Revea #2
I don’t say a word, and Kaiden’s expression softens.
“Sorry, that was—”
“No, don’t. I need that,” I say, voice firm. “Don’t sugar-coat it. Treat me like any other client.”
“I think we’re past that point...” Luc murmurs, flashing me a wicked smile.
My lips twitch. “Okay, but here, that’s how I want you to treat me.”
Kaiden nods, glancing at each of his packmates before looking at me. “Ready?”
Holy shit. This is really happening.
Am I ready? No. Not at all. But I square my shoulders and nod like I am, because I’m good at performing, and that’s what this is.
The flashing cameras are worse than the shouts. Most omegas have sensitive vision, and with lighter eyes, it’s even worse. But they’re here, arms of steel around me, their bodies blocking the worst of it.
I hear my name but can’t really make out much more—they’re all shouting over each other. All I see is the back of chest pads, then the sound of marble clicking beneath my heels, and a door shutting.
“Revea!” My name’s shouted again, but this time by a familiar voice.
When thin arms wrap around me, I’m still blinking away the flashes. But the hold tightens, and I finally see the red. I hug her back just as tight.
“God, I’ve missed you,” she murmurs.
“Me too, Mags.” I tighten my grip.
Margret steps back, assessing me from head to toe. “So you went for a full-glam blow-out? Nice.” She nods approvingly, then her eyes dart behind me, going wide. She leans in, whispering, “And now there’s four of them? Goddamn, Revea, fame looks good on you.”
“Stop,” I hiss, straightening out my dress.
I glance over my shoulder. Gary and Max are already talking with the guys, all six alphas looking like they’re planning a military operation in the middle of my salon.
And when I turn back to Margret, I spot two more. My brothers, already making their way across the salon floor, stern expressions in place.
“Wish me luck, Mags,” I murmur before moving to meet them halfway. “See? I’m alive—”
Rue hugs me, hard. There’s no dramatic spin. “You’re okay, yeah?” he asks, finally loosening his grip to look me over.
“I’m good, Rue,” I smile, nodding, then Rowan steps in.
He places a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry about yesterday.” He looks away sheepishly. “How I was on the phone… I was just worried—”
I wrap my arms around him, and his whole body relaxes. “Stop that right now, Ro,” I say sternly. Because if Rowan starts getting emotional I will definitely cry. I step back. “Everything is fine. I’m fine. More than fine.”
“Yeah… we see that,” Rue murmurs, standing a little straighter.
Kaiden’s stomach brushes my shoulder as he steps up behind me.
“Kaiden,” Rowan says with a curt nod. “Good to see you again.”
“You too.” Kaiden holds out his hand, and the two men exchange a firm shake.
“We’ve got units manning the perimeter, undercover in the crowd. Everything’s been fine so far,” Rowan informs, his gaze moving slowly from the left to the right. “Your pack are military?”
I feel Kaiden nod. More hard bodies brush against me from behind.
Kaiden’s response seems to settle something in my brother, the tension in his shoulders dropping.
“Thank you,” Rowan says, sincerely, gaze moving again. “For finding her, for looking after her.”
I groan at the awkwardness. “Okay, enough. Brothers, it’s been great to see you. But if you don’t mind, I need to deal with this...”
I move further into the salon until I see the large crowd we drove past, surrounding the entrance outside.
“This is insane,” I whisper to myself.
“But good insane.” Margret’s beside me, nudging her hip against mine. “Did you end up reading any comments?”
“No,” I say absent-mindedly, still staring. “My PR team said not to.”
“Oh, she’s got a PR team now!”
I scoff, turning to see her teasing smirk.
Margret’s expression softens slightly. “They’re on your side, Revea,” she says.
“The comments, the news, all of it. People love what you did.” She nods towards the crowd.
“Half those people are holding signs saying the same thing. There’s also a scary number of pink wigs. I think you’ve started a trend.”
“Thank you, Mags,” I say with a grateful smile. “For taking care of the place. The staff. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
She runs a knuckle under each eye, nudging her glasses. “Don’t make me emotional now. I’ve held it together this long.” She sniffs. “But you know I’ve always got your back, like you’ve always had mine.”
She smiles back.
“Now listen,” Mags says, back to business as she adjusts her glasses.
“We’re overbooked. Yeah, I know, reservations out of our ass.
We’re talking almost a year in advance, with deposits already paid.
Then we’ve got people offering to pay thousands for a consultation with you. It’s getting a little… crazy.”
And it’s that nervous trill in her tone that has all my anxiety melting away.
I’m good under pressure, always have been, but when people I care about start to struggle, that’s when I really shine.
“Okay. No new appointments. No more bookings. And we definitely don’t accept bribes.”
She nods, making notes on her phone.
“If someone cancels, we don’t replace it. Original clients take priority over new. Tell the girls on reception to colour-code any new clients red. I’ll look through this afternoon and make phone consultations. They can’t all be legit, and that’ll free up some space.”
I glance at the large glass clock hanging above the revolving doors.
An hour until we open.
“Did you manage to get everyone in today?” I ask.
She nods again.
“Great, gather them for a team meeting in five.”
Margret finishes her typing, then looks at me with a big sigh. “I’m so glad you’re back.”
She’s gone before I can respond, calling out names and pointing towards the reception area.
A warm hand rests against my lower back. “Good job,” Kaiden murmurs from behind. That small praise sends a shiver through me. “We’ll be in the background most of the day, but if you need us, we’ll know.”
A gentle brush of his fingers along my spine, and he’s gone.
I take a deep breath, rolling my neck from side to side, then follow my staff into the reception area.
The gathering starts with Serena pulling me into a hug.
My entire body tenses.
She’s never hugged me before. I don’t think I’ve seen her hug anyone. And when she finally pulls back, she’s crying profusely, apologising over and over, blaming herself for everything that’s happened.
It takes several minutes for her to calm down enough to actually listen to me. I tell her none of this is her fault, but I can see she doesn’t quite believe it.
Eventually, Margret helps her to a seat, but her sad eyes don’t move from me.
There are a lot more hugs after that. Smiles, too. At one point, someone shows me an animation of myself dressed like a superhero in a pink cape, punching an alpha into space.
Finally, the greetings settle. My staff are spread out across the sofas and chairs in the reception area, talking amongst themselves.
I clear my throat, and a hush falls instantly. Every eye turns to me.
“Hey all, these last few days have been… insane, and that’s not going to change for a while.”
Some nod; others look a little worried.
“People are going to keep asking questions. You’ve probably already had journalists reaching out.
I’m not going to say you can’t talk to them, but I do ask that you tell them why I did what I did.
I did it to protect my staff, my clients, and if what happened here had happened anywhere else, I’d have done the same. ”
Someone whoops, and a few people laugh, including myself.
“I didn’t ask for this…” I gesture to the crowd outside. “And you guys certainly didn’t. So if anyone wants to take some time off, or decides this isn’t the place for them anymore, I understand.”
I pause, letting those words settle.
“We’re with you, Revea,” James calls from his seat on the sofa.
I nod. “I just don’t want anyone to feel pressured—”
“We’ve already talked about it,” Katie says to my left. “We’re all staying. We all want to help. Any way we can, Revea.”
“Like how you’ve helped all of us,” Serena adds quietly.
Soft murmurs of agreement ripple around the room while I blink back the sting behind my eyes.
“Oh, right… well. That’s great.” I smile, smoothing down the front of my dress as I fight to keep my voice steady. “Okay. Well, let’s show them what we’re capable of as women, as omegas.” I clap my hands. “Let’s get to work!”
As everyone moves away to their stations, I head to my office.
Luc leans against the wall beside the stairs, watching me, but as I pass, his voice drops low as he murmurs, “You are so fucking hot.”
I bite back my smile and keep walking.