Page 135 of Broken Omega

“Shit.”

“You don’t sound surprised.”

“If you knew about Brooke’s father, you wouldn’t be either.”

“What can you tell us?”

FROST

Kellan knows enough about Brooke’s father to make it clear he’s not a man people mess with. I knew Brooke was trouble, but I didn’t expect this. It would be bad enough if Goldcrest were sending their security teams into the city. It sounds like Warren Corvina’s used to having complete control over Brooke’s life. I doubt a man like that will just accept it when if she tells him she’s found her mates.

“The academy would have to accept Brooke’s choice if we stepped forward,” Kellan says. “We could get them off our backs if Brooke agrees to doing that. I don’t know what we do about her father.”

I appreciate honesty, but it’s not the news I want to hear in this situation.

“If we found out what he was doing …” Donnie starts, still getting our bed pumped up.

“I’ve been trying. He’s smart. Cops would have a hard time finding a way to get at him.”

“You really think the academy would let Brooke go if you spoke to them?” I ask Kellan.

He nods slowly. “They have a set process. I was approved to visit Goldcrest, so they would be going against their own rules if they disallowed me to be Brooke’s mate. Technically, we should have filed statements agreeing to become mated that the academy’s administrator would have to sign off on. Considering we’ve already claimed each other, and she’s wearing my mark, it should be treated like any other premature bond.”

“And how do they treat a ‘premature bond’?”

“From what I’ve read, they would separate us for twenty-four hours to test the bond’s strength, and then we’d be allowed to file the official paperwork. There might be a fine involved.”

“When you say you’d be separated, what exactly does that mean?”

“In previous cases, both parties were held in separate rooms at the academy.”

“Wouldn’t you need to go through all that shit, too?” Donnie asks, raising an eyebrow at me. “You’re both Alphas, and you’ve both claimed her.”

I look at Kellan, but I already know the answer, and it doesn’t exactly endear me to him.

“It might be smarter to let them think it’s just me she’s mated to,” Kellan says. “If you hold off on marking her, they won’t know any differently. It’ll keep you under the radar, if they can’t link her to you.”

“You want me to hold off on marking my mate?” The thought infuriates me.

“Hey, I don’t like the idea of going to the academy, but I don’t see an alternative. I’m not asking you to give up your claim.”

“Maybe we should all slow down and give it a bit more thought,” Donnie says, as he finishes up with the inflatable mattress. “We already have enemies out there. Does it really make sense to look for them in here, too?”

“We shouldn’t talk about it until Brooke’s awake,” River murmurs, giving me a shrug as he leans back in his seat.

Shit. Maybe I should hold off on marking her.

River doesn’t have a proper mark yet.

I don’t know how he’ll feel if I mark our new mate’s throat first.

If our positions were reversed, I wouldn’t like it one little bit.

“You’re right,” Kellan agrees. “She should be a part of this.”

“If she can even be around us without going into heat,” I add, making everyone smile.

Donnie picks up the bags he got from the clothes store. “I should leave these in the room with her. She might be a bit less bothered by her heat if she’s dressed.”

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