Chapter 5
Five
The first thing I notice when I wake up is that the bed is too comfy to be the rock-hard mattress at the shelter or a pile of leaves and twigs in the woods. No log overhead, no bugs for company—just me in a bed that feels like a cloud. Added bonus… it comes with the most delectable chocolate and blueberry scent that has me pressing my face into the pillow, inhaling the smell.
The last thing I recall is a pair of heavenly eyes that seemed to look straight through to my soul and a deep voice that could command a storm. He rushed me into a building, which I guess is his home, and told me to wait in the bathroom as he dealt with the enforcers.
I curled up in the shower stall, shivering with fear, my world spinning as the first tingles of my heat were making a show. Then I remember starting to pass out from how tense I felt.
So, Mr. Candy Eyes must have carried me into his bed sometime afterward.
I take a few moments to shake out of the trance his scent puts me under, then I quickly scramble out of bed, the Nexus enforcers finding me heavy on my mind.
I’ve heard that it can take weeks for an Omega’s heat to come into bloom, and it starts in small snippets of changes in the body, of uncontrollable arousal, of passing out from the overwhelming changes in our bodies. It makes me wonder if that’s what I felt with both the guy at the club and the Alpha in the alley.
Both times, I reacted so hungrily for them; it scared me.
Moving over to the window, I pull aside the drapes and squint into the daylight that looks already past midday, searching for the Nexus van and for the men, but the coast is clear.
That’s when the low murmur of voices reaches me from outside the bedroom.
I freeze on the plush rug. Have the enforcers found me? Did they get into the building?
I tiptoe to the door, my heart hammering in my chest as fear tugs at my chest. Peering into a hallway that leads to steps going downstairs, I see three men. The one with his back to me has chestnut hair, shaved at the sides and back, longer at the top. Then there’s the gorgeous Alpha I met downstairs with his deep-blue eyes, and a third man with shorter, dark blond hair and heavy tats covering his arms and neck from what I can see from my viewpoint.
There’s something tempting about them, too, all three standing tall, with broad shoulders and chests. They’re dressed in casual jeans and shirts, looking so gorgeous. If I passed them on the street, I’d do a double take.
They’re in a heated discussion.
“She must have passed out, but that’s not the point. You saw she’s in trouble,” the Alpha who brought me to his bedroom is saying.
A chill trickles down my spine at the memory that he saw the Nexus enforcers coming for me. Then I begged for his help. My breath hitches because the thought of being turned over to the authorities has me plotting escape routes in my head. Leaving town is a priority.
The longer I stare at them, arguing about me bringing trouble to them, the more I swear they look familiar, as if I’ve seen them somewhere before, but I can’t pin it down.
“And why’s it our problem?” the guy with his back to me asks.
I frown at his hatred.
“Jasper has a point.” The blond guy runs a hand through his short hair and glances over to Mr. Candy Eyes.
So, that’s his name—Jasper. I like the way it sounds in my mind, and I swear I’ve heard the name before. I’m struggling today with a blurry mind.
“How so?” the angry guy asks.
“Did you get a whiff of her scent? She’s an Omega, right in our home, and you know… we don’t have one, and maybe this is our chance.”
What the hell! The thought sends sparks of panic to my muscles.
The Omega Academy used to warn us against fraternizing with Alphas outside of Nexus’ involvement, saying they can’t control their urges. So, if they find an Omega in full-blown heat, they’ll lose their control and rape us. We were told this at a young age, and I swear for a long time afterward, every Alpha terrified me. I believed Nexus would protect me and find my perfect pack, who wouldn’t harm me.
They fear-mongered Omegas from a young age to make us loyal to them. I’m not saying some Alphas would love nothing more than to steal an Omega, lock her up without anyone knowing, and use her as a sex slave—especially once we go into heat and see there are fewer of us compared to them—but my father taught me how wrong Nexus had been to paint all Alphas with the same brush.
This pack’s suggestions hang in the air. Do they think I’m a commodity to be owned? Do they just want a slave Omega?
I’m not sure if I want to laugh that I escaped the enforcers, or cry at what I’m hearing. Over the years, I’ve tolerated a lot of being restricted in what I can and can’t do, and I’m still grappling with the bus crash and being on the run.
