Page 43 of Broken Omega

Lana told me about the checks she saw Geraldine sign in the aftermath of those incidents.

Several families threatened to sue the academy, but none of them actually did.

Settling for the payout Geraldine sent them was easier than putting their daughters through the pain and stress of a trial they would never win.

Those Alphas know they’ll never be held accountable for anything they do.

Nothing will ever make them stop.

If my father knew any of that, he’d probably push me toward one of them, thinking he would be able to keep me in line better than some of the less predatory Alphas.

The thought makes me shudder.

My father’s giving me the illusion of control by asking for this list.

I know he’s heartless enough to take it away again if I put a foot wrong.

He might have already chosen my mate or approached his preferred son-in-law’s family to start negotiations. He wouldn’t tell me if he had, but it wouldn’t surprise me to find out he has the rest of my life planned out for me.

He hasn’t let me choose anything for myself before. Why start now?

Shuddering, I look at those scored-through names.

As soon as those Alphas started to look like bad news, any Omega with a sense of self-preservation avoided them like the plague, and we all warned any new girls to do the same.

They still showed up regularly to try their luck, targeting any Omega who showed signs of being vulnerable. One particularly unlucky Omega ended up being messed with by a few of them, passed around like a chew-toy they were taking their time ripping to shreds. She was found on the ladies’ room floor after one of the socials, paranoid and emotional, babbling incoherent nonsense.

Geraldine sent her to a facility to get help. Lana saw a huge check go out to her parents.

Going by the stories I’ve heard, those monsters would fit in better at Colvindale, the Wild West of Omega academies. That place has no entry requirements. The rules are lax, and the administrators change so frequently that there’s virtually no control over anything.

In contrast, Goldcrest is supposed to be a safe place for Omegas to find their mates.

That’s how Geraldine sells it, but the reality doesn’t measure up.

Truth is, whoever has the most money, has the most power.

It’s the way the world works, and it’s the way the academy runs.

Groaning, I force myself to look back over the remaining names.

There are a lot of them. Way too many to consider my job complete.

I score through the names of a few men who are extremely pompous and arrogant. They’d be less likely to even consider a bribe from my father, anyway.

My fingers itch to do the same to every other name on the page.

I’m left with a page full of fuckboy assholes.

None of the guys listed leapt out at me as any different from the others.

Well, except Colby Summers. I score through his name with a little extra vehemence.

He’s too young for me, and he’s the biggest asshole outside of the group of predatory Alphas.

I work out rough ages of the others on the list, and I score out the rest of the youngest guys.

And just like that, I’ve somehow managed to whittle sixty-four names down to thirteen.

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