Chapter Seventeen

The first week after the ban was implemented, I refused to slow down. We had pack meetings each night, for hours, talking about what we could do.

Money donations and phone calls. We were looking into companies that made donations we approved of, literally shifting to a new soap brand because they were supporters of a representative that was adamant about not restricting omegas so harshly.

Seb and Zeke were forced to go back to work, and while they were gone, I worked on my classes.

Since I wasn’t allowed to leave the house during certain hours, even with my alphas, it made me want to leave all the more. To be petty and go on a walk. To demand my alphas take me on a date in a blatant ‘fuck you’.

Instead, I was being mature. And patient. That meant doing everything covertly.

My mates kept me informed on everything that was being done and I think they knew that I was feeling a little left out. Seb was going out and talking with board members and Jackson was working on our pack’s contingency plan and Han was using his cyber skills to shut down propaganda sites in support of the ban and Zeke was keeping track of every possible mention of me in the media to find public allies.

Me? I was searching the app, trying to find out what everyone else in the world was doing. The issue was that the app was made up of mostly betas, the omegas hiding under anonymous names, and the betas were focused on their own battle for rights against the alpha designation.

One night, I told my alphas my plan to create an omega only mod. Like a discussion board within the app, proclaiming myself as an omega and wanting others to join in so we could finally figure out our voice.

It was a risk.

My alphas had been thinking about it, discussing it, and all the while I kept making notes for how I’d set it up, desperately hoping that they’d understand this was something I needed to do.

All of that led us to a pack meeting in the living room. I was sitting on the floor, my back leaning against the bottom part of the couch, between Zeke’s legs as he kept his hands over my eyes for a surprise. Apparently, I wasn’t to be trusted to keep my own eyes closed, which had made me roll my eyes since I refused to admit they had a point about my potential for looking.

I heard my alphas shuffling around and tried to get comfortable. The hard floor on my ass wasn’t great for long term.

“No peeking,” Zeke chided.

“I wasn’t.”

“Sure. Let me guess. The floor is hard?”

“It is!”

“Hannah, you’ve been sitting there for a minute. Maybe two.”

Something was set down on the short table in front of me, a soft noise that meant they were trying to hide it but couldn’t quite achieve it. I rubbed my hands on my thighs, telling myself that they might’ve enjoyed the joke of me peeking, but they’d be actually upset if I had. Right?

“Okay, Zeke—”

The rest of Jackson’s words were lost as I shoved Zeke’s hands away from my face. In front of me was a laptop, a new one. It was already out of the box and unwrapped which meant the alphas had already set it up for me.

Before I could even get my thanks out, Han said, “This is a special laptop. I’ve rewritten the rules of the gateways to make it seem like the access is coming from a different location.”

I stared at him, waiting for him to explain everything he just said in a way that actually made sense.

“When you use this laptop, no one will be able to trace it back to you.”

I nodded, understanding that bit now. “Why do I need that?”

“You’re going to set up that mod,” Jackson said, “using that computer only. The site might keep you anonymous among its members, but we’re worried about infiltrators. This way, if anyone breaks through the site’s protective layers, you’ll still have the laptop’s anonymity.”

“Will I need to create a new profile?”

“Definitely. Don’t follow your old account. And anything you might have admitted about yourself as that account, try to change slightly.”

I was so excited, I was nodding along, hoping my agreement would get me closer to actually being allowed to start. My hands were sliding across the closed laptop, almost petting the smooth surface as I waited.

I was finally going to be able to do something. My fingers felt like they were actually tingling with the anticipation of typing. I already knew which profiles I wanted to reach out to that might be willing to help. Higher, more trafficked accounts could put their weight behind an authentic solution.

A lot of these chats were places for people to vent without getting in trouble. Some of them actually created plans. In order for people to join and attend, they’d want a recognizable name and profile in support of the event to prove they weren’t walking into a trap.

I knew there had to be more omegas on the site than just me. I might have outwardly rebelled, but there were other omegas who complied maliciously. They would make outrageous demands, using the full force of the omega needs bullshit to get whatever they wanted. Others feigned compliance just to buy themselves some time. Pretending they were simply searching for the perfect pack and just not quite finding the right one yet. And I thought of Koda who was able to hide her omega designation in plain sight. She couldn’t be the only one.

If I had been smarter back then, I would have befriended those omegas. At the time, I hated that they weren’t rebelling like I was. I thought the only way forward was to publicly beat against the laws built.

“What kind of mod am I creating?” I asked. I had grand plans for an omega only mod, my imagination showing how amazing it would be if omegas could save themselves. But no matter how much I envisioned leading an omega-charge, I had no idea how to actually plan an event.

“Something to get everyone working together,” Jackson said. “All the causes are spread out and it’s only lowering the full force of numbers. Alphas, betas, omegas, most are on our side, but they’re all fighting individual causes rather than one big umbrella issue.”

“We need to get everyone who opposes the ban to realize that it’s the real deal. Doing nothing, just assuming it won’t pass because it’s so outrageous, is putting everyone in danger,” Zeke added.

