Page 39 of Last Pack Standing
This felt way worse than going viral. I’d actually prefer to relive my viral moment one thousand times over than to be dealing with this pain. This wasn’t people mocking me online - this was me losing something I never even knew was possible.
"Okay, now you are just looking way too tragic," my sister said as she barged into the living room, throwing open the curtains with no sympathy left for my wallowing. “You look like one of those sad omegas from a documentary about rejected mates.” That’s because Iwasone, a desperate, pathetic sad omega.
"Go away," I mumbled, covering myself with a blanket.
"Nope," she said, plopping down beside me. “You’ve cried enough to last the next five years. And, sorry but you need a shower. A stench is starting to build up in here.” She yanked me up toward the bathroom.
I groaned, too tired to put up any resistance. "I messed it up. You saw the video. I can’t ever take those words back."
"You said what you had to say to me because you were scared,” she said, voice softening. “I get it. But hiding won’t fix it. You’ve been hiding since before that show! It’s time to face the world.”
I clenched my teeth. “I can’t imagine a world without them.” Julianne sighed as she ran warm water and body wash over a washcloth in the sink, then wrung it out and lifted my arm.
“At least wash your pits! And my God, we have to run a brush through your hair.” She began brushing my ratty mat of curls, trying in vain to get me looking like less of slug.
“I can’t live without them. I can’t even imagine a future without them.” I wailed, starting to tear up again. She sighed and got another washcloth, and soon was wiping my face with it, trying to get my puffy eyes looking better.
After a minute, she stepped back. “Alright. Put this on.” She threw a long maxi dress at me, and I caught it, holding it up with a questioning look.
“Really? I think I earned the right to at least wear sweats for the next month.” She rolled her eyes and started yanking on my shirt, trying to get me to switch to the dress.
“Come on. Let’s go out and get some fresh air. And stop fighting me!” After another minute, she had me in the dress, my hair in a messy bun, and my face slightly less puffy. I looked in the mirror.
“Uh, still a mess.” I said. She looked at me in the mirror, stepping beside me as she gave me a hug.
“Well, I guess if they really do want to see you as much as they claim, a little mess won’t be a dealbreaker.” She said, giving me a smile. I turned to her, my heart racing.
"No," I whispered. "You’re joking."
She looked straight into my eyes. “It’s no joke. Don’t keep them waiting. They look like they’re in as much pain as you are.” She said, giving me a nudge.
“Where?” I asked, my heart beating faster with every moment.
“In the lobby.”
She barely had the words out before I turned. I ran to the door, yanking it open, and looked down the stairs into the lobby several floors below. I couldn't see much, but I knew it was them. Leo, Rys, Jace, and Ash.
I couldn’t breathe for a moment. Then, I was running down the stairs two at a time, launching down the last few with no regard for dignity. I almost tripped over the long maxi dress, but caught myself just in time. Leo nearly dive bombed into the floor to try to catch me. The moment I reached them, I threw myself into Leo’s arms, then Ash gripped me, and soon I was surrounded by all of them.
My pack.
After a long minute of me sobbing, half in disbelief and half in happiness, I pulled back to look at them. Ash looked like he’d been through hell. Rys gave me a quiet nod, and Leo gave me his confident, goofy grin. Jace looked like he’d been through a war and won.
“You’re here?” I managed to eke out, voice shaking. “Why? How?”
“We left,” Rys said simply, his hand squeezing my shoulder. “We walked off during filming. Told them we wouldn’t keep playing a game that didn’t include you.”
I was speechless. I looked between them, wondering how that all played out.
“We made a scene,” Jace added, looking down at me with such care that I nearly perfumed. “I wish you could have been there. The producers panicked. Turns out, without the number one team, they are a bit worried about future ratings and viewer responses. The network execs started getting involved.”
Leo leaned in, his golden mop of hair brushing my neck as he hugged me again, a huge, lifting motion that swept me off my feet like I weighed nothing. “They‘ve been calling my agent nonstop, begging for us to come back. They said we could name our price.”
My mouth fell open. “You… you left for me?”
“No, omega,” Ash whispered, pulling me close again. “We left forus.”
I melted. Ash, out of everyone, had the most to lose by leaving the show. He had no backup plan. He didn’t have a corporate job, he wasn’t a former athlete, he came from nothing. But he still walked away from the biggest opportunity of his life. And I was going to make sure he never regretted that. I reached up and cupped his face, his cheeky grin giving me another view of that gorgeous dimple of his. His eyes sparkled, and he leaned down to kiss me so deeply that I’d probably never recover.
