Page 56 of Knot Their Opening Act

Ash looks around at all of us. “I think we all know what’s going on, and no one wants to say it. Caylee and I will sit in the front of the bus. You five need to discuss. And then we can decide if this tour can continue as planned or not.” He looks at me through serious and unblinking eyes, then climbs into the front cab with Caylee, who sends me a sympathetic look of concern. They close the divider.

I’m left staring at my scent-matched Alphas, who kicked me off my quest to this very lifestyle three years earlier—and their leader, looking into my eyes as though he’d like to be anywhere else in the world.

“I—I don’t know what to say. It’s my fault that I didn’t get my heat suppressant prescription refilled before tour. I’m getting it tomorrow, at a GP in Knightsbridge. Things will settle down then and this won’t be a continual problem.”

I clear my throat, aware my voice sounds very meek and mousy. But I feel like any further energy required of me will start a serious of orgasms I donotwant to have around these four together. Thomas and Holden were one thing; all of them is a definitenot in this lifetime.

And then I finish, though it takes a few seconds and a few inhales to stuff down the urge to just spread my legs and ram my fingers inside myself while they watch.

“One more thing,” I say, almost panting. “It’snotmy fault we are matches. It’s not my fault I smell good to you, and your bodies and minds are saying you need to take care of me, because I knowyourheart at least couldn’t give the tiniest fuck in the universe.”

I say this last part looking at Kai. I try not to notice they’re all covering their erections, or that Holden keeps lifting the hem of his t-shirt as though he’s ready to tear it off. The scent in here is so thick I could choke on it.

“Please,” I whimper, “can I please just go to my room and—and I’ll be fine for tonight. Just let me take care of this.”

At last, one of them speaks.

“Jez, I know this doesn’t seem ideal, but it’s our job to help you,” Holden says. “We all know that now. We’ve talked about it. And we agree, we will help you in any way we can. We don’t have to mark you. We don’t have to make you ours. None of this has to be personalorprofessional. It’s about simple biology. Our bodies and yours know what to do together. That’s nature, darling, and if we don’t help you and you want continue this tour, there’s no telling how much wilder your heat might become.”

Thomas and Nico nod, and then, the one I didn’t expect to hear from speaks.

“It could affect your sets, and that’s good for nobody,” Kai says. His voice is tight, and it sounds like he has to force the words past his lips. His face is pale, and his eyes looking everywhere but mine. He continues. “This show—if you want to avoid thinking about the personal side of things, think of the show we have to put on another fifty-six times. Let’s all do the best we can, and us helping you helps that.”

I bite my lip hard. He’s right, and it’s absolutely fucking futile to deny it. But the rational part of me that’s quickly evaporating as the heat prepares to fully take me under murmurs one final vehement argument:Just thinking of himself and his image. What more could I expect?

Then my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out, preparing to shut it down, then see it’s a text from Viv. And I’ve got about 40 notifications besides.

I click the link she’s sent with nothing but about ten question marks before it, and it opens a photo on social media.

My stomach drops, I toss the phone on the table and lower my legs to wrench forward, burying my face in the cushion, and heaving in breath.

“Oh God, oh fuck. Oh no,” I moan.

I hear Kai reach for it and the Alphas’ collective swearing as they must all see the photo the fan inside the pub has shared—a zoomed-in image of just Kai and I in the moment I fell to my knees with my head against his thigh, my nipples visible under my shirt, and one arm wrapped around his ass.

CHAPTER26

Nico

Jez runsto her room at the back of the bus and slams the door. Things are thrown, dropped, pushed, smacked, and then something heavy-sounding slides across the floor and against the door, presumably. And then whimpering, moaning, a yell. And then a sob.

I exchange stares with Holden, Kai, and Thomas.

My head feels ready to explode. I’ve not slept well at all lately, and felt a bit weird. Something’s going around the crew and I don’t want to catch it—I can only assume that’s the weird hot sensation in my temples, and my stomach rippling from time to time. Now it’s worse than it has been, to be honest, though it wasn’t great inside the pub.

“I want to go in there,” I say all the same. She shouldn’t be alone, and she’s upset. We can’t exactly send Caylee in there either. This is our fault.

“Sound check’s in 45 minutes,” Thomas says softly, checking his watch.

“Shit,” Kai says with feeling.

“Why don’t we let you have a word. You’ve been around more Omegas in heat than we have and honestly, you’re probably the best man for the job right now,” Holden suggests.

He’s not wrong. Before playing music full-time, I worked part-time at a bar that was almost all female staff, and every one of them an Omega. It was educational times, to say the least.

I just nod. “I’ll see what I can do. Even just talk her off the cliff. If we leave her alone it’s only going to make her more angry at us. This photo needs to be addressed.” Everyone nods at this. Kai looks like he might actually explode. His face is red but his eyes are red-rimmed, like he was on a bender last night. And he wasn’t. I know, because I was there.

Whatever’s going on with all of us, it’s not good. And I can only imagine it’s her heat. She’s our match, apparently. And we all sense this tour might be doomed.

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