Page 118 of Stream Heat
I nodded. “After.”
He was gone almost as suddenly as he had arrived, but his scent lingered. Theo dragged me back to his chest the second Reid was out of range. “You sure you wanted to do this? The assholes on chat could get pretty bad.”
“I’ve had worse,” I told him, and it came out flat, factual. “I survived eight years on suppressants. A public heat crash. This isn’t what’s going to break me.”
Theo’s smile had been all teeth and pride. “That’s my girl.”
It wasn’t long before we were all gathered around the streaming tables. Six of us in total, mics checked, cameras on, everything perfectly staged for maximum visibility. We’d done this a hundred times, but it had never felt like this. The pack bonds were tight, humming with defensive energy, protective instincts so loud I was surprised they didn’t short out the mics.
Reid sat straight down the row from me. Even when he pretended to focus on the screen, his gaze drifted back to check on me. Theo was to my right, vibrating under the surface with surplus adrenaline, and on my left Jace was steady and solid, the team’s anchor. Ash hovered by his technical setup, fingers dancing over the controls; behind him, Malik rounded out the group, profile calm but scent telling its own story.
Five Alphas. One Omega. If that painted a target, so be it.
“Live in three, two, one…” Ash signaled, and it was on.
“Welcome to the Pack Wrecked tournament qualifier prep,” Reid said, voice all business, cool and confident. “Full squad here today. Ready to dominate.”
The banter came easy, all of us falling into roles, the class clown, the silent assassin, the brooding strategist, the wild-card, the tech genius, and me, the ‘surprise addition’ who was actually a ringer. For a minute, I almost thought maybe it would be fine.
Then the first toxic comment popped up on the screen, courtesy of a moderator who had missed it by seconds.
how’s the suppressant junkie pretending to be human today? still faking your way through tournaments?
It was like someone jammed a thumb into a bruise. I lost track of the conversation for a second, and then the rest of them felt it, too. Five Alphas, pack-bonded, and every one of them went silent.
Reid’s posture snapped rigid, eyes darkening to the shade of midnight on the coast. Theo was still as death, attention laser-sharp and edged. Jace shifted, muscles tensed, the sharp tang of his scent like steel. Ash went statue behind his monitor. Malik, for once, let the control slip, and beneath the calm, he was pure Alpha bite.
“Ban that account,” Reid said, so low and dangerous the words almost vibrated off the desk. “Permanently.”
The comment was gone, but the chat was stirring, waves of curiosity, the beginnings of a feeding frenzy. If I’d just laughed it off, maybe it would have faded. Instead, I tried to play along, but a new comment landed before I could finish the joke.
lol triggered the alpha bodyguards. bet they only keep her around for heat content
That one was even worse. Reid’s scent exploded, thunderstorm fury filling every inch of space. “That’s enough,” he said, and the Alpha command in his voice was palpable, even through the screen. “Let me make something perfectly clear. Disrespect toward any member of this pack will not be tolerated. Period.”
Chat paused, stunned. For a heartbeat, the only thing moving was the slow scroll of shocked emojis and question marks.
Theo broke in, sharp, “Ban him, mod squad. Or at least make it a hundred bucks per insult.”
I meant to laugh. It came out wrong, too thin. “He’ll bankrupt himself in an hour.”
It only egged the trolls on.
Next message, uglier.
Bet you still leak on cam. Is the pack keeping you dry, or do they just hose you down between matches?
I clenched my teeth hard enough to feel the crunch. The controller shivered in my grip, and this time, my shot was way off.
Malik heard it. “You okay, Queen?”
I nodded. He couldn’t see it, but the words were stuck. “Just a cramp. Keep moving.”
But the insults kept rolling. Each one perfectly targeted, folding me inside out. They dragged up the old school file, the heat crash, the time I nearly blacked out on stream and had to crawl off before throwing up.
And under it all, that animal certainty that everyone watching was just there for the moment I snapped.
I tried to bury it. I swapped to shotgun, kicked through a door, took out two enemies at close range. It helped for a moment.
