Page 53 of Omega Rock

I meet my alphas’ dark gazes. They’ve heard the booing too.

We power through the rest of the set. Cheers erupt after each song and swallow the dissenters’ complaints, but it’s not until we’re off the stage and I find a moment to dive into my social media feeds that I understand.

People are upset that Aiden’s joined a new band right away, but that’s to be expected.

It’s the assumption that the guys are stealing my songs and that I’ve let them that’s surprising. And the straight up comments saying my viral fame last month withDreaming Lateis why Leo and Aiden joined me because their careers were tanking fast. Neither is true.

But one thing becomes clear: This is the last time we’re performingDreaming Late.

After all our wins, everything about today’s Knotty Tour show stings so harshly, the four of us can barely look each other in the eye. And for the first time since we’ve started Exit Fate, neither Aiden nor Leo have advice on the matter.

ChapterSixteen

LEO

Fucking hell.That show didnotgo well. Even from where I sat at my drum set I could hear the booing and see those in the crowd who weren’t exactly fans of our work. I follow the band off stage and behind the scenes.

A few other bands throw us thumbs up as we pass but anyone with ears and eyes knows none of this went well for us.

Aiden finds a seat and begins massaging his neck. Noah’s gone straight for the beer fridge. And Mia’s on her phone almost immediately. I assume she’s calling Sable, but when she finally picks her head up twenty minutes later, her eyes are red and puffy and she looks pissed.

It breaks my heart.

I retrieve some waters and go to pass one to her, but I do it at a weird angle that sends sudden nerve pain through my hands unlike I’ve felt in years. I bite back the shout and turn from Mia as soon as the water is in her hands.

“Thanks,” she says but her voice is tight.

I nod. I want to massage my hand but honestly I’m too afraid to move it at the moment. So I stand there, water in one hand, and the other half-closed and pressed against my chest as Aiden turns to us all.

“It’s just one show.” Those four words are his only words of wisdom?

Some of the other bands turn to watch us. I nod to Aiden. “Maybe we do this on the bus?”

Mia’s cheeks flush. Her eyes are full of tears about to spill.

Aiden takes notice, and that of Noah shotgunning the beer he took from the fridge. He’s about to reach for another when Aiden waves us all along. “Yes. Tour bus. Now.”

Noah ignores him in favor of that second beer. “You can’t order us around, man.”

Aiden moves beside him and presses the fridge door shut with one hand. Noah barely pulls his own hand back in time. “Yes, I can.”

They stare each other down. Noah’s nostrils flare.

“Not here,” I say.

The last thing we need are witnesses if they start fighting. Especially because I’m not sure my body is going to let me help break them up. Every time I move my right hand or the fingers on it from this current position, a lava-like pain shoots straight down my forearm into my palm. Which might be cool if I developed lava superpowers from it rather than fucking wanting to saw off my own arm at the elbow to make it stop.

Noah backs down but says nothing. He makes a slow turn toward the exit and tour bus parking lot. Aiden looks to Mia who follows suit. I hurry along before Aiden has to check me even though I’m the last thing he has to worry about—right now, at least.

I’m really hoping this nerve pain is from overuse strain and stress, and not from the worst-timed vasculitis flare in history.

I hurry along with the band. We cross to the tour bus parking lot and board ours without comment. My right hand is still held tight to my side as I take a seat at the table. After a brief lightning bolt of pain, I manage to rest it on the table’s surface instead of holding it myself.

Noah sits opposite me with a beer from our fridge.

Mia’s on the couch with her arms around her knees and her phone still in her hand. Her cheeks are wet. I want to wipe them dry, and the memory of this show with it. I want so badly to do something as simple as comfort my omega, but the nerve pain is worse than I think any of my bandmates can imagine. Right now all I can manage is to sit still and focus on what words of comfort I can give her. And even that’s asking a lot of my pain tolerance. So I stay where I am, afraid to even move.

Aiden takes a sweeping stock of his band and his pack before sitting beside Mia and resting a hand on her knee. “It’s just one show—the first one, even. It’s okay.”

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