Page 42 of Sweetheart: Part One

“Theyhurtyou.”

“I know.” I shrunk, clutching myself tighter. “I know how it looks.”

Right now, I was hiding in the closet because of Rook, and he was right about Ebony. I was terrified of what he might do if I got signed. But to convince Drake, I had to find a way to explain it that didn’t draw suspicion,andthat didn’t make me sound like a complete crazed fan. They got enough of those, I knew that.

“I do want to be Ebony’s Sweetheart. He lashed out, but I think that means he needs it, too.”

“You say shit like that, but then you turn around and threaten Rook—and fuck me if he didn’t deserve it, but it doesn’t add up.”

I rubbed my face in my hands.

Yup, I looked fucking insane. I got that.

After a million shitty dates, I was sick of men’s bullshit. I’d decided it wasn’t my job to fix them up a long time ago. And now, here I was, forced to play hopeless ditz with stars in her eyes as she imagined taming a pack so she could feel special.

And I was fuckingshitat it.

Still, I tried to hold onto that.

“Rook needs boundaries,” I said. “Just because I want this, it doesn’t mean I don’t have standards.”

“Even if you’re right about Rook, you think spoon threats will be enough to handle Ebony?”

“I… don’t know yet.” That was the truth at least. I didn’t want to be Ebony’s Sweetheart or omega. I wanted to run as far from him as I could possibly get, but that wasn’t an option. “But I think… I think I can get through to him.”

“There is no getting through to him.”

“Give me a chance to try,” I whispered. “Look, I had no idea what I was getting into when I came here. I wanted to be a Sweetheart because I thought I might actually have something to offer to a pack. I wasn’t expecting yours to be so…” I trailed off, scrambling for the right words.

“Off the rails?” he asked.

I snorted, but nodded. “I want the challenge. I’m not good at much, and I haven’t got anything else.”

That at least, was the sad fucking truth.

“Vex, Ebony’s one bad week away from blowing up. I don’t want you to be caught in the crosshairs of that.”

“That’s why you should give me a chance,” I said desperately. “What if I can fix it? What if you don’t have to live wondering when he’s going to go off? That will be my job, to figure that out, to find what balances him.”

The role of a Sweetheart—not so far off from what a pack would need in an omega. If they signed me, it would be up to me to figure out how to keep them balanced.

“Ebony doesn’t want a Sweetheart signed in. They come for a week and he chases them away. Thatiswhat balances him, even if it’s goddamned wrong.”

“Yet, you keep pulling Sweethearts in?”

“Lovedoes.” Drake sounded strained. “He’s trying to give Ebony just enough to keep him content. I hate it, though. It feels like deception, and sometimes they’re really upset when they leave.”

“But that won’t happen with me. I already know the deal and I still want to stay. I can figure out what he actually needs.”

He was staring at me like I was mad.

“What you’re doing isn’t working,” I whispered. “You’re just… patching the problem and hoping it doesn’t get worse. But this will literally be my job. To balance him without an omega. If there’s a way to do that, I’ll figure it out.”

“Love’s been trying for years.”

“Love isn’t someone Ebony is…interestedin.”

There was a moment of silence as he stared at me in the dim light, violet eyes stunned. “Is that what you’re getting from him?” Drake asked. “That he’s interested?”

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