Page 74 of Stream Heat
I did a double-take, not expecting him to be so blunt.
"It's good for your recovery," Jace said, quiet but certain. "More of your scent, more of ours, more stability."
I squinted at them. "You were tracking my scent?"
"Obviously," Reid said, as if it were self-explanatory. "It's the best way to know how you're doing."
That admission settled something inside me. These guys weren't just waiting on me to collapse. They'd been adjusting, tending, taking my needs seriously even while I avoided the truth.
"Dr. Patel says I need to stop fighting the pack stuff," I told them, the words tumbling out easier than I expected. "She thinks that's partly why my recovery is so unpredictable now. That I need the stability, and that... denying it is making everything worse."
They all went still, five pairs of eyes boring into me.
"And what do you think?" Malik asked, voice softer than I'd ever heard it.
It took everything in me to say it, but I did. "I think she's right. I think I'm making myself sick by fighting the one thing that might actually help. And..." I made myself look at each of them, "...I think I'm tired of pretending this is just streaming when it's obviously more than that. For all of us."
The tension in the room snapped. Five Alpha scents flared with instant, hungry relief, something urgent and satisfied surfacing at once. Pack bonds, I realized. They wanted it as badly as I did, and had been waiting for me to finally admit it.
"About time," Theo muttered, not even hiding his grin. Jace elbowed him, which just made Theo smirk harder.
"So what, now?" I said, suddenly uncertain. "Do we, like, sign a pack contract? Have a meeting and assign pack chores? I have no idea what happens next."
Reid's mouth twitched. "It's not formal like that. You just... let it happen. Keep each other's scent close, support each other, maybe spend more time together in the same room. It's gradual."
"But there are things we can do," Malik said. "Like intentional scenting, meals together, helping you through heats. Whatever makes it easier."
The mention of heats made my stomach curl. "That. You're not obligated to... I mean, just because I'm not fighting pack bonds doesn't mean I'm agreeing to anything else. Especially in heats."
Reid's gaze turned all business. "Agreed. No expectations like that, Kara. It's for support, not... anything else. Unless you ask."
Theo held up his hands, mock-innocent. "But if you ever do want to know what five Alphas can do, consider me the sign-up sheet."
"Theo," Malik warned, but the edge of his smile betrayed him.
"I'm just being practical," Theo shrugged. "She's hot, we're hot, let's not pretend the thought never crossed our minds."
Instead of making my skin crawl, it actually broke the tension. "You mean the part where I begged you all to fuck me and got completely rejected?" I asked dryly.
The table went silent for a hot second.
Then Theo started laughing. "We are the world's most useless Alphas. Our ancestors are rolling in their graves right now."
That sent a jolt of reluctant laughter through me, too. "We're a disaster. There's no way this would make sense to anyone else."
"But it works for us," Malik said, steady as ever. "That's all that matters."
As conversation drifted back to the tournament, to the next week's stream plans, to Theo's latest dumb gaming stunt, I felt something settle in my ribs. Like my body finally believed it could rest.
These five, with their stubborn loyalty and sharp edges and terrible humor, had become necessary. Not because of some stupid designation, but because they had earned it. Earned me.
They'd seen the worst of me, the panic, the withdrawal, the meltdown, the heat. And stayed. Listened. Adapted. Never once treated me like I was less.
They didn't want an Omega because they had to, or in spite of it. They wanted me, full stop. With all the mess and contradiction and weirdness that came with it.
And for the first time since this entire disaster started, I didn't feel alone.
My body was still wrecked, nothing about my future was secure. But now, when I looked at the abyss, I didn't have to face it solo.
