Page 28 of No Strings Attached
Wait, man, you’re an Omega?
No way, Elias is an Omega?
Since when are you an Omega, dude?
I sit up so fast my head spins and I twist around to Olivia. “Did Warren do a press conference or something?”
She shakes her head. “No… not unless he’s doing it right now.”
My heart races, panic clawing at my chest as I scramble for answers. Rhett’s name flashes on the screen and I rush to answer his call, hoping he’ll have answers. “Hey, so Warren’s trashing your brand live right now.”
I snatch Olivia’s laptop from beside her, my fingers clumsy as I sign into my account. I type in Hart Entertainment, and there’s Warren’s smug face, streaming live from a press conference. He’s at a table with Nander and Tristan flanking him, their expressions just as cold and unexpressive as his is. Reporters shout questions, their voices overlapping, but Warren just holds up a hand. “No, I had no idea he was an Omega,” he says, his voice dripping with false sympathy. “I don’t think anyone did! It’s a shame, though. We’ll have to pivot his position at the company because I can’t, in good conscience, have an Omega doing such rough things. He suffered a few injuries a few days ago, so he’s taking some time, and then he’ll be back in the limelight.”
My phone slips from my hand and bounces off some of the pillows before falling into one of the blankets, my best friend’s voice calling out, “Elias, you there?” but I barely hear it.
Everyone knows. My secret, the one I’ve guarded for years, the one written into my contract with Tristan—no one was supposed to know—is out, spilled to the world in a press conference. My chest tightens as I scramble to my feet, muttering, “No, no, no!”
Olivia and Jamie reach for me, pulling me back down into the nest. I land between them, my body trembling, my good hand clutching at the blankets. “They can’t find out,” I whisper, my voice raw with desperation. “It was part of the contract. No one was supposed to know. I… we can’t do this.”
Jamie’s hazel eyes soften as he gently twists my head to meet his gaze. “They’re going to love you regardless, sweetheart and if they don’t, they weren’t your fan to begin with.” He pulls me deeper into the pillows, lying along my side as he tucks my head into his chest. I open my mouth to fight just as Olivia leans down to press a kiss to my cheek.
“Remember what we said about letting us take care of you?” she murmurs against my ear. “That didn’t stop after the hospital. You let Jamie hold you, and I’m going to do some fucking damage control, okay?”
Olivia
I stand on the bustling set of theNature’s Beastad shoot, hating how normal everything feels despite the chaos. Damage control, as it turns out, means going back to work, acting like everything’s normal until we find the right moment to dissolve Elias’s contract. The last few hours at home were tense, Elias’s scent souring with frustration and fear as he scrolled through comment after comment on his phone. I finally snatched the phone away, cutting him off from his socials for his own sanity. “It doesn’t matter what anyone says at this point,” I told him, my heart aching at the pain in his green eyes. But my desire to shield him only extends to our front door. Here, at the shooting location, there’s no hiding.
Everyone’s staring, whispering, their eyes darting to Elias as he moves through the set. He looks so uncomfortable but he hasn’t said a word about it. I can feel his unease, his rain and honeydew scent edged with a nervous tang.
He manages a wave to one of the other actors, a Beta with a friendly smile, and slips off his sling, wincing slightly as he poses with the new poster for the ad. His arm’s still tender, but he’s pushing through, his face a mask of professionalism. Everything’s going okay, or as okay as it can be, until Elias freezes, his eyes locking on the door, a glare hardening his features.
My heart lodges in my throat as the door swings open and Warren Hart steps in, a smug smile playing on that stupid face of his. I knew this moment was coming and I made sure Elias understood it would—but I’m not ready for it, not for the way his presence fills the room like a storm cloud.
Elias’s nostrils flare as his body tenses, and I take a deep breath, my own scent sharpening as I brace myself. Warren moves toward me, ignoring the crew’s whispers, not even stopping to say hi to his own employees he lent me for the ad. “I see Elias’ still doing well despite all the backlash.”
A low growl runs through my chest as I step up to him, my hands clenching at my sides. “The backlashyoustarted! There was no fucking reason for you to say any of that shit at the press conference.”
Warren’s smile doesn’t waver, but his eyes harden. “I needed to protect my brand,” he says, like it’s a perfectly reasonable excuse.
I snort, folding my arms across my chest. “No, you needed to protect your fragile ego. You made it sound like he was less for being an Omega.”
“No, I made it sound like he was more precious. And he is. After these days with you are over, he’s going to be very important to me.”
I glance over at the set, happy to see Jamie rushing to help Elias focus. With Warren now in here, I can’t imagine how Elias is feeling but Jamie’s bright smile has Elias relaxing all overagain. I return my focus to Warren, ready to chew his ass out for just existing at this point. “Here’s the deal. Elias is our Omega, and he’s not your fucking property to do as you wish. I’ve been scouring that fucking contract for the last few days trying to find a way out.”
Warren chuckles, his eyes glinting with amusement. “That thing is ironclad. Elias is mine for the foreseeable unless he somehow comes up with 50,000 dollars.”
“You don’t get to talk about my Omega like that, you bitch.”
I gear up, ready to throw an entire fucking speech at him when the door swings open a second time, Tristan walking in like he owns the place. He shouldn’t even be here after selling his company to Warren but he is and his sights are set on Elias. My blood boils as I watch him stalk closer.Not on my fucking watch,I tell myself, grabbing the nearest thing to me. A clipboard finds my hand as I chuck it across the room, aiming for the bastard’s head. It catches Tristan in the neck with a satisfying thud, and he stumbles back, choking, his face turning beet red.
The crew bursts into laughter, some clapping, others whispering, as Tristan clutches his throat, gasping but I’m done. “Hey, whoever is playing security at the door needs to start doing a better job. He has no right to be on set!”
Warren steps closer, trying to intimidate me but I meet his gaze, unflinching. “Try me, Warren. I’m really fucking pissed about how you treat people, but most definitely Elias. The fact that you used his accident for sympathy makes it worse.”
“Don’t cross me, Olivia. I can make this world a whole lot worse for you.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out, a grin spreading across my face as I read the text from Reggie. I look up at Warren, shaking my device at him. “You see, I was hopingthere would be a way out and it seems there is. You have a nasty habit of not reading your goddamn contracts.”