Their conversation worries me, as does my intense reaction to being close to Jasper, with them able to tell I’m an Omega. With my first signs of going in heat… does this mean he’s what many call a true mate Alpha?
I blink at Jasper, my heart fluttering at the sight of how insatiably gorgeous he is, how I’m burning up just staring at him.
Many say true mate Alphas don’t exist, but some swear they do, saying if they detect your heat when it just begins, when it’s so faint it’s barely recognizable, that you are theirs.
“Are you insane?” his royal crankiness blurts out, jarring me out of my thoughts, and I’m starting to really dislike him. “She’s wanted by Nexus, and how will you hide her when we literally have paparazzi following us the moment we go anywhere?”
Wait! Paparazzi?
The word triggers something inside me, a recognition that ignites a memory that’s been right in front of my face, but I’ve been drowning in my own problems to really pay attention.
Until now!
Fuck, I recognize their faces now…
“Fever.” The name of their band slips past my lips in a whisper, and my eyes widen as reality collides with me. I’m in the presence of the chart-topping rock band Fever. Their music has been the soundtrack to more than a few crazy nights out, not to mention on my own playlists.
Their gazes suddenly twist and lock on me.
I’m freaking out, scared…, and slightly fangirling. Who am I kidding… majorly fangirling. Except I don’t want them to think I’m just another groupie or something.
Jasper is definitely the drummer. I see it now, even if he wears his hair covering his face during most tours and music videos, as if he hates the publicity. The tattooed Alpha has to be Reed, their guitarist, and the cranky guy, their lead singer, Seth. Oh, fuck me!
When his phone buzzes, he excuses himself and hurries downstairs, barking at someone on the line.
My heart’s frantically beating, my face burning up as they come in my direction.
Hell!
Frozen in place, my cheeks are flaming with embarrassment under their gazes.
Jasper approaches first, his expression soft with concern.
“How are you feeling after you passed out?”
“O…” My mouth dries as my gaze bounces between the two of them and how ridiculously gorgeous they are. Reed, with his short, dark-blonde hair, is nothing like the wild mane I’ve seen thrashing around on stage. The tattoos that climb over his neck and down the sleeves of his arms are stunning, but I’ve seen the photos of him in magazines showing the raven tattoos on his chest that everyone speculates about. He never tells a soul what they represent, but that Norse ink has everyone guessing he’s got Viking heritage.
They’re both staring at me, and I’m still trying to find my voice, reminding myself they’re normal people like me.
Except how can they be…
“I think she’s lost her voice,” Reed says. “She’s fangirling big time. Are you sure she’s not just a groupie you’ve dragged into our home?”
Blinking at him for mocking me, my shoulders shoot back at his accusation that I faked needing help.
“For your information, I had no idea who you three were, even when I saw your faces. I mean, what do you even sing…” I shrug. “I’m guessing some pop music. Do you do those choreographed dances, too?” I give him a mocking grin because he knows I’m lying, but my insult also strikes.
Of course, I know who Fever really are—who the hell doesn’t—but his words and tone irk me.
Jasper breaks out laughing, slapping Reed in the arm. “She got you there.”
Reed glares back at his friend. “You realize she insulted you, too?”
He shrugs. “Nah, she adores me. I see it in her eyes.” When he glances at me and winks, I melt on the spot, my panties suddenly drenched.
What in the world is wrong with me?
Wearing my bravery, refusing to let these Alphas who’ve let stardom get to their heads affect me, I step out of the bedroom and join them in the hallway.
“So, this is where the famous band Fever hangs out, hey? Interesting joint. A place I’m assuming you’ve kept super-secret from your fans, seeing there’s no mob outside trying to get in or throwing their panties at you?”
Reed’s eyes narrow. “It’s a location that’s saved your ass from those enforcers looking for you, Omega.” He steps in my direction.
Maybe getting close to him isn’t the best idea. His plum and vanilla scent smothers me, leaving me heady and drooling in seconds. Or more like finding myself staring up at how insanely beautiful this man is. It’s disconcerting how easily I’m impacted.
