Page 75 of The Packaged Deal
The other two are hesitating. Pack Lovehard are cowards underneath it all. That hesitation costs them.
Adrian turns towards us in surprise, his eyes darkening to solid black. He moves with such menace that it’s like a storm wall of atmosphere washing over us.
“You think she’s only good to be your whore?” Kandi hisses in rage.
“Kandi,” I whisper, glancing around. People are starting to pay attention to what’s going on here.
“She doesn’t have a pack. No one wants her!” Antony protests too loudly. People are really watching now. The spectacle that is my life.
I wince, and my cheeks burn when I look up and find Missy, Hazel, and Onyx watching me. Shame tugs at me, and I look at the ground, wishing it would open and swallow me up. I’ll never be like them.
“It doesn’t matter,” I mutter, both to my own thoughts and to Kandi’s outrage.
Kandi’s eyes blaze when she lifts them to stare at me. “It doesn’t matter? Them calling you a whore, inviting you to-” She cuts off with an inarticulate cry.
“I don’t have a pack, Kandi. It’s facts. Some omegas get packs, some work as companions or find other ways of supporting themselves. It was generous. I should thank them.”
Adrian is staring at me, completely still. His face has no expression. I can’t look at him. I keep my eyes on the floor.
“It was fucking not!” Kandi growls. Her fingers tighten on Antony’s shoulder until he bends and is at my height.
I sniff and glance around before finally looking at her again. Her cheek tics, and her lips are a thin line.
“You don’t have to do this, Kandi. You’re under no obligation.”
Kandi lets out a savage sound and almost throws Antony away from her. He stumbles to his knees, but I soon forget him. The furious beta threads her fingers through my hair, messing it all up, but I don’t care because she tilts my face and slams our mouths together.
I hang on to her, clinging while the kiss heats the part of me that had turned ice cold. She demands as much as she gives, and I’m drowning as she takes my pain. I can only cling to her, the world around us is gone, muted, colourless. She pulls back and touches her lips to my cheek.
“You deserve more. You’re beautiful and unique, and we all love that about you. Don't listen to people like him. Never let them treat you like you're less. You’re not a whore. You’re not alone. It wasn’t generous, it was an insult. And you deserve better, no matter what happens with us.”
I peer up at her and feel myself soften. Tears prick my eyes, but I blink them back.
“You’ve riled Adrian up,” I whisper.
Kandi glances over her shoulder, and together, we watch Adrian and Sven escort the Lovehard pack out of the ballroom. Adrian has gone cold. I can feel it from here.
“The next time someone says you don’t have a pack, tell them they are mistaken.”
I turn with a gasp and find Sunny standing there. When he smiles, I see Kandi in him. His golden hair is slicked back, and he’s wearing a suit, but he still manages to look like he’s heading to the beach as soon as this is done.
“I have a pack?” I ask in confusion.
“Clearly.” Sunny nods seriously. “Kandi, Sven, and Adrian.”
I clear my throat and glance back at Kandi, unsure of what to say.
“No, they, we aren’t a pack,” Kandi stutters out.
Sunny scowls. “Yes, you are.”
“No, we’re not.”
“I’ll tell mum. She’ll kick your ass for being so dumb.”
“Dibberdobber.”
“Oh, my god, can you be any more childish?” Sunny rolls his eyes.