“Your phone has been going crazy. I’m assuming your pack found out. They also had their faces leaked from us beating their asses, so that’s adding to the speculation. It’s a whole media frenzy now. Even bigger news sites are jumping on it, and social media is full of videos talking about theories and passing the photos further around. All in all, it’s a mess,” Mason summarized for us.
“Fuck,” I breathed out. “I’m going to have to talk to my exes. I don’t want them to think that I’m behind these rumors.”
My phone rang again as if on cue, but Conrad stopped me before I could snag it off of the counter in front of me.
“Answer it, but keep it on speaker so we can all be part of it. You don’t have to do anything alone anymore.”
I answered quickly, but didn’t give him a chance to say anything before I launched into an explanation.
“I never said any of those things, Milo.”
“I know you didn’t. You’re not that type.”
Tears burned my eyes at the unfairness of it all. I just wanted to leave this behind and the world wouldn’t let me.
“I’m not sure what I can do other than come out with some sort of statement,” I admitted.
“That should be enough,” he said. “I know we did a lot wrong, Lana. We have a lot to make up for, but they’re trying to take away Sutton’s career.”
“It’s not just his,” I reminded him. “I have two deltas.”
“You decided,” he said, quieter this time. The defeat in his tone was loud and clear. At least we were finally on the same page. “Did you get our letter?”
“I did,” I admitted. “But I haven’t read it yet. I’ve been busy.”
“Please, just read it for me. It says a lot that we couldn’t put into words, but we mean everything in there.”
“Keep an eye on Sutton. I know this can’t be easy,” I said without giving him a real answer. “I’ll make a post so they know this has nothing to do with him being a delta.”
“Thanks,” he said before hanging up. I’m not sure if he couldn’t handle any more of the conversation, or if he knew I couldn’t, but I was grateful as the call ended.
“I don’t understand something,” Wilder said. “Who would’ve been watching to take that photo of you outside the hospital? And second, why now? You’ve been here for months.”
I looked at my brother, but he didn’t seem to have any more answers than I did.
“Honestly, I’ve had a few angry fan confrontations over the years. It’s been a thing since they joined the Narwhals. It comes with the territory. Girls get jealous, especially omegas. They’re territorial and, apparently, sometimes delusional. With high-profile men like you and my exes, people get petty. They feel entitled to you.”
“You think this is some jealous fan?” Wilder asked. It was nice that they weren’t dismissing me, and I knew how crazy it sounded.
“A puckbunny,” Lennon deadpanned at the same time.
“It sounds crazy, but it’s true. I was with Milo, Dean, and Sutton before they made a name for themselves. That was enough for them to try and prove I didn’t fit into their world. That I wasn’t worthy of men like them.” I rolled my eyes at the thought.
“We’ve had our share of crazy. Like that one girl who broke into the locker room a few years ago. Security had to confiscate her phone. All of our dicks would’ve been out there on the internet, otherwise,” Cade pointed out. The territorial bitch inside of me wanted to tear anyone apart at the thought of them invading my pack’s privacy.
Honestly, that was just one of many stories I’d heard from both teams over the years. Omegas could get desperate, especially if they were nearing heat.
“I have to make a post,” I sighed. It was the last thing I wanted to do. Hadn’t my privacy been invaded enough?
Conrad shook his head. “Don’t go overboard. I would just say the tabloids are wrong. You don’t owe anyone your story. Whoever did this shouldn’t have the satisfaction.”
“It’s not like they haven’t already invaded my privacy,” I grumbled. I hated that someone had been watching me outside of the hospital. Was it by chance, or was it something deeper?
“I wish there was something I could do. And we still have the whole anti-delta coalition going on,” I said, looking at the others, hoping someone had something constructive.
“Speaking of,” Cade said. “What’s going on with this whole delta thing? The AHA hasn’t said a word.”
“It just happened,” Conrad explained, running a hand over his stubble-lined chin. “They’re probably in a meeting right about now. You guys are my best friends. No matter what they say or try to do, Lana and I at least have some connections. Either way, for the next few weeks, you’re going to have to keep your noses clean. They’ll use anything and everything against you to prove that you shouldn’t be out there on the ice.”
