Andi
My heart is still threatening to beat itself out of my chest long after I’ve returned to the wings of the stage. I’ve sat in on meetings with the producers of Gina’s show before and heard ridiculously large viewership numbers being discussed.,.
I’m sure if The Real Omegas of Beverly Hills only got eighteen thousand views on even a spinoff bonus episode, heads would roll. But the feeling of having eighteen thousand people looking at me right now is incredible.
“You did great out there,” Eli murmurs, wrapping his arms around me as I leave the stage.
“I literally only said hi,” I say, leaning back against his chest and laughing.
“And the crowd ate it up.”
Beck is putting on an actual concert for everyone. He’s running through the entire album tonight, plus a few throwbacks sprinkled in. Showcasing the music video at the beginning of the concert was just the beginning.
I’m so proud of him up there. Hell, I’m so proud of me, too. I feel like I’ve been making so much progress in life lately.
Like in work? I literally just watched Beck’s music video that I filmed, produced, and edited on an absolutely massive screen, and in front of a screaming audience.
My Omega Stress Syndrome diagnosis? Dr. Brennar said at our last meeting that she can drop me down to a level two soon. My hormone levels have been stabilizing, thanks to my consistent diet, reduced stress, and copious orgasms.
My mental health? Nancy and I have been working through my anxieties and she’s been teaching me how to regulate my breathing and thoughts to reduce the foreboding feeling I get when things don’t go as I expect.. I’ve been having far fewer panic attacks, these days.
Maybe that’s why I’m so caught off guard when Cameron stiffens in his seat, his eyes going wide in shock. Because the moment something goes wrong, it feels like everything is falling apart.
Cameron is looking down at his phone, his mouth dropped open in horror. He immediately nudges Leo, showing him the screen..
When Leo reacts the same way, fear skates down my spine.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, too quiet to hear over the blood pounding in my ears.
“Hmm?” Eli hums, his voice a low growl.
“They’re freaking out over there,” I say, pushing his arms from around my waist and making my way to the two of them. “What’re you looking at?”
“I don’t know if you need to see this right now,” Cameron says, immediately shoving his phone in his pocket.
I raise a single brow, crossing my arms over my chest, my foot tapping along to the beat of Beck’s song playing in the background.
“I’m not going to let up until you show me. I can tell its something bad.”
“It has to do with your mother,” Leo says, his brows drawn down in concern.
I take a deep breath, continuing to tap out the beat with my foot.
“All the more reason for me to know, right?”
“Your mother got married,” Cameron says.
“You’re fucking joking,” I gasp, digging into the front pocket of his jeans and pulling out his phone.
He lets out a soft sound of surprise, but it’s drowned out by my own sound of frustration when his phone is locked.
I flip it around and unlock it with his face before scanning the headline he had pulled up.
I’m half expecting the headline to come on the tail of an unbonding announcement from Jonathan Fletcher, but apparently, that’s not the not-so-lucky-groom-to-be.
Or rather, the not-so-lucky-groom, since it seems they’ve already eloped.
“You’re fucking joking!” I say, echoing my words from earlier.
“Who’d she get hitched to?” Eli asks, peering over my shoulder.
“Stuart! Can you fucking believe it?”
“The timing of this feels strange,” Everett grunts, joining our little huddle of absolute confusion. “I think it’s also interesting they’ve defaulted to marriage instead of another attempt at bonding.”
“Maybe the chemical unbonding she underwent prevents her from bonding again,” Leo suggests. “Or maybe she just doesn’t want to bond a beta. Regardless, this is an unexpected pairing.”
“I mean, he’s had a thing for her for as long as I can remember. Who would’ve thought she’d actually give in though? She’s a bitch who wouldn’t give a beta a second glance,” I say, handing Cameron back his phone.
The news article doesn’t really go into things beyond the headline. There aren’t even any photos of the actual ceremony or anything—which feels very different from Gina’s normal MO when it comes to big events exploitable for attention—just a blurry photo of them leaving the courthouse.
Eli tugs me into his chest again, my back to his front. His chest vibrates with a soothing purr that’s too quiet for me to hear with Beck’s voice crooning over the speakers, but still strong enough for me to feel vibrating against me.
It helps ground me. My mind is absolutely spinning.
I think I would’ve been able to handle myself well if that were the only crazy thing to happen tonight, but unfortunately, the universe isn’t that kind.
I catch a whiff of an omega’s perfume. Sweet coconut creme. I’ve never been the biggest fan of coconut