“I’m announcing this publicly because you all deserve to know when I make mistakes,” Anita continues, her voice getting slightly stronger even as it shakes. “And this was a big one. The biggest mistake of my life. I hurt people I care about, people who showed me nothing but kindness and respect and… and more than that. And I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
The silence that follows is heavy, weighted with emotion.
Then she takes a deep breath. “But what this situation has given me, what I’ve learned from this colossal fuckup, is an opportunity. A chance to refocus my energy where it actually belongs. To expose one of the biggest misogynist promoters out there, someone who truly deserves to be called out and held accountable for the harm he causes.”
She’s talking about Reed. Has to be.
“I’m changing tactics. Refocusing my investigation, and I’ll be pursuing this new path with everything I have because there are real threats out there. Real people causing harm to Omegas every single day, and I need to focus on them instead of chasing shadows.”
Slater suddenly stands up, pulling his phone from his pocket, and walks out of the room without a word.
“What’s he doing?” Jasper asks, watching him disappear down the hallway toward his office.
I shrug, my eyes still fixed on my phone, where Anita’s voice continues pouring out of the speaker.
“Okay, we have a lot of calls tonight,” she’s saying, and I can hear her trying to pull herself together, switching back into host mode. “So let’s start taking them. First caller, you’re onThe Heat Line.”
“Hi,” a woman’s voice comes through. “I just want to say that what you’re doing takes real courage. Admitting when you’re wrong publicly like this. A lot of people would just disappear and pretend it never happened.”
“Thank you,” Anita says softly. “But it’s the least I could do.”
Dylan and Jasper are completely glued to the radio broadcast like they can’t hear anything else in the world, and I feel that intensity deep in my chest.
We listen to a few more callers. People asking questions about the situation without knowing the details. Others sharing their own stories of making mistakes and trying to make amends, and Anita responding to each one with that combination of sass and compassion that makes her so good at this, even when her voice is rough with emotion.
Then she pauses mid-sentence. “Hold on, my producer is telling me there’s a specific call I need to take. She says it’simportant, so let’s do this. Okay, you’re onThe Heat Line. Thanks for calling in.”
“You know who I am.” A male voice comes through, and we all freeze simultaneously. Deep. Rough. Unmistakable.
“Fuck off, is that Slater?” Dylan blurts out.
I burst out laughing, and Jasper is grinning.
There’s a pause on the other end. “Very hard not to with that voice.” Anita’s voice is breathless.
Silence for a heartbeat. Two. Three. Like the entire world has frozen on its axis, holding its breath.
“Okay,” Slater says finally, and his voice is careful now. “So we now understand what you did and why you did it. The full picture. And I’m starting to better understand the real danger. The actual threat that’s out there, the opposition you’re facing.”
Another pause.
“But what you’re proposing sounds dangerous. And, well…” He clears his throat, and there’s vulnerability in the sound. “If you want us to help, if you need backup or support or just someone in your corner, then you know where we live.”
“Oh.” That one word from Anita contains entire universes.
Shock. Relief. Gratitude. Hope. Longing. Disbelief. So many emotions packed into one syllable as if she’s reached through the radio waves and grabbed my heart.
She’s gasping slightly, trying to catch her breath. “You have no idea how much that offer means to me. I didn’t think… After today, after everything, I thought you all hated me. That I’d ruined everything beyond repair. That there was no coming back from what I did.”
“We don’t hate you,” Slater states, and his voice is softer now. Gentler. More like the Slater we know in private than the commanding pack leader he shows the world. “We’re hurt. Confused about how to move forward. Trying to figure out how to rebuild trust. But we don’t hate you. That’s not who we are,and we’re not the kind of men who walk away from someone who needs help. Especially not our…”
He trails off deliberately, leaving the word hanging unspoken.
Especially not our Omega.
“Thank you,” Anita whispers. “Thank you so much.”
“Think about what I said. The offer stands.” Then the line goes dead with a soft click.
