I'm barely allowed in the garden at the Omega House after my escape attempts; that’s why I sneak out more often than not. Yet, here I am, about to be surrounded by the elite. And alphas. I forgot about all the alphas.

But then I feel a hand on my knee and look over to Storm. She’s touching me. Omegas thrive off touch. It's the one big change I noticed when I first presented. I love touch. I want to touch. But Omegas are territorial, so Storm would never go into my room. I would never go into hers, either. I've never hugged her or touched her in any way.

Despite that, she’s offering her comfort in the only way she can as an omega. Reaching down, I touch her hand and give her a small nod. We're in this together.

The door to the car opens, and Frankie, a beta guard from the Omega House, smiles in at us. I can smell Storm’s perfume grow stronger, and my eyes widen. I think Storm has a secret like mine.

“Harley and Storm, it’s time.” Veronica calls our names from around Frankie, and I watch as the smile on his face drops.

My heart races at the thought of another face with the same expression back at the Omega House...Gage. I’m going to lose him.

Before I can think any more about what I’m going to miss, I hear yelling, cheering? No, it’s the opposite. I step out onto the red carpet, and the flashes of cameras race off as I hear the shouts loud and clear. It’s a protest. Against the elites. I turn to Storm as she holds Frankie’s hand to help her out of the car and she freezes.

It’s true. There is an uprising.

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