“How cute, she’s trying to be brave,” Reed states sarcastically to Jasper over his shoulder. “But she is clearly dying to squeal with excitement in our company.” He’s grinning too much, enjoying this.
I roll my eyes at him. “Are you really that arrogant? Believe it or not, there are girls out there who aren’t interested in you… including me.”
Suddenly, he’s walking up to me so fast, I back away until my heels kiss the wall. Pinning me there, he stares down at me. My nostrils flood with the overpowering sweetness and masculine sexiness that oozes out of every inch of him.
Why is he impacting me so strongly, too? Please don’t tell me he might be a genuine match because I would rather smother him with a pillow than let him take me to his bed.
“Look, fangirl, I really don’t know what you’re playing at or why in the world you smell like the most addictive lavender and mandarin that’s fogging my head, but how about you come clean on what you’re really doing here?”
“Reed,” Jasper begins. “Leave her the hell alone, bruh. And don’t shove your trust issues on her.”
Gasping for air and fighting the urgency to stop pressing my thighs together to stop the tingling that’s making me needy with arousal, I press my hands to his chest.
“Get off,” I bark. The warmth of his chest bleeds through his shirt, zapping up my arms like I’ve touched a live wire, and I urgently want it curled around me.
I fist his shirt, staring at his disheveled appearance, unable to believe I’m having this conversation with Reed from Fever or that my body is betraying me so brutally. I can’t think of anything but needing him closer, clothes gone, body to body.
“I-I can’t believe this,” he murmurs, a slight shake in his body, and suddenly, the confident Alpha looks taken aback, startled. As if fighting an invisible beast, he rips himself away from me, his shirt torn from my grip.
Stumbling back, he pauses by the railing near the steps, gasping for air.
“Shit man,” he murmurs, his voice darkening, moving over to Jasper. “Not only have you brought a hunted Omega into our home, but one who’s on the verge of going into full-blown heat.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” Jasper answers. “She’s in trouble, and we can’t exactly throw her out on the streets.”
Silence blinks between us.
I stare at them, hating how I’m made to sound like a burden. Well, fuck them! I don’t need them, my mom, or anyone.
“Hey, sorry to break up the bromance going on, but I don’t want your help or anything. I appreciate you helping me with enforcers, but that’s where we end. Now, show me the way out.” I move toward the steps, my heart colliding into my ribcage with fear, with an urgency to escape.
Jasper’s in front of me in an instant, blocking my path, hands in his pocket, as though blocking the stairs is something he does every day.
“You’re not going anywhere, little mouse. You’re being hunted, plus you’re showing signs of going into heat. So, do you really want to be out there alone for any Alpha to find you? With us, you’re safe.”
His words tether me back from the edge of the staircase.
“Who said I was alone?” I say, lifting my chin.
“How about you tell us what’s going on? Seth told us Nexus took you from Nocturne club. Did you escape from them? Is that why they’re chasing you?”
Safe? Am I really safe?
He arches an eyebrow.
Meeting Alphas I feel a connection with isn’t supposed to go like this. I thought about it my whole life, of that instant connection, that addiction, and my pack engulfing me with wanting me when we finally met. Promising me the world.
Maybe the issue is that I’m thinking these guys are my pack… but they aren’t. Reed made that clear.
Right now, I have the intense attraction, the hunger that has me burning up, but where’s the part where the Alphas swoop me off my feet and say, ‘you are ours forever’ without hesitation? Jasper’s adorable and caring, but is that just his conscience speaking? I’m not sure what to make of my feelings, or that deep down in my heart, a desperate part of me wishes my dream would just come real. To finally be given a damn chance in life to find happiness.
Instead, Reed’s chuckling from across the hallway.
“Let her go if she wants. I mean, she’ll only stifle our creativity, and she probably doesn’t appreciate real music when she hears it.”
His words sting, and I shoot him a glare, aware he’s getting me back for my comment about their rock band singing pop, but I won’t let him crawl under my skin. I remember the way he reacted after inhaling my scent, and I know he felt what I had felt between us. So, if he wants to reject me, that’s fine. I don’t need them.
