Page 88 of For All My Effort

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.