Page 79 of Stream Heat
"Given the revelations regarding banned substances, we’re initiating a formal investigation. Your partnership status will be suspended, pending results."
"But the suppressants weren’t performance enhancers," I said, desperate. "They just kept my designation from showing, it didn’t make me better, it made me worse."
He didn’t even pause. "Controlled compounds are prohibited. Use during tournaments is a violation regardless of intent. Legal will be in touch after review."
He hung up. Just like that.
"They’re going to strip my wins," I said. This time the numbness was complete, bone-deep. "All of it. Every last thing I worked for. Gone because I wanted to be seen as more than just an Omega."
Reid’s hands closed over mine, unshakeable. "Listen, Kara. It’s bad. But it’s not the end. We have resources. And you’re not alone."
I pulled away, sharp, raw. "And what, the power of friendship will keep my sponsors from running?"
His jaw clenched, but he didn’t rise to the bait. "No. But there’s more power in a pack than going it alone."
Notification: my biggest sponsor, gone. The email was cold, corporate. "Non-compliance with company values." "Undisclosed substances." Just the facts. I almost snorted. Guess they didn’t want to wait and see if I could salvage anything.
I laughed instead, the sound jagged. "There goes my living. Fuck."
Malik, gentle as always, said, "Breathe. You’re spiraling, Kara."
I spun, adrenaline spiking. "I have every right! You don’t get it. All this? This is my nightmare, and it’s already happened oncebefore. I thought I could claw my way out, but Stella just set fire to the whole thing. She didn’t want me to ever get up again."
Ash, finally spoke up, "It’s jealousy, not justice. She didn’t need to wait years. She wanted to crush you when you finally started getting your footing back."
That caught me. I stopped pacing. "She waited. Why?"
"Because the heat crash just outed you as Omega, but you were handling it," he said. "You were adapting. That’s when she needed to kill your shot at coming back."
Theo piped in. "It’s all about her, really. She failed as an Alpha. You succeeded as a Beta. Now she’s making sure you don’t get a fresh start as Omega, either."
It didn’t make the panic better, but it shifted something. For the first time in hours, I could breathe. This wasn’t just about me. It had never been.
I looked up at them all, my pack, my last defense. "What do we do, then? How do we fight this?"
Reid’s eyes blazed, energized. "We go nuclear."
In less than an hour, the room was a war zone. Ash grabbed every monitor, tracking the thread, running sentiment analysis, numbers crawling by. Jace drafted statements, precise and sharp, distilling facts to the bone. Theo was everywhere at once on socials, breaking up the hate, rallying the few crazy loyalists. Malik coordinated legal, already emailing and calling and DMing anyone who might help. Reid? He was quarterback, strategist, and damage control all at once, keeping me upright while managing the battle.
"The first step is a statement from you," Reid urged, reading what Jace had written. "Direct. No hedging, no dodging. It’s your story, your way."
I was scrolling the hate again, unable to stop. "If I’d just ditched those records, none of this could’ve happened. I should’ve burned the whole trail clean."
He shook his head. "No. Hiding the truth is what let Stella do this. She took control of the story. If you’d been the one to say it, maybe it would’ve gone down different."
"Right. Sure. Or I’d have been a footnote, hauled out for novelty-fetish interviews and ignored by every serious org. ‘Look at the brave little Omega who plays shooters.’ You know how they are."
His face softened. "Maybe before. Now you have a platform. Now you have support. You have us."
One notification surprised me. Callie Cross. The Omega lifestyle streamer. She’d gone to bat for me after the crash. Her DM was pure fire.
this is so fucked up. Leaking medical docs?! Stella’s a psycho. Going live in 20 to throw support your way. DM if you want to coordinate
First good thing I’d seen since this hell started. I held it out to Reid, hands still shaking.
"Told you," he murmured. "You’re not alone in this."
Ash called out, "Heads up."
