Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
________
JACK
Ipaced, waiting for our cue to go out on stage, and I couldn’t shake the nerves. We’d been a band for years, and even before Mindless Delirium, I’d been a musician. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been nervous to be on a stage.
“Feels really fucking weird not to have a guitar in my hand,” Tyler said.
“I know the feeling.”
But the nerves were purely from being in front of this many people while we weren’t playing music. The bonding itself? I couldn’t wait.
One of the wedding planner’s staff touched her earpiece and nodded. “They’re ready for you.”
“Thanks,” Liam said. “Let’s go.”
“Wait.” I nodded a few feet away and waited for the others to come closer before I pulled them into a hug.
We weren’t often physically affectionate with each other, but we’d been a pack for a long time and had seen each other through a lot of shit.
This was the next step, and it felt right to say goodbye to it.
As well as silently thanking them for everything.
“Fuck,” Tyler said. “You already know I’m going to cry out there, so fuck you a little.”
We laughed, the tension broken. “Let’s go bond our Omega.”
The lights were bright and the crowd was as full as if we were performing. Through the glare, I could see our families in the first few rows. Eva’s mom was there too.
Music began to play through the speakers, soft and romantic. Completely opposite of the music we played, but it fit. We’d helped pick everything for this. Not a single thing—except Eva’s dress—was something we didn’t all agree to.
Eva’s friends walked down the long aisle of the theatre. This was happening. Fuck, this was happening, and I was with Tyler. I never imagined I’d be this happy.
They stood to the side, and I saw Esme looking toward the doors where her sister would appear, and it wasn’t hard to see the pain she wore like a coat. She was happy for us, but I understood how brutal it was to be so close to something you wanted.
The MC quietly took his place near us. The only warning we got.
A spotlight fell on Eva, and the rest of the world disappeared. She glittered. It was different here than out in the sun. My Omega was the most beautiful thing in this room, shining like she should be.
The one thing we’d decided about the ceremony was that while it was public, the words we said to each other would be for us alone.
She climbed the stairs, and I found myself there before I realized I was moving, helping her and making sure she didn’t trip. Bringing her with me until we stood in front of the MC. But I could barely hear what he was saying. I couldn’t look away from Eva. My Eva. My Omega.
Her smile was wide and her eyes were glossy with happy tears.
Esme stepped forward and took her flowers so her hands were free. And now it was just us, looking at each other. Ready.
“We’re gathered here to witness the bonding of Eva May Williams and the Feroce pack.” He looked between the five of us. “Do all of you enter this bond of your own free will?”
“Yes,” Eva said, the single clear word ringing out and lighting up my chest.
“Yes,” the four of us said in unison.
He gestured to me and flicked the microphone off. I stepped forward to Eva, bringing her close. Even without the mics, I leaned close to speak in her ear, so they couldn’t even read my lips. This was only for her.
“You are the best thing that has ever happened to us,” I told her. “We thought we were happy, but we were coasting. Then you bumped into Tyler, and we realized that our happiness was only a fraction of what we could feel.”
Eva gasped softly. A little hiccup of breath that told me she was on the verge of tears. “I was coasting too. Everything felt gray, and even though I was getting better, it was all cloudy skies. Not anymore.”
I pressed my forehead to hers, just like I had backstage. There were few things I loved than sharing breath with this woman. “I love you so fucking much, princess. May I bite you?”
“Please. I can’t wait anymore.”
Cradling her face, I tilted her head to the side and lowered my mouth to her neck, just below her jaw.
I bit down, and the world felt like it changed color.
Eva appeared in my chest. Her sweetness and light.
It was like tasting the roses in her scent, but in my soul.
The feeling of waking up to the smell of your favorite coffee.
The shock of feeling her soul brush against mine gave way to the joy she felt. The love. It felt wild and just as feral for us as we were for her. Desire dropped through us at the same time, and a cloud of perfume puffed out around us.
“You’re mine,” I said.
“I’m yours,” she whispered.
