Page 23 of This Fate That Guides Us
I follow behind him as he shows me the back half of the bus. He talks animatedly, clearly enjoying sharing their space with me. When we step into the next section, he points out four spacious bunks. I spy bags already sitting on several of them and assume this is their sleeping area, so I’m surprised when he opens a door at the back and shows me a small room that is ninety percent bed.
“This is the master. We usually share this space, but we want you to take it instead.” His smile is shy as he peeks over at me. He’s adorable and I wish I didn’t have to burst his bubble.
“Oh, sorry, I’m not going to be sharing the bus with you. I–we–” I stumble over my words as his face falls. My instincts demand I make the crestfallen look disappear. “Bea and I have our own bus,” I finish weakly.
Knowing I’ve disappointed this sweet alpha has the insistent voice in my subconscious whispering reminders of how defective I am as an omega.
“Oh. We assumed…” He looks back into the bedroom wistfully and my stomach pinches. The urge to wrap my arms around him is nearly unbearable, but I force myself to hold still.
I’m not sure if hugging him would be to comfort him or me, and I don’t deserve his comfort when I’m the cause of his displeasure.
“That’s okay. You’ll still be at all the stops with us, right?”
“Yeah, absolutely. I’ll be with you every step of the way.” I reassure him. “I’m very excited to work with your pack.”
My words don’t seem to help as his brow pinches. He runs a hand over his face before offering me a halfhearted grin. My hand is halfway to his chest before I even process the movement. These silly omega instincts demand I find a way to return his playful bubbliness. I press my fingers against his t-shirt feeling his heart thumping rapidly. “We’ll have plenty of time to hang out, too. I promise.”
A genuine smile graces his lips as he nods. His hand wraps around mine where it rests against his chest and he pulls my hand to his lips. My breath catches when a soft kiss presses against my fingertips and sends butterflies to flight in my stomach.
“Come on, gorgeous, let’s get you back to your bus. We’ll be heading out soon.” He doesn’t let go of my hand as he leads me back outside and through the parking lot.
Outside of my bus, we find Bea in a face-off against Ridley and Lex. Her arms are crossed as she glares at the two alphas who appear equally as annoyed with my bestie. “Are they your drivers?” Nexus questions. His eyes are narrowed as he looks between the two men.
“Bodyguards, but they will also be driving for us.”
He hums. His hand squeezes a little tighter around mine before he leans down to stage whisper to me. “Sure you don’t want to ride with us?”
I muffle a giggle when Bea turns her glare on me, daring me to abandon her with them. “As much as I’d enjoy escaping this tension, I won’t leave Bea to handle them alone. This time. Plus, I need to get settled into my new temporary home.”
Nexus shrugs, wishing me luck before heading back to the band’s bus. I hurry past the trio when I see Shiloh marching our way, a glare leveled at the two alphas who are suddenly standing much closer to Bea.
Fates give me the strength to deal with these hooligans for the next two months.
“Settling in okay?” I ask Bea where I lean against the door to her mini nest. She left it ajar while she piled all of her bags outside of the room to unpack them.
Only a few hours in and the space is already overflowing. The small closet space along the upper right side is so full of her clothes it looks like they will burst back out at any moment. Her bed holds so many pillows, blankets, and plushies I’m slightly afraid she may never find her way back out once she crawls inside.
“As much as I can with thing 1 and thing 2 aboard,” she snarks. “Let me guess, it only took you five minutes to unpack?”
I fight back a smile, watching her carefully hang a string of pictures on the wall. We had a similar conversation a few days ago when we moved into our new apartment. Bea and I are very opposite in both organizational skills and attachment to personal belongings.
I guess once you’ve had to leave everything you own behind it gets difficult to let yourself get too attached to material things.
“Seven actually, I had to unwrap the sheets your mom bought me for the bed.” I duck when she tosses a plush foxat my face. Our laughter fills the air and steals a little of the lingering irritation from her face. “So, what’s with you and Mr. Archerley?”
“Ugh. Him.” She flops onto her bed and stares at the ceiling, her nose scrunched. Her eyes however tell a different story. My bestie is attracted to the stoic older man. “The first time I assumed it was just a professionalism thing, you know? But every time I correct him, he calls me Sabine the next time with a tone showing he knows he’s pressing my buttons and he’s enjoying the hell out of it.”
“That seems… out of character. I only briefly met him when I signed the finalized contract with the label, but he didn’t seem like a button pusher. He actually gave me old-school respectful vibes.”
“I swear Fate decided the cost of my dream career was being stuck with annoyingly hot men who enjoy pissing me off.”
“Wait,” I ask as I question her wording. “You said Fate, like capitalized if we were texting Fate? Do you think they might be your mates?”
“No!” Bea practically shouts, her voice a few octaves too high. There’s something there, but I decide not to dig. She’ll tell me when she’s ready.
“What about you?” she asks a few minutes later.
“Me?”
