Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
LEO
The smartest thing we did the night of our first gig, aside from calling ourselves a pack, was not go to an after party or even stay together at Aiden’s place again. For one thing, couch-sleeping—even when that couch is comfortable as hell—isn’t glamorous. And another, I think everyone still prefers to take the pack side of things slowly.
I’m grateful, honestly. I mean, I’m so ready to jump into that. I was ready to do anything Mia required to get through her heat and we all wanted to. I can’t speak for Noah or Aiden, but my inner alpha is still a little upset that we left her alone for the most part, other than the one night.
But I’ve seen the flip-side of this scenario before. Years ago, another band who picked up an omega on the road. They were scent matches, and not only did their band crash and burn because focus was all over the place, so did their relationships.
As right as everything with Exit Fate feels—or no, because of how right it all feels—taking things slowly is the right way. It ensures ample chance for communication and organic growth, or at least gives us space for it.
So, no after-parties that night. No staying together. It’s been two days since, and while we’ve connected in the group chat, it’s really not been enough contact. Thankfully, Mia is correcting that today with an order we all head south to the coast for a day at the beach.
We pile into Noah’s car and pick up Mia on the way. She’s waiting outside her apartment building with a bag slung over one shoulder and a cooler in her other hand. She’s wearing black shorts, a black tank-top, and I can just see bikini straps peeking out beneath the tank-top. It’s not entirely summer weather yet, but the sun is shining hot today. Mia’s call was a good one.
We drive south with the windows down and music playing, making it hard to really talk that much, but by the time we’ve hit the beach and set up our little spot for ourselves, the conversation flows freely.
“I’m telling you,” Mia exclaims as she opens her cooler and pulls out a non-alcoholic can of seltzer. “The beach is best for inspiration. How can you listen to waves and not be inspired?” She offers the can to me.
“Hey, I agree with you. And thank you,” I say, taking the drink.
Aiden and Noah pull out beers from a cooler they brought. “Well, then write us a song about the ocean,” Noah offers.
Mia digs out a notebook and pen before stretching out on her belly on her towel. “I will!” She was smart and applied sunscreen before leaving the car. Some sand sticks to her skin as the wind picks up.
I put my seltzer in the drink holder of my camping chair and reach for my own backpack. “See, this is what it’s all about. Writing songs on the beach in the sun.” I grab my own sunscreen and start slathering it on. If it gets too hot, I’ll grab the white button-down stuffed into the bottom of the bag.
Aiden nods my way. “You’ll be all right?”
I wave him off as the scent of sunscreen nearly dulls Mia’s only lovely strawberry candy and honey scent. “Yeah, we’re two months out. Less worried.”
Noah raises an eyebrow in my direction. “If it gets too hot, I’m out, too. Not built for this.”
Mia throws a little sand his way and giggles. “You’ll be okay. A little sun never hurt anyone.”
I toss the sunscreen back into my backpack and open my seltzer. The cool bubbles fizz down my throat as I focus my gaze on the dark blue ocean not far away. It does offer its own sense of peace, doesn’t it? Despite how fucking deep and terrifying oceans can be. I guess I can ignore that part for now and enjoy this as Mia wants us to.
Mia puts down her pen and looks up at me. “I was going to ask… I mean, you don’t have to say anything, of course. We don’t have to talk about it at all. But you and crowds…?”
Aiden meets my eyes but I shake my head. Might as well tell Mia and Noah now.
“How can you be a rock star and be afraid of crowds?” I ask her.
She nods. “Like, it’s totally okay. I was freaking out myself when we walked out on stage at Sound House. That’s the largest venue I’ve played.”
“True that,” Noah adds in before drinking his beer. He’s kicked back in his camping chair with sunglasses on.
I raise my seltzer to Noah and then sip from it. “It’s not a fear of crowds. I’m severely immunocompromised. Best to avoid them if possible, although that does make being in a performing band hard.”
Mia’s mouth opens but no words come out for a few moments. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” But I can see her mentally crossing back over the days we’ve known each other and connecting dots. Like Aiden picking a table near the open door at Al’s, and me entering in through a back entrance at Sound House.
“No, it’s okay.” I wave off her concern, not because I don’t want it, but because it’s been years now of this. “Most of the time it’s okay. I mean, obviously I have to be more careful than the average person. But I had an infusion two months ago, and that cuts my immune system in half. So, being careful for the moment.”
Noah’s eyebrows raise over the tops of his sunglasses. “Is this why you left Lost Time?”
I chuckle dryly. Leaving Lost Time and being kicked out or let go are very different versions of the story. “It was a mixed decision with a lot of layers. I wanted to come back once I recovered, but the doctors were against it, and so was the band. They were worried for my health.”
As they should have been. Neuropathy almost robbed me of use of both of my arms. I could barely move my fingers for six months, couldn’t raise my arms high enough to even slip on a t-shirt on my own. I consider it a miracle I can even play drums again, let alone as well as before.
