Page 45 of Stolen Omega

I lead the way, and she hurries after me while I digest what the band just told me.

James Archer was watching me perform tonight.

The Alpha who’s been following the rules and keeping his distance while his Beta got the chance to know me and fall for me, was watching me from the side of the stage. A few feet from where I was standing. Almost close enough to trigger my perfume.

That’s a crazy risk to take.

He’s been so careful up until now.

Why would he get so close when he knows what could happen?

I wish I could speak to Russ. We need to talk about this.

After the show, I remind myself.

You’ll see him at the hotel.

The next couple hours are going to be the longest of my life.

Chapter Fifteen

Archer

I’m not sure I knew where I was going when I left the tour bus, but ending up at the side of the stage, watching my future mate sing her heart out should have been the obvious answer when my feet started moving of their own accord. She’s been haunting my thoughts since I first heard her voice, and now that Russ has claimed her, she’s all I can think about.

I watch her on stage, and it takes everything in me to stay where I am, hiding in the darkness and taking in her talent, beauty and grace in a state of stunned awe.

This woman is my true mate.

She’s meant to be mine, and I was made to be hers.

When her head whips to the left, and she stares back at me, eyes narrowing, I realize she can’t see me, but she can tell I’m here. I’m nowhere near close enough to trigger her perfume, but she feels … something.

She pulls her focus back into the show quickly, and I tell myself I should leave. Nothing good can come from following my instincts while my future mate isn’t free to be marked by an Alpha.

Still, I don’t move from where I’m standing, watching her every move intently.

She doesn’t look over again, laser-focused on her performance.

When she dances off stage, it’s to the right, where she goes through a costume change that drives the crowd wild. The glittering, silver dress is scandalously short, but her effortlessly graceful movements keep the skirt from exposing those last few inches of her sculpted, sun-kissed thighs.

I can’t stay here. I know if I do, all the good intentions I’ve been holding onto since I took this job will be lost to my instinctive drives. My mate is long overdue to be claimed, and I’m beyond ready to take what’s mine.

She’ll lose everything she’s worked for if I don’t get myself under control.

This life she’s carved out for herself isn’t truly hers, but it could be.

All we really need to do is give her contract a few months to run out.

“You can wait three months,” I mutter under my breath.

It should feel like nothing. Given how long I’ve already waited, it’s a special kind of torture. It’s like having delays added to the start of a vacation, and realizing you’re going to have to wait even longer before you can finally relax.

Russ has claimed her, and she’s open to me being her Alpha.

It’s better than I could have hoped for, and yet it’s driving me mad at the same damn time.

I walk away when the lights on stage start to dim for the ballad that comes before the mid-show break. I force myself to keep going, and it feels like it’s happening in slow motion.

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