Chapter 13
Andromeda
What in the world is going on?
“You listen here and you listen good,” Elijah growls, getting into Stephan’s face. “You’re not in charge here anymore, you got that? You’re gonna listen to Andromeda’s instructions or else.”
“Excuse me,” Stephan scoffs. “I don’t know what those omegas told you—”
“They didn’t have to tell me jack shit,” Elijah says menacingly. He pitches his voice down to the point where I can’t hear what he’s saying.
“Does he do that often?” I murmur, glancing up at Beck, who’s staring at Elijah with a look that’s an even mix of pride and attraction.
I mean, I don’t blame him.
Having Elijah’s intensity directed at something other than me is a pretty nice sight. Especially since he’s technically channeling his alpha-ness in defense of me.
“What, threaten people to get our way?” Beck chuckles, his diamond eyes sparkling as he looks down at me. “I mean, it’s not an infrequent occurrence. As you can probably imagine.”
“Oh, I can imagine,” I huff. “I’m just glad he’s using his powers for good.”
Elijah finishes his hushed speech to the photographer, who looks like he just sucked on a ton of lemons.
“Alright, Andromeda,” Stephan says, his voice particularly harsh when he says my name, almost like it pains him to defer to me in something he probably thinks is his domain. “What would you have us do?”
Stephan stares at me intensely, like he’s expecting me to flounder without direction.
“I think we’ve gotten enough stills for the campaign to pick from. Let’s move on to shooting some video,” I say. “We should start with solo establishing shots and then move on to us as a couple.”
“So... what exactly should I do?” Beck asks, tucking his hands into his pockets.
“Just follow my instructions,” I say, patting his bare chest in a move that’s supposed to be reassuring, but only draws attention to how smooth his chest is.
I swallow hard, averting my gaze, needing to pause before I collect myself.
“For this first shot, you’re just going to be walking toward the camera. ”
“Walking. Got it. I can do that,” he nods, bouncing on his toes and shaking out his arms like he’s about to jump into a fighting ring.
The sight brings a cheeky grin to my face. “I know it’s a lot harder than standing still, but I believe in you.”
I turn my attention to a sour-looking Stephan.
“Let’s start with that establishing shot, yeah? Start with a slow push-in.”
Believe it or not, I’ve gathered a thing or two growing up on reality TV sets and the endless commercials and campaigns I’ve had to film.
Leo and Elijah hover behind me, their presence comforting as I stand beside Stephan, watching him shoot Beck on the monitor.
It’s a shame. He’s pretty good behind the camera, showcasing all he needs to about the movement of the fabric and the elegant lines of Beck’s body. If only he weren’t a creepy asshole.
Or maybe the shots just look that good because Beck naturally looks that good.
“Let’s switch to a lateral track in a second, but don’t crop at his ankle,” I instruct.
Stephan shoots me a narrowed-eyed glare that I choose to ignore, focusing on the excitement buzzing underneath my skin at this opportunity.
“What do I do for this?” Beck calls out, tucking his hands into his back pockets. It makes the muscles in his chest flex.
“For now? Stay still,” I yell out, waving to him before turning to Stephan. “Pan down and then push in on the waistband. That’d be a great shot.”
“You sure are... particular,” he huffs.
I only offer him a shrug.
The rest of the shoot goes pretty well, if I don’t say so myself.
Beck’s great at taking direction, at least from me, and the couple’s video shots we get look fantastic.
It took a little longer than it normally would because I kept on insisting we watch the shots back between takes just to make sure it was really giving what we wanted.
I’m so excited about the opportunity that I almost miss Stuart’s expression.
Almost is the keyword.
“That was seriously so cool to watch,” Beck says, reaching for my hand and swinging it between us as we walk back to the dressing room.
The casual way he initiates physical touch makes something flutter low in my belly. I mean, we’ve been touching all day. Sometimes I’ve been on top of him. But that was different. That was in front of a camera.
We were putting on a show.
But it doesn’t seem like that’s what Beck’s intentions are right now. Which is... strange.
I attribute it to his being an omega. I definitely feel the urge sometimes to initiate physical contact, it’s one of the best things to help regulate an omega’s emotions. But I grew up in a household where that wasn’t exactly the norm, so I’ve gotten good at pushing that urge down.
The only way I can survive is by being self-reliant.
“Earth to Andi, you in there somewhere?” Beck’s smile is bright as he waves a hand in front of my face. “You sure do think a lot.”
“Yeah,” I say with a huff of laughter, running my hands through my hair now that the shoot is over.