“I know there are other omegas who won’t be happy about this,” I told my mates. “I just wish I had a way to get in contact with them too.”

“I can download an encrypted messaging app,” Han said. “You could find them on social, maybe reach out and get a private number then suggest they get the app too. It would be a risk, though. The messages might keep out anyone trying to intercept them, but if they willingly reveal their phone, you’d be outed.”

I shook my head. “They wouldn’t.”

“It’s too big a risk, rebel,” Jackson said.

I stood up, needing to show my mates how serious I was about my words. “Think about what would happen if the omegas revolted. We just agreed that all the designations need to work together—that means omegas. It’s a bigger risk with a bigger reward.”

“Even if the omegas stood up, they have no voting power,” Sebastian reminded me. “We need to get the betas and alphas on our side, working together. That’s our focus with this app. If you can’t get enough followers, then we can go to picking out specific omegas for help.”

My frustration was tainting my perfume, and I knew my mates could sense my annoyance down the bond. Any big speech would be a waste of breath because I knew my mates were right. No matter how much I wanted to dramatically change the world, to bring omegas into equal rights with the other designations, this wasn’t that kind of fight. This was all about stopping that permanent movement ban. Just like the betas and alphas needed to focus on one issue, so did I.

I agreed, albeit reluctantly. My disappointment was quickly washed away when Han sat down next to me and watched as I finally got to login on the secret laptop. Zeke was still behind me, his hands going back and forth between my neck and Han’s shoulders.

The three of us sat together as I created my profile and then set up my page. I looked up accounts that I had memorized as being big names to add some credibility to my own, sending them a message through the app. Not all of them would respond, but maybe one would. Especially with the new note on my profile. Something so rare, even in this app, that I was hoping it would catch attention. Omega.

I was a strange mix of excitement and nerves. For all my bravado, it was easier to claim I wanted to shout my demands from the rooftop than actually made the proverbial climb up the ladder. It was the same feeling I got when I snuck into omega rights rallies. I always had nerves in my stomach to the point that I wondered if it would cause literal damage.

The first event I had gone to, I had to leave early because I was perfuming too much. Hiding my emotions was never possible, but after enough events, and not getting caught, my fear was replaced by excitement, and that was much easier to blend in with the betas.

Working on the computer, so close to my mates like a physical form of protection, it was a near perfect moment. I was surrounded by love, acting in the best interests of my designation, and in comfortable clothes. The trifecta of a perfect day.

Then one of my mates’ phones went off, except no one moved to answer it. My brain was slow to notice the specific ringtone that meant Koda was calling. But when I did, I stood up quickly, ignoring the ache in my knees and the slight tingling of my ass as my nerves decompressed from being sat on for so long.

I got to my phone just as the ringing stopped, but I immediately called Koda back.

She answered halfway through the first ring, “Hannah.”

“Koda? What’s wrong?”

“I’m so angry.” She didn’t sound angry. It sounded like she was crying, especially as she sniffled again. “Do you have time to talk?”

“Of course.” My mates were all watching me as I stood frozen, worry for Koda making me hold still while she spoke to ensure I didn’t miss a single word. “What’s going on?”

“Have you seen the protests going on? Alphas against betas. Betas against packs. It’s been causing a lot of trouble at Braker with the two designations mixed all the time, which, in case you were wondering, has been hell on my instincts.”

I nodded even though she couldn’t see me.

“We got a school email basically saying that protests and political arguments needed to stay off campus. That caused an uproar, because of course it did. We’re not talking about tax increases, we’re talking about the rights of designations. I have no idea what Chancellor Kelly was thinking with that declaration. The man has a beta assistant, so he isn’t completely opposed to betas.”

“Didn’t he try to kick you out when you joined a pack, though?”

“Eh, that was complicated. Jenson was my professor, too. Although I do remember him saying something about the only reason there wasn’t a rule that alphas and betas at the school shouldn’t bond was because no one thought it would be needed.”

“See?”

“But he also wasn’t … I don’t know … mean. I guess, if I was being honest, and if I was giving him the benefit of the doubt, I could see that we’d sort of backed him into a proverbial corner.”

“There were a lot of stipulations in that.”

She sighed. “I know. I just keep associating the fact that I didn’t get kicked out of the academy with him. He could have sent the reporters away, but he created a whole interview session where he basically said he supported me staying simply by not refusing to kick me out.”

“He let reporters on campus then but isn’t letting the students stand up for their designations now?”

“Right? It’s so confusing.”

Zeke grabbed my free hand, pulling me back toward the couch since I’d been stuck standing as I spoke with Koda. I pointed to a blanket on the other end of the couch, silently asking for it. He obliged, covering it over me and him as he sat down next to me, pulling my feet onto his lap.

“How’s the temperament of the school right now?” I asked.

“Toxic. I walk into a classroom and there’s a literal line between where the alphas and betas are sitting. The air on campus is thick with tension. And of course, there are the professors who are hoping this whole thing will lead to Braker going back to being an alpha only academy. That’s sort of why I’m calling you.”

That had me sitting up. I thought she was just calling to vent.

“I had a meeting with Chancellor Kelly today. He gave me the option to switch my classes to remote.”

