It’s not all people living their lives, falling in love and having kids and being happy.
There are men out there who hurt women.
There are people who hurt kids.
I came so close to becoming a kid sold for profit.
If I was an Omega, I’d be dead by now, like my mother.
Being a Beta saved me, and Colleen helped make sure Ivan didn’t find another use for me.
But none of that means I’ll be safe if I leave the academy to start my life over.
My mother had a life before she was stolen to be sold.
She was robbed of that to become Ivan’s slave.
Maybe if she hadn’t been, she never would have met my father, and I never would have been born, but if I had one wish, I’d still save her from that terrible fate.
I can’t leave Goldcrest until I know how to protect myself.
No matter how much I want to say yes to Falcon.
Chapter Seventy
Falcon
It’s a long night following Owen around the academy, but I find out enough about his security set up to feel a little better about my mate’s safety. There are cameras all over the place, in all the public areas. There are armed guards on every floor of the building.
The doors get locked at night, and there’s always someone manning the gates, and two or three others patrolling the interior perimeter. It’s a well-protected place.
Yet, a threat still came dangerously close to sneaking in.
“You could electrify the fence,” I suggest, as I follow Owen across the reception area.
The sun’s come up, and it’s apparently time to unlock the entrance and exit doors.
“Yeah, we’ve thought about that,” he admits. “Getting permission to do it would be tricky. There are protected animals in the forest. We have plans to add a stronger fence and leave theold one up outside of that, but we need to do some landscaping first to make room.”
He unlocks the main door and opens it.
It’s bright out there, cool but sunny.
“Where do you keep your tools?” I ask.
He looks at me and raises an eyebrow. “Tools?”
“Shovels, and whatever else,” I explain.
“You want to tackle the landscaping issue?”
“Unless there’s something more important to be done.”
I wait for it, but he just shakes his head slowly.
“You’ve been up all night, skipped at least one meal, and youwantto start doing manual labor?”
“What I want is to make sure Robin’s as safe as possible while she’s staying here. If that means I need to dig a trench for a new fence, I’ll do it.”
