Page 118 of Pack Frenzy
“Wait—” The word catches, but the aide is already guiding me toward a different door. Rowan’s eyes lock on mine, and he starts to move forward, but Eli’s hand on his arm stops him.Not here. Not now.The message is clear.
I’m guided into a small, sterile conference room with chrome chairs and a Nexus crest etched into the glass wall. The door closes with a soft click that sounds too much like a lock.
“Ms. Mancini.” A woman waits inside. Smooth hair, smoother voice. The kind of calm that feels rehearsed. She gestures for me to sit. “We appreciate you attending on short notice. This is another check-in regarding your placement.”
I nod, keeping my expression neutral, even though the little bit of dinner I managed to choke down is threatening to make a reappearance.
She scrolls through her tablet, and I force myself to sit still, hands folded in my lap like a good Omega should be. The thought makes my skin crawl. “You’ve been with your assigned Pack since the eighth of this month?”
“Yes.” My voice comes out steadier than I feel.
“And how have you found the transition so far?”
Tell her what she wants to hear.“Good,” I say, becausefinesounds too defensive.
Her eyes flick up. “Define good.”
I swallow. “They’re… patient. Supportive.” I pause, choosing my words carefully. “We’re still figuring each other out.”Still figuring me out. Still letting me figure them out.”
She types something. “Any conflicts?”
“No.”
“Has physical intimacy been established?”
The question feels like a slap. Not because it’s embarrassing—but because of what she really means.
I know how this goes. Nexus doesn’t care about connection; they care about order. About hierarchy. About whether the Omega submitted properly, whether the Alpha claimed her first, and whether the Beta stayed in his lane.
Heat crawls up my throat. “That’s private.”
She doesn’t look up from her tablet. “Those details affect compatibility metrics. Especially with… unconventional pack dynamics.”
I freeze, my fingers curling into fists in my lap.Unconventional.The polite Nexus word forwrong.
Her gaze flicks briefly to the screen, where I can just make out Eli’s name. “Many Omegas find it difficult to adjust to mixed-rank pairings. Betas often struggle to—how should I put this—assert dominance in a traditional hierarchy.”
My pulse spikes. “Eli doesn’t need to assert anything,” I say tightly. “He’s part of this pack. He’s ours, and I’m his.”
She types something. “Of course. Still, you can understand how some placements fail under those… circumstances. A Beta with romantic history with an Alpha can complicate the bond.”
My throat goes tight.Romantic history.They know about Eli and Rowan. Of course they do. Nexus knows everything—they just wait to see if you’ll lie about it.
Every word is a test I didn’t agree to take, every sentence an attempt to make me doubt the only thing in my life that feels solid.
“We’re compatible,” I say finally, and I don’t care if she hears the edge in my voice.
She pauses, considering me. “And do you feel safe?”
“Yes.”
Her stylus taps once against the tablet. “Do you feel led?”
The word hits somewhere soft and unexpected.Led.Like I’m supposed to trail behind my own life. Like every choice I’ve fought to make—the work, the survival, the Pack—doesn’t count because I’m not the one holding the leash.
“I don’t need to be led,” I say quietly, though my voice wavers. “We’re partners.”
Her lips purse. A flicker of something—disapproval, pity maybe—crosses her face, and it’s somehow worse thancontempt. She doesn’t believe me. Worse: she thinks I’m naive for believing it myself.”Interesting. Nexus traditionally finds the strongest bonds emerge through clear hierarchy. But we’ll revisit that later.”
