25. Juno

25

JUNO

Juno stared at the reflection in the mirror, not recognising the made-up mask staring back. She turned her head back and forth, frowning at what the contouring had done to her ordinarily flat, wide nose.

“Excuse me.” She tapped the make-up artist on the shoulder. “Would you mind softening the contour on my nose a bit?” Juno may not have had a delicate button nose but it was hers and she wanted it to look like hers. Thankfully, the make-up artist didn’t take offence, blotting the harsh lines away with a sponge and Juno felt much better upon her second look.

That was how Ollie found her. He did a double-take when he went to kiss her, afraid to mess up her perfectly painted face, and ended up planting a kiss behind her ear.

“It’s a lot isn’t it,” Juno said, scrunching her nose. They’d almost completely blotted away his freckles and she felt quite cross about that.

“Think of it as warpaint,” Ollie suggested, kissing her fingers now. “It’s what you need to wear for what you’re about to do.”

“That’s very appropriate,” Juno said, her fingers running away from his kisses to give his chin a scratch. “And weirdly deep.”

Ollie shrugged. “Shame I can’t wear actual warpaint to match how I feel inside but this will do.”

“And how do you feel inside?” Juno prompted him drolly.

“Like this.” He fashioned his expression into one that bore a strong resemblance to a rollercoaster snapshot.

“That’s my Ollie,” she laughed, throwing caution to the wind and kissing him with glossed-up lips.

When the interview request from Ava Simmons came through, Juno knew that was the one. Not content to sit at home and find a pack, Ava was an omega who rose to fame covering disaster events around the nation. She became famous for her ‘omega touch’ — her uncanny ability to unearth the humanity and goodness that came from awful circumstances. Ava eventually bonded her alpha cameraman and beta producer and continued to work in the field for more than a decade afterward; effectively shutting down the naysayers who claimed she would have to choose between her career or a pack. Now in her fifties, her correspondence work had ended but her knack for seeking the truth in people did not. Her interview show was a network staple, where she got people from all walks of life to open up in a way that many others did not.

And now it was Juno’s turn.

She stood up from her seat and found Isaac waiting patiently. Everything in her body tingled with awareness. Something had changed between them after their night with Julian.

Juno wasn’t sure what possessed her that night to grab his knot (which was the biggest of all her alphas, might she add) and squeeze him through every pulsing spurt of his orgasm. Probably the same impulse that had him sucking on her bondmark, sending a current of arousal directly from his mouth all the way to her fluttering cunt and setting off her own explosion.

Isaac was looking at her strangely and she blinked quickly, like it erased her thoughts before he could read it.

“Remember. Anytime you want this to end, it does,” Isaac reminded her. He reached out to take her hand and she laid her own over the top.

It felt like they were always finding reasons to touch each other lately.

“But…” he continued.

“But?”

“No one is more capable than you are right now,” he asserted firmly. “You don’t have to do this. But you have never been more ready for it.”

Juno hugged him close. All her bonds were brimming with their belief in her. She nuzzled Isaac a bit to scent mark him for good measure and it set off a soft little purr as he marked her back. His spirituous scent lifted her as she made her way to where Ava and her team were set up in their living room.

Ava had asked for permission to film in their pack house and Ari had thought it was a good idea as well. “Gives off a safe, cosy vibe. The opposite of how they’re painting you,” he explained.

The older omega smiled warmly as she approached. “Hello Juno. We’ve got everything set up ready to go. Take a seat whenever you’re ready.”

Juno settled herself obediently into the couch cushions, blinking as she adjusted to the bright lights. She was extremely aware of the two cameras pointed at her and tried not to stare into the lenses.

“How are you feeling?”

“Nervous,” Juno admitted with a jittery giggle.

“Of course. It’s only natural,” Ava assured her. “Your pack is right here with you and remember, I’m here to tell your story.”

A crew member clacked a clapperboard and Ava got the go ahead to start. She greeted Juno again, for the cameras this time.

“Hello Juno.”

“Hi Ava. Hard to believe I spoke to you for the first time only yesterday.”

“We move fast. Especially when there’s a story that deserves to be told. I felt very strongly about yours, Juno.”

Juno wasn’t sure how to reply to that. “You’re very kind,” she said.

“Bond dissolution — that’s big picture.” Ava waved her hand dismissively. “Everyone has an opinion, it’s divisive. Even the argument about whether or not it should be divisive is divisive! But I believe at the heart of it, whether you wanted to or not, is you.”

“It’s definitely unwanted, Ava.” Juno felt a rising flush creep up her cheeks. “There’s a lot of things being said about me, none of which have actually come from me. If people wish to judge me, I’d rather they do it based on what I have to say.”

“Is that what you think you’ll be? Judged?”

Juno laughed dryly. “I’m an omega and a woman. Being judged is just a Tuesday for me.”

She spoke a lot in the ensuing hour. Ava was brilliant. She didn’t coddle and didn’t gush. It wasn’t an interview designed to elicit sympathy or paint a picture of a poor little omega. Ava gave her a voice, a space to tell her truth and let it be held up to questioning and come away unbroken. They started from the beginning with her awakening. Being bonded and filmed during a heat.

“That’s the video that SSNN quoted isn’t it?”

“Yes it is.”

“That’s illegal.”

“Yes. It is.”

Ava played devil’s advocate when she showed Julian’s photos of Andrew’s ledger, but Juno was prepared. Armed with knowledge she had gleaned of Andrew’s business dealings as well as recounting her experiences growing up in a financially insecure household. It painted an unassailable picture of truth — a father driven to barter his omega daughter for a gambling debt.

“I still have an old family photo from before this all happened. It’s hard to believe looking at it now how much we all changed in just a few short years,” Juno said, laying aside the pictures of Andrew’s ledger and handing the photo to Ava.

It was a lovely, frozen snapshot in time. Mum, dad, twelve year old Ben and eight year old Juno. A birthday cake sat forgotten on the table as Juno and Ben blew party horns in each other’s faces. Mama looked exasperated and Baba was chortling at his children’s antics.

Ava looked up from the picture in her hand. “You’re not the only one who experienced growing up with a gambling addicted father, are you?”

“No. That’s my older brother, Ben.”

"Would you like to invite him to join us?”