25
Parker
I had been in the middle of rehearsals when the text from Kage came through, a simple message that was both cryptic and concerning.
Need you to cover for me.
Keep Zeph off the bus for a while. Trust me.
It wasn’t unusual for one of us to need a little covering now and then.
We had each other’s backs, especially when it came to dealing with the darker parts of our lives.
Sometimes, that meant one of us couldn’t make it to a meeting or a rehearsal because of a hangover or worse.
But this was different.
This wasn’t about hiding a bender or some careless night out.
Kage had specifically asked me to keep Zeph from the bus. That was our home when we were on tour, our safe space, and we had never kept each other from it.
I pocketed my phone, glancing up at Zephyr, who was going through the song we were working on for what felt like the hundredth time.
His brow was furrowed in concentration, his fingers dancing effortlessly over the strings of his bass as he tried to nail down a tricky section.
There was no way he’d be happy if he knew Kage was up to something on the bus—especially if it involved Phoenix.
Kage and I didn’t care about her designation, but Zephyr still didn’t know.
It wasn’t our place to tell him.
At least not yet. Still, the guilt gnawed at me—keeping something like this from him felt wrong. But it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Kage’s sudden request had something to do with her.
I sighed, pushing the thoughts aside for now.
I had a job to do.
“Let’s take it from the top again,”
I said, trying to keep things moving, to keep Zeph distracted. We’d already been at it for hours, just the two of us and Pete, our manager, sitting off to the side, watching us like a hawk.
Zephyr grunted, his focus unwavering as he played through the section again.
I followed along, my sticks tapping against the drum pads in rhythm, but my mind was only half on the music.
The other half was stuck on what the hell Kage was doing.
We were halfway through the song when Pete suddenly stood up, stretching and giving us that look—the one that meant he was about to ask for something.
“Alright, this is sounding good, but where the hell is Kage?”
Pete asked, glancing at the empty spot where our guitarist should’ve been. “We’ve got a tight schedule. I need to talk to him about tomorrow’s set.”
I kept playing, trying to think of something, anything, to keep Pete off Kage’s trail. “He’s probably just cooling off somewhere,”
I said casually. “You know how he gets when we rehearse too long.”
Pete raised an eyebrow. “We’re already behind schedule as it is. We can’t afford to screw around.”
Before I could come up with another excuse, Zephyr chimed in. “I’ll go grab him. He’s probably on the bus.”
He set his bass guitar down and stood up, already heading for the door.
Damn it. This was exactly what Kage had asked me to prevent.
“No!”
I said a little too quickly. Both Pete and Zeph turned to look at me, confusion clear on their faces. I cleared my throat, trying to recover. “I mean, I’ll go get him. You guys stay here. I could use a break anyway.”
Zephyr narrowed his eyes at me, suspicion flickering in his gaze. He wasn’t stupid. He knew when something was up, and I wasn’t doing a great job of covering for Kage right now. But he didn’t push it, at least not yet.
Pete shrugged. “Fine. Just don’t take too long. We’ve got a lot to go over.”
I nodded, grabbing my phone and slipping it into my pocket before making my way out of the rehearsal room. As soon as I was out of sight, I pulled my phone out and fired off a quick message to Kage.
On my way. You better have a good reason for this.
The walk to the bus wasn’t long, but it felt like forever. I had a feeling I knew what was happening.
When I finally reached the bus, I hesitated for a moment before climbing the steps. The door hissed shut behind me, and the familiar scent of the bus hit me—faint traces of my packmates and I. But there was another scent now, something more intoxicating. Vanilla and honey. It was impossible to ignore.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself before heading toward the back of the bus. The closer I got to the main bedroom, the stronger the scent became.
My whole body reacted, instincts flaring up as the scent settled deep in my lungs.
FUCK.
I instinctively knew the scent belonged to Phoenix. My scent match. I reached the door and knocked softly. My grip tightened on the doorframe, pulse quickening, as my mind raced with possibilities.