And yeah, maybe that’s because without the commitment to Lost Time, I was allowed the space to fully recover and do everything I was told to do. But that didn’t make it suck any less. I was twenty-five at the time. Getting so close to the top of the rock band world and then having it absolutely swept away within days as I swiftly loss feeling and motion in both arms was devastating.
Lost Time wasn’t just a band name anymore. It was my reality.
No one’s said anything. I drink my seltzer again and then flash them all a smile. “Seriously, I’m fine now. That was the worst of it, and losing that band gained me this one. Vasculitis is nasty and it hits fast and often without warning. But it’s under control. Just going to avoid indoor parties, and if any of you get sick, I might stay away. Nothing personal.” I laugh again to show it’s okay.
They don’t really laugh back. Aiden least of all.
“Lost Time treated you like shit,” Aiden says. “I remember those days, Leo. We’re not going to do that to you. If you ever need time for anything , you’ve got it here without worries.”
“Thank you. For real.” I lift my drink to him. “And now that that’s out there, I’d love to no longer be the center of attention.” It’s why I preferred being the drummer of the band. I can sit behind them all and just enjoy the music and the crowd’s energy and not feel like every single set of eyes out there is on me.
Noah grabs a second beer from his cooler. “No, it’s a good thing to get out there. We got your back.”
“And I think we can all empathize with the feeling of losing time for sure,” Mia adds.
It’s a little ironic from someone so young, but then again, Mia’s only three years younger than I was when everything tilted sideways. Sometimes I forget her age.
“Amen to that,” Aiden adds, then elbows Mia’s shoulder. “Now, spotlight moves to you. You got the notebook, so let’s start writing music.”
And we do. For the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon we write tidbits of lyrics, verses, and even noting out parts for Noah and I. Aiden runs back to Noah’s car at one point to retrieve his guitar. By the time we finally break and Noah heads out to grab us all lunch at a food truck, we’ve got a lot down for a new song.
We eat to our success and this insane creative magic we have when we’re together. Every time I think that magic can’t become more, it does, and it feels like how Lost Time felt at the beginning, but stronger. Different.
And then I realize what’s causing at least part of it. Mia had gone to the water after eating, and she and Aiden dipped in to enjoy the waves. When they return, soaking wet, and Mia looking absolutely stunning in her black bikini, water running over her curves, her honey and strawberry candy scent slams into me like I’ve run straight into a wall.
It’s strong. Stronger than before, and sweeter.
And Mia is shaking.
“Are you okay?” Noah asks, clearly noticing all this, too.
Aiden’s awkwardly got an arm near her shoulder but not quite around it. “She was lightheaded in the water.”
Mia kneels down on her towel. Her cheeks are flushed red. “I’m, um…” She trails off and wraps her arms around herself. “Fucking hell.”
Aiden looks to Noah and I. “She’s in heat again.”
Mia shuts her eyes and shrinks in on herself. God, I wish she wouldn’t do that. She doesn’t need to hide from us, especially with her heat. She’s beautiful and wild and carefree, and seeing her shrink away from all of that right now painfully twists my gut.
“Mia,” I say.
She looks up to me with a slight frown on her face. I want to smooth it away with my thumb and then kiss her. I want to kneel before her and show her she doesn’t need to hide anything from us. Ever.
“It literally doesn’t make sense.” Tears brim in her eyes. “I’ve never gone into heat again so close together. Fuck.”
Her knees buckle. I’m having a hard time fighting myself from looking at them and seeing if slick is already coating her thighs. I can smell it—so sweet, so enticing.
Fuck.
Noah looks around. “We’re pretty isolated here at the moment.”
Aiden follows his cue. His jaw is locked hard, and his fists are tight at his sides like he’s fighting going to Mia, too. We’d briefly called ourselves a pack the night of our first gig, but nothing’s been discussed since. Still not official. Just a quiet understanding of taking things slowly.
But slowly won’t help our omega when she’s in heat.
Aiden finally kneels beside her. “I think it’s because you’re so close to us, your alpha pack. I don’t think our more primal instincts take into consideration how long we’ve known each other.”
Mia bites her lip. Her blush is hotter now, her shakes stronger. “This heat came on so quickly. I felt fine this morning.”
Aiden ducks his head so he’s in her field of view. “Mia, what do you want to do? Go home?”
“Do you want us to help you?” Noah asks.
Anticipation grips my chest. I want to help her so badly. My inner alpha screams knowing she’s right here, in heat, before me. It also wants more—to rut into her, to spill my seed into her and knot her until she’s moaning my name.
I can temper that. I know I can. That can come later. Or, maybe that’s part of why her heat is back so quickly. Maybe she needs our knots and our marks, to complete this bond for good.
