Page 64 of Omega Rock

It’s the missed call from a number Mia doesn’t have saved that I recognize that stops me dead in my tracks.

And then a message from that same number, the preview of which makes my blood run cold.

Hi, Mia. Wonderful set tonight. I was wondering if you’ve given our conversation any other thought. No rush. Just checking in.

From Jordan. My old band manager.

My jaw locks hard as Mia’s phone feels like fire in my hand. I consider tossing it to the nest and forgetting I even came in here. But why thehellis Jordan offering anything to my omega?

My blood thrums with fury and betrayal and hurt. I’ve gotten over what Jordan and Designation Outsider did to me. But this…

I pull out my own phone and before I can stop it, my thumb is dialing a number I was never planning to ever call again in my life. But my alpha’s rearing to fight and protect what belongs to this pack.

The phone rings four times before Jordan picks up. “Aiden—I didn’t expect to hear from you again.”

“Why thefuckare you contacting me—” I cut myself just short of sayingmy omega. “My bandmate?”

Jordan laughs amiably. “Miss Moore? I was just getting to know her.”

My eyes narrow. I catch my reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall. My gaze is dark, my body stiff as I process Jordan’s words. “Not sure you need to as we already have a manager.”

“That doesn’t mean she can’t explore options.” Jordan’s tone is purposely even to knock me off-kilter—and it’s working.

“She doesn’t needoptions,” I growl. “Exit Fate is her band.”

Jordan pauses a moment—a move that makes me want to reach through the phone and strangle him. “It isright now, Aiden. But bands, you know… they have a way of not staying together, and should Exit Fate follow the same path as many, she’ll need options for after.”

He keeps saying band. I know he meansband. But I hear pack instead. That this pack won’t survive, or that we’ll kick someone out like Designation Outsider did to me. That it will leave Mia out on her own without a pack which is not something I would ever fucking let happen. Even the idea of Mia joining another pack makes me want to rip my own skin off.

“Jordan, stay the fuck away from Mia,” I snarl. The hair on the back of my neck is rising and my fist is curled tight around my phone.

“Aiden,” he replies like a parent trying to calm a child. “Mia is allowed to make up herownmind. I feel as though I shouldn’t need to remind you that she is her own person. If she wants to field a conversation from me about potentially joining Designation Outsider, who am I to say no?”

My stomach drops. Does that mean Mia contactedJordan? She wants to join my ex-band? My ex-pack?

No. I don’t believe it. But I do want to know what the fuck actually happened.

“Stay away from her,” I say again before hanging up the call and heading out of the tour bus. I nearly leap down all the stairs in my rush just to come face to face with her.

Noah and Leo stand as if they can immediately sense that everything in the energy between the four of us is now different.

“Aiden?” Mia asks as she jumps back in surprise. “Hey, watch out.” She chuckles. When I don’t laugh back, her face goes slack. “What’s wrong?”

I lift her hand and firmly place her phone inside it. “Jordan called and left you a message or two.”

Mia’s eyes go wide—and then narrow. “Were you reading my messages?”

I let go of her hand. But then I’m not sure what to do with my hands as my body coils tight with hot anger, so I shove them into my jeans pockets. “No. Your phone was going off a lot, so I thought maybe it was your parents and you’d want to see. I saw his number on the screen when I went to grab your phone for you. Are you leaving us for Designation Outsider?”

Noah’s jaw slides open. “What?”

Leo raises a hand. “Hey, this all seems pretty hot at the moment. Let’s take a step back here.”

Mia throws her phone down into one of the chairs. “I amnot.”

I figured not. But for some reason, hearing it from her mouth suddenly isn’t enough. “Then why is Jordan so convinced you are?”

A look so full of betrayal fills Mia’s eyes. Then they sharpen like knives as she cocks her hip. “I thought you said you didn’t read anything?”

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