17. Isaac

17

ISAAC

Isaac had never been angry quite like this before.

Andrew Zhao was on SSNN’s flagship show, The Nation Today. He was joined by fragile man child Joseph Lawson, the mouthpiece of the Alpha Brotherhood.

“Tonight’s hot topic — bond dissolution. We have our good friend Joseph from the Alpha Brotherhood here once again, welcome Joseph.”

“Hello Carter and Corinne, good to be back.”

Carter and Corinne, two blonde psychopaths masquerading as journalists.

“And our guest tonight is Andrew Zhao, prime of Pack Zhao and a victim of the National Omega Commission’s bond dissolution agenda.”

His bond with Miles was teeming with outrage and helplessness. Isaac couldn’t fathom how Juno felt with the emotions of four furious packmates bombarding her.

“Now Andrew. You experienced bond dissolution, didn’t you?” Corinne asked, slipping on an empathetic mask.

“Yes,” Andrew looked down as if he was trying to compose himself. “I lost my bonded omega Juno because of NOC.”

Carter tsk-ed and Joseph shook his head like it was a great tragedy.

Isaac experienced an atomic bomb detonation isolated entirely in his chest after hearing Andrew call Juno his.

His pack, however, were all looking at Juno while trying not to look like they were looking at Juno.

She stared murderously at the TV while Andrew droned on about how painful the process was. “Should have visualised more daggers and pointy things during the bond dissolution. Or tiny spider teeth nibbling away at you.”

Every one of Juno’s words dripped blood and for some reason that delighted Isaac’s raging alpha.

“It’s insane, isn’t it?” Every word spoken by Joseph was loud and brash, trading coherency for volume. “Alphas all over the country will be going through this. What’s going to happen to the traditional pack family unit?”

“Or,” Miles interjected. “You could let people decide on their own what they want their families to look like. Asshole.”

“Speaking of family — Andrew, you’ve actually brought your former father-in-law here today, haven’t you?”

“What the fuck!” Juno screeched before pulling out her phone and speed dialling Ben while she paced in circles. “Are you watching this bullshit? Turn on the news! Look what our idiot dad is doing!” There was a slight pause and Isaac could hear the muted squeaking of Ben protesting on the other line. “I know this is a big ask but can you just not be annoying for one second and do what I say?”

Isaac gave Juno a nudge and motioned that she should put her phone on speaker. “Ben, this is Isaac. I would recommend you get to a TV and turn on SSNN quickly.”

“Uh, hi Isaac.” There was the sound of scrambling, like he was moving very quickly. “Ok, give me a second.”

“Ohhh, so you listen to him but not me, that’s great—”

“I was going to do it, but I was a bit thrown off by you calling out of the blue and just screaming at me!”

“Ben! He’s on now. God, was he always that bald?”

“No, he started losing it a lot more quickly about a year after you left and—”

Juno shushed him so she could listen and Ben sighed exasperatedly like only a big brother could.

“So, Peter,” Corinne said, addressing Juno’s father. “Your daughter was Andrew’s omega. How did that come about?”

“Andrew is an o-old friend of the family,” he replied. Peter Liu did not have the charisma to carry himself in an interview that required him to lie. “It was a surprise when my daughter awakened. I wanted her to be cared for. Andrew is a good man. A good alpha.” He patted Andrew’s shoulder and the alpha’s mouth froze in a thin line, clearly furious at Peter’s riff off their script.

“And what is your relationship with your daughter now?” Carter asked.

“We don’t have one,” Peter said nervously. He cleared his throat and his shoulders straightened like he was about to say something he knew was important. “She stopped speaking to her family the moment she went to the National Omega Commission.”

Corinne turned to Carter. “You know, cults have a similar method in keeping their members. By isolating them from their loved ones.”

“Really makes you think, doesn’t it.” Carter nodded, steepling his fingers in an attempt to look intelligent.

“Andrew and Peter did all the right things and this is how they were repaid for it,” Joseph added, punctuating his words with a slap on the table. “Are we really going to let the hormonal whims of omegas dictate our lives from now on?”

“Oh come the fuck on.” Juno looked like she was on the verge of throwing something at the TV.

Ben surprised Isaac by speaking up. “I won’t let him do this to you, Juno.”

“It’s already done,” Juno said flatly into her phone.

“Then I won’t let him get away with it.”

