Chapter Forty
CHAPTER FORTY
PORTLAND, MAINE MARKS the third stop on the label’s impromptu charity tour. Unlike Primordial Covenant’s tour this summer, each stop for this one has a different line up, chosen from both the East and West Coast’s contracts.
Being back on the road without Ridley feels weird. Thankfully, Orbital Somatic was only chosen for a few shows here on the East Coast. They’re opening for Orion’s former band, Shattered Horizons, which is cool as hell.
“You good, man?” Joey asks Caleb as they leave the dressing room. The lead singer shrugs, eyes darting around the hallway like he is waiting for someone to jump out and scare him.
“What’s going on?” My question is directed to Lee, their drummer.
He stops beside me, a sad smile turning up the corner of his lips. “Caleb was in a band before. He formed it with his childhood sweetheart. They were really close, even thought they might be mates at one point, but their connection never appeared.”
I study Caleb as we walk to the wings, getting ready for their sound check. “So why is he jumpy?”
“Shattered Horizon’s omega, Skye? She was the one he formed the band with.”
My mouth parts in shock as I glance back at Caleb. He and Skye? Skye fucking Pierce was Caleb’s old band mate and his childhood crush?
“Is she here?” I question, furrowing my brow and peering around like the bubbly singer is hiding behind the curtains. I would have heard if she was coming with her mates, right?
“Skye always goes where her mates are. Or so Caleb says.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
Lee nods, twirling a pair of drum sticks between his fingers. “Caleb always finds a way to let go when we step onto the stage. His old heartbreak won’t stop him now.” He leaves me behind, moving to take his place at the drum kit on stage.
Part of me wonders what happened between them, why their band split up, but the professional part of me knows it isn’t my place to dig. If Caleb has an issue with Skye’s presence, we can take steps to keep them from being in the same room.
Until he mentions it, or I see him struggling, I will trust my band to know their limits.
“Whatever fire was lit under your asses tonight, let’s make sure it never goes out!” I declare as I walk into Orbital Somatic’s dressing room. They just finished one hell of a set. The way they moved together on stage, the raw emotion in Caleb’s voice, and the overall energy they held on stage tonight was incredible.
The crowd was enamored with them.
“I’m so fucking proud I could cry.”
“Thanks, Bea.” Caleb is slouched on a chair, head back and eyes closed. A bottle of water is pressed to his temple, helping to cool his over heated skin.
Someone knocks on the outside of the door, so I step back and open it. Excitement bubbles in my chest when I come face-to-face with Skye Pierce. Her white-blonde hair hangs around her shoulders in soft waves and a floral maxi dress flows down her body. She looks out of place among all the leather and dark colors the bands and crew wear.
“I love your heels!”
I glance down at the bubblegum pink butterfly heels I picked out for the night, momentarily stunned by Skye’s tinkling voice. Shit, Bea, get it together! So what if you’re obsessed with her career. You are a professional! Act like it!
“Thanks,” I choke out, awkwardly turning to look over my shoulder. Caleb’s blue-gray eyes are open and riveted on the omega standing opposite me. When he flickers them over to me, he nods subtly. “Did you want to come in?”
“Oh, yes, please!”
Stepping back, I let her slip past me. She’s tiny, like a fairy princess, as she stands beside me. I’m at least a foot taller than her. I’m used to being taller than other omega’s but Skye makes me feel like a giant towering in my heels.
“Hello Caleb! Orbital Somatic! I loved your show! Your music speaks to my soul! So deep and rhythmic, with the grungy undertones that make it metal. I still have goosebumps.” She holds her arms out as she raves over their performance.
Caleb watches her with a blank expression, but the others sit wide eyed around the room, unsure of how to react to her praise.
“Oh! Right! I came to invite you to hang out with us after the show, not to fan girl over your music. Sorry!” Red colors her cheeks and chest as she stumbles through an invitation to join Shattered Horizons at a local club after their set. “So, will you come?”
“Yeah,” Caleb whispers.
“A few drinks and bar food sounds like a great way to celebrate a good show!” Joey adds, throwing his arm around Caleb and clapping a hand on his back a little too hard.
“Awesome! I’ll give your manager the details?” Skye peeks at me and I nod. I follow her out of the room, pausing at the door to silently check in with Caleb. He seems dazed but solid, so I leave him to ruminate on the reunion with his childhood sweetheart.
“Sorry if that was super awkward. I feel like I made a fool of myself in there,” Skye chatters. “It’s been so long since I saw Caleb last, I forgot what it feels like to be around him.”
We stop at the edge of the curtain, in view of where her mates are still playing on stage. Their guitarist notices our arrival and blows his mate a kiss. She catches it playfully and presses it to her lips. They’re way too cute.
I can’t help the bitter feeling bubbling in my stomach. My mates are still scattered around the country, or determined to avoid me as much as possible. When will I have cheesy, romantic moments to cherish?
“The club we’re going to is called Knotty Nature. Punny, I know, but they supposedly have the best VIP service in town.” Skye tells me, dancing along to the heavy beats pulsing from the nearby speakers.
“I’m always in for an adventure! Especially if food is involved!”
“Right! I love to eat! My alphas are always surprised when I out-eat them! Just because I’m tiny doesn’t mean I eat like a rabbit!”
Her laughter sounds like wind chimes dancing in the breeze. It’s weirdly endearing, and at odds with the soulful sound of her voice when she sings.
Awestruck doesn’t begin to describe how I feel realizing I’m standing here talking to Skye Pierce. I need to send Omen a picture! She’s never going to believe this! Pulling my phone out, I shyly ask Skye to take a selfie with me. She chuckles, bouncing on her toes. “Yes! We have to remember this moment!”
Angling the camera, I snap a picture of the two of us and fire it off to Omen. ‘Guess who I just met?!?’ I type out, adding a string of emojis. She likely won’t respond this late, not when she and her pack are resting for Primordial Covenant’s upcoming tour. I’m so glad her relationship with them smoothed out, and she was able to recover from the physical effects of their rejection. The mental side will be harder to shake, but that’s life. Our minds always cling to past hurts longer than our bodies do.
Shattered Horizons’ set comes to an end, so I let Skye know we will meet them at Knotty Nature and head to meet up with Caleb and the others. They’re still in the dressing room cooling off after their show.
“Ready to get out of here?” I ask after checking in with our road crew. They will stay behind while the other band decompresses, packing their equipment. Orbital is due for a sudden meet and greet with the crowd outside though.
“You want us to go sign things for the fans, don’t you?” Lee groans.
Grinning, I pull a stack of stickers from my pocket and wave them in the air. “Let’s get a move on, gentlemen. Your fans are waiting!”
An hour later, we’re dropped off at the front of the white brick building where the club’s entrance is. Black double doors are manned by security. A teal neon sign hangs above them with the club name and a length of tied rope. What kind of club is this again?
Stepping inside, a server arrives to escort us upstairs to the VIP area Skye’s pack booked. The same shade of neon runs around the bottom of the bar and on the ceiling, lighting the way around the room. A huge dance area takes up the majority of the main floor.
Feeling the heavy beats, I’m thrown back to the night I met Orion at Fairytale. The feeling of his hands on my body and his ozone scent. Heat pulses between my thighs, wetting my panties with slick.
Damn, I need to see my mates.
The second floor is less crowded. Only a few small groups sit on the low seated couches and benches scattered around the room. We’re directed away from them to a spot closer to the bar.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Our server asks, turning to pass our requests to the bartender a few moments later. As much as I would love to down a few daiquiris and get lost in the music, Shiloh’s warning about the breeding ring kidnappings replays in my mind.
When I was pulled into a meeting to discuss Orbital Somatic joining tonight’s show, he had cautioned me against going out alone. Apparently the people behind the breeding ring have amped up their abductions to levels that have brought wide spread media attention. It’s terrifying to think of the many men and women who have been stolen from their lives for the purpose of being forced to create new alphas and omegas for those horrible men to sell.
The DAU and FCDA haven’t figured out who is funding them, but I know it’s men. It’s always men. Beta men who live to control women’s bodies. Like their impotence is somehow our fault. Disgusting.
Sipping the soda I ordered, I hug the corner of a couch and watch as Skye and her pack arrive. The introductions between Shattered Horizon and Caleb is awkward, but they play it off well.
Throughout the evening, I watch as Caleb’s eyes constantly drift to Skye. He can’t keep them off of her. There is definitely more to their story than what Lee briefly told me backstage earlier. Maybe one day Caleb will feel comfortable enough to share it with me.
Pain starts to skitter across my abdomen a short while after we arrive. After weeks of the second hand feeling, I know the signs well enough to guess what is happening. My mystery alpha, whoever they are, is in a rut. This is their fourth one in as many weeks.
I’m starting to have the sinking suspicion that whoever this is, they’re one of the many people who have been caught by the breeding ring. Why else would they experience ruts so often?
Making my excuses, I pay my tab and order a cab back to the hotel we’re staying in for the night. I’ll leave our driver for the guys. They’re drinking and I don’t need drunk rock stars stumbling around the city and causing messes for me to clean up tomorrow.
The air outside is cold for late October. Faint hints of fall fill the air--the smell of fallen leaves on a rainy day. It’s comforting, soothing the panic from the pain I feel growing in my Fated connection. I’m not sure how much longer I can last without dropping everything to search them out. No one deserves to be tortured like this.
A car pulls to the curb. The beta woman at the wheel matches the picture on my phone, so I climb inside. She’s polite and quiet as she drives me three blocks to the hotel. Stopping at the curb a few feet down from the door, I thank her and climb out.
Maybe I can sleep through the rest of my mate’s pain.
I’m almost at the doors when a hand grabs my wrist and jerks me backward. A shout slips from my lips, but it’s smothered by a clothed hand clamping on my mouth. Pungent chemical scents invade my nose and mouth as I’m forced to take breath in. Arms band around my waist, carrying my struggling form backwards.
Slowly my body shuts down, claimed by unconsciousness as I’m dropped onto hard floor. A door slams shut seconds before I’m jolted as the vehicle we’re in takes off.
Shit, I should have listened to Shiloh.