Page 17 of Omega Rock

Mia’s shaking by the time Aiden pulls into his VIP parking spot and we head on up to his place. His apartment is a penthouse overlooking the city around us. Mountains rise in the far distance, lit only by the light of a full moon. We enter into an open-floor kitchen, dining, and living room split visually with pillars and half-walls, where a main color scheme consisting solely of gray-scale leaves a bit to be desired.

Aiden offers us all the couch and pulls some more beers out of the fridge, and water for Mia and me. I nod a thanks on behalf of my disease and my medication, and make sure Mia drinks plenty for herself before we even begin talking again.

Aiden, on the other hand, makes quick work of drawing the curtains slightly closed over floor to ceiling windows for privacy, despite my assumption they’re fairly tinted from the outside.

“How are you?” Noah asks as he looks her over.

She shoots him a rather familiar deadpan look for two people who just met. “Dandy. Ugh, I’m sorry.”

Pain crosses Noah’s face. I recognize it—I’m feeling it too. They want to act, the knowledge on how to help, but not knowing if it’s okay.

Aiden finally takes a seat as well. We’re in his living room, a lowered section of floor where massive sectional couch surrounds an even larger TV. I make a mental note to remind him to downsize before the Designation Outsider money runs out. I learned that one the hard way with Lost Time.

Mia pulls her knees to her chest. “I’m?—”

“Stop apologizing,” Aiden cuts her off. “It’s a normal process, and since we’ve agreed to Exit Fate, it’s one we’ll have to circumnavigate anyway, right? So, drink the water.”

Water won’t help Mia. And everyone in this room knows it.

Mia sips the water anyway. Her hands are shaking, and her cheeks are flushed. When she’s not sipping water or talking, her lips are parted just slightly in a way that fully wakes the alpha inside me.

I shift in my seat as my pants grow tight.This cannot happen, I remind myself. And yet Mia’s sweet honey and strawberry candy scent is filling this room.

“Are you marked by an alpha?” Noah asks her. “Or a pack?”

Mis shakes her head. A lock of her cotton-candy hair falls over her face, and it takeseverythingwithin me not to lean over and gently caress it back over her ear. “No.”

Thank fuck.

“Well,” Aiden starts as he looks to Noah and I each in turn. We both nod. “It has occurred to all of us that we’re scent matches, wouldn’t you agree?”

Mia nods a little. She shifts in her seat, which causes her to bite her lip in return. “We are. How’s that for fate.”

Aiden chuckles. “Fate’s funny sometimes, I’ll give Her that.”

“So what do we do?” I ask, impressing in my tone what I want to happen here. Because I can’t keep looking at Mia in so desperate of need, knowing I can help alleviate that, if that’s something she wants.

“We just became a band,” Noah says. His hands are clenched on either side of his legs. It appears he’s having the same issues with restraint as I am. How the hell Aiden looks so cool about all of this is wild to me. “I don’t know if a pack is also something we want to commit to so quickly.”

Mia buries her face against her knees. “No one said just because you find scent matches means youhaveto become a pack.”

“No, but many say you’d be crazy not to,” Aiden says. “Listen, we can discuss all of that as it comes, or not, but if you want us to help you through this, Mia, just say the word. I think… I think we’d be all more than willing. Especially since you seem to be our omega.Allof ours.”

Mia whimpers against her knees. Her entire body is shaking with need now, and her honey and candy scent keeps growing stronger. I bet she even tastes like candy.

Fuck.This is all messing with my inner alpha, too.

“I know the timing sucks, but I agree with Aiden,” Noah comments.

“I’ll be fine.” The words are muffled by Mia’s knees. Finally, she looks up. “Can I just go to sleep, please? Whatever direction you all want for the band is fine with me. That’s what we came out here tonight to talk about, right? I’ll sing whatever. Stuff you’ve all written, stuff I’ve written. Stuff we write together. Whatever you all want.”

“Mia,” Aiden says.

She shakes her head and moves to stand up. The movement must have caused somefrictionbetween her legs because she lets out a moan and falls forward until her palms rest on the coffee table covered in music records. She straightens while she shakes.

“Right, I need to leave this room,” she says.

Pretty sure her scent is going to flood this entire damned apartment whether she’s behind a closed door in another room or standing right beside us all. I want her to stay, I want her to let ushelpher. I want to take care of her—not just her need, buther. Make feel comfortable and safe.

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