Chase
OMEGA BUZZ GOSSIP COLUMN
FANS SWARM TO THE EON FESTIVAL FOR OLI HART AND THE EDGE
June 19th
G raham crackers. Strawberries. Cream. Sweet sugar.
Oli’s perfume blooms around us as a strong need floods our bond.
It slams into me, a tidal wave of powerful desire that nearly knocks me over.
I know instinctively that my omega’s heat is starting.
“It’s her heat, but why is it starting now? I thought we had until the end of the tour,” Aiden says through gritted teeth.
“That’s only another day, we cut it too close,” Dax snaps.
My alpha surges forward. I need to help her.
“, focus!” Jack’s voice cuts through the fog in my head, his blue eyes flashing a warning.
My alpha roars to the surface, demanding, needing, wanting her.
I can tell Dax, Jack, and Aiden feel it, too. The air around us crackles with tension, and our usual playful banter is replaced by low, needy growls barely held in check.
“Control it,” I whisper to myself, gripping my pants tighter, trying to shove the lust down deep where it won’t distract me. We can’t just pounce on our omega in front of an entire festival.
Dax doesn’t say a word, but his jaw is set in a hard line. We’re a mess. All of us wound up and ready to snap.
“,” she pants, stumbling slightly in her high boots, her voice barely audible over the chaos. Her hand finds mine, gripping tight like I’m her lifeline. “We need to find Miranda.”
A growl rumbles deep within me, warning others away as I steer us through the sea of bodies, pushing past roadies and staff with a single-minded purpose.
I keep close to her, shoulder-checking anyone who gets too close.
Her heat is like a haze, wrapping around my thoughts and making it hard to focus on anything but her. The air backstage is thick with the odor of sweat and adrenaline, but all I smell is Oli—sweet and intoxicating. Jack and Aiden flank her, their eyes wild, while Dax brings up the rear, his expression grim.
“Almost there,” I mutter, more to myself than her. But the reassurance seems to steady her, and she nods, a whimper escaping her lips as another wave of her heat hits the air. It’s a siren call, and my body responds before my mind can catch up, urging me to pull her close, to soothe her, to claim—
“Focus,” I snap. If Oli wants Miranda, then we have to get to Miranda. And fast.
Dax’s voice cuts through the silence like a knife, his words wrapped in anger.
“Oli, did you know? Did you know your heat was starting today?” The question is more of an accusation coming from him, his eyes hard as flint.
I glance at her, taking in the flush on her cheeks and the way she bites her lip. I can almost taste her anxiety. She’s too gone to answer.
Her whimper breaks my heart, and Aiden, Jack, and I turn to growl at Dax.
“Don’t fucking yell at her. She’s in heat!” Jack yells.
“Fuck, Oli, I’m sorry. I’m not mad, omega. We will take care of you,” Dax tries to reassure her.
I feel something shift in my soul, heavy and uncomfortable. As the alpha in me fights against the urge to sweep her up and away from all this, the rational part of me starts to piece it together. I remember the meeting and the extra show we pushed for in Miami.
“Shit.” The word slips out, a whispered curse as realization dawns on me. “This is on us. We added that damn show.”
Dax’s fury softens into something that looks dangerously close to guilt. His jaw clenches, but I can see the self-reproach brewing behind those intense eyes.
“Damn right, it’s on us. We are her alphas,” Aiden mutters.
I feel my share of blame. We should’ve been tracking her cycle, we should’ve seen this coming. But it’s too late for should haves. Now we’ve got to deal with the present, with Oli’s heat and our near-feral need for her.
“Miranda,” Oli whimpers again, her voice breaking as another shudder wracks her body. My heart races and the room feels ten degrees hotter because of her. We’ve got to find Miranda and fast.
We barrel through the crowded backstage area, a mass of tense muscles and protective instincts. Oli’s nestled between us, her small frame shrinking with every step as her heat turns the air electric. The perfume of it is thick and cloying, wrapping around us like a second skin.
And then he’s there, and I immediately recognize him. Daniel. Her fucking ex. A leering smirk stretches across his too-perfect features, and he’s looking at Oli like she’s nothing more than prey. “Well, well, if it isn’t Oli and her new entourage,” he drawls, stepping into our path with an arrogance that makes my skin crawl.
