Page 90 of Stream Heat
I didn't have to spell out what "worse" looked like; none of them were strangers to that sensation. The room went quiet as they looked at each other, some silent pack communicationpassing across the crowded terrain of my dirty laundry and nerves.
Theo cleared his throat. "What if we stayed in the room with you?" he suggested, cautious, testing the waters.
"On camera?" I asked, heart jerking sideways.
He shook his head. "No. Just in the room. Backup. You know, in case."
The idea was warm and tempting. Too warm. I shut it down with a shake of my head. "This is on me. I have to prove I can handle my own stuff. I need to do this by myself,formyself.”
Ash raised an eyebrow. "No one does this stuff alone, not even streamers. It's all teams and mods and managers these days. People have support."
"I know," I said, rubbing my palms against my jeans. "But this, the talking part, that has to come from me. No shields, no filters. Plus, I think all the other Omegas that are going to be on the stream are alone and don’t have packs to back them up. Or at least Callie doesn’t, I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.”
"Okay," Reid said, simple as that. "But we'll be here when you're done."
Something about the surety in his voice helped. No matter what happened on the stream, the aftermath wouldn't drown me. At least, not alone.
7:45 came up fast. I set up my rig, clicked through the tech checks, and joined Callie's stream as a guest just before the summit kicked off. Her chat was already moving so fast the words barely stuck before being washed away.
"Hey everyone," Callie said, a practiced ease in her greeting as my cam feed popped up beside hers. "Look who I've got! A special guest tonight. You've all seen Kara Quinn as QueenQuinnGaming when she kicks ass in FPS tournaments,and lately, you've seen her be really honest about Omega realities in gaming."
QUEEN!
we missed you!
so good to see you
here for the drama
bet she breaks down again
I made myself breathe. I focused on the flood of support and tuned out the rest. "Hey, chat. Thanks for the welcome. And thanks, Callie, for having me on."
Callie didn't dilly-dally. "Let's get right to it. Tonight, it's real talk about what it's like being an Omega in streaming and esports. The good, bad, and the stuff no one ever wants to talk about."
"Definitely overdue," I said, latching gratefully onto her momentum. "So many myths about Omega creators. Might as well set things straight."
yes! need more honest discussions
this is so important
love seeing omega solidarity
Callie was all business. "Let's start with what's on everyone's mind. Kara, the other week you had a pretty public heat crash. For Omegas, that's the nightmare scenario. How are you actually doing?"
Direct. No sugarcoating or fake concern. I could handle that. "Honestly? It's been rough. It was my worst nightmare. I spent years hiding my designation, faking being Beta by using illegal suppressants. Then all of that got blown wide open on a livestream, for everyone to see. It felt like my career was over. And then it happened again."
Callie narrowed in. "A lot of chat is asking about those suppressants. Why hide at all? Why risk it?"
I scrolled through the comments, fingers tight on my mouse.
"The suppressants were the only way my original agent said I'd get a shot. She got them for me when I was sixteen. Way above the legal limit. She told me straight out: If you want to be taken seriously, you have to be Beta. And I believed her, because she was probably right. Omegas get treated differently in this business."
this is so brave
those suppressants are dangerous
why not just stream as omega from the start?
