Page 27 of This Fate That Guides Us
“I may be able to be bribed into taking a break. What’s for lunch?”
“Um,” I frown, realizing I hadn’t bothered to check to see what the label had catered in for food today.
“You don’t know what you’re going to be eating?” Her eyebrow arches as she teases me. I’d be worried if she wasn’t already carefully closing her laptop and pushing to her feet.
“Barbecue from someplace down the road,” Lex grunts. His face remains blank as he follows us back to my bus.
I place my hand on the small of my girl’s back and urge her toward my bus, taking hurried steps so we can escape her bodyguard faster. The man is terrifying and I’m slightly afraid he’s going to snap me in half if I look at Omen wrong.
“Text me when you’re ready to leave. Do not leave this bus without me.” Omen rolls her eyes but promises to follow his order.
“Hello everyone,” She greets my packmates shyly when they all focus on her as we walk up the steps. Her voice is a little unsure now that she’s face to face with my pack, so I distract theguys with questions about lunch before she can change her mind about staying.
My mates wordlessly comment on her sudden appearance, but I just grin in response. I’m letting things progress naturally like we agreed. They should have known I’d try to speed things along by creating as many opportunities as possible to spend time with her.
Our pop-up coffee table is covered with to-go containers overflowing with a wide variety of mouthwatering meats and side dishes. I make sure Omen has a full plate and is eating before I fill my own plate. Alpha instincts sometimes work in my favor.
Lunch is filled with comfortable silence as we all eat, adding the occasional comment about the different options the restaurant provided us. I’m sure it is all delicious, but I don’t think I actually taste a single bite. My mind too distracted by the soft pleasure sounds falling from Omen’s lips. Eating has never felt more like erotic foreplay than it does at this moment.
“How did everything go at the show last night?” Nebula asks Omen after we’ve cleaned everything up.
Normally after a show we all hang out or celebrate with the rest of the crews, but we’d left Pennsylvania after clean-up was complete to head to our campsite here in Ohio. By the time we’d completed the three-hour drive, everyone was passed out from the early start we’d had the day before. Hopefully after our show tonight, we will have an hour or two to relax before sleep claims us.
“It was rapturous.” Her cheeks tinge pink as she speaks. Whether the color is from her answer or having our attention on her, I’m unsure. She looks stunning. Her eyes are bright with excitement and the tension I’ve noticed she usually carries melts away the longer she sits with us.
I shift my legs trying to discreetly adjust my near-permanent hard-on. Being easily turned on may be common for an alpha, but that doesn’t make it any less embarrassing to constantly be threatening to take someone’s eye out if you stand up too quickly.
“I always forget how exhilarating it is to watch your pack perform. Getting to view the entire show from behind my camera? It felt like I was dreaming.”
“The crowd didn’t give you any issues?” Nebula asks. Despite his bristling at Omen’s safety concerns during our first meeting, I know he worries about her working out in the mass of screaming fans, but he won’t admit it out loud.
“No. They were all nice enough. And distracted, which helped immensely. I’m sure it won’t go as smoothly at every stop, but I have Lex with me if I need to de-escalate a bad situation.” Omen’s gentle in her response, lacking the fire she’s responded with to Nebula’s concerns so far.
His jaw ticks at the mention of Omen’s alpha bodyguard. He doesn’t like knowing she has someone else to protect her any more than I do, but we can’t follow her through the crowd the way Lex can. Her safety is more important than our egos.
“Can we see the pictures you took last night?” Callisto questions. “Or do you have more work to do before you are comfortable sharing them?”
Omen reaches for the laptop she carried with her. “I actually already sent a selection of my favorites to your marketing and social media teams, so you are welcome to view them if you’d like.” She turns the laptop to face us. On the screen is an open folder filled with images she’d captured the night before. Some show the crowd as a whole with the stage in the background. Others focus on a single fan or group of fans. You can feel their joy and excitement through the screen.
Scrolling down she finds the photos she took of the four of us on stage. Picture after picture fills the screen.
“Show us your favorites, please.” We all murmur our agreement with Callisto’s request.
Omen glows happily, her scent growing a little stronger as she clicks through until she finds the one she wants. I barely suppress a groan of joy when the sweet notes of her sunflower and honeysuckle fill my nose. She smells like summer. Warm and fun and absolutely delicious.
My breath stalls in my lungs as my eyes roam over the stunning image filling her screen. Nebula on his knees with his bass straddling his hips. His arm reaches out to rest on my abs right above the top of my jeans. Even with the full mask covering his face, you can feel the rapture, the devotion he was showing me.
I barely even remember that specific scene, too lost in the overall high of the show, yet seeing it here is like being pulled back to the moment all over again–the faint cheers of the crowd and pulse of the music echo in my mind.
“That’s… incredible.” My response feels lame in comparison to the magnitude of emotion rolling off the four of us.
“Thanks,” she mumbles shyly. “It was one of the images I wish I’d had my camera to capture the first time I saw your band perform live.”
She shows us a few more. Close-ups of my hands wrapped around the mic, my tight grip showcasing the prominent veins along the back. A candid of Titan mid-set where he seems to be looking directly at her camera in all of his sweat-soaked glory. Callisto with one leg raised on a speaker and his head tilted to showcase the silvery scars of our bond marks beneath the faint white and blue stage lights. I can certainly understand why the label was so adamant about landing a contract with her.
“You’re amazing. The way you capture the feelings of the moment in each one while also bringing out the sensuality of our performances… I’m in awe of your skill,” Callisto raves. His dual-toned eyes shine with wonder as he glances between her and the images on the screen.
Same, songbird. Our girl is something special and I can’t wait to see what she does next.