Meanwhile we’re flirting with staying professional.
For fuck’s sake.
Time itself seems to stop while we wait for Mia’s answer. Her brow creases and she closes her eyes. Then she nods a little. “Please. Help me, I’m burning up. It’s stronger than last time.” She fully sits on the blanket now, her legs bent to either side of her. A wet mark begins to form under her where slick is flowing.
My inner alpha roars until a throaty growl escapes me. We all move toward her at the same time, surrounding her with care and protection.
Aiden is the closest. He grabs her face and captures her mouth. She moans loudly as his hand wraps her hair in a fist. Her body shakes harder as we touch her, like she’s vibrating all over and about to fall apart. Noah runs his hands up her legs and caresses her inner thighs while I palm her breasts.
Mia throws her head back as my thumbs press over her nipples. They stand to erect attention beneath her bikini top. A cry of pleasure rakes across her lips before Aiden draws her back down again, devouring her mouth with his own.
I lean in and kiss her neck and shoulder as I keep palming her breasts. I dip my hands beneath her bikini top so nothing separates us. Her skin is hot, her breasts full. I hope we remain isolated enough to wrap my lips around her nipples. My cock already strains against my bathing suit bottoms.
Mia moans again, a purr laden within it, as Noah’s fingers slip between her thighs, underneath her bikini bottoms.
He growls fiercely. “Mia, Mia, Mia. Angel, you are so fucking wet .”
She nods her head in little motions that are pretty freaking adorable with her cheeks flushed and her biting her lip.
I move with Aiden to help hold her up by her hips so Noah has a better angle. Aiden moves his free hand to her other breast and lets go of her mouth so I can lean in and kiss her. To taste her.
Fuck me. She’s so sweet. She’s everything in this moment. Nothing outside the four of us exists.
Noah’s fingers plunge between her legs. Mia bucks in time with them, thrusting as he works her inside and out. Aiden and I massage her breasts and take turns kissing her and her neck. She reaches out to both of us, her fingers gently exploring our erections.
“Shh, Angel, no,” Aiden whispers to her.
“Yes,” she purrs. “I want to.” But there’s hesitation in her voice, too. And then I remember how tight she was the night we met.
“Are you a virgin?” I ask as I nibble her ear.
Maybe it’s the wrong time to ask that, but the answer could change the trajectory of where this feels like it’s going. I’d love nothing more than to lay her out here and have our knots fully soothe her heat. But if she’s never slept with anyone , this is so not the place for someone to lose their virginity. It’s so open, so public, and so not an omega’s nest.
“Yes,” Mia admits, her voice small.
“Oh, angel,” Noah says as he kisses her now. “That’s nothing to be ashamed about.”
“Not at all,” Aiden purrs in her ear. “We’ll teach you everything we know. We’ll ease your heat.”
Mia relaxes into me and Aiden’s hold and returns to kissing me as Noah fingers her faster and faster. She grinds down against his hand and moans. As her fingers grace both Aiden’s shorts and mine, she tosses her head back again, rolls her hips, and cums on Noah’s hand.
Noah leans forward and captures one of her nipples through her bikini top. “You’re so beautiful when you cum, angel.” His hand is still between her thighs, still working her because one orgasm will never be enough to soothe a heat flare. Her chest is flushed, her lips parted, as she rides Noah’s hand. Her sweet strawberry candy scent fills the air around us.
Mia’s hands explore our erections. Aiden and I both tug down our shorts since she seems keen on continuing this, and she takes both our large cocks in her hands. She wraps her painted black fingernails around both our shafts and starts to slowly pump us.
I thrust into her hand, unable to not with her fucking gorgeous fingers wrapped around my rock-hard length. Aiden’s doing the same. It’s hard not to watch his cock slide through her hand, pre-cum from both of us covering her fingers. I haven’t been with anyone in so long, and the feel of another person, especially our omega, bringing me pleasure is almost impossible to hold. I grunt as I desperately try to maintain control and not blow my load immediately.
Mia’s body coils tightly again as Noah brings her over the edge for a second time. With Aiden and I both lowering her bikini straps and taking her nipples into our mouths, tongues swirling, it’s not long before she’s cum again.
The feel of her rocking forward against Noah, the way her grip tightens on my cock and grows more confident, is the end of me. My balls pull up and an electric shot of pleasure pulses through my length. I cum all over her hand and leg, growling with the force of that release. Aiden follows soon after, and then Mia’s reaching for Noah’s cock as he brings her over the edge a fourth time.
Noah hardly lasts long. Within a minute we’re all basking in an afterglow of this new level of our pack relationship. Even as we clean Mia and ourselves up, even when she falls back against her towel, smiling up at the sky, and breathing relief from her heat, I know. I just know.
There will never be another pack for me. Even if it takes us another month to fully form and mark her.
Exit Fate is my band. My pack.
My home.