The Arrangement (Omegas of Hunter's Point Book 1)

Chapter 6

The campus was completely deserted, the external lights still on in the not-quite-dawn dimness.

Dean Forester was already there. Von had seen her distinctive cobalt blue vehicle in the staff lot on her way in. She wanted to read that as a good sign. Hopefully, Tilly wanted to see her before classes started to talk to her about the promotion, when her pay increase and additional benefits eligibility would begin, and so on.

When Von reached her classroom, as if to confirm her hopes, there was a note taped to her door. Excitedly, she flipped it open. Yep, Tilly wanted to see her before classes started. This was about the promotion. It had to be.

She set her satchel down on her desk and made for the dean's office. It was so early that the office staff wasn't in, yet. Von knocked, tentatively.

"Come in." Tilly Forester, an alpha with graying red hair, glanced up as Von came through the door. "Good morning, Von. Have a seat."

The butterflies in her stomach flitted and flapped as she sat down in a chair facing the dean's desk. "Is this about the department head promotion?"

Tilly's mouth became a grim line. "It is. There's going to be a staff meeting after school today so the board can formally announce it."

Here it comes!

"You didn't get it, hun. The board decided Mr. Darnley was more suited to the position."

She should have smiled. She should have maintained a professional demeanor. She should have thanked the dean for her support, and gone back to her classroom to prepare for the day. She should have, but she didn't. Couldn't.

"Pete Darnley? I've been here twice as long as he has! Tilly, my kids consistently perform better on the province-wide standardized tests. He's not even a full-time teacher." This outburst was petulant, and she knew it, but fuck!

"I know. I made those exact points to the board on your behalf," Tilly agreed.

"So, why didn't I get it?"

"Bottom line? Pete's an alpha. He has a mate to support." And you don't. The words went unsaid but heard loud and clear, regardless.

"There's something else, isn't there?"

"The board opted not to promote you because they thought it would discourage you from looking for a mate. I'm so sorry, Von."

Von shouldn't have found that either as surprising or insulting, and yet.... "Thanks, Tilly."

Von walked out of the dean's office in a daze. How could this have happened? She'd given a decade of her life to the academy. She was on a first-name basis with more than half the board. She taught their children, for gods' sakes! In all that time, she'd asked nothing for herself. When teachers were out, who volunteered to sub? She did. When dances, extracurricular sports or clubs needed a chaperone, who volunteered? She did. Who ran study hall? Who helped the college-bound seniors with their admissions essays? She did.

None of that had mattered. When it came right down to it, the board had seen a clear choice between an unmated omega and a mated alpha and chosen based on which of them possessed a dick. Accomplishments and sacrifices be damned. Now, Darnley was her direct superior. As if being overlooked wasn't insulting enough, she'd probably be expected to congratulate him the next time she saw him. Knowing she'd likely do exactly that to avoid future conflict with him made her sick.

That position had been hers for the taking, and it had been torn away so fast it still had her teeth marks on it. She wanted to scream, to rage, but she wouldn't. It wouldn't do any good, and it wasn't like life had been fair to her prior to this point. Why she'd expected it to be different this time was a mystery. But it wasn't going to get her down. She'd suck up this disappointment just as she had the others. Nothing would change.