Page 175 of Sweetheart: Part One

The contract… was gone? The article… they’d seen it already?

They’d learned the truth.

And Ebony knew I was his scent match—he would have told them that if they read it, wouldn’t he?

They’d found out I was gold pack, and they didn’t want me anymore.

LOVE

We were in the smallest office downstairs, the one tucked away beside the garage.

I didn’t want to risk Vex walking in on this meeting.

Ebony leaned against the wall by the door, arms folded, while Drake took a seat, unsure.

“What’s going on?” Rook asked, dropping into a chair opposite me.

“It’s Vex,” I said. “I killed the contract. She’ll be gone by tomorrow.”

“You terminated it?” Drake’s eyes were wide and his voice rough as he stared at me in shock. From his pocket, his phone pinged, though he ignored it. “But… Why—how?”

“Eve said she had what she needed. She’ll be out by tomorrow.”

Rook’s face went ashen. “That’s not… No. That’s not right. You can’t just do that without telling us.”

I braced myself, readying the explanation I knew would crush Drake. Knowing I needed to give it.

She’s not what you thought she was.

Then Rook’s phone buzzed, once, twice, and Drake’s pinged again. In my pocket, I felt mine vibrating.

I tried to ignore it, still preparing myself for breaking Drake’s heart, but the buzzing didn’t stop.

“What the fuck?” Rook asked, finally glancing down at his screen.

I watched as his eyes narrowed, his lips parting. “This… this can’t be right?” His voice was a rasp.

He handed the phone to me and I read what he had.

It was an article, posted by a name I recognised: Alana Swan.The Crimson Fury pack deceived. Sweetheart nothing more than a gold pack omega in disguise.

An omega?

What?

This wasn’t real.

But the photos in the article were indisputable… Taken in that side room I’d left her in. And the contacts were telling enough even without the pills.

“Vex… is an omega?” Drake sounded stunned.

My mind was in freefall for a moment, the words truly processing.

Shewasan omega.

Everything that had just happened… ThatI’daccused her of…

“She lied to us…” Drake was saying, but I was only half paying attention. “Why would she lie to us?

---