Page 15 of Stream Heat
I ought to chuck the damn thing out the window. Or crush it under my heel. Or even set it on fire and watch it burn. Instead, I stared at the screen, thumb looping around the different social media icons. Old habits, right? Even when they’re the exact things that destroy you, they stick. You can’t look away.
I tapped one of them.
#StreamHeat still perched at the top of Trending, now past two million tweets. My name, Kara Quinn, just below it, like a warning. I scrolled, the words slicing deeper and closer with every swipe.
Quinn’s whole career was built on a lie. How many tournaments did she win because she was hiding her omega status?
Imagine trash-talking Alphas for years then going into heat the minute they speak to you lmaooooo
This is why omegas shouldn’t be in competitive gaming
But even knowing how bad it’d be, I kept scrolling. Couldn't help it. Some distant, clinical part of me recognized it for what it was, digital self-harm, a way to punish myself for existing at all. Then, a thumbnail caught my eye.
Stella Saint.
Of course.
Her makeup was so perfect it looked computer generated, blonde hair loose around alpha-sharp cheekbones. The stream title slammed into me like a brick:
RESPONDING TO QUINN’S HEAT CRASH: The Truth About Omega Suppression in Gaming
There it was. I should have closed the app. Instead, I tapped the video.
Stella’s background was exactly what I expected, all designer monitors and Alpha-coded LED strip lighting, with her signature scent diffuser front and center, so no one could even forget for a second what she was.
“Welcome back, Saints,” she started right away, voice as smooth as the foundation on her face. “I know you’re all waiting for me to address what happened with Kara Quinn last night.”
She made a show of running a hand through her hair. I’d seen her do it backstage, practicing in a mirror to make sure it looked as casual as possible. “For those who don’t know, Quinn and I came up together. Same management, same tournaments, same struggles as female gamers in a male-dominated space.”
I nearly choked. “Same struggles.” Right. Stella had been ID’d alpha at twelve and treated like a star prospect at every event since. Alphas were born to lead, so everyone said. Born to win. The red carpet had barely cooled before she walked on it.
Stella pasted on a frown, but her eyes were cold and hard. “The difference was, I chose authenticity. Two years ago, I stopped suppressing my Alpha nature and embraced who I really am, despite the cost.”
Her chat flooded the screen: pride emotes, “queen” spam, and a sea of gleaming crowns.
“Yes, there was a cost,” she said, voice trembling just enough to sound authentic. “I lost sponsorships because female Alphas make some brands ‘uncomfortable.’ I was called aggressive, difficult, too intense. But I stayed true to myself.”
Bullshit. What she didn’t mention was how those “lost opportunities” were nothing compared to what she gained. Her viewership had tripled after she went feral on stream that first time, snapping at an interviewer and breaking out the wolfish grin for the cameras. The algorithm ate Alpha drama up. There was no reward for being Beta, nothing for being invisible.
“So when I saw what happened to Quinn last night…” She dropped her voice like she was about to confess to murder. “I wasn’t surprised. I was sad. Sad that she felt she needed to lie about who she really is. Sad that our industry pushed her to such extreme measures.”
EXPOSE HER QUEEN!
Tell us the real tea about nexus management.
did u know she was omega??
I watched the familiar calculation flicker across Stella’s pretty face. She bared her teeth in a smile, then played the martyr card. “Many of you are asking if I knew Quinn was an Omega. The truth is, yes. I did.”
It was like gravity cut out from under me for a second.
“We were both signed to Nexus Management as teenagers. Victoria Smith approached us both with the same offer, suppressants that would make us ‘marketable.’ The difference was, I eventually chose to stop. Quinn kept lying.”
The chat lost their collective mind.
HOLY SHIT
RECEIPTS QUEEN