“Out of the way, Daniel,” Jack snaps, his voice low and dangerous. But Daniel doesn’t budge, instead puffing out his chest.
“Come on, boys,” Daniel sneers, eyeing us dismissively. “You know you can’t handle an omega in heat. She should be with me.”
“Like hell, she should,” I growl, the fury boiling inside me until my vision tints red.
“You’re all singing love songs about me every performance. You should know what she wants,” he brags.
I’m about to punch him when Aiden snaps, “And the ones about how you broke her heart.”
“Move,” Dax warns, his tone a deep rumble that echoes the storm brewing in our chests.
Daniel doesn’t take the hint. He steps closer, trying to scent Oli, and that’s when we lose it.
Jack lunges first, but I’m right behind him, shoulder-to-shoulder with Aiden and Dax, as we form a protective wall. We’re not just bandmates; we’re a pack, and no washed-up alpha is going to touch what’s ours.
“Back off!” Aiden shouts, usually quiet but now a force of nature, his fists clenched at his sides.
There’s a scuffle, a blur of movement as we clash with Daniel. It’s all growls and snarls, the primal part of our beings taking over. Then the security team is there, their hands gripping us, pulling us away from the smug bastard who dares challenge us.
They take over, subduing Daniel.
“Let’s go,” I hiss. We skirt past Daniel, leaving him behind with nothing but the echo of our fury.
We break through the backstage door, the noise of the crowd fading into a dull roar behind us. A quick glance at Oli tells me we’re running out of time. Her skin is flushed with the early signs of her heat, and even though I’m trying to keep my alpha in check, her scent is dizzying.
“Miranda!” Dax barks out, his voice cutting through the thick tension that’s settled over us like a heavy blanket.
Miranda whirls around from where she’s been talking to a stagehand, her eyes sharp and assessing. She understands the scene in a split second—the flush on Oli’s cheeks, our barely restrained aggression—and understands.
“Got it,” Miranda says, all business now. She reaches into her bag without hesitation, pulling out a needle with practiced ease. There’s no question in her movements, only the certainty of someone who’s done this before.
Oli whimpers, and there’s a flicker of fear in her green eyes. It’s enough to make my heart clench deep inside me.
All four of us growl, but Miranda doesn’t hesitate. She sticks Oli with the shot.
Her eyes lock onto mine, a silent plea for understanding, and it guts me to see her so vulnerable. When Miranda swiftly injects her, Oli’s body goes limp in my arms, and my heart stutters in panic.
“What the fuck?” I shout at Miranda. My voice cracks as I lower her to the ground, keeping her head cradled against my knee. The heat that was pulsing through me, driving every primal alpha instinct to claim, protect, and mate, crashes into a wall of icy fear.
Jack, Aiden, and Dax step between us and Miranda with furious expressions.
“Miranda, what the hell did you just give her?” Jack demands, his voice rough with the strain of holding back a growl.
Even though I know Miranda wouldn’t do anything to harm Oli, we need answers. Now.
“It’s an emergency suppressant,” she responds calmly, despite the situation’s urgency. “It stops the heat immediately but knocks her out cold. She’ll be okay, I promise. When she wakes up, she might have close to two days before her heat starts again.”
“Then why didn’t you warn us? We could’ve prepared, could’ve avoided this whole damn mess.” My accusatory tone is sharp, slicing through the tension.
Miranda raises an eyebrow and doesn’t cower to us. “If Oli didn’t tell you, that was her choice. This was our emergency plan. She didn’t want to cancel this final show in Miami.”
I falter. A plan? Without us? The thought burns in my gut.
I grit my teeth, guilt mixing with the worry gnawing at my insides. My need for Oli is still there, simmering beneath the surface, but it’s overshadowed by the fierce desire to see her safe and awake, her eyes sparkling with that irrepressible light I fell for hard and fast.
I lean down, kissing Oli’s forehead, whispering promises of safety.
As I lift her into my arms, my bandmates close around us, forming a protective circle. Our pack bond has never been stronger than at this moment.
“I’ve also got a plane on standby to fly you back to California after the show if you want it,” Miranda tells us.
California. Our pack house. She planned to go back there.