I meet Reed’s stare, my chest torn, my head furious at him, and my insides turning into a carnal pleasure carnival in their presence. That part I dislike.
Jasper’s not moving out of my way. As much as I can demand to be released, maybe staying a bit longer isn’t such a bad idea. At least until the enforcers leave the area, as I have no doubt they’d pay the women’s center a visit.
“Well, I guess I could stay for a bit,” I concede, holding Reed’s sarcastic gaze, wanting to make him suffer if I can.
“Perfect,” Jasper answers.
The grin he offers me leaves me breathless. How does he do that, stare at me like I’m the only person he sees in the world?
“Then you’re coming with us tonight to a party.”
I flinch. “Wait, what party? I thought?—”
“Who’s coming to the party?” A familiar, deep, raspy voice from the man ascending the steps steals the rest of my words. The moment I lay eyes on him, the sunlight on his face, I instantly know who he is… My heart’s in my throat, and I feel like I might pass out.
It’s the lead singer of Fever—Seth Striker—returning to join us.
Suddenly, it’s as if the room shifts, gravity tilting toward him, and every nerve in my body’s jumping. He’s the frontman, the face I’ve seen plastered across billboards and music covers.
I’m standing there, staring as Seth struts up the steps in tight leather pants that hug those strong legs and goes down to heavy boots. He’s in an off-white Henley top that follows the curves of so many muscles, and he’s wearing leather bands around his wrists. When the sunlight from a window behind him hits him, it reveals the flaming fire tattoo below his ear, hidden moments earlier by tousled, messy, chocolate-copper hair.
His face is absurdly handsome, with a strong jawline and a sinful mouth. He carries the kind of look I expect from a model gracing the pages of a high-end fashion magazine. The kind where their models are sculptured as if they live at the gym.
Get it together, Danica. Shit, it’s Seth!
I know I’m fangirling on the inside. I feel the fire blazing; the excitement drumming in my chest, and I’m convinced my mouth’s hanging open.
Swallowing back and shoving down the ridiculous girl who wants to giggle at seeing Seth Striker, I glance away. Only to have my sights land on Reed. He’s leaning against the wall, a knowing smirk playing on his lips as if he sees me momentarily dazzled by Seth’s presence.
I snap out of it just as quickly, taking in a sharp breath and driving my hands into the pockets of my jeans, as though it’s just another normal day.
“Apparently, me,” I answer just as Seth pauses feet from me, taking in all of me.
I tremble under his gaze and shift around on my feet, having no idea how to stand anymore. His stare is like having every bit of me exposed.
I fight the embarrassing inferno climbing up my neck. Part of me is flooded with raw nerves, another part with something I’m trying to ignore.
“I was just telling your friends that I was on my way out,” I explain, my voice shakier than I intended. “But they insisted I stay.”
He runs his hand through his hair, a gesture I’ve seen him do in so many photos and videos. My heart skips a beat that I’m swooning, and I hate myself for having so little control.
Jasper strides over to Seth, leaving me in the wake of his scent of chocolate and blueberries and not even realizing the impact he has on me, how my toes curl in my shoes. How the desire he ignites within me means it’s dangerous to be around them.
“Danica’s not going anywhere,” Jasper states, leaning a bent elbow against the railing near Seth. “Not while she has enforcers on her tail. I also think she’s alone and about to go into heat. And you know me, I can’t let her go back out there as she’ll be in trouble.”
The two men exchange a deep, knowing stare.
I adore that Jasper is on my side, even though I hate that he already knows too much about me.
“Heat?” Seth repeats, his attention narrowing on me once more, and this time, it’s a bit terrifying. “Where’s your family, Danica? Or did you escape from Nexus? How did you end up in the town of Haven?”
I blink, trying to corral my messed-up thoughts. How in the world do I even begin to explain? Before I can voice a single word, Reed’s on the move, crossing the hallway. He takes a wide berth from me, most likely not wanting to pick up on my scent. Jerk.
“Oh, she’s gonna take a while to respond,” he says with a chuckle. “She’s currently fangirling hard. Apparently, she’s a fan, though she won’t admit it.” Then to me, he continues, “You’re drooling a bit.” He touches the side of his mouth in mock concern.
