Page 77 of Stream Heat
"Okay?" Reid’s voice was low, gentle.
I nodded. Maybe grinned.
Theo was next, his scent caffeine-bright, energetic, but pulled in at the edges, like he knew this could knock me over. Then Jace, quieter, methodical, his scent polished and strange, persistent in a way that reminded me of ink stains and cold snow. Ash was after that, careful but steady, vanilla and charcoal wrapping around me like a weighted blanket. Malik last, his scent grounding, steady: sandalwood and linen, the cool clarity of someone who could meditate through a hurricane and come out smiling.
By the time we’d finished the circuit, I felt rebuilt. Or at least, less broken-up than I’d been before.
"How is it?" Malik asked, eyebrows up.
"…Better," I said, testing the word. "Calmer. Like my body stopped free-falling for two seconds. Is that normal?"
Malik’s smile was small but real. "Exactly what’s supposed to happen. It’s chemical. Gets your system back online."
"Which is why every part of you was screaming for it," Jace said. "Even when you wouldn’t let yourself admit it."
I looked at them, really looked, and I realized for the first time in years that I didn’t feel alone. Not just empty noise, or forced teamwork, but actual, tangible connection.
"Thank you," I said, but it sounded pathetic. "For… not giving up, even when I made it impossible."
Reid leaned forward, steady as always. "We never would have. That’s the point of pack. We don’t leave people behind."
The rest picked the conversation up, momentum shifting back to the everyday: dinner, schedules, memes. But I just sat there, quietly feeling the difference. The bonds weren’t metaphor anymore; I could sense every one of them, thin threads of recognition and stability that didn’t just reinforce me, they steadied me.
My old training wanted to scream at the dependency, to fight it tooth and nail. But there was something else, something the suppressants could never reach, a biological part of me that had spent eight years clawing to survive. It was the first time in my life I’d stopped fighting, and started adapting.
And maybe, just maybe, that was real strength.
So I sat there, surrounded by five Alphas who had seen me at my worst, who still wanted me exactly as I was. In that moment, I was Kara Quinn: Omega, streamer, pain in the ass, actual member of a pack.
It wasn’t defeat. It wasn’t giving in.
It was finally,finallycoming home.
My only question, one I would refuse to dwell on, was whether or not this would be enough?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Kara
My phone chirped, a soft little ping that snapped me out of my post-pack haze. For a minute, all I could register was the warmth in my chest, the faint mix of Alpha scents still lingering in the air, grounding me. But even in that cocoon, instinct shivered down my spine, urging me to check.
I almost ignored it. God, I wish I had.
The notifications were from all manner of social media. Someone had tagged me, and whatever it was, it was blowing up. Way too fast.
"Everything okay?" Reid’s voice cut through the air, calm, a little wary.
I stared at my phone, dread frosting over my veins. My tongue felt glued to the roof of my mouth. "No," I managed. The word came again, ragged. "No, no, no."
"Kara?" Malik, steady as ever, but there was an edge there he didn’t bother to hide. "What happened?"
My hands shook. I tapped open the tweet. Stella. Of course it was Stella. @StellaStVictory, first in everything, bitch supreme. She’d posted a thread. It was a series of screenshots: medicalrecords, school docs, designation forms, every single one stamped with my name, bright and unmistakable.
She’d written, right at the top, in all-caps like she wanted to punch through the screen:The TRUTH about @KaraQuinn's 'late-presenting' Omega status. She's been LYING for YEARS, not just to fans but to sponsors and platforms. Time to expose the fraud.
I made a sound. Half laugh, half raw animal. "She leaked my medical records," I said. "All of it. My original Omega designation from when I was twelve. The illegal suppressants. The school accommodation requests. There’s proof I lied, right here."
Four Alphas converged on me instantly. Theo cursed, hot and fast. Jace’s whole body went statue-still. Ash’s jaw flexed, silent, but his scent was pure murder. Malik, always calm, smelled like the crack of a storm.
