Page 140 of The Rogues

Nicola coughs as she laughs, her eyes looking at me like, “Is he for real?”

“They’re a little nervous,” I repeat.

Lark sighs, stepping forward. “Look. We’re not here to grill you, or to bring up what happened during the tour. I’ve already seen how amazing you are to Josie, even when you weren’t looking, so there’s no need to be any kind of way with us. Just get me a cold drink and put on a classic movie and I’m square.”

Nicola stands taller. “Same here. But I’d like something fruity.”

They all seem to relax with her statement, the weird energy immediately zapping from the room.

“Oh, thank god,” Lennon huffs in relief.

Malaki grabs the sparkling water and says, “I accidentally drank this and Lennon nearly blew a casket because he knew it was your favorite.”

Lark’s head tilts as she looks at the bottle. “It is my favorite. Now I’ll have to fight you for it.”

The room quiets at the statement, Lark’s monotone voice doing what it does best. Then, before I know it, my entire pack is laughing. Jamie even has tears in his eyes.

“I don’t know if this drink is that good,” Malaki laughs.

Lark gasps. “You take that back.”

They come and sit down as Lennon offers them other options. The conversation flows from there. There are drinks, there are laughs, and there are even a few sappy words from my friends to my mates. It’s all glorious by the end as my two worlds finally collide and decide to merge completely.

And dare I say it, the entire evening is perfect.

FORTY-EIGHT

Nerves wrack through me, and my stomach churns violently.

I look around the curtain Cyrus and I are standing behind. Silva Roberts sits in her designated chair as she talks to the live audience, her demeanor soft and happy, ever the professional. She was the top pick from both of our labels to break the story, and for once, I actually agreed with them. Silva has a reputation of being respectable, both on and off camera. Her team is serious about boundaries, and that made this a shoo-in for what we have to discuss.

It still doesn’t mean I want to do it.

“Are you sure about this? We can turn around now, cancel the interview. We don’t have to do this if you feel uncomfortable,” Cyrus says beside me, his hand on my back the only thing keeping me grounded.

I shake my head, thinking about the events from the last few weeks. With everything that’s happened with the tour getting canceled, Cleo’s overdose and being forced into rehab, and Jamie and Cyrus’s relationship getting leaked, us bonding and then my subsequent heat, there hasn’t been any time to do any real damage control, which our teams have been pushing for relentlessly. People are pissed about the canceled tour dates, and it’s starting to show as our sales have been fluctuating. Our fans want to know the truth. To them, everything is still unclear. Did I betray Cleo? Is that how she ended up overdosing?

If only they knew that the truth is never that simple.

“We have to do this,” I counter, but I’m trying to convince myself more than telling him. “We have the narrative, we just have to go with it. Everything is going to be okay.”

Despite my nerves, I truly believe that. Lark and Nicola both made statements during my heat. They stood beside me, told everyone that things aren’t what they seem. It helped take some of the heat off from the fans who thought I hurt Cleo. With their support, I feel like I can do anything.

I’m wondering if I should have taken up Lark’s offer to be beside me today, but I knew I needed to face this head-on, with confidence.

I just wish I knew how Cleo was feeling. She refuses to answer any calls at the rehab center. I feel worse that she is avoiding everyone, not just me. I feel like I’ve put a huge split into our dynamic, and I don’t know what to do.

But it’s time for people to know the partial truth. I don’t want to hide behind a social media post with vague statements. I want people to hear from my mouth that—although in an unfortunate situation—I found my scent matches.

I don’t want to be the bad guy in the story when I’ve done nothing wrong, and I’m finally ready to be transparent about what led us here.

Most of it anyway.

If anything, I’m upset that it took so long for our teams to arrange this interview. After bonding and having my heat, I should be on cloud nine, but now I’m pulled right back down, forced to deal with the nonsense of public relations.

One of the stagehands rounds the corner and gestures at us that we’re on in one minute. Cyrus takes my hand and squeezes before pulling me into his body. I take a deep breath, and then we’re being introduced.

“We have an exclusive today. I feel so honored to have these two icons here to speak on some very serious matters that have been occurring in their lives. So, please, let’s give a gracious welcome to Cyrus Darlington and Josephine Rosewood!”