No, no, no.
There was a ringing in my ears, and I didn’t understand how I was sitting silently when everything inside me was screaming.
“What the fuck?” Cam muttered, putting his arm around me.
I couldn’t feel his skin against mine. I couldn’t feel anything.
“Welcome, Pack Ashwood and Ms. Porter. It’s always an exciting day to have a newly formed pack visit us.”
His voice raised the hairs on my skin, and I had to suppress a whimper. Ben moved closer to me on my other side, running his hand up and down my arm as if he knew my scar was aching.
“Who are you?” Theo asked.
The alpha’s smile didn’t falter, even at Theo’s curt tone.
“My name is Todd Cross. I am the newly appointed Director of Pack Cohesion here at the Designation Center. My department was created specifically to help alphas find the perfect omega for their packs and to ensure a seamless transition to pack life.” His voice was robotic, as if each word was carefully rehearsed. “Now, we’re ready to begin the interviews. To ensure the highest quality of care, you will each be interviewed separately. This is to ensure everyone feels free to express themselves fully.”
I felt myself falling into a haze. Theo and Cam stood up, and I saw Theo’s lips move, but I didn’t hear what he said. The sound around me grew muffled and I noticed, as if I were observing myself from a distance, that I was on the verge of a panic attack.
“That is not what we were told,” Cam bit out, his raised voice startling me back to reality.
“New procedure,” Director Cross said smugly.
Ben gripped my arm tighter. My eyes flitted to the guards.
“No,” I whimpered.
Director Cross fixed me with an ice-cold stare. “Omegas do not contradict alphas,” he snarled, his tone no longer mellow. “It’s not a good sign when alphas can’t keep their omega in line.”
“We want to do the interview together,” Theo said. “That’s what we were told would happen.”
“Like I said, the policy has changed to better serve the needs of our pack alphas. If you refuse to follow procedure, we will be forced to determine you are unfit to have an omega.”
“You can’t fucking do this,” Cam snarled, taking a step towards Director Cross.
Immediately, two guards stepped up on either side of the director, their hands on their weapons. Acting on sheer instinct, I lunged out of my chair at Cam, wrapping my arms around his waist. I pressed my face against his back and held on as tightly as I could. His entire body vibrated, his hands clenched into fists.
“Cam,” I said, my voice coming out in a hoarse whisper.
No response.
“Alpha, please,” I whimpered.
I didn’t know what I was asking for, except that it was clear the DC had planned all of this with precision. They would delight in denying our pack status. Before meeting my alphas, all I wanted was to spend the rest of my life alone. Now I wouldn’t survive being separated from them.
Something must have broken through to Cam because he placed his hand over mine on his stomach. He gently broke my grip enough to turn around to look at me.
I bit my lip to keep it from trembling. If I lost it right now, so would my alphas. It would be my fault if anything happened to them.
“We have to do what they say,” I whispered, hating that we had an audience.
“Omegas are always so dramatic,” Director Cross said with condescension. “Such emotional manipulators. You’ll all be led back to your individual interview rooms in a moment. The interviews will be brief, nothing to get worked up about.”
My gaze was still locked with Cam’s, and I silently begged him to go along with it. He was breathing heavily, his eyes unfocused. I wanted to reassure him, to tell him this wasn’t like when he lost his sister, but the words wouldn’t come out. How could I tell him everything would be okay when I felt like I was being marched to hell?
Another alpha entered the hall.
“Ahh, Dave. Perfect timing. You will take Ms. Porter back for her interview,” Director Cross said, looking down at his watch impatiently.
