Page 47 of Holly Jolly Heat
I looked up just as she stood, laptop forgotten, her expression fierce and protective in a way I'd never seen before.
She was staring at her screen, at the stream chat, which she'd clearly been monitoring, and her scent had gone sharp with anger.
"Michelle—" I started.
But she was already moving.
She crossed the living room in quick strides, appearing in frame beside me before I could process what was happening. She set one of her hands on my shoulder, warm and grounding and absolutely intentional, while the other deposited her laptop almost into a pile of flour.
"Hi, chat," she said, her voice pleasant but with an edge of steel underneath. "I'm Michelle, Lucas's manager. And we have a zero-tolerance policy for harassment."
Her fingers flew across her laptop keyboard with practiced efficiency.
"User FakeCozy47—banned. NotBuyingIt23—banned. TrollAccount91—banned." She kept going, her voice calm and professional while she systematically removed every troll account from chat. "And anyone else who thinks it's acceptable to come into this community and spread negativity, you can leave now, or I'll remove you myself."
The chat exploded, but this time with support.
CozyFan22: MANAGER BOSS MODE ACTIVATED
HolidayVibes: SHE'S PROTECTING HIM OMG
StreamSniper: THE HAND ON HIS SHOULDER
RegularViewer: thank you Michelle!!! we love our cozy crew
I stared at her, and my alpha was singing. She'd stormed into frame, onto camera, in front of thousands of viewers, the exact thing she'd been trying to avoid, because I'd been hurting.
Because her omega couldn't stand to watch her alpha in distress.
"Michelle," I said softly. "You don't have to?—"
"Yes, I do." She was still standing beside me, hand still on my shoulder, still monitoring chat. "Lucas is an incredible creator who works hard to build a positive, supportive community. Anyone who can't respect that isn't welcome here."
CozyFan22: we stan a protective manager
HolidayVibes: the way she jumped in to defend him
StreamSniper: PACK DYNAMICS PACK DYNAMICS
RegularViewer: this is what good management looks like
"Also," Michelle continued, and I could hear the slight tremor in her voice that meant she was fighting instinct, "Lucasmentioned feeling lonely. You know what that means? He's human. He's real. He's not some fake persona, he's a person who creates content because he genuinely wants to make people happy. And that's rare and valuable, and if you can't appreciate it, then don’t follow, don’t engage."
My throat was tight with emotion. She was defending me. Protecting me. Showing chat, showing everyone, that I mattered to her.
"Thank you," I managed. "For jumping in."
She looked up at me, and something in her expression softened. "Someone had to. And you looked..." She trailed off.
"Hurt?" I supplied quietly.
"Yeah. Hurt." Her hand squeezed my shoulder gently. "You okay?"
"I am now."
The moment stretched between us, charged and intimate despite the thousands of viewers watching, and I saw Michelle realize what she'd done. She'd broken her own professional boundaries. She'd shown her hand on camera. She'd revealed that I was more to her than just a client.
But she didn't pull away.