There was silence for a moment before I heard a low, dangerous growl echo from inside the bedroom.
Kage.
He opened the door and emerged from the room. His expression was thunderous, and his muscles tensed like he was ready to attack. His usual demeanor was gone, replaced by something far more feral. His pupils were blown wide, and his entire posture screamed at me in warning. He didn’t even look like my packmate.
For a split second, I thought he was going to lose it. His growl vibrated in the air between us, a clear signal to stay the hell away. But then, as his eyes focused on me, recognition dawned, and the tension in his frame loosened, if only slightly. The warning growl died in his throat, and his lips pressed together as he straightened up.
“Parker,”
he said, his voice rough and strained. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to grab you,”
I replied, keeping my voice steady despite the pounding in my chest. “Pete and Zeph are starting to wonder where you are. But—”
I gestured toward the back, my eyes narrowing as I took in the scene. “What the hell is going on?”
Kage’s gaze flickered back to the bedroom, then to me, the growl returning to the back of his throat, but it wasn’t directed at me this time. His eyes flashed, and I knew this was more serious than I’d initially thought. The scent in the air had gotten to him—hell, it was getting to me too—but he was trying to keep himself in check, even if it was a losing battle.
“She had a heat spike,”
he said, his voice low and rough, each word dripping with restraint. “She’s out of suppressants.”
Fuck. The word slammed through my mind again, the weight of the situation hitting me like a freight train. No wonder Kage had wanted me to keep Zeph away.
I stared at Kage, trying to process it all. The scent was driving me crazy, making my thoughts blur, but I forced myself to focus. This was Phoenix we were talking about. The woman we’d all been tiptoeing around, the one we all felt something for even if she kept trying to distance herself.
“Is she okay?” I asked.
“She’s sleeping now,”
Kage replied, his gaze heavy with something I couldn’t quite read. “I got her through the spike, but…”
The silence filled in the rest. Phoenix’s heat was coming.
I let out a long breath, rubbing the back of my neck. “What’s the plan then? Pete’s on a mission to find you, man. Zeph’s gonna get suspicious if you don’t show soon,”
I said, locking eyes with him.
Kage’s jaw tightened. His eyes flicked back toward the bedroom, the protective instinct still raw and wild in his gaze. I could feel the tension rolling off him, even as he fought to keep himself under control. Whatever had just gone down between him and Phoenix, it wasn’t something he could easily walk away from.
“Shit,”
Kage groaned, running a hand through his long hair, clearly torn between wanting to stay and needing to go. His jaw tightened, and for a moment, I thought he’d refuse to leave.
I stepped closer, keeping my voice low and calm. “Look, go shower. Wash that delicious scent off you before someone else catches wind of it.”
Kage gave me a sharp look, eyes narrowing like he didn’t quite trust where this was heading.
I raised my hands in mock surrender, keeping my tone light but serious. “I’ll stay with her, make sure she’s alright.”
His gaze darkened, suspicion clear in his eyes. “Will you now?”
“If it’s okay with her,”
I added quickly. “But you need to handle things with Zeph before he starts putting pieces together. He’s already suspicious.”
Kage’s shoulders slumped slightly, the exhaustion of the situation clear. He weighed his options. I could tell the last thing he wanted was to leave Phoenix right now, but he knew I was right. If Zeph caught even a whiff of what was happening, things could spiral fast.
Finally, Kage let out a low sigh. “Alright. But don’t—”
“I won’t,”
I interrupted, knowing what he was about to say. “I just want to make sure she’s okay. That’s it.”
Kage held my gaze for a long moment before finally nodding. He turned toward the door but paused before stepping out. “If she says no, I’m staying. Got it?”
I gave him a firm nod. “Of course. I’ll go find some scent neutralizer for the front of the bus while you wake her up and ask her.”
Without another word, Kage returned to the bed, leaving me standing in the doorway, the heavy scent of vanilla and honey still lingering in the air.
