“For what it’s worth,” Milo said quietly as he turned to leave. “Something you said in that interview didn’t sit right with me. We didn’t choose you because of your name, Lana. We didn’t even know your name until after we already decided we wanted to make you ours.”
In a strange way, that was nice to hear. It was always an insecurity of mine.
“Thanks for telling me that,” I said. “I just wish you would’ve made it known sooner that you gave a single shit about me. It wasn’t fun spending all those nights alone, wondering what I’d done wrong. I know now that wasn’t the right question. The question was why I stayed so long. Seriously, be better for the next girl.”
“We will. Goodbye, Lana. We’re sorry,” Sutton said, pulling Milo and Dean away. Dean let out a sob, and Milo pulled him closer, offering reassurance.
Kieran let the door close, and I sagged against Wilder, who pulled me into a hug. Today, it felt like a lot of doors were officially closing.
I hated that once again the attention was on the wrong things. We should be focusing on this hearing, not hashing out my exes failures.
“Oh, shit,” Roxie said, rushing past us and out the door.
When she came back inside, she gave me a smile. “They’ll be at the hearing to speak. That’s another group willing to stand against all this.”
“Back to it then,” Kieran said, leading the way to the table where our piles of articles and research were waiting.
I couldn’t let my pack down, and more than that, I couldn’t let the team down.
Chapter
Thirty-Six
Lana
Something was off tonight. It felt like everyone was collectively holding their breath. Tension was rising, and my omega seemed to be soaking every bit of that tension in and holding it close to her chest. My entire body was on high alert, and I couldn’t seem to shake it.
The last few days had calmed down on the protesting front. The universe was lulling us into a false sense of security, and I just knew more was coming our way.
The AHA told the public that they were discussing the matter, but somebody also leaked that they were considering kicking deltas and betas from the league. The public outrage was instant and impactful.
That was a good sign among all the bad, at least.
The current game had been going on without incident. It was in the final period, and I could barely watch.
The games between the Narwhals and the Wardens were always brutal. Now, thanks to me, they were even worse.
Conrad was blocking nearly every shot my exes sent his way, and they were skating like they had something to prove. Thisgame wasn’t as violent as the last time they came together, but they were wiping the ice with them all the same.
I already had the usual snacks and drinks ready for the team postgame. My nervous cooking was out of control.
After the last loss and the protests, the Wardens had been losing heart. It seemed the game tonight reinvigorated them in just about every way. The crowd was losing their minds, though; like usual when these local rival games amped up, the crowd was split.
I finally let out a breath as Cade slammed the final puck into the net, earning them a win by a landslide. It seemed my exes were struggling after the confrontation.
The wait until my pack was showered and back to me felt like it lasted forever. The kitchen was hot and uncomfortable, the stress making me jittery.
When my delta walked in the door, I practically launched myself across the room, wrapping myself around Mason and holding on tight. I rubbed my cheek over his neck, marking him as if that would make everything better.
“You’re burning up. Do you have a fever?” Mason asked, feeling my forehead.
I shook my head, but the question made me realize this wasn’t just stress. The need to be close to them, the heat on my skin… there was only one explanation.
It was almost here, and it explained the urge to rush home.
Fuck, it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
I leaned back and looked at them, eyes wide.
