Salt and I exchange a look and quickly follow him.
We enter a fairly large conference room with a big round table and not much else, very minimalist. Blue is sitting on the far side of it, closer to the window. Mr. Gomez sits diagonally from him, about fifteen feet away, which is strangely telling, as if even he has to keep his distance.
Near Blue there’s only a tiny beta who looks like he might be an assistant or secretary. Next to Gomez sit five people I don’t recognize, probably managers of the remaining sectors.
Everyone is staring at us, especially Mr. Gomez and his entourage, studying us with raised eyebrows.
I can’t really get a good look at Blue because Gabriel stops me right by the doorway with a firm gesture of his hand.
From at least thirty feet away, I can only see a small silhouette that looks almost comical behind such a large table. He has bangs falling over his forehead, hair in a deep navy sapphire shade, and large electronic glasses perched on his nose.
It crosses my mind that if this is Gabriel’s type, then he really does have a very specific taste. Personally, I prefer tall, tattooed brunets with dyed blue highlights, but hey, everyone’s different.
I realize I’ll have to speak up, fairly loudly, because everybody is sitting at a decent distance from me.
"Good morning, Mr. Lowen. I’m sorry for showing up without warning, but I’m pretty much right in the middle of this whole situation."
I throw a meaningful glance toward the warden, who watches me with intense focus.
"My name is Eliano, and this is my partner, Salt Einarson. Three days ago, my partner and I were shot on the grounds of your facility. We nearly died. And it wasn’t completely out of the blue. I had already been threatened once by the same employee, Fenn Drax." As I speak, I can see obvious signs of discomfort on Gomez’s face. Blue watches me with a still, indifferent expression.
"That incident happened a few weeks ago in the cafeteria, and the administration did nothing to fix the security there. Because of that, the same employee later broke in and shot me and my pregnant partner," I make a small gesture toward Salt.
"This is the same Fenn Drax who had sex with betas blackmailed by Sidorov, and my partner was terrified he would be forced to do the same. We were also harassed and pressured by another one of your employees, Dr. Lee, and actively pushed us into sexual situations at a time when we were not psychologically ready, under a clear threat that my partner would also be forced to have sex with Mr. Drax. Let me make this absolutely unambiguous. The fact that my partner is part of the Second Chance Program does not mean his humanity or his rights stopped mattering, and yet they were ignored again and again."
My tone becomes tight and blunt, but everyone continues to listen without interrupting. It's time to get to the point.
"I’m not here to attack you or place blame on you," I incline my head toward Lowen, "because you weren’t personally present, and from what I understand, the person directly responsible has already been dealt with. What I’m asking for is your help getting us accepted into the Beta Activation Follow-Up Program. That would let us live somewhere safe, where my partner’s needs, as a beta with omega traits, would actually be taken seriously."
I pause briefly, then decide to add one more important detail.
"Sadly, my account is frozen at the moment, so I don’t have enough to buy a house outright. I can commit to a payment plan, though. From what I’ve seen, the Follow-up initiative usually wants full cash payments, so I’m asking for a bit of leeway, given how badly things went during our stay. If that counts for anything, I hope you’ll take it into account when deciding on our request."
After my improvised speech, a heavy silence settles over the room.
Gabriel, standing nearby, glances at me with an expression I can’t quite read, but it looks something like,damn, you really went for it.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Gomez speaks up, a flicker of nervous unease crossing his face.
"I would like to emphasize, Mr. Lowen, that all of the situations described by this alpha took place before I assumed my current position."
"With the exception of the most recent incident, when Mr. Drax broke onto the island and shot us!" Salt adds bitterly.
"That was a very unfortunate circumstance, but—"
"I’d also like to add that he tried to shoot not only us, but two other program participants as well, which has resulted in those people now wanting to leave the program," I say equally sourly.
Gomez swallows.
"This is merely the aftermath of the previous warden’s rule. The procedures that were introduced by me are not being followed. I have already appealed for a complete replacement of the island’s security team, which had close ties to the former warden, but as of now the oversight board has not assigned a new team to the island…"
"Enough," Blue Lowen’s voice cuts through the room. It is sharp, hard, and precise, and it catches me off guard.
I’m not sure what I expected, a twelve-year-old boy’s voice maybe? Instead, despite his slight frame, he doesn’t sound childish at all. From what I know, he’s around forty, and the aura around him is cold and administrative.
Blue Lowen tilts his head slightly.
He studies us with a suspiciously long pause. I wonder if what I said even registered with him? When he opens his mouth, I’m hopeful he’s about to say:Request accepted…
