Knot Broken (Hiddenverse)

26. Rafe

CHAPTER 26

Rafe

Thomas paces in front of us as if we are in trouble and in the principal's office or some shit. We’ve been discussing our choices for the night. We will be left with eight. Yet, there’s only one I really want.

Ironic really that I came on this show dead set against finding anyone, and Lilah just wiggled her way past my walls. It doesn’t stop the fear, though. And having Hailey here is a constant reminder of what opening myself up means.

“We are sending her home,” Elliott says for the fifth time in half as many minutes.

“You are keeping her. The ratings are through the roof. You have to keep both Hailey and Blair. Send anyone else home. Well, not anyone, keep Lilah too. America has to have their sweetheart. Oh, and keep Chad, viewers love to hate him too.”

I grit my teeth, my jaw aching from it. “It should be our choice,” I bite out.

Miles crosses his arms, glaring openly at the director. “Maybe we should just cancel the whole thing. ”

It’s Thomas’ turn to look annoyed. “You have a contract.”

“We have money,” I counter. Not that money can fix everything, but it can fix most things.

“Does the omega you will run away with? Does she have money too? Because they have contracts too.”

“She would have our money,” Miles says.

He throws up his hands and turns back to the wall of pictures. “Fine, cancel the whole thing. Let the tabloids eat your omega alive. Going from America’s sweetheart to the girl that canceled Omega in Paradise for millions of fans won’t be pleasant, but I’m sure Lilah will get over it. Not to mention the legally binding stuff…”

I suck in a breath, scrubbing my palm over my face. Of course he knows. It’s his job to know.

He turns back toward us. “Or you can let this play out. Keep Hailey and Blair for good TV and still walk away with the omega of your choice at the end.”

Elliott swears under his breath and meets my gaze. He shakes his head, defeat shining in the depths of his eyes. We both feel it, and I know Miles does, too, even without looking at him. We have to continue on, and we have to play Thomas’ stupid games. For Lilah.

“Fine, have it your way. But they go home at five.” Elliott crosses his arms as we all face Thomas.

“One can go home at five, Hailey stays until three,” Thomas says. He knows he has us. Fuck. This shit’s messed up.

“You want us to have a one-on-one date and a hometown visit with Hailey?” I say, the words sounding choked to my own ears, so I imagine it sounds worse to the rest of them.

“On the one-on-one date, no cameras will follow you into the hotel room, do what you want. Make her sleep in the bathtub, I don’t care. As long as viewers wonder what’s happening, that’s all we need. ”

I don’t think I can unclench my jaw if I try. My blood pressure feels like it’s rising through the roof. Is jail time off the table if I beat the crap out of this guy for pure emotional torture?

“But if viewers are wondering, that means Lilah will too,” Miles says.

Pure pain shines in his eyes. I’m not sure what happened between those two that had him climbing down the trellis earlier, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t listen to me when I said that we shouldn’t say anything to Lilah. No, I’m sure he waltzed right into that mansion on the first chance he got and handed his heart over to her on a silver platter. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit, to myself at least, that I want to do the same.

“The omega will be fine,” Thomas replies. “You’ll have your whole lives to make it up to her.”

“The omega?” Elliott says, and it sounds like he’s as close to beating the life out of Thomas as I am.

He holds up his palms in a placating gesture, his face smoothing out. “I know your alpha hormones are getting the best of you right now. That’s why we require the scent blockers at first. But we didn’t send her home and disqualify her, like we had every right to do. All you have to do is keep the omegas that are sustaining ratings.”

“We could tell her—'' Miles says, before Thomas is cutting him off mid-sentence.

“You can’t, actually. Any change to her behavior would be noticed by the viewers.” Thomas steadily meets each of our gazes.

“You’re a bastard,” I say. Not that I think we should tell Lilah. I believe the opposite. If she knew how much power she held over us, she could use it against us.

He shrugs. “I’ve been called worse.”

“Not surprising,” Elliott murmurs. He shoves his hands into his pockets, looking miserable. I guess this isn’t what he expected.

“Now that we have that out of the way, are you ready for Turner to come in and film your thoughts on your choices?”

The sour taste is still in my mouth as we step into the ceremony room. Eleven sets of eyes land on us, and I keep the smile firmly in place. Miles and Elliott flank me on either side, and we face the expectation together.

Picking up the first box, my fingers wrap around the smooth surface, and I step forward. My gaze ghosts over Lilah. Her artfully done make-up gives her a natural soft glow. The shine of her light pink lipstick catches my attention longer than it should. And I want to close the distance between us and kiss her senseless. Instead, I skip my gaze over to the safe choice. Chad.

He returns my smile when our eyes meet. I wet my lips and kept my eyes trained on him. He’s more than willing to be my shield, and I will be forever grateful for that fact.

“Chad…” I watch as he steps down off of the first step and sways his hips over to me. “Will you accept this token of our intent and stay another day?”

“You know I will, hot stuff,” he replies with a saucy grin. He takes the box, not bothering to look inside, accepts my kiss on his cheek, and heads across the floor. I catch the wink he throws Lilah, and she gives him a suppressed smile and a slight shake of her head. But when her eyes return to me, they are flat, emotionless. And I want to chase after Chad and snatch the box back from him and give it to her first. She should have been first.

Miles nudges me out of the way, a gift already in his hand. He clears his throat, his eyes seeking out Lilah immediately and locking on her. “Lilah,” he says, his voice full of nerves, “Please accept this small token of my intent to court you. If I could give you the moon and stars in the sky, I would.”

Her lips part on an inaudible breath at his words, and jealousy slams into me. I’m jealous of my pack mate. Of one of my best friends. Fuck. I am a shit person. But I can’t help the fire that burns inside of me as she steps forward, rolling her lips together before they part again, and she offers him a shy smile.

“You don’t have to go that far, Miles,” she replies. And it’s like they are the only two in the fucking room.

I shift on my heels and throw a glance at Elliott to see if he’s seeing the same thing I am. It may be my imagination, but I’m pretty sure her eyes linger on his lips. I want her to look at me that way. With longing and pure lust.

I may need to cash in a few of those hole-in-ones, even if I’m keeping my distance.