Page 68 of This Fate That Guides Us
“Welcome to Fairytale.”
Music pulses through the building, drowning out any attempt at conversation. Lights illuminate the main floor in greens, blues, and golds, creating an ethereal feel to the space. Fake trees and vines climb the outer walls separating the large circular booths and give them the illusion of privacy. Mossy catwalks crisscross above our heads where dancers perform sultry routines dressed as fairytale creatures. Fairies, elves, mermaids, minotaurs, dryads. In all the times we’ve visited, I’ve never seen the same costume twice.
Shepherd guides us into a booth close to the bar and flags down a waitress. It would be faster to go to the bar and grab our drinks but the alpha won’t risk leaving us here alone in this crowd. Even if Fairytale is curated for omega safety there are never any guarantees.
Bea tells Foster about our tour adventures while we wait, filling our booth with laughter. A smile crosses my lips watching the two of them.
“Here,” Shepherd grunts. He slides a selection of whimsical cocktails and shots across to us along with three unopened bottles of water.
Uncapping the small bottles of swirling blue liquid labeled ‘drink me’, I clink the glass against my friend’s before downing the shot. My nose crinkles when the sour taste of blue raspberry and lemon hits my tongue. I bet Titan would love this. The guilt returns thinking of the large alpha and his mates, so I quickly grab one of the pink iridescent cocktails and drink half of it.
Tomorrow I can return to feeling miserable about keeping secrets from my mates, but for tonight I am going to enjoy a night out with friends.
“Damn girl, did a month on tour leave you with problems you need to drink away?” Foster asks, his eyes wide as he watches me finish off the cocktail. I roll my eyes, already feeling the buzz of the alcohol as it hits my system.
“She’s sulking because Pack Graves isn’t here,” Bea laughs. I scowl at my best friend for revealing my poorly kept secrets. She isn’t wrong though. I miss them like crazy.
“Finally!” Foster cheers, raising his drink in a toast to–well I don’t really know why he’s toasting. “We told you they’d be good for you!”
“Maybe. But am I good for them? That’s the question.”
“Omen–” Foster starts to speak, but I cut him off with a shake of my head.
“I’m going to dance.”
They follow behind me, dancing in a small group with Shepherd watching our backs. Anytime someone gets too close or tries to step in to join us without us expressing interest first, Shep blocks their path with the scary scowl he’s mastered.
Thoughts of the future fade into the background as the music moves through my body. I can feel each heavy beat as if I were standing on top of the speakers. My eyes drift closed, my head falling back as I lose myself in the moment.
I don’t know how long I stand there, swaying to the beat and letting the notes carry my worries away. For a little while the fear of what's to come doesn’t feel as pressing. I’m not suffocating beneath the weight of the secrets I’ve carried for the past five years. I can breathe.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
NOW PLAYING: TAKEMe Back To Eden- Sleep Token
Finishing the guys’ show in Philadelphia, I rush back to my bus to put away my camera. Last night’s and tonight’s shows were much lighter. No one was protesting outside and we were in pro-pack cities. My soul feels brighter without the extra stress the protests have been causing.
Swinging out of my mini-nest, I rush to the front of the bus. Lex and Ridley are still away working on whatever assignment they were called into the DAU for, so we’ve been assigned two new guards until they return in a few days. Hendrix, the older of the two, is getting ready to climb into the driver’s seat when I stop him.
“Hey, I’m going to ride back to the lot on Primordial Covenant’s bus. Um, if that’s okay.”
Hendrix sighs but agrees. Standing at the door he watches me cross to the guys’ bus. I don’t bother to knock since I already told them I was planning to hang out here during the drive home. Their TV plays loudly in the living area and I can smell the scent of their anger as soon as I touch the bottom step. My instincts are on high alert. The need to escape their fury nearly unmanageable.
Fighting past my flight instinct, I hurry up the stairs only to come to a standstill when I see the four of them watching a recording of tonight's evening news. A campaign ad for Senator Pierson plays on the screen. My stomach churns seeing the vile alpha spread hatred and promises for a ‘better’ world. Memories of those same ideals spoken from my birth father’s voice threaten to resurface, but I manage to force them aside.
I can’t afford to spiral when my pack needs me.
I turn toward Nexus where he stands rigidly beside their couch, my mouth open to ask them what’s wrong, when the voice on the TV changes. The haunting familiarity of it threatens to bring me to my knees. I watch in horror as my birth father’s image appears on the screen. He’s being interviewed about his very vocal backing of Pierson’s campaign.
My lungs won’t seem to work, frozen in terror as past memories flicker rapidly through my mind. Broken bones, heavy fists, shattered glass, degrading words, loneliness. I can’t breathe.
One slow blink, my head spinning from the sudden lack of oxygen, and I come face to face with a paralyzing realization. Nexus has seen me without my contacts. He’s seen my real eyes. The same eyes that are reflected back at me on their television screen. They’re going to figure out who I am. I need to–
No. I’m done running. I already have plans to tell them the truth anyway, I might as well do it now. I trust them. Even without Lex’s input, I know in my heart these men would neverhurt me. I’m meant to be theirs as much as they are meant to be mine.
Nebula slams their remote down on the coffee table, shattering the plastic backing and sending the batteries flying across the floor. “Fucking worthless, lying piece of shit! How can they not realize he’s bullshitting them? Using them to gain more power so he can ruin more lives.” I’ve never seen him so livid before. The weight of his rage has me instinctively curling in on myself to escape his notice.
I must make some noise because four pairs of eyes snap to where I’m standing. Nebula curses again, but it’s Callisto who closes the distance between us and wraps me in his arms. “It’s okay, starlight,” he whispers. He hugs me tightly against him, my head tucked into his neck for easy access to his soothing beta scent. The soft notes of violet and cedar help me shake the effect of Nebula’s anger quickly, but my body still trembles from the fear hearing my birth father’s voice caused. “Nebula isn’t mad at you.”
