Page 100 of Pack Fever

I gasp at his words, the notion of him foregoing the stage for me both absurd and heartwarming. “You can’t do that. That’s crazy,” I protest. “All those people are waiting for you.”

“You seem to be missing the point. I only care about you," he vows.

His words send a new wave of emotion through me, this time a sweet, overwhelming affection that makes my heart race faster. Before I can respond, Reed and Jasper are suddenly there, their presence enveloping me, shielding me.

“Everything okay?” Jasper’s gaze is on me, tracing over me as if searching for something that’s hurt me. Reed’s just studying me, guarding his reaction. So typical.

“Yeah, all good,” I manage to insist.

Seth’s gaze holds mine, searching, questioning. “Are you sure? I won’t leave if you’re upset.”

The sincerity in his eyes, the readiness to put me above everything else, thickens my throat with emotion.

“You better get up there, or I’ll really be upset if you don’t,” I finally choke out, my voice steady despite the whirlwind inside me.

There’s a charged moment, heavy with unspoken promises, where I want nothing more than to close the distance between us. I see the same longing in Seth’s eyes, but this isn’t the time or place, and we both know it.

With one last smile, a silent vow, they turn away, and I’m left watching as Fever, the band that’s captured the hearts of millions, strides through the door toward the roaring crowd.

I stand there, drowning in strangled feelings, my heart firmly entwined with the men who've just stepped into the spotlight.

Quickly, I follow them and slip into the back of the stadium, my heart racing with a mixture of excitement and nerves. I inch my way to the side where a few guards are stationed, their attention fixed on the crowd and the stage. I’ve got my staff badge around my neck, letting them know I’m not a lost fan.

The stage is an explosion of lights, an energy that pulses. Seth stands at the forefront, bringing the microphone to his mouth and thanking the audience for joining them tonight. Of course everyone goes ballistic in response.

The backdrop is alive with flames, a video display that moves and shifts, creating a backdrop of fire that looks so life-like. Occasionally, real flames leap up from the front of the stage, eliciting gasps and cheers from the crowd.

Reed, with his guitar slung low, commands the stage with his mere presence. And behind them, Jasper is clicking his drum stick together, ready to start.

The first chords of their opening song fill the air, the song that catapulted their latest album to the top of the charts, and the crowd erupts. Every person in the stadium is on their feet, the collective energy of thousands of fans creating an unstoppable force that seems to lift the music, elevating it to something intoxicating. I feel the song in my bones, the bass vibrating through the ground and into my very soul.

Seth bellows out the song from his soul, Jasper a whirlwind on the drums, while Reed’s fingers are flying over the strings, his head bobbing with the beat.

My pulse races, my heart swelling with a pride so fierce it brings tears to my eyes. Watching them up there, my three men, each lost in the music, in the moment, is an experience beyond words. The music thunders out, filling every corner of the stadium, every space in my heart. I’m caught up in the wave of sound, in the sheer exhilaration of being part of something this incredible.

For a split second, Seth glances my way, knowing that I’m there, watching him, and he winks at me. A whole bunch of fans are screaming their excitement in front of me, most likely thinking it’s for them. Except, I know better… I know that he was sending it my way.

In this moment, nothing else exists but the music, the band, and the indescribable feeling of witnessing the people you love doing what they were born to do. It’s a moment I’ll carry with me forever, a memory etched in light and sound and fire.

As I stand in the shadows, watching them pour their souls out on stage, a realization hits me with the force of a thunderclap—I can never look at them the same way again. They’ve transformed from the men I knew to legends in their own right before my very eyes. And amidst the roaring crowd and the echo of their music, I’m reminded of my father, his constant support for my hidden dreams of singing.

I wipe the tears falling down my cheeks.

How I wish more than anything that he was still here, that perhaps, one day, he might have seen me up there on a stage, under the blinding lights, sharing my voice with the world.

The night has left me reeling and captivated, the aftereffects of the concert still coursing through me, hours later as I sit backstage, my body trembling with feelings that overwhelm me. Seth’s voice, the lyrics, the melody—they’ve all seeped into my very soul, leaving me wondering how I, a mere nobody in the grand scheme of things, ended up with the legends that are Fever.

Lost in these thoughts, the door suddenly bursts open, and Jasper storms in, his appearance as wild and electrifying as his performance on stage.

I flinch from his abruptness.

His shirt is gone, a casualty of his fervent drumming and the heat of the spotlight when he ripped it off and sent the crowd into a frenzy. He locks the door behind him, and the intensity in his eyes pins me to the spot.

“Are you okay?” I ask, slightly worried but also curious what he’s up to.

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you, little mouse,” he breathes out. His statement, so full of longing and raw intensity, sends a shiver down my spine. “All I’ve thought about on stage was you, and I’ve had a rocking hard-on for most of the concert, thinking about sliding Goliath into your tight little pussy.”

I raise an eyebrow. “He has a name?”

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