“Asshole.”
“Call me when we’re heading out,” he calls out as he disappears downstairs.
Left alone with Jasper and Seth, I’m struggling to hold on to my composure. Jasper’s scent from striding so close to me still throws me off balance, and the threat of my heat coming scares me. Especially being out here with three Alphas who just happen to be Fever!
Seth’s gaze is steady on me as he waits for my response. There’s no softness in his expression, more like judgment. Like Reed, Seth clearly sees me as a burden who’s interrupted their precious time and life.
Well, I’ll be out of their hair soon enough… Giving the enforcers a bit of time not to find me and vanishing out of town is a must. Then the whole dealing with three Alphas will be over.
“Well, I guess the cat’s out of the bag now,” I begin, half-hearted in my enthusiasm. “I really have no reason to lie to you, especially if you’re being true to your word to help me for a bit and not report me to Nexus. Then I’ll be out of your hair.”
“We fucking hate Nexus,” Jasper says, frowning.
His comment has me more than intrigued.
Seth just studies me, eyes unflinching, and for a fleeting moment, it almost feels as though he’s recognizing someone he hasn’t seen in ages. While me… I’m wrestling with the urge to swoon each time our gazes meet. I shove the fangirl down inside me. I won’t let it be shown that Reed was spot on.
These guys are just Alphas, after all.
“I was being taken to the Nexus facility early because I apparently can’t follow their ridiculous rules,” I start off. “I was with three of my friends when the Nexus bus we were in lost control and crashed into a tree. After that, we got separated, and I wasn’t sticking around to be recaptured. I slipped down the hillside and knocked my head pretty good. Then I found this town.” I give a nonchalant shrug, yet the memory is still fresh, the fear that my friends are somewhere in trouble. However, they’re just as savvy, and I know they’ll find a way to survive… just like I’m doing.
“Come,” Seth murmurs. “Let’s take a seat somewhere more comfortable, and we can chat.” There’s something almost familiar about his voice, soothing, as though my body is reaching out to something we want over and over.
Before I can answer, he closes the distance between us, his hand on mine.
His touch is like an electric shock. His scent envelopes me instantly, a powerful smell of ginger and oak that sends my senses into overdrive. My knees buckle slightly, and I’m struck immediately by a familiarity of who’s standing in front of me.
A whine brushes over my throat at the intensity of his scent, at the need my body has for him. My balance wavers while I find a smirk playing on his lips—a knowing, triumphant tilt that suggests he’s been fully aware of who I am from the moment he laid eyes on me.
“It’s you,” I whisper as reality slams into me.
That grin widens, displaying a row of perfect teeth, and I find myself annoyed by how his attractiveness doesn’t falter, even with that smug grin.
“Hello, Danica. You remember me now?” he asks playfully. “The Alpha who you tricked into taking your virginity.”
His words hang heavily in the air, and for a second, I’m stunned.
I try to speak, but nothing comes out. The man in the mask… He may have been covered up, but the more I listen to that voice, the more I realize who I hooked up with the night at Nocturne.
His assertion, bold and unapologetic, and mannerism, locks me on the spot. The truth is that I let the lead singer of Fever finger me at a club and bring me to orgasm, being my first. And yes, his fingers were tainted with my blood, but his reaction infuriates the hell out of me.
“I didn’t trick you. You were very eager to stick your hand down my pants,” I finally sputter, lifting my chin high and noticing Jasper lifting his eyebrows in Seth’s direction. My face burns with embarrassment while he’s wearing that damn self-satisfied smirk again. “That’s how I remember our night went.”
“Oh,” Jasper blurts in. “So, she’s the girl you were telling us about at the club?”
“You told others?” My cheeks burn hotter.
“We share everything,” Seth admits.
“Well, come to think of it, how can I forget the arrogant guy who assumed he had a say over what I did with my body,” I snap back.
He barks a laugh. “I like how fierce you are. Now shall we go and talk, or would you rather stand here, so we can keep sparring?”
I grit my teeth, wondering if staying here is such a smart decision when I have one Alpha interested in helping me, one who wants me gone, and the big shot staring at me with his arrogant gaze.