“What does that mean?”

“Apparently, the professors will create physical copies of the lessons and send them home with Jen for me.”

“Ah, no offense, Koda, but that seems like a lot of work for one student.”

“Right? That’s why I can’t figure out if I should do it or not. My mates are worried for my safety on campus, but I keep thinking that if I let myself be run out of Braker, then there wasn’t a point to me attending in the first place. There was a reason I chose BA.”

“It’s just an option, right? You don’t have to go remote?”

“Yeah, just an option. Aidan recommended that I talk to you since you do classes from home.”

“I do…”

“But?”

“Honestly? I wish I could attend a real school. That I had the option. I wish that I was outwardly proving that our designation was capable of learning and sitting in a classroom just like everyone else. It’s one of the reasons that I take the classes now even though I fucking hate having homework.”

“I know. I feel the same way.”

“That being said, you aren’t much good to any movement if you end up outed as an omega and kicked from the academy because of all the alpha tension on campus.”

She groaned, the sound filled with frustration. “I know. I can’t decide. Several outlets have already tried reaching out to me for an opinion piece, but I don’t know if it’s better to tell them I’m staying at the academy or to admit the tensions are high and I’m scared. Will I get critics or sympathy?”

I knew what I wanted to say. I knew that I wanted to tell her to stay at the academy and hold her head high. To represent everyone who was a pack member that wasn’t an alpha but still able to have a life outside the home. She could’ve been the face of the designation rights movement if she wanted.

Yet, she wasn’t truly a part of the movement. In spirit, absolutely. Koda was a perfect example of wanting more than the limits of your designation and managing to achieve it. Except she wasn’t trying to break designation barriers, she simply wanted to live her life.

I tried to focus on that, on the solution she was asking for and not the one that I wanted. The problem was, I only knew bits and pieces about Koda’s life at Braker.

“How did everyone react when the news broke that you bonded into a pack?” I asked.

“Uh, the news loved it. And the betas mostly did too. A few alphas grumbled about how I would get tossed aside for an omega, and some just believed we’d eventually add an omega in anyways, so it wasn’t a big deal.”

Support. Sympathy.

I sat up straighter, my excitement at that information making me temporarily biased in my answer. I physically pulled the phone from my ear, knowing if I said anything in that moment, it would have been all about the movement and not about Koda herself.

Having a friend was new, and I was determined not to mess it up. Just like my mates put me before the omega movement, I would put Koda before it as well.

“Hello? Hannah? You still there?”

“Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking,” I told her.

“I think I want to stay. To keep going on as normal.”

“Really?”

“If I was willing to switch schools, I would have done that back when it made my mates’ lives easier. I just hate all the attention. And I know agreeing would have made Aidan’s relationship with his mom better.”

“Uh.” I wasn’t sure about that last part, but Koda was going strong, so I was switching from an advisory friend role to a completely supportive one. “Okay. I like that plan.”

“You don’t think it’s dumb? Like I should just do the classes at home and make it easier on everyone?”

“I don’t think that’s easier for anyone. Maybe for your mates since they’ll know you’re safe all the time. Would you be happy being at home all day, every day? How strong are your nesting instincts?”

“Even if I went remote, I wouldn’t stay home. I’d go to a shop or a library or something.”

“It’s probably better that you stay at Braker, then. At least you’ll have the safety of being on campus. Something.”

Despite her verbal commitment, I heard her groan, obviously still conflicted on what to do.

“Do you have to make a decision now?” I asked.

“No. It was an open-ended offer. I just wanted to make it now. I didn’t want this option hanging over my head like mistletoe at a stranger’s party.”

I chuckled at that comment. “If only major life decisions could be simple.”

“I know, right?”

For the next few minutes Koda and I talked about lighter topics. Some of which I didn’t understand at all since she was complaining about an assignment on exoplanets and how she wanted her focus to be on blackholes. I knew about the latter, but the former was like gibberish to me. We jumped around from topic to topic, catching up, commenting on each other’s stories.

The whole time, Zeke stayed on the couch with me, his head leaning against the back cushion with his eyes closed. Under the blanket, his hands continued to run over my feet and ankles, so I knew he wasn’t asleep.

At some point, all of my other mates had kissed my head, forehead, and cheek before disappearing. It was over an hour later that Koda and I finally hung up. My mouth was weirdly dry from all the talking and when I got up to drink some water, I drank the whole glass without stopping before refilling it and finally feeling better.

Koda’s predicament at BA was more proof that the omega and beta struggles were intertwined. My mates were right in saying we needed the designations to come together. At the minimum, we could all agree that no new pack laws should be created. None barring betas from packs or limiting omega whereabouts.

What the next step would be, I didn’t know. I wanted to help betas maintain their rights, but was it better to lift up the betas to equal status of alphas and then work on omegas, or start with omegas since we were so far behind and bring us up to the level of betas?

I was going around in circles. This but that. That then this. This and that.

Representative Adam was a bad alpha, a designation elitist, and an overall manipulative asshole. But he saw his opportunity and took it. He created a plan and we somehow fell right into it. We just needed to figure out how to climb the hell out.