“Ladies, I’m Gracey, Miss Holmes’ personal assistant. She’s just in here,” a professional looking woman says, sweeping her arm wide to welcome us through.
Gracey holds the doors open and lets it go as soon as Simona and I step inside another hallway, making it clear it’s girls only. In that one move she proves how good she will be for Heidi too. But Maverick and Tyson along with Simona’s guards catch the door and step behind us making it also clear that our security is also non-negotiable.
“How is she?” I ask Gracey as we wait at the next door for her to unlock.
The security protocol is insane today, making me think Heidi has been going through more than we know.
“Ready,” is all Gracey says before she pushes us in Heidi’s makeshift office.
Simona races past me leaping into Heidi’s arms, enveloping her in a huge hug but I stumble, caught by how fierce Heidi looks. In the space of a few weeks, she’s emerged as a stronger, better version of herself. I watch her and Simona closely, the both of them talking softly, smiling and laughing and I feel almost jealous for some reason, until they both stare at me.
“Tristan, get over here. We need you,” Simona says forcefully, in her soft, sweet tones, her cookies and cream scent clouding around me, enforcing her words.
I’ve hit a roadblock, but at the urging of my girls I stumble into their arms and soak in their love. God, how I need this.
“I truly wondered if we’d get here,” Heidi says in between giving us both small kisses, and big cuddles. Except once she says it, her eyes flare like she wasn’t really meant to say that out loud, again reinforcing that she’s only told us a tiny bit of what she’s had to endure.
Which kind of pulls me up because that is me and Raney. I turn to look at Simona with the same thoughts swirling around;how many lies have we each told each other? How many fake smiles have we shared to protect one another?
All of a sudden the roadblock from before becomes a mountain of regret. I’m questioning if I’ve put them at more risk because of what happened to me, but then I’m off on another tangent wondering if they can see what I’ve just been through. I hope not. I really do because Heidi would stop everything and Simona would insist she does too. Raney would be furious she wasn’t here to support me. Invariably my thoughts move on to my biggest fear, what if my Scorned Girls never forgive me.
The whole room tips with the weight of my fear. I struggle through the very real possibility of me losing my Scorned Girls. But as hard as that is to accept, I also know I wouldn’t change a single lie I told them either.
Heidi wraps her hands around my face, her apple scent releasing into me because of course she too can see through my cracks to see how much I am spiralling.
I twist away from both of them. “Now is not the time or place. Please,” I insist, nearly begging, trying to refocus back on Heidi and her day. “You need to dazzle the crap out of the crowd. What’s the general consensus out there, Ho?” I ignore their questioning stares, distracting her with why we’re here.
I hitch my skirt up and flash my butt to sit onto the edge of her desk.
“Lucky you’re a supermodel or honestly, Tristan…”
In the space of one forced joke and a look only really good friends share I lose my grip again. Before I can stop myself I spout off bullshit about being a candy-floss bimbo with boyfriend problems. I seriously don’t know where it comes from.
Simona and Heidi stare at me, before Heidi starts closing in on me, retribution and fury in her eyes. “Who the living shit said that?”
“Don’t.” My hand flies up, stopping her in her tracks. I blink furiously to keep the lies and truth tucked away.
The office we’re hiding in fills with the scent of their worry, and I swear it stinks from all my lies.
The door opens and Heidi’s on again, off again, boyfriend steps in, wondering what’s going on. And by the looks on his facehis Alpha is picking up on me having a meltdown. “You’re giving off some pretty big signals, getting Heidi’s team all antsy,” he explains unnecessarily.
I knew walking in here, I would be acting. I was prepared for that, but I was not prepared to be in a small space, coming face to face with an Alpha who is not mine. But I’m a newly bonded, freshly packed Omega and I lash out like a cornered bobcat.
“Fucking, Alphas. Read the situation, Kairo,” I hiss. But the longer he looks at me, not that it appeases the feral part of my designation freaking out for no other reason except this Alpha is not mine. It makes me extra salty and chaotic. “I need girl time not you getting on your fucking high horse.”
We stare designation to designation no longer talking person to person. Kairo searches for answers but I refuse to yield. If I wasn’t slathered in the very best scent blocking lotions and wearing thick make-up on my bites he might find the reason I’m acting like I’ve lost my fucking mind, but because I am all he can do is try to console. “Tristan, not all Alphas are cockheads. Ask your bestie. Either way, I want you to know if you ever need a hand, you can count on me and I’ll help in any situation. Okay?”
For fuck’s sake! Why can’t Kai just be a dick? He’s genuinely a really amazing person and if I was standing in front of my besties with my pack behind me, I know our interaction would be so very different. My chin wobbles as another wave of guilt crashes over me before a large, bigger wave of calm and security crashes through my bond with my pack, chasing it away.
I can even feel how close Tyson and Maverick are to breaking through the door. Knowing they’re close helps. I look down at Heidi’s shoes before focusing on what she’s wearing, using whatever I can to stop freaking out. When I look back at Kai and my girls, they’re still looking at me like I’ve lost my marbles but they’re also making it clear they won’t push me like I asked.
“Thanks, Kai. It means a lot and I’m sorry I snapped before.”
Thankfully, our conversation switches back to why we are here, and then I latch on to Heidi as my focus, patting down a few errant loose fly-aways. Of course she lets me, continuing to talk with Simona and Kai before I swipe off her lipstick and use a colour that matches her skin tone and her outfit better.
Gracey pops her head back in and ends our catch up. Heidi had made it clear in all the texts and phone calls that she literally only had ten minutes tops and wouldn’t be letting us stay to watch her speech because of the possibility of a security breach. And considering what happened at Raney’s pack day, it kind of made sense. Simona hugs Heidi before she waits by the door.
“So, you’re slightly fucking unhinged today. And that does not change how much I have loved you being here. It meant the world you came, Tris. No shit though, you better be ready to spill whatever is going on when I ask?” She arches an elegant eyebrow, waiting for me to agree before she starts talking again, “Don’t you ever forget how important you are to me.”
