"Nope, nope, fuck no. Why do all these companies suck?" You grumbled to yourself as you scrolled through job posting after job posting on your laptop. You were sitting on your bed absently eating a slice of pizza in your pajamas while you searched. You were hunting through the job listings looking for a company in search of an Omega.

That wasn't at all atypical. Businesses that employed a lot of Alphas needed Omegas on staff to help keep the balance and the peace. Betas could only do so much against volatile Alpha tempers.

It wasn't that you didn't like your current job, but it just wasn't the right fit. You'd worked at a few different companies since you'd graduated from college. The companies were all glad to have you around, but none of them had felt like the right fit. That was also typical. It took a few tries to find Alphas who really fit and felt like safety and home. It took longer to find such Alphas in an environment where you could use your degree or your magic, or something that made you more than just a typical Omega.

It could take forever or absolutely no time at all to find the Alpha. The one who was your mate and meant to be your love.

You hadn't had any luck finding your Alpha yet, just as you hadn't found the right company to work for. You'd temped a couple places as an admin, even though it wasn't anything to do with your degree. You were now working again as an assistant and getting pretty tired of all Omega jobs only being assistants or menial labor. There was nothing of substance. That made sense. Usually, Omegas couldn't hold higher level positions. Alphas ruled and Omegas were cared for, by nature and by nurture. On the other hand, Omegas were the balance for an Alpha's temper. They cared for the heart of the people, while the Alphas cared for the physical safety.

Any of the castes could marry any of the others and Omegas finally had some rights in the US, but the world was still highly unfair toward your caste. Omegas couldn't own a house, for instance, or rent an apartment in their name. You could earn money and have a bank account of your own, thanks to the laws that had passed, but a lot of the world was still stuck in the old ways of thinking Omegas nothing more than pets. Or glorified sex slaves. Thankfully, things were changing slowly, but surely.

You lived in an Omega-house with other unclaimed Omega girls and walked every day to the office nearby where you worked. There was a Beta who acted as house mother as it was determined that Omegas couldn't be trusted to care for themselves, so you weren't allowed to live on your own. Despite that you were a college grad with a job.

It was either the Omega-house or still living with your Father. And that wasn't an option. Not after you'd finally escaped to go to college at one of the universities that had accepted Omega students.

There was a knock on your door. You weren't expecting anyone, but that didn't mean one of the other Omega girls didn't want to come visit, or the Beta coming to check on you. "Coming!" You called and set your piece of pizza back on the plate, wiping your hands quickly as you got to your feet. You padded silently over to the door, your steps light, despite the interruption. You opened the door to see the Beta on the other side. Your new house mother. "Hello, Beta Ann," you greeted her politely. She was new and stuffy and still old-school enough that she wanted to be addressed by her title every time anyone spoke to her.

She gave you a warm matronly smile. It was a bit condescending. "Hello, dear," she always spoke down to the Omegas, as if you couldn't understand what she was saying. "I received your message that you wish to look for a new position?" She made it a question. It was her job to help you find something. Sometimes she could have better connections than the websites that the Omegas could access.

You nodded eagerly. "Yes, ma'am," you replied politely. She really was stuffy and old schooled, but if she could help you... you'd be polite. "It isn't that I dislike my position. It's just... not the right fit," you explained quickly, hoping she would understand.

She nodded sympathetically and looked over the clipboard she was carrying. "You've been in that position six months, I see. Yes, that's plenty of time to realize it's not the right fit," she agreed. She looked up at you again. "I was actually going to speak with you regardless. A position crossed my desk that I thought you would be a good fit for, given your abilities,"

You perked up at that. A position for your abilities? Your skills? Not just because you were an Omega? "Really? What position?" You asked eagerly. You tried not to appear too eager. That would be impolite. It was a tentative balance.

"There is a group who is looking for an Omega. It's a live-in position. All room and board is covered on top of a generous salary. They are specifically looking for someone with medical background and your healing abilities are very appealing to them,"

Medical background and healing?

And a proper home?

It sounded absolutely perfect.

"I'm definitely interested, ma'am," you told her brightly.

She nodded her agreement. "Very good, dear. I'll let them know and set up the interview for you. I'm sure it will just be a formality,"

Most Omega interviews were. The Alphas in charge didn't need to interview, not really. They just needed to catch your scent or psychic scent and determine if you would fit in with their tempers and soothe their needs.

"Thank you, ma'am," you told her politely. She gave you another condescending smile before she left you to set things up.

*

A few days later, you found yourself in front of your mirror adjusting your suit's jacket for the billionth time before your interview. The suit looked good on you, and professional. Though you still knew that you had that Omega air about you. An Alpha or Beta could identify you on scent, on sight, even without the collar around your neck.

All Omegas were required to wear a collar once they presented as an Omega. Puppies (children) presented their secondary gender, their caste, officially toward the end of puberty, usually around 16 or 17 years old. There were usually signs before that of what a puppy would be when they matured and you'd heard that there was a test that puppies could take now to determine what they would present as.

The collar you wore was the generic collar every Omega wore until they were claimed by an Alpha. It was silver and plain, thin, not heavy at all, but you would never forget it was there, not since the day it had been locked on. Only an Alpha could remove it. And only your Alpha would, when you were claimed and mated, only to put his or her own collar on in its place. It was still a holdover from the old laws. You'd never gotten a good answer as to why. You always got some bullshit reason about knowing who to protect. Omegas were more rare than Alphas or Betas, so you weren't surprised the law hadn't changed.

There was nothing you could do about it. And it wasn't ugly. But it did single you out as an unclaimed Omega. Especially at your age. There was no specific age to find your Alpha, but most Omegas you knew your own age were already claimed.

You knew it made you a target. You could be claimed against your will, mated against you will, if you didn't already have an Alpha. That didn't mean you were going to settle.

That was also why the company was sending a car to pick you up for your interview. Beta Ann had said that a Beta security guard from the company to escort you safely to and from the interview.

You made sure you had your phone in your purse as well as your resume before you headed out of the house. You said goodbye to Beta Ann and only left once the Beta security guard, a man named Happy of all things, rang the bell to collect you.

Your eyes widened when you saw the limo that was waiting to take you to the interview. What the hell kind of company was this? The information hadn't been passed along to you. You didn't know if Beta Ann knew or not. She didn't deem it important enough information to tell you if she did know.

Happy opened the limo's door for you and you thanked him softly and politely as you took the seat inside. He gave you the warm smile everyone gave Omegas. They couldn't help it. Your presence was soothing to everyone. He shut the door behind you and got in the driver's seat. Soon you were driving through the city, toward the city center. You watched out the window with interest, curious as to where this company could be. What this company could be.

You didn't know what you were expecting.

Whatever it was, it wasn't your limo stopping at the VIP parking in front of the Avengers' tower. It wasn't the press that were staked out to catch pictures of the superheroes and anyone who came to visit the tower. It wasn't Happy parking in that VIP section and coming around to open your door again for you.

The Avengers.

You were interviewing for the Avengers.

You couldn't believe your luck. This really was the perfect opportunity.

You understood immediately that this was a test.

An Omega who couldn't handle the press, couldn't handle the surprise of showing up at the tower, who broke down at any little uncertainty or surprise, wasn't an Omega that would work out for the team and wouldn't be what they needed.

Desperately in your soul, you knew that this was what you needed and you vowed to do anything in your power to make sure you got this job.