Page 30 of Royal Omega

“Why would she do that? Did you ever do anything to harm her?”

“Of course not! But the accusation would have been enough to ruin me, and the company my parents built from the ground up. It was imperative that I leave the country as soon as possible. My parents pulled some strings and got me into a university in Iceland. I left in the middle of the night. Once I was out of the way, Carissa’s parents crippled my parents’ company. Without me there to help, the business went under. My father killed himself and my mother in a bout of insanity. There was a storm system over the Arctic, and I didn’t make it back in time for their funerals.”

“Jesus,” Seth breathes.

“That’s right. Carissa Castle is the reason I’m alone in this world. She’s everything that is wrong with our society. She’s a wolf in an omega gown.”

“Well... you’re not alone in the world,” Seth says.

I blink at him, momentarily unsure what he’s talking about.

“You have a pack. Henry and Ransom?”

“Right. Yes. I meant that Carissa is the reason Iwasalone in the world. She’s the reason I lost my family.”

“And how do you feel about that?” Seth asks. “Are you angry?”

I start to say yes. I start to say that I wish her every sadness I’ve ever felt. But if I do that, the producers might start to pay me a little too much attention. I want Carissa to suffer — maybe if I say it over and over again, I’ll feel less guilty about it — but I don’t want anyone to know my plans before they’re solidified. So I lean back in my chair and shake my head.

“No, of course not. The past is the past.”

“Full sen—”

“Right, right, fucking full sentences. I don’t hold a grudge against Carissa. The past is the past.”

“Weren’t you shocked to see her here?”

“I was surprised,” I lie. “I had no idea she’d be here. But there’s nothing left between us anymore. I’m focused on finding the right omega for my pack.”

Seth looks like he doubts that, but he glances down at his notes and tries a different direction, thank god.

“Let’s talk about your pack,” he says. “How did you meet Ransom and Henry? Did you grow up together?”

“No, we didn’t grow up together. We met in Iceland, actually. At the University of Pekkingu. Henry was attending school there, and Ransom... well, Ransom was doing what Ransom does.”

“And what is that?”

“He was working in computers,” I say vaguely.

Seth stops me again, and has me go back and repeat my sentence, replacing “he” with “Ransom.” I’m getting irritated.

“How did you get together?”

“We were friends when we were young. It seemed like the thing to do.”

“Are any of you romantically involved?”

“No,” I answer quickly. “More like brothers.”

Seth raises an eyebrow again. I’m starting to hate that gesture. “Really? Because usually there’s at least one romantic tie in a pack. It helps keep you together, you know?”

“Well we don’t have any romantic ties.” The truth is, I’m the one with no romantic ties. Even with the desire that trickles through my mind every time I look at Henry, I’ve never let myself get that close to him; if I let him in and he rejected me or betrayed me, I’d have to live with the bond between us, there in my mind for all of time. I know I couldn’t handle that. Not after what Carissa did. “We’re just friends. Let’s move on.”

Seth drums a thumb against the notepad, scanning it as if looking for the question he wants to ask. I shift in my seat, annoyed and uncomfortable. I should be back in my room, trying to come up with a plan that will humiliate Carissa. Not stuck here with this idiot, answering confounding questions.

“What do you hope to get out of this process, Conrad?” Seth asks at last.

“What do you mean?”

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