Page 84 of For All My Effort

“One minute marker,” someone yelled. Their voice was distant, yet it only served to make my memory stronger, to remind me of what happened then—

I was caught in a stare off with an inanimate object until a hand waved in front of it. Jackson was standing next to the camera, his thick corded arms crossed over his chest as he stared right at me. He was protecting me, standing by the thing that had scared me in order to remind my instincts that he wouldn’t let anything hurt me.

The tension drained from my body as someone ran toward Presley, grabbed her notes, and the countdown from ten began.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

Ready or not—one.

“Good evening, everyone, thank you for your viewership,” Presley started. Her voice was softer than I’ve heard in other interviews, and I had no idea if that was supposed to be for my benefit or the viewers.

“Tonight, I am interviewing a very special guest. For the first time ever, an omega is in the chair opposite me—Hannah Zeal. How are you doing, Hannah?”

“I’m good, especially since my alphas are nearby.”

“Of course. If you’re ready, I’d like to jump right into the hard stuff.”

Taking a deep inhale, I gave her as much of a smile as I could. “I’m ready.”

“Perfect. I’d like to start off in the timeline order, having you tell me about the first incident at Representative Adam’s restaurant. How did you find yourself there?”

“If I’m being honest, I don’t remember. I have no recollection of going into the restaurant, or even arriving at the shopping center. Even more, I didn’t know the restaurant existed until my mates told me what had happened.”

“What did your mates tell you?”

“That I’d been tackled. My head hit the pavement, cracking open a portion of my skull, and I was transported to the hospital.”

“Tackled? That almost makes it sound intentional.”

“I don’t remember that part either. All I know is what bystanders saw.”

“How far back does your memory loss go? Do you remember the night before? Six months?”

“Years, actually. I, um—” I was getting choked up as I tried to get the words out in front of people. It was dumb to be sad about forgetting something I couldn’t really remember, yet here I was. My hand came up the back of my neck, touching the only mating bite exposed. “I don’t remember bonding with my alphas. Getting their claiming marks.”

“An argument could be made that your attacker took those from you. How are you handling the effects of such a traumatic event?”

“My mates and I got to know each other again, and I can say, without a doubt, that I’m glad I’d bonded with them. I’d do it again if I could.”

Presley laughed like I’d told a joke, so I did my best to smile like that had been my goal. “That’s great to hear. Omegas need good alphas to support and protect them, especially in your case when it seems that you’ve become a topic of interest to a lot of people. Not all of it good.”

“You know, I think a lot of people spend time daydreaming about what it would be like to be famous. I certainly used to. Having your moment of fame when you’re in a hospital room doesn’t give that fun, fulfilling vibe I’d always imagined. I was missing a chunk of hair after my surgery to fix my scalp, my whole body ached like my blood was sore as it traveled everywhere, and then there were all the emotions, the desire for strange alphas, fear of being in the hospital.”

“It sounds overwhelming.”

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