Page 89 of Holly Jolly Heat
"All of that sounds reasonable," Lucas said, guiding me to the couch. "Janet's already making celebration dinner. Bill's breaking out the good wine. Maya's composing what she's calling 'an epic Twitter thread' about your bravery."
"Oh god."
"Your family's very proud of you," Ro said, smiling. "As they should be."
Janet appeared in the doorway right on cue. "Michelle, mija, you were magnificent. Absolutely magnificent. I'm so proud of you I could burst." She pulled me into a hug. "You changed the industry tonight. You know that, right?"
"I was terrified," I admitted into her shoulder.
"And you did it anyway. That's my girl." She pulled back, cupping my face. "Your father would be so proud. You stood up for what you believe in. You fought for your pack. You refused to let fear win."
The tears started again.
"Mom—"
"No crying until after dinner. I made your favorite, Bill's doing the tamales. You need to eat, then you can have your emotional breakdown." She smiled. "Pack takes care of pack. That includes feeding you."
She left to finish dinner preparations, and I looked at my three alphas.
"Did we really just do that?" I asked.
"We really just did that," Lucas confirmed.
"And we won," Ro added.
"Together," Dex finished.
Tomorrow would bring new challenges. But tonight, we'd proven something important pack made me stronger, not weaker.
That was everything.
TWELVE
Dex
I'd been monitoring threats since 0600.
Not physical threats, those I could handle easily. Digital threats. Reputational threats. The kind of danger that came through screens and could destroy everything my omega had built.
Matthew Malone was a particular kind of predator. The type who smiled while sharpening knives, who used "professional courtesy" as a weapon, who knew exactly where to strike to cause maximum damage.
And yesterday, he'd struck at Michelle.
I'd felt her panic through the bond, sharp and overwhelming, like drowning. I'd been outside doing a perimeter check when it hit, and I'd run inside to find her on the phone, face white, hands shaking.
Then she'd said those words, "I should have never let this happen."
And I'd felt Lucas's devastation, Ro's hurt, my own anger.
But underneath Michelle's panic, through the bond, I'd felt something else: determination. She was spiraling, yes, but shewas also fighting. Calculating. Planning her next move even as fear tried to overwhelm her.
That was my omega. Terrified but brave.
Now it was the next day, and we had work to do.
The announcement stream was scheduled for this evening, almost eighteen hours after Matthew's call, giving us just enough time to prepare but not enough for Michelle to overthink herself into paralysis.
I'd been up since dawn running security protocols.