I took a deep breath, steadying myself before heading toward the front of the bus, knowing full well this situation was a powder keg waiting to blow.
◆◆◆
Once I made sure there were no remnants of that delicious vanilla and honey scent on the bus, I finally allowed myself to breathe.
It had nearly killed me to scrub away the faint traces of her from what I’d come to view as our home.
Every wipe of the cloth, every flick of the scent neutralizer spray, felt like erasing a part of her from the place she’d carved into my life.
But I had to do it.
The temptation of her scent lingering was too much, and I couldn’t risk Zeph picking up on it, not before she was ready.
When I was done, I made my way to the main bedroom.
I flicked on the scent neutralizer air system as I entered.
The soft hum filled the room as the device worked to neutralize any remaining pheromones.
Only then did I let myself climb under the covers, my body sagging with relief.
Phoenix stirred the moment I settled in.
She rolled into my arms like she’d been waiting for me, her warmth immediately soothing some of the edges of my constantly frayed nerves.
Her nose pressed into the crook of my neck, and she let out a soft sigh.
That scent of hers, subtle now, still made my heart ache in ways I wasn’t prepared for.
My arms tightened around her, and I groaned low in my throat, shifting uncomfortably as I adjusted the bulge in my pants. She made everything—every instinct, every desire—hard to control.
Her sleepy eyes fluttered open, hazy and unfocused at first.
But then they locked on mine, sharp and searching.
She gazed at me like she was trying to figure out what was going on in my head, like she was looking for my thoughts.
I brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, my fingers lingering for just a second longer than necessary. “Why?”
I asked softly, the question hanging in the air between us.
I didn’t need to say more.
The weight of my words, the look in my eyes—she knew exactly what I was asking.
Her eyes widened for a moment before they darted away, her lashes lowering as if she were ashamed.
She glanced down at my chest, her fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns against the fabric of my shirt.
But I wasn’t going to let her hide from me.
Gently, I tilted her chin up so she had no choice but to meet my gaze.
“Want to know my theory?”
I murmured, keeping my voice low and steady.
She hesitated, then gave a small nod, her teeth tugging at her bottom lip.
“I think,”
I began, “you thought we didn’t deserve to know. And you’re probably right. We treated you like shit, Phoenix. Why would you want to be stuck with Alphas like us? Why would you want to tie yourself to a pack who didn’t treat you the way you deserved?”
Her lips parted as if to respond, but nothing came out. She closed her eyes briefly, taking a deep breath before opening them again. “It wasn’t just that,”
she admitted. “It was part of it, sure. But mostly… I never wanted a pack. I like living as a Beta. There’s freedom in it, you know? No one watching your every move. No one trying to control you. As an Omega… there are so many restrictions. I mean, I can’t even get a job as an Omega without being bonded or having a guardian for fuck’s sake.”
I nodded slowly, my chest tightening at the frustration in her voice. “I get that,”
I said softly. “I really do. And you know what? You can still live as a Beta if that’s what you want, Sweetheart. Omega, Beta… it doesn’t matter to me. You’re you, and that’s all I care about.”
Her eyes filled with tears, one slipping down her cheek before she could stop it. The sight of it broke something in me, and without thinking, I let out a soft purr—an instinctive, comforting sound I hadn’t even realized I could make until now. Her breath hitched, and she buried her face against my chest, her fingers clutching at my shirt like it was the only thing keeping her grounded.
We stayed like that for what felt like hours, the world outside fading into nothingness. My hand moved in slow, soothing circles on her back, and her breathing evened out, the tension in her body melting away bit by bit. I wanted to protect her, to give her the freedom she craved while also letting her know she wasn’t alone anymore.
“You don’t have to run from me anymore,”
I murmured against her hair. “From us. Whatever you need, Phoenix, we’ll figure it out together. You’re not alone in this, okay?”
She nodded against my chest, her arms tightening around me. She was worth every risk, every challenge, every sacrifice. And I would spend the rest of my life proving that to her if that’s what it took.