Page 173 of Ashley & the A-Listers

He smelled Cam’s distress from the living room, and heard him from the hallway. “—viral. Everyone’s talking about it. Ashley, I’m so sorry,” Cam said, the words delving into a whine.

The following sniffle broke River’s heart as he finally reached the doorway just in time to see Ashley wrap her arms around Cam. Her expression was worried, blinking the sleep from her eyes as she hugged Cam, tucking his face into her neck.

They comforted each other, and River’s heart lurched. This was all goingwrong.This should’ve been a victory for them, but instead it was… the opposite.

Dylan looked wide awake, grim-faced and checking his phone as he sat on the edge of the bed. “I’ll do a perimeter check, see if this has caught up to us yet. If so, I’ll call Wes and see if wecan get another guy out here. Or two.” He rubbed a hand down his face, and wouldn't meet any of their eyes as he stood up.

River swallowed. This was bad.

Really, really bad, if Dylan was considering calling in backup.

“Here,” River said, and handed Ashley the robe. She tucked it around Cam and he wiggled his arms into the sleeves before sighing.

“We fucked up,” he mumbled. “Got too comfortable.”

No, I fucked up,River wanted to say. But the words were trapped deep down inside him, buried, and he was too weak to dig them up.

He lifted his phone and pulled up a few social media apps.

Cameron was trending.

The blurry photo waseverywhere.

Speculation had already begun. Who was the woman with Cameron Thomas? A lover is what most people guessed, from the expression on the omega’s face.

Even now, jealousy struck River, warring with the guilt. If it had just beenhimand not Ashley.

“We could get ahead of this. You’re his trainer, after all. Not so weird if you’re getting dinner. And I’m there,” River tried, his blurry face on the other side of Cameron. “Maybe it was a meeting about the script. We were doing research, asking you questions. The photo isn’t scandalous.”

Cameron sniffled, and River wanted to take a calm stroll around the bed and dive out the nearest window. Instead, he waited, his entire body tense, fear filling him as he realized just how bad this could get.

“Or,” Cameron started, clearing his throat when his voice cracked. “Or, we just come clean,” he said, staring up at Ashley. He glanced over his shoulder at River. “We can use this.”

River gulped. Could they turn this around in their favor? Could his plan still work?

“We’re a pack. All of us. That’s what we can tell them.”

Her lips parted, but she closed them as Cam turned to look at her again. “You want a pack, right?” he continued.

Her gaze darted to Dylan, then to him, then back to Cam. She swallowed. “Yeah, I do want a pack. And I…” She seemed to sway into him, nostrils flaring as she smelled his distress, the vanilla burnt and bitter but sweetening by the moment. “I adore you,” she said softly. “But I already rushed things with Dylan. I want to make sure we do this right. It’s what you deserve,” she said, and tucked a curl behind Cam’s ear.

It was so sweet it made River’s chest hurt.Why was it so easy for them?

“If you’re going to tell the world I’m courting you, I’m going to do it properly,” she said. “I’m going to mean it.” Again, her attention flicked to Dylan, who nodded, a smile pulling at his lips, before landing on River, lingering. “And we all have to agree on this.”

River had done the unforgivable. In the moment—coming up with the idea, making the decision, phoning his contact—he’d been frustrated and angry. He stillwas!

And in turn, he’d hurt… not only Cameron, the love of his life, but Ashley. Someone totally innocent in all of this. His insecurities weren’t her fault, and yet she was paying for them.

If this… terrible, awful decision of his resulted in even one good thing for Ashley, it could be Cameron.

And wasn’t it, in some twisted way, what River wanted, too? A pack with Cameron?

“Ashley and I already kind of broached this topic with each other,” Dylan said. “I don’t see any of us bonding,” he said, motioning to River and Cam. “But I don’t see why Ashley couldn’t, in time. I’ll just be…”

“A pack mate,” Ashley declared.

Dylan nodded his head, a fond smile on his lips as he gazed at her. “I’ll go where you go.”

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