“Did you hear me earlier? You were so good at directing that shoot!”
“Oh, thanks,” I say, suddenly feeling sheepish under the intensity of his excitement.
“Have you done that kind of stuff before?”
“Not officially like that, no. I um... I mostly do it for my social media or just for fun. I really... I really like it.” My eyes glance to the door of the dressing room as I nervously shift my weight from foot to foot.
“Why’re you saying that like it’s illegal to be good at videography?”
“What? Oh, well...” It’s a good question. But it’s a loaded one.
“My mom, she never liked me doing that kinda stuff,” I answer slowly.
“That’s stupid, why the hell not? You’re great at it.”
I shrug, my fingertips feeling heavy as I grab my bag with my change of clothes.
“I don’t know. I don’t know why she does a lot of stuff. You want to get changed first?”
“Nah, ladies first,” Beck says, bowing comically low and extending an arm towards the changing tent.
Pretty soon, I’m dressed in a basic sweatsuit and ready to head home. This was a long shoot since the campaign is so big. We had to change our wardrobe maybe a dozen times. I’m a fan of jeans, don’t get me wrong, but man, that brand is seriously aimed towards betas and alphas.
The chafing from the harsh denim felt unnecessarily rough against my skin.
I know omegas are more sensitive to that sort of thing.
It makes sense a big company wouldn’t invest in more omega friendly alternatives since we are more rare, but you’d think if they’re going to hire two omegas to advertise that they’d do their due diligence.
“Looks like we’re going our separate ways now,” Beck says, grinning down at me as we wait for our cars to pull up outside the shoot.
“Looks like we are.”
“I was being serious earlier. You’re a natural at that video stuff. I’ve been on a couple of shoots for my music videos, and the people in charge of those aren’t half as good as you are.”
The sincerity in his words catches me off guard.
“You... you already said that earlier,” I say, my brows drawing down in confusion.
“Yeah, and you didn’t seem to believe me. So this is me making sure you do.”
A large black SUV with tinted windows so dark they’re practically black, stops in front of us. The door opens to reveal Elijah and Leo.
“That’s my ride,” Beck says, his smile bright and blinding. “I’ll be back to pick you up for our date tomorrow night.”
Then he does something that would look absolutely ridiculous on any other man.
He winks.
“Bye, Andi! See you soon!”
“Bye,” I say, blinking up at him, dumbstruck.
I barely have a second to catch my breath before my car pulls up.
I think the private car service was something that was put in the contracts for Beck and my fake relationship, because the driver is unfamiliar to me.
The car service my mom and Stuart normally charter has a few drivers I’ve gotten familiar with over the years.
Before I have a chance to close the door behind me, Stuart appears there, his expression far darker than it was when we were surrounded by people.
“Are you—you’re coming with me?” I ask, blinking at him as he slams the door shut behind him.
“Yes,” he snaps.
“Oh.”
“Don’t oh me, Andromeda,” he hisses, baring his teeth. They’re unnaturally white from the veneers I know he got done a decade ago after Gina made an offhand comment about his smile. “What in the world were you thinking?”
My knuckles turn white as I cling to my phone.
It feels like my only lifeline in this suffocating moving coffin.
I stare out the window, needing to face away from Stuart.
The last thing I want is for him to see the slight tremble in my chin from the realization that I don’t even know who I’d call for help.
The person I’d always text or call for rescue used to be Ezra, and I’m definitely not calling him anymore.
“Are you even listening to me?” Stuart raises his hand in front of my face and snaps.
He fucking snaps at me. Like a child. No, like a dog. I don’t think most people snap their fingers in children’s faces.
“I’ll listen when you have something important to say,” I snarl in return.
My sharp words only seem to infuriate him even more.
“You’re lucky your mother had prior engagements and didn’t have to witness this behavior. What do you think she’d say if she saw you behind the camera taking charge like that?” He spits out the words like he’s cursing at me.
“That’s what you’re upset about?” Sometimes, when I’m dealing with Stuart or my mom, I seriously feel like I’m insane. Nothing they’re saying makes sense, but they take themselves so seriously I can’t help but feel like I’m the one in the wrong.
Stuart’s expression falls flat, all that fiery anger turning ice-cold in a single instant.
I count my lucky stars that he’s a beta, because I know if he were an alpha, I’d be choking on his dominance right now in the enclosed space of the car.
“You truly cannot be that stupid or uncaring,” he bites out. “You know how your mother gets when it comes to your—your father.”