The commercial break ended and Juno’s father was gone with it — clearly a liability to whatever theatrics they had planned next. Isaac felt like he was going rounds in a boxing match, still reeling from the last blow before being shoved back into the ring again.

“Now Andrew, we are aware that your other packmate and brother Eric is currently serving time for manslaughter,” Carter brought up, as if he were a serious journalist who actually cared about objectivity.

“Yes, he is,” Andrew replied calmly. He did not look surprised or unprepared by the question. It was an absolute farce to call this news. “Eric is serving time for avenging our murdered packmate, our third brother Vincent Zhao. God rest his soul.”

The studio audience gasped and Isaac almost pulled a muscle rolling his eyes.

“This is a joke,” Ari said in disbelief, stress-tugging at his beard. “This whole show is a sick joke.”

“I’m hoping he’ll make parole. His hearing is next week.” Andrew turned and looked down the barrel of the lens, magically knowing exactly which one was his dedicated camera. “Eric, if you see this…I love you and can’t wait to have you home, brother.”

Corinne aww-ed like Andrew had announced he was adopting a three legged puppy instead of sending a message to his criminal brother.

Julian scoffed. “I’m pretty sure the only person Andrew loves is himself.”

Joseph clapped a meaty hand on Andrew’s back. “These are alphas who have died for their pack and killed for their pack. You can’t ask for much more devotion than that.”

“You certainly can’t!” Corinne tittered, fanning herself.

“It was a drug deal gone wrong, you manipulative shits!” Juno grabbed a nearby cushion and screamed into it.

Everett had his head in his hands. “Can’t fucking listen to this anymore.”

None of them could but there was also no chance they were leaving.

“Now I know one of the biggest questions we’ll get from omega advocacy groups is ‘did Juno consent to the bond?’” Carter turned to Andrew, pasting on a concerned look. “What do you have to say to that, Andrew? Do you have proof that Juno was a willing omega?”

Isaac’s vision blurred scarlet at Andrew’s next words.

“Of course,” he insisted. “I wouldn’t have done it if she wasn’t.”

Corinne turned to the audience. “Now ladies and gentleman, this is a family show so we can’t show the video proof that Andrew has…”

The pack’s collective horror rendered them motionless.

“Juno, what’s she talking about?” Ben’s alarmed whisper came through the phone.

“But we can read a partial transcript for you,” Corinne finished triumphantly.

Corrine’s awful voice began reading and words appeared on screen like horrendous karaoke lyrics.

“Andrew. Bite me please. Bite me, oh god, I want your bite.”

- Juno Liu, Pack Zhao’s omega.

“Seems pretty clear to me,” Carter sniggered.

Andrew leaned forward. “Make sure that video doesn’t see the light of day, Corinne. You could get me in big trouble,” he said with a wink.

Corinne pretended to zip up her lips and throw away the key before giggling inanely.

“They filmed me during my heat, Ben,” Juno said brokenly, before hanging up. She had been strong, so much stronger than anyone could’ve expected her to be this whole time but this was the final nail in the coffin.

The show wrapped up soon after, the nightmare ending and beginning all at once. Isaac turned to the smouldering emotionally ruined shell of his pack.

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” he said sombrely. “Juno, if you’re open to it, I’d like you to take something to help you sleep. So you don’t think about this all night and have a clear mind tomorrow. I think it would be a good idea to have everyone with you in your nest tonight as well.”

There was too much vulnerability in the way she looked at him. “You too, please?”

“Of course,” Isaac agreed immediately. “Then in the morning, we’re going to discuss how we’re going to deal with this. As a pack.”

Juno only managed the barest of nods. Isaac took a quick assessing look around. When no one made a move, he took it upon himself to lift her up into his arms. Her head drooped onto his shoulder and she let out a soft sigh as her body relaxed into his.

“Julian, the medicine cabinet. There’s—”

"On it,” Julian leapt up.

Isaac looked down at the crushed omega curled against him. A rich, dulcet purr began rolling from his chest. He jerked in shock — he’d never purred for anyone — and it stuttered slightly before returning, even more profound than before.

They all looked on in amazement as Juno’s eyes grew heavy and her breathing became deep and even.

“On second thought, Julian,” he said haltingly. “Maybe we don’t need it?”

Isaac felt somewhat self-conscious purring for Juno in front of everyone but if it would help her find some peace after everything that had happened it was a price he happily paid. He met the eyes of every single one of his packmates. “Tonight is just for her,” he reaffirmed before his voice took on a sinister edge. “Tomorrow is for them.”