Epilogue

A few days later

The vote for nays, for refusing the permanent movement ban, was just barely higher than the yeas, but the number was still counting.

At this point, no one was even talking. Koda and her alphas were over, as was Eve, but we were all watching the TV in the living room.

I was sitting on Zeke’s lap, but I wasn’t truly aware of where the rest of my mates were except that each one was touching me somehow. A hand on my shoulder, my neck, my knee. All of our gazes locked on the screen as the count for each representative kept going up.

The space smelled of stress and worry with only a tinge of excitement.

Before the count had started, my face had been everywhere. On most news channels, social media, even on the hidden sites. An omega that spoke out was big news, especially one with controversial statements.

Both sides had used whatever clips suited them best. If anyone watched the interview, I felt like it would be obvious that the short, put together head nods and words were taken out of context. And as much as I raved about that fact, there was nothing to do about it.

I was officially at the whims of the media. A face for the omegas whether you supported more freedoms for them or supported stricter restrictions.

No one said anything as the lead for nays got bigger, not wanting to jinx the outcome.

These last few days had been more stressful than the entire weeks that led up to the interview. Both Han and Seb’s families reached out, and neither of those conversations had gone well. The studio where we had filmed the interview receives fan and hate mail for me, because apparently while my face was public, my address was still hidden.

My secret app was blowing up. Luckily not with recognition—although some people had guessed correctly. Mostly, it was filled with last-minute protests, ideas for where to live if the ban did go through, certain loopholes someone might be able to use in a court against the potential law. It was all useful, just extremely pessimistic, so I’d been avoiding it.

It was hard to not feel like the decision, either way, was influenced by me. I had seen the clips both sides were using in their favor, and I was an emotional mix of pride and guilt.

I was still doing my classes, even if all my mates agreed it was fine if I dropped it. School and homework and tests weren’t really my thing, yet I couldn’t convince myself to stop taking them. I wanted the satisfaction of finishing it, of picking a major and passing like any other designation in society. Maybe I would even pick a communications degree to help with my public speaking so I didn’t get tongue-tied on any other future interviews.

The biggest surprise came with the fact that none of us had heard from Representative Adam. Of course, he was completely alive and present for the vote, his one of the first yeas to be counted.

For some reason, I’d thought he’d come back to our house, raging at me for what I said. It was Zeke who suggested that he’d probably wait to throw his proverbial tantrum until after the vote in case my interview didn’t change any minds. I thought a man with his amount of pride wouldn’t have been able to withstand an omega talking shit—no matter how politely I’d done it.

As the count neared the final numbers, Koda stood, starting to pace. It was so close, nays and yeas going back and forth. If the nays won, we’d celebrate. If the yeas won, I was pretty sure Koda’s mates would take her home, Eve would leave, and I’d cry in my nest for a long time.

That wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted the party, the happiness. I didn’t want to be forced to stay in my home, no matter how much I loved it. I wanted to keep going on dates. I didn’t believe that you could truly know everything about a person, nevertheless I wanted to learn as much as possible about my mates.

I wanted freedom, choices, equality.

Eve’s scent was growing stronger, showing how distressed the beta was about what she was watching. Reaching out with my free hand, I fumbled for hers, offering the small amount of comfort I could manage.

“How many votes left?” Eve asked.

“Ten,” Aidan, one of Koda’s mates, said.

I couldn’t look away. Didn’t even dare blink.

The nays were ahead, by one. Then none. Then one again.

Hands touching me got tighter, scents grew stronger. Koda stopped pacing, standing in place under the TV like she was worried there would be a delay in information if she was as far back as the couch.

Tears were pooling in my eyes, I just didn’t know if they were from happiness or fear. I wanted the nay result so bad, I would have wished on a shooting star, rubbed a lamp, anything to make it happen.

Then it was done.

By one vote, the nays had it. The temporary movement ban wouldn’t become permanent.

The crowd on the TV cheered, we all screamed. I was jumping up and down, letting the tears fall as I hugged all my mates before turning to Koda and Eve, pulling them into a tight hug with my arms around their necks, our heads banging together painfully.

“Fuck you, Adam,” I yelled at the screen. “Fucking fuck you and your ban, you asshole.”

“Yeah, what she said,” Koda agreed.

“And to everyone else who voted with you,” Eve added. She might not have been as affected by the movement ban as omegas, but we all knew that if this one had passed, so too would have more extreme laws separating betas from society.

This law was a test to see how the other representatives were feeling. It wasn’t too much of a leap to propose stricter laws for omegas since some were already on the books. If this had passed, then it would be easier to suggest beta laws too.

Instead, Adam had made enemies and lost the bill. I only wished that his constituents would boot him out for losing—although I was doubtful of that. His voters worshiped him to a creepy extent that was strange for a person, let alone a politician.

“Now we party,” I told everyone.

One of my mates changed the channel, and I was dragged into the kitchen to help start plating foods. We dumped chips into bowls, dips into containers, ordered delivery, and got several different types of desserts.

Seb even made drinks for everyone, letting me have the one he made for himself since his was weirdly so good. It even had edible glitter in it which I was thinking I wanted in all my future drinks.

We partied for hours. Not crazily, just enjoying the company of friends, being lighthearted for the first time in weeks, if not months. There was no mention of politics or Adam or anything beyond jokes and laughter and even Sebastian and Aidan telling stories about each other when they were both young.

