Page 201 of Chosen Beta

Brooke escaped the encounter with her father unscathed, and we all decided to go back to Ezra’s suite so we could stick together for the rest of the night. My pack were back and forth in and out of the bedroom looking after Shadow, and I mostly stayed in the living room with Pete, Brooke and Kellan, talking things over.

Marianne is expected to make a full recovery, and Dr. Morgan has promised to work with her on the brainwashing side of things once she’s doing a little better physically.

The security guard she drugged woke up with the embarrassing story that he was punched out by the kitchen server he tried to flirt with on duty.

We learned yesterday that it’s unlikely that Warren can take someone over if he hasn’t already brainwashed them into letting him tell them what to do.

I’m still not sure if that’s reassuring, or terrifying.

But it’s Friday afternoon, and Brooke is on stage in the social event hall with me, talking to the academy’s Omegas who’ve been waiting for this moment to be told the unvarnished truth about why I’m changing everything.

It feels weird to be speaking into a microphone and it feels even weirder that I have a reporter from the news filming the whole thing, but I know it’s important for the wider world to know what went on here.

“As the new head of administration of Goldcrest Academy, I took guardianship of every Omega at this school from my predecessor, and I intend to do the best by every one of the Omegas in my care. I’ll be frank, the way the academy was run before was disgraceful. It was corrupted from the beginning by rich donors dictating the way everything should be done. I had to correct this by no longer allowing donations and applying for government funding to turn this school into a place of learning. What this means, is that we will no longer be grading anything or anyone based on how rich they are.”

There’s a lot of chatter across the room when I pause. So far, the audience have been receptive, but it feels very much like they’re not sure what to make of any of this.

I clear my throat before I go on.

“I know this is a lot to digest, and some of you may wish to be released into your parent’s guardianship. That’s your choice, but I’d like each and every one of you to think very carefully about what you’d like to get out of your life before you fill out your form and take your meeting with me. This isn’t about what your parents want for you. You may still want to find your mate or mates, and we will still be hosting social events to help those who wish to do this. These events will be safer than they were in the past. We will only allow Alphas who can demonstrate the appropriate levels of respect for our Omegas into this hall from now on. Alphas, Betas and packs who are earnestly lookingfor their true mates will be welcome to apply to come to our first social next month. I’ll meet with each individual and group separately to screen them.”

There’s still a lot of murmuring, Omegas talking amongst themselves.

“I’ll take a few questions now, and then I’ll pass the floor to Brooke Corvina.”

A half-dozen hands shoot up in the audience.

“Please make your way to the microphone at the front of the stage, if you want to ask a question.”

A blonde Omega makes her way over. The others put down their hands.

“Um,” she says, as she puts a hand on the stand and leans into the mic. “I don’t get it. We’re supposed to be here to find a mate. Our parents picked this place so we could meet a rich Alpha, because we were raised in wealthy families. And now we’re going to be expected to meet guys who might be working class?”

“Astor, you haven’t been here for as long as some of the Omegas, but you’ve been to a few of the social events. How well would you say those events went?”

She blinks at me. “Oh. Um, well … Not great.”

“And why weren’t they great?”

“Um … I didn’t meet any good guys. They were all disgusting.”

Laughter rings out through the crowd. A few Omegas start clapping.

“That’s what I’m trying to change. The Alphas at those events were given access based on who they were and that was based on their parent’s bank accounts. I know now and then someone was able to meet the right guy, but for the vast majority of our Omegas, that hasn’t been the case. Would you rather keep going to parties with the same disgusting men, or try something different and maybe meet the men you were always fated to be with?”

Astor sighs. “Well, it would be nice if the men I was fated to be with were rich.”

She steps away from the microphone, and a brunette Omega takes her place.

“It feels like this is all happening a bit fast. None of us are used to change. Better the devil you know, right? I just … How quickly are we going to have to make our decisions?”

“Good question, Ivy. I’m not expecting anyone to be rushed along with this. I’ll give you as much time as I can. I have no end date as yet, though the budget may dictate that in the future. Rest assured there’s at least six months of a buffer for all of you.”

“Oh, thank God,” Ivy says, before she steps away.

No one else comes up to the microphone.

“Is that all?” I ask, looking out over the audience.

---