“Let’s do it,” I hear Jack say, his voice steady despite the animalistic glint in his eye.
“Agreed,” Aiden adds, and Dax just nods, his jaw clenched tight enough to crack.
“Fine,” I mutter, even though the fury is still a living thing inside me, clawing at my insides.
We find our dressing room. Gently, I lay Oli down on the plush sofa, her breathing soft and even, a stark contrast to the chaos she’s left in her wake.
“, man, chill,” Aiden murmurs, placing a hand on my shoulder. “She didn’t mean to keep us out of the loop.”
“Didn’t she?” I snap. The question is an accusation. But even as I speak, I can’t help but brush a lock of rose-gold hair from her forehead, my touch betraying the anger I want to cling to.
“Let’s just focus on getting her through this,” Jack interjects, always the voice of reason when the rest of us are teetering on the edge.
Dax punches the wall, leaving a hole in the drywall. Then he’s silent as he stands there, gripping the back of the couch like he will lose his shit again if he lets go.
“Let’s get her to Cali,” I say, conviction steeling my voice. “We’ll figure out the rest when she’s up.”
“She planned all of this to complete this show. Now that the shot has been administered, we have two days. Let’s respect her wishes and do the show before leaving,” Aiden says too calmly.
I growl at him.
“The bond is riding you hard, , but you need to keep it together,” Jack says.
I cup her cheek, my fingers lingering on the soft warmth of her skin. The vulnerability in her slumbering face tugs at something primal within me, an ache to protect that goes bone-deep. We’re tucked away in the dimly lit dressing room, the four of us alphas huddled around our omega.
“This is all my fault,” Dax blurts. “She thought it was the show that was important to me and pushed herself. I just wanted more time in Miami to show her my mother’s grave.”
“Oli is selfless to a fault, but we are her alphas. It’s our job to ensure she’s taking care of herself and putting her first,” Jack says.
My anger melts away, and guilt takes its place.
I was only angry with her to protect myself from taking the blame. Jack is right, I am her bonded alpha, and this is my fucking job. I failed, but it will never happen again.
Oli stirs in my arms, starting to wake up.
Her eyes blink open before focusing on me. She seems groggy and confused.
I push her hair back from her face behind her ear. “Hi, little rose, how are you feeling?”
She cringes. “Do you hate me?”
I frown. “Never.”
Jack comes over and leans in front of her. “You gave your alphas quite a scare, baby girl. I might have to put you over my knee for that stunt.”
She looks guilty, and her eyes flick to Dax before focusing back on Jack. “I’m sorry.”
“You had a plan with Miranda but didn’t talk to us?” I can’t hide the hurt from my voice.
She’s my bonded omega, and I want her to trust me.
Again, she looks at Dax before concentrating on her hands in her lap. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I should have told you.”
“Oli, why did you do it? I can tell you feel guilty,” I ask.
Our bond is full of guilt and shame.
“I didn’t want Dax to hate me again,” she whispers so quietly I have to lean in closer to hear her.
Dax’s face is horrified.
“This is my fault. Oli, I’m so sorry. I would never have pushed for this show if I had known it would impact your heat. You’re the most important thing in the world to me,” he shouts.
“But you took me to see your mom’s grave. You confronted your past. That was important,” she argues.
So that’s what this is about? More drama with Dax and Oli? After this, can we finally move on to our happily ever after?
He grabs her hands. “Not more important than you.”
A tear slips out of her eyes. “Promise?”
“I promise,” Dax declares.
Aiden, Jack, and I move closer.
Jack says, “You’re all of our number one priority. When you need something, you get it. End of story.”
Aiden and I nod in confirmation.
“I believe you,” she says.
“So, going forward, no secrets?” I ask, needing to hear her say it.
“I promise.”
“Good, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to escape the spanking I want to give you,” Jack promised.
Heat floods our bond, and I know Oli doesn’t hate that idea.
“Now that you used the emergency suppressant, we have a few days. What do you want, Oli?” Aiden asks.
She smiles. “I want to finish this show today and then take the plane back to California. I want to have our first full heat as a pack in your pack house with the nest Dax made for me.”
“Then that’s what we will do,” I confirm, pulling her tighter to me and scent-marking her.