Eve was the first to leave, then Koda and her pack to have their own, intimate celebration.

Then it was just me and my pack. The tension surrounding us was taut and brittle, ready to break if anyone so much as moved.

There was a lot to clean up—the food, the dishes, even just replacing all the pillows and blankets and chairs to their designated spot. Instead of doing any of that, I turned and ran up the stairs, forcing all my mates to run after me.

Adrenaline flooded my system. I was panting hard at the top of the stairs, but I didn’t stop, running toward my nest. Jackson got to me first, half slamming me down onto the nest’s soft floor, his playful growl adding to the arousal already building low in my belly.

“Strip,” Jackson demanded.

He turned me around, so I was on my back, and he was hovering over me, blocking me from moving. I wiggled around, desperately trying to rip my clothes off as quickly as possible. It was made even harder by the fact that Jackson refused to move. Around me, I knew my other mates were stripping, but my first alpha was simply watching me, his gaze never wavering.

“Present,” Jackson barked.

I scrambled to get into position, raising my hips high, spreading my knees apart, and pressing my chest onto the floor. Zeke was in front of me, on his knees, his cock already hard as his hand slowly ran up and down his length. My mouth watered in anticipation of tasting him, wanting his berry flavor on my tongue.

Behind me, Jackson started playing between my legs, tracing his fingers along my pussy which was already leaking slick.

Reaching for Zeke, my mate sat back down on his heels so his cock was at the perfect height for me to suck on. I licked at his head, and down his length, completely focused on enjoying my mate in my mouth.

I felt one finger press inside me, then another, thrusting in and out of me gently, teasing me.

Han came up behind Zeke, the former wrapping his hands around Zeke’s chest. One of Han’s hands came down to Zeke’s cock, slowly jerking him off, his fingers bumping my lips where I was pressing my tongue against the bottom side of Zeke’s head. Between the two of us, Zeke’s head was thrown back, groaning with pleasure from Han and I working him together.

I was missing Seb, but I wasn’t able to pull away from Zeke’s dick to beg for him.

Jackson was still using his hand on me, and I whimpered, wanting more. Multiple scents of arousal bloomed after the noise escaped, heightening the sexual atmosphere, taking us from desperate to frantic.

I finally felt the head of Jackson’s cock at my entrance, shoving inside me in a single powerful thrust.

I screamed around Zeke’s cock, the pleasure of finally being filled the way my body was begging, almost overwhelming. My orgasm was already threatening from the rhythm of Jackson’s thrusts, the taste of Zeke, and the scents of all my mates’ arousal.

Zeke came first, the taste of his cum coating my tongue. He didn’t lock into my mouth this time, letting Han massage his inflated knot. It was a lot to drink down, some of it spilling down my chin and onto the nest floor.

As Zeke fell back, Han’s face was in front of mine, licking up the cum on my chin and lips, before kissing me, shoving his tongue into my mouth so I could taste the mix of him and Zeke. I groaned, the dirty kiss pushing me over the edge toward my first orgasm.

Jackson came inside me, too, also not knotting me, not that I could have begged for him with Han’s lips almost glued to mine, making it hard to breathe.

Hands ran down my back, and even without looking, I knew they were Seb’s. He was positioning himself differently than Jackson had, letting me know his intentions we’re to fuck me in a different hole than my first alpha had. With his knees between my own spread legs, I felt him use his fingers to spread my arousal from my core to my ass.

When he pulled me back, slowly pushing his way inside me, I was more sitting on his lap than actually on all fours. The piercing on Seb’s tip felt even better in my ass, the tightness making him constantly hit every nerve ending in existence. Han followed, keeping his mouth on mine and letting our tongues play together. Since I was sitting up more, I could see that Han had his hand wrapped around himself, squeezing tight as he jerked his length. He started playing with my breasts with his free hand, squeezing them, pinching my nipples, running the pads of his fingers around the underside of each breast, never stopping the back-and-forth motion for his own pleasure.

Han’s touch was gentle compared to Seb’s pounding in my ass. I was trapped between them, simply being used for their pleasure and it felt so good.

Dropping one of my own hands down to my clit, I rubbed the nub, feeling my second orgasm growing.

“Does this feel good, princess?” Seb asked, his soft words kissing my ear.

Han backed up, lowering his mouth to my breasts, sucking on the hard points of my nipples, even biting the sides of my breasts, leaving marks.

“Yes,” I hissed, not just to his question, but to all of it. The pleasure, the sensations, the scents, the love.

I came then. My mouth open, my eyes closed, the pleasure zinging throughout my body, tensing my muscles, stopping my breath.

Seb followed after, shouting his release as I tightened around him. Han was last, spilling his seed on my stomach as Seb held my body slumped against him. I’d just come twice, yet not one of my mates had knotted me. My instincts were not pleased.

“I need a knot,” I admitted, looking at all four of my mates.

“Don’t worry, rebel, we have all night.”

Jackson pulled me from Seb, turning me so we were chest to chest, face to face. I could scent the emotions coming from him, his excitement and pride and arousal, yet also his fear and worry and anxiety. For all of us, this was a celebration, but we hadn’t won yet. We just hadn’t lost.

At least for tonight, in this nest, we were going to ignore the outside world. I would make sure of it. “Knot me, alpha.”

He did. Then all of my mates did. The five of us falling asleep hours later, smelling of sex, covered in sweat, and smiling until our cheeks hurt and we couldn’t physically keep our eyes open anymore.

The End