The clock on his nightstand glowed 3:34 AM, but sleep had eluded Harley all night. He was going to be a wreck tomorrow. He reached over and flipped the clock to face the wall, ignoring the mocking numbers.
Married. In less than a month. The word still tied a knot in his stomach, and not the good kind. You’re being a baby about this, he told himself sternly. Grant isn’t the worst choice of mate. Far from it, in fact. Harley had heard stories about other Omegas tied to brutal, abusive Alphas, those that believed their Omegas were property, to be used as they saw fit. He knew Grant wasn’t that type.
And Harley had been born into a powerful family, so even if he’d been an Alpha, as his father so desperately wanted, it was likely he would have had his mate chosen for him anyway. He knew lots of couples like that through his family’s connections, and very often they grew to love each other. Maybe he and Grant would feel the same as they got to know each other better.
Well, they had a date tomorrow, didn’t they? Harley resolved to ask Grant some questions, move their relationship beyond the small talk. If they were going to be mates, he wanted to make it work, wanted to make Grant happy.
Feeling slightly comforted, Harley closed his eyes.
***
The blaring electronic beep made Harley shoot bolt upright in bed. He slammed a hand instinctively on his alarm clock, but as his sleep-deprived brain finally caught up, he realized it was his phone ringing. His eyes were too bleary to focus on the number on the caller ID, so he simply answered it.
“Good morning, this is Harley.” Even at 8 AM, Academy training was burned into his brain.
“Did I wake you? You sound like hell.”
He sighed. “Good morning, dad. No, I was up.”
“Good,” his father answered. “I have some news.”
Harley frowned, happy that his expression was hidden. News so soon after their last talk could be very good or very bad.
“After what happened last week,” his father continued, “I took the liberty of hiring a bodyguard for you. As you know,” his voice dropped to a conspiratorial tone, “we can’t really afford it, but it had to be done. We can’t take any chances now that our goal is in sight.”
“Our goal?” His sleep-deprived brain wasn’t quite up to speed.
His father heaved an exasperated sigh. “Your marriage to Grant? And now that you’re a proper Omega capable of breeding, we need to protect you until you seal the deal.”
“I don’t need-“ Harley began, but his father cut him off before he could finish.
“Yes. You do. You will not argue with me on this, Harley. Not when we’re so close to success. Now, I told the bodyguard to wait outside your room. He’ll have the rest of my instructions for you. See that you obey.” With a click and a beep, the call abruptly ended.
Harley stared at the phone, then glanced up at his door. Was the bodyguard here? Had he heard that right? If he knew his father, it was going to be some utterly humorless ex-military guy with no neck and a perma-frown. Well, he might as well see who he’d been stuck with.
He rolled out of bed, wincing at the sight of his impressively tangled bedhead and tired eyes. He’d have to use an eye mask before classes or suffer a million questions from Ellie. Raking his fingers through his hair, he took a deep breath and opened the door.
His heart nearly stopped. Bastion.
The Alpha was leaning casually against the wall, tapping on a cell phone, but he glanced up when he saw Harley. The slightest of smirks curved the corner of his lip. “Good morning, Mister Day.”
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To be continued...