Knot Broken (Hiddenverse)

3. Lilah

CHAPTER 3

Lilah

The bright lights blind me, and I hold my hand up shielding my eyes. Am I really doing this?

Blinking, I look over at the host. It's surreal having Turner Clark watching me. The beta's hair is styled to perfection, and his skin glows beneath the lights. He looks like every bit of the star he is.

He reaches across the space and pats my hand sympathetically. “You'll do great. Soon enough, you'll forget the cameras are even in the room.”

I nod. What else am I supposed to do?

“Let's start with some practice questions. They’ll continue rolling so you get used to the spotlight, but we won't use them in the show.”

I fidget with my fingers, twisting the digits together before smoothing them out on my lap and straightening my shoulders. “Okay,” I say tentatively.

Before long, it feels like I'm chatting with an old friend as he asks his questions.

“What are you looking for in a pack?” He stares into my soul with his vivid blue eyes, and I swallow .

Forcing a laugh through the lump that's formed in my throat, I wet my lips. “Preferably a pack that won't meet me at the altar with my best friend on their arm.”

“I imagine that was hard…” His forehead creases with sympathy. “And it was his loss.” He looks at the cameras and adds, “I'm sure our audience will agree.”

“Cut,” the director shouts, startling me.

Turner Clark stands, unclipping his microphone from his blazer. He reaches out to shake my hand, and I put my fingers into his palm on autopilot as I stand up.

“Wait, I thought that was practice.” I glance around at the crew already packing up.

“Darling, you're a natural, the cameras love you.”

“You can't use that. Any of that—" Panic bright and hot showers over me.

“Of course we can, everyone loves to see someone finding love after being hurt so badly,” the director cuts in. “Shelly was right, you're going to be America’s sweetheart.”

They move around me, and it feels as if I’m in a whirlwind of activity, yet held apart from it all. It doesn’t feel real. The crew clears out as quickly as they had arrived, and I take the first real breath of oxygen in what feels like days.

Ashlyn peaks into the room, her gaze finding mine, then she comes in when she sees me alone. “How’d it go?”

“Terrible.”

“You look great. Did Greta dress you? That dress is fantastic on you.”

I cringe. “It looks like a wedding dress.”

She takes another look. “Wedding dresses are longer. You look beautiful.”

Owen strolls into the room, dropping a kiss on the side of my sister's head. His gaze roves over me with curiosity.

“What did they do to your sister?”

“Owen,” Ashlyn says, pushing him away playfully .

“What? She looks innocent, and we both know she’s anything but. Do I have to remind you how she got me drunk that one time and led me unsuspectingly to your nest?”

I roll my eyes. “Bullshit, you did that all by yourself, and I would have stopped you, asshole.”

He laughs and points at me. “See? Do you hear the mouth on her?”

I cross my arms and glare at him. “She should have seen you for what you are then.”

“Lil,” Ashlyn admonishes me with wide eyes.

“She did, the only alpha for her.” He captures Ashlyn around the waist and showers her with kisses along her face and throat until his musk and her perfume take up the entire space.

“Get a room,” I protest weakly. It’s good to see Ash happy, even if I can't stand the toad.

He pauses for a moment, glancing around the living room. “Technically this is a room.”

Ugh.

The banquet hall is full of omegas when I enter. All of them look perfect and exactly what the show goes for. It's the first time I've been around this many in one space since school.

Shelly steps up on a raised platform and clinks a spoon against a glass to get our attention.

“Welcome to the 20th season of Omega in Paradise !” Everyone cheers as if it's New Year's Eve and the ball just dropped in Times Square. “One of you lucky omegas will meet the pack of your dreams. No scent matching to drive you. No rejection based on the first sniff. I encourage each of you to take this opportunity to see if you are compatible with the alphas we’ve chosen for this season. ”

An omega standing near me snorts, drawing my attention away from Shelly. “It's all fake, you know,” he says as he meets my gaze. There is a sort of pouty look to his mouth as he tries and fails to smile.

Everything in me screams he already has his claws out and he's ready to climb to the top.

He straightens a bowtie around his neck and slides his hands down an expertly pressed suit jacket, shifting on his feet, just a foot closer to me. “I plan on winning it all.”

I laugh. “It's fake, and you're going to win it.” I shake my head. He's delusional.

“I'm Chad by the way.”

“Lilah—”

He waves off the rest of my words with a floppy wrist. “I know who you are. Pity what happened to you; some alphas are real pieces of work.”

He's being snarky, and I roll my eyes, bringing my attention back to Shelly, who’s still giving some kind of encouraging speech.

“We could team up. You are obviously here because you need a media makeover, and I'm here for the prize of the pack. We can both get what we want.”

Inhaling through my nose, I press my lips together. Then they pop open of their own accord. “We don't even know who the pack is yet.”

“Does it matter? The history of the show pairs omegas with influential and usually rich alphas. What more do you need to know?”

“Who hurt you?” I laugh, giving up on trying to ignore him. I know hurt when I hear it. Guess that’s what experience gives you.

It's his turn to go silent. He looks away, his jaw clenching with some sort of emotion. He doesn't owe me anything. So I don't say a word and focus on the tail end of what Shelly’s saying.

“Your order has been determined already. Get out of the limo, greet the men, and head inside. Leave them wanting more. And they will seek you out later. Remember…the first group date is tomorrow. The ceremony will take place directly after.”

“Is it too late to back out?” I mutter as the other omegas head to the waiting room chattering with excitement, some are already drinking. I will not be doing that tonight. Lesson learned. I only needed to lose my stomach on one alpha for that one.

Chad loops his arm through mine, leading me into the other room to wait for our limos. “We are going to be TV gold. And you're not going anywhere because you are helping me to the end, and I'm going to help repair your image.”