“I don’t want to step away from you. All I want to do is keep you here.” I pulled her closer against my body. “I love you.”
A single tear slipped out of her eye. I brushed it away. “See you soon?”
Eva nodded, eyes still watery. “Yeah.”
It was the hardest thing I’d ever done to step backwards and let Dylan take my place. I wanted all of us connected, but it didn’t erase the need to steal my Omega away from every pair of eyes and make us both moan.
I was just close enough to hear, still savoring the exquisite ache of love from Eva. I felt the way her feelings shifted between us. She loved us all differently and perfectly.
“I never thought I’d do this,” Dylan said with a soft laugh. “And in the moments I thought about it, I thought I’d be terrified of something so completely permanent. But I’m not. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Know the feeling.” She really did. Awe and wonder flowed through our new bond, and I blinked. Feeling her like this was so fucking intimate, it wrecked me.
“I love you.” He kissed her lightly. “I’ll always love you. And I can’t wait to feel you.”
Dylan leaned in and placed his bite below mine, where her neck met her shoulder. Immediately, I felt him. Softer than the way I felt Eva, but distinct from her. The intangible flavor of his scent and his playfulness. His joy. His regret about having to separate from her matched mine exactly.
“Fuck that’s going to be an adjustment,” he whispered as he stood next to me.
“A good one.”
Dylan nodded, and we kept watching.
When Liam approached, he spun Eva under his arm like they were dancing, and the crowd watching loved it. There were cheers and awws, but nothing could hold my attention the way she did.
“You’ve probably figured out by now that I like taking care of you.” He slid a hand around her neck, bringing their faces close.
I saw Eva’s breath hitch. “Just a little.”
A flash of a grin before he was serious again. “I know the bond is every vow we could ever make, but I want you to know I will always take care of you. I don’t care what else happens in our lives, that won’t change.”
Only the softest of whines from our Omega. Now I didn’t need to see her face to understand she was too overwhelmed to speak. So full of love. Surrendering and accepting Liam’s vow.
“Ready?”
Eva nodded, and he kissed her before tilting her head to the side.
His bite was the twin to mine, on the other side of her neck, beneath her jaw.
His echo held a warm steadiness. I felt the truth of the way he loved to care for others.
And the way that need included dragging her off this stage and into the dressing room as soon as possible.
Tyler held Eva. Wrapped her up in his arms and enveloped her as he spoke.
“I know I mentioned it backstage, but… sometimes I think about how easy it would have been to miss each other. Maybe you didn’t crash into me and none of us got close enough to see what the good scent was.
They could have had you enter on the other side of the stage.
We could have said no to playing the DCAs.
You could have said no to presenting that award.
And when I realize how close we came to having nothing I can’t fucking breathe. ”
His words had Eva feeling a mix of everything. Awe and disbelief and love.
“All I can feel is fucking grateful we found you, because no matter what could have happened, I know that every version of my life without you in it is the wrong one.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I love you.”
There was nothing left to say. She clung to him, and as soon as he bit her he would know the feelings our Omega couldn’t verbalize. It was too much. So much. Everything.
Liam bit her in the spot reflecting Dylan’s bite, and we were complete. The tangled feeling of us all together nearly put me on my knees. Tyler’s passion and creativity completed the subtle synergy I’d never known we needed.
How could anyone live without this?
No matter the answer, I needed us to not be in front of people as soon as humanly possible.
The whole theatre cheered. They were on their feet, and I only had eyes for Eva.
My arm found her waist, guiding her towards the edge of the stage and back to the dressing room. Eva barely grabbed her bouquet from Esme. Behind us, the MC said something to the crowd and officially announced our bonding. I was sure I’d see a video of it later.
We crashed into the dressing room and locked the door. Thank fuck we arranged for a bed here. Otherwise I might have kidnapped my Omega back home.
“Come here.” I pulled on the bond between us, watching her eyes go wide. Perfume exploded. I grinned. “Turn around.”