Page 20 of This Fate That Guides Us
I guess that mindset is also why they attend DAU protests. To fight as a pack for the dreams they send out into the world with their music.
“It isn’t a foolproof plan,” Callisto adds. “While most of our followers respect our wish for privacy and focus on enjoying the music we create, there will always be fans who search endlessly to know who we are. To be able to share our identities and say they discovered them first.”
“The message matters more than the name,” I murmur as our food arrives. Nebula nods, his eyes flaring with appreciation. I focus on the various plates set around our table, unwilling to acknowledge the reaction my body is having to the heat visible in his gaze.
If I pretend this pull doesn’t exist long enough it will become reality, right?
Thankfully, the conversation turns to milder topics for the rest of our time at the diner. My attention is torn between stuffing my face with the perfectly greasy diner food and watching the way Pack Graves interacts. They are so at ease with each other. Smiling easily and laughing heartily. The love they hold for each other is palpable in every action.
Jealousy is an angry beast writhing in my chest, wishing I could afford to allow myself even a small taste of the same close bond they share.
After arguing with Shepherd about paying for my own food, we head back to the public lot we parked in. Pack Graves joins us, having parked up the street from us. The city is still bustling in the evening light; the streets are packed with cars, the sidewalks busy with people heading home for the day.
My skin starts to crawl from being around so many people for so long. I don’t make a habit of casually walking around in public. Always heading straight from A to B to lessen the chances of encountering someone who could recognize me.
As my anxiety grows, I can’t stop searching every face passing us by. The conversation around me fades as my anxiety grows to a roar drowning out the sound. A car horn sounds loudly from the street beside us and I startle, tripping over my own feet. Strong arms stop my fall and pull me upright.
Callisto’s concerned face fills my vision as sound rushes back in. “Are you alright?” he asks quietly.
“Yeah,” I choke out a shaky laugh, “just lost in my own world and the car horn startled me.” I attempt to brush off my overreaction but I can feel Shepherd’s narrowed gaze as he glances back at me from where he and Foster stopped a few feet ahead of us. Embarrassment washes over my skin when I find everyone’s eyes on me.
Disgruntled passersby grumble about us blocking the path so I usher our group along. The quicker we get back to the car park the better.
I breathe a sigh of relief when the lot Pack Graves is heading to comes into view. We stop at the entrance exchanging goodbyes.
“See you bright and early Wednesday morning, sweet girl! Only two days until I get to see your gorgeous face again! Can’t wait to show you around the bus!” Nexus calls cheerfully, walking backward into the lot and waving his arm in the air. I can’t hide my smile watching the four of them walk away.
“Omen, Omen, Omen,” Foster sings. His arm drops around my shoulders as he pulls me along beside him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you show an interest in anyone before. How are you going to survive a two-month tour with them?” My elbow snaps out, catching him playfully in the side and earning a squeak of protest.
“They would be good for you,” Shepherd adds as he stops us several feet from our car. He carefully checks the vehicle before allowing us to climb inside. Always cautious in case someone has discovered his connection to the DAU.
“But I wouldn’t be good for them,” I whisper against the window as we pull out onto the street. My words get lost beneath the music playing from the stereo.
I’ve never shared the reason why I haven’t ever allowed anyone to pursue me before. They wouldn’t agree. Much like Bea, they’d remind me I was letting my family win by keeping everyone at arm's length.
Even if they’re right, I don’t think I can bring myself to take the risk. My fear runs too deep to escape its clutches.
A calloused finger runs across my collarbone before dipping down, dragging between my exposed breasts. The touch light, but filled with an electricity that pulses straight to my core. An inferno burns violently beneath my skin, slowly melting me from the inside out as a need unlike anything I’ve ever experienced forces a whine from my lips.
I blink my eyes open–or were they already open? It’s so dark I can’t tell. I search for the person on the other end of the digits swirling around my belly button, but my vision is hazy. A fog seems to settle around me, hiding the bodies I can sense gathered around me.
“Please,” I whimper, begging them to put an end to this torment. To ease the emptiness inside of me. Fingers dip between my parted thighs, dancing around my clit in a teasing, barely there touch before sinking lower.
Two sets of hands grip my thighs, pressing them further apart while the digits at my core part my folds. I’m spread wide open, unable to hide from the heavy weight of their stares.
I cry out when a particularly strong cramp throbs in my lower abdomen. My body tries to curl in on itself, to fight against the pain, but their hands immobilize me. Dark chuckles echo as the fog coiled around the figures shifts. I can’t see all of them, only the masks hiding their faces.
Masks I would recognize anywhere.
The now familiar scents of the members of Primordial Covenant wrap around me, bringing my desire to a fever pitch. Nebula stands between my spread thighs. The obsidian of his mask shimmering with little silver flecks of starlight.
Two of his thick fingers press against my opening before spearing inside. Slick soaks my thighs and the bed beneath me. The squelching sound of his movements fills the air around us and brings a tint of embarrassment to my heated cheeks.
Any shame falls away as he curls his fingers to rub against a spot that has fireworks bursting behind my closed eyes. “More, please,” I beg around a moan. My eyes pop open when fingers glide across the bottom of my breasts; my ecstasy spiraling higher when Nexus and Callisto both pinch my peaked nipples. The added spike of pleasure pushes me closer to the edge, but my release is just out of my grasp.
A hand digs into my messy hair, gripping tightly and forcing me to arch backward. Titan’s onyx eyes meet mine from below his mask as he towers above me. A smirk plays across his lips as he watches me tremble beneath him.
A third finger presses into my core stretching me further. The heat coursing over my skin contrasts with the cool feel of Nebula’s mask against my thigh. Jumbled pleas fall from my lips as they push my pleasure higher and higher.
