Page 61 of Omega Forged (Hartlock Omegas #2)

Tully

I stared at another headline and shook my head. It had been the same for days now.

Hartlock Harlot puts on a show .

“It’s desperate.” I stood up from the chair and gave myself one last look. “Predictable. And I don’t care. Let them call me whatever they want. I know who I am.”

“So do we, treasure.” Ajax piped up as he opened the door. I offered him a brief smile and slipped past.

I had been surprisingly numb since Chase attacked me.

He forced me to face all my deepest fears, and I was still standing.

Now I just needed the red, throbbing reminder he left on my shoulder to heal.

My parents might not have meant to, but they instilled so much self-doubt in me.

I couldn’t be like them, and that was a flaw.

Now I saw the power of being exactly who I was.

It was liberating to embrace Tully Hartlock in all her pink, glittery facets.

“Everything is set up outside,” Lorna said. “I like this.” She fingered the collar of the glittery pink oversized blazer.

I wore a white crop top underneath and matching pink pants. Fuck it. If Starhaven wanted to slut shame me, I could face them in an outfit that felt like me.

“I’m done pretending to be someone I’m not. Done dimming my sparkle.” My lips quirked.

“Get it, girl. We’re behind you, all of us.” She tossed her head toward Baylark Pack.

Walden, Ajax, Lloyd, and Pan waited for me by the door, and Pan let out a gasp of joy as I came into view.

“Angel, you look like cotton candy perfection.”

“Pink and glitter?” Lloyd smiled knowingly. “I love to see it.”

How long ago had it been when I explained how I stopped wearing what I wanted? Stopped doing what I wanted. Stopped existing almost.

“It was time,” I explained, as one of the tech assistants pinned a microphone to my lapel.

“You look powerful and confident,” Walden said, surprising me.

He rubbed his knuckles.

Of everyone, I thought he might dislike my outfit. It wasn’t somber, like his sisters had advised me to wear initially. It would make me seem more legitimate, they explained. But after what Chase had done to me, all I wanted was a radical acceptance of myself.

“Thank you.” I nodded, and my throat closed a little.

So much happened behind the scenes when Chase released the photos. Three Stars worked on changing the narrative, but there were still articles and articles shaming me. I hadn’t made a public statement yet. We considered using a media outlet, but ultimately, I knew what I needed to do.

Use my voice and channel. I didn’t want to put this delicate issue in someone else’s hands to twist and turn for ratings.

So, the cameras were by the pool, where the light was natural. I’d been searching for my spine of steel for so many years, but the weight of it didn’t feel new or unwieldy. Everything I’d been through had poured a little more strength down the fragile links.

“No matter what, we’re right here for support,” Ajax said.

“So are hundreds of other people.” Lorna flashed me my social media account she was managing for me. My chest warmed. My feed was full of messages of encouragement.

“Let’s do this, shall we?” I nodded at the cameraman and took a seat on the stool. My lungs ached as I filled them with nervous air. Scanning the small crowd gave me tiny anchors to latch onto.

“We’re ready in three.” The cameraman motioned two and one with his fingers.

The blinking red light hypnotized me. There was a mirrored screen in front of me where I could see the comments flooding in. Some were good, some were cruel. I was as prepared as I could be, but my pulse still felt like it might burst out of my skin.

“Hi, everyone.” My voice didn’t shake. That was a good start.

You can do this.

I continued. “You might not know me, but you know my name, Tully Hartlock. The Hartlocks have a long history in Starhaven. You’ve heard the new name the media dubbed me with this week, Hartlock Harlot.

” I let the word hang in the air for a moment.

“It was designed to hurt. To tear me down and send me back to where people think omegas should belong.”

Lloyd gave me a nod and, in his sea-foam, bright gaze, I coasted the wave of emotion that wobbled my lip. I knotted my hands in my lap.

“Someone leaked private pictures of me on the internet. Maybe you’ve seen them, shared them, and you want to know what I have to say about it.” I lifted my chin. “I don’t care.”

Not entirely true.

But with my make-up, hair and my pink, glittery armor, I could be raw and strong at the same time. My body was still mine, even though it had become a joke, a commodity. I hoped Chase was watching and understood his reckoning was coming.

I let my lips curl.

Comments flooded the screen.

“I’m not ashamed of who I am, or the choices I’ve made.

Shaming sex work is an insidious weapon used to control women.

We can pretend equality exists, but there are so many unspoken rules Designated are supposed to follow.

Especially if you’re an omega. When you try to exist outside of those lines, you’re punished for it. ”

I exhaled all the cobwebs that couldn’t hold me anymore. I’d never fit in, because I was too small for the space provided for me. Insignificant, lacking. But in reality, I overflowed, and I was capable of so many big, beautiful things.

Like a sky full of glittering stars. I had my pick.

I cleared my throat. “We don’t like to admit it, but our world still has rigid ideas about what an omega, beta, and even an alpha should look and act like.

We feel pressured to act a certain way, and I refuse to let anyone tell me who I’m supposed to be.

My name has a long history of brave Designated who challenged the status quo to become who they truly wanted to be.

If me celebrating my body triggers you, maybe you need to think about why that is. ”

I gazed at Baylark Pack.

Standing together, touching each other like they were each other’s pillars. Pan’s haunted gaze shimmered with tears, and I directed my next words at him.

“It’s difficult, living through expectations.

But wouldn’t the world be brighter? Wouldn’t it be bolder?

The people who love you, truly love you, will understand and stand next to you.

And I intend to make Starhaven a safer, more accepting place for all of us.

Not just the ones who follow the rules.”

“That’s my girl,” Ajax mouthed.

I licked my lips to rid myself of the sudden dryness.

“Every single dollar I make from this video is going to be donated to a charity that supports women. And if you want to show support, please donate, and let’s show the person who violated me, we won’t be made to behave.”

I let out a shaky breath and tracked the explosion of comments on the screen.

A notification popped up and my heart squeezed.

Lloyd Yarrow donated $1000 with a message: proud of you.

Ajax Mythos donated $2000 with a message: in awe of you, Tully.

The comments went crazy.

OMFGods Baylark Pack!

That is too fucking cute.

Pan Mythos donated $5000 with a message: you’re perfect, angel.

My cheeks burned as I stared at the screen for a beat too long.

“T-thank you to everyone who has donated.”

Walden Baylark donated $10,000 with a message: I worship you.

The chat was overflowing, especially at the stoic Baylark’s praise.

If Walden Baylark loves Tully, I love Tully

How does it feel to live my dreams?

*donated* because Wally is goals

Baylark Pack stared at me in a way that went underneath my skin to the heart of me. A shiver rolled down my spine. The tingles burst out my toes. Everything about these men spoke of power, and yet, if I motioned my fingers, they would fall on their knees.

The realization made my eyes sting.

Hartlock Foundation donated $20,000: for a kinder future.

The ache intensified, and I widened my eyes at the cameraman, giving a small jerk until he motioned that the stream was off.

I stumbled to Walden with a gasp. He was typing on his phone furiously as I approached. My heart was beating out of my chest.

“Hartlock Foundation? What are you talking about?”

Walden shrugged, his expression turned guarded.

Sybil walked past and snatched his phone from his hand. “Don’t fight the trolls, Walden.”

“But they’re so mean, and wrong.” He clicked his tongue. “You wanted resources and I’m giving them to you. I’m changing the name of Baylark Foundation to Hartlock Foundation. I’d change our pack name too, but I like my balls attached for the moment.”

My throat tightened. “Don’t be glib. It’s my name.”

“Did you know about this?” I asked Lloyd, Pan, and Ajax.

“We loved the idea,” Ajax said.

I waved my hands, the air sucked out of my lungs.

“Your name is a brand, Tully, and CJ will do his best to destroy you. He knows it’s you or him now, and this gives you even more protection. I’ll do whatever it takes to make him pay for hurting you.”

“I need a second to digest this.”

What he said made sense, but a blistering heat unfurled across my forehead. My body felt like it was on fire.

“This isn’t us taking over the Hartlock name, Tully. It’s us giving ourselves over to you. We belong to you, and everything we have is yours. This house, the foundation, our hearts. All we want is to be yours.” Walden held up his hands. “There are no strings here. I’m signing it over to you.”

“But the foundation is your life’s work. Your legacy.” I faltered.

The heat in my shoulder rolled out like a wave and I gasped as it twisted my stomach. Dizziness painted black splotches over my vision.

“I wanted to make my mark on Starhaven. But what good is it if I have no one to share it with?”

Everything blurred, and I struggled to speak. “Y-you have—”

“I have Pan, of course.” Walden pulled Pan close and dropped a kiss on his head. “But it would be at his expense, and yours. I’ve tasted you between us and now I’m hungry all the time.”

Lloyd reached out and grabbed my elbow as I swayed. My insides churned like a storm.

“Tully, are you alright?”

“I-I don’t…” I don’t feel good. That’s what I wanted to say, but my throat closed in.

“Tully?” Ajax pulled me into his arms and hissed. “She’s burning up.”

The world span and I whimpered as Pan massaged my shoulder, right where Chase’s teeth scraped.

Walden’s face swam in front of mine, worry etched deep like a tattoo, and my tenuous grip on reality shuddered as he said.

“We need to get her to a hospital.”