Page 84 of Stream Heat
Dawn was just bleeding through the curtains when my phone lit up, Victoria Smith’s name screaming at me in all-caps. My stomach clenched.
“You don’t have to answer,” Ash said.
“I do.” I thumbed the green button. “Victoria.”
Her voice was frost-edged and lethal. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Do you have any idea what kind of legal shitstorm you’ve just created?”
I didn’t give her an inch. “Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing. Providing illegal suppressants to minors seems bigger than the NDA I signed.”
“You signed NDAs. Confidentiality agreements. Waivers that specifically covered those medications.”
“I was sixteen. And those agreements don’t cover illegal activity.”
She almost let the mask slip entirely as she hissed, “You ungrateful little–” but then collected herself. “Listen carefully, Kara. This doesn’t have to be adversarial. I can still help you.”
“Help me?” I couldn’t contain the bitterness. “Like you helped me destroy my liver?”
Quiet now, almost conspiratorial, she offered, “I can get you more suppressants. The real ones. Not the watered down shit. Enough to get you through this, get back to a marketable presentation.”
It was so obscene I almost laughed, but rage ate up the urge.
“Are you serious? You think I want more of what nearly killed me?”
“Don’t be dramatic,” she scoffed. “You’re not the only client I support like this. Dozens of young creators depend on it to maintain the image we built.”
Ash tensed next to me, his scent going sharp and cold with fury.
Victoria pressed on, sensing weakness but unprepared for the steel on my end of the line. “Think about it, Kara. Your multiple heat crashes on stream. Your ‘pack’ gets tired of babysitting an unstable Omega. Your content suffers. Or you take the suppressants, get your Beta edge back, and we rebuild your brand as the comeback queen.”
“The suppressants could kill her,” Ash snarled, voice lethal.
Victoria froze at the sound of him, but only for a heartbeat. “I see you have one of your Alpha bodyguards. Cute. Does he know you’re just using them? Once you’re stabilized, you won’t need their little pack playacting anymore.”
A calculated strike, aiming straight for my oldest wound: the fear that my bonds with the pack were transactional, that I’d be abandoned the second I lost my use.
“You don’t know anything about us,” I bit out. “And you don’t know me anymore. I’m not that desperate sixteen-year-old.”
Her tone went cold as a blade. “Fine. Have it your way. But you realize those accusations in your so-called manifesto are actionable. Defamatory. I can bury you in litigation until you’re radioactive to every sponsor and platform.”
“Go ahead,” I said. “Discovery works both ways, Victoria. How many other young Omegas have you put on suppressants? How many are sick from it? If this gets out, how many doctors, pharma reps, and execs do you think go down with you?”
She went silent. I knew I’d pushed her off-balance.
“You’re making a mistake,” she finally said. “This industry forgets scandals but never forgives troublemakers. No one will work with you again.”
“I’m not alone,” I told her. And for the first time, I wasn’t lying.
I ended the call.
Ash let out a long breath. “She’s terrified. You’ve got her cornered.”
“She’s still dangerous.” My hands were steady, calm. “And she wasn’t bluffing. There are others out there like me, Ash. Kids who have no idea what this shit does long-term.”
“Then we help them, too,” he said, like it was obvious.
Before I could respond, my phone rang again. This time Callie Cross was calling through the messenger service we used. I answered. “Quinn.”
Her voice was animated, elated. “Are you seeing this? We’re trending in God knows how many countries. #OmegaTruth and #DesignationLiberation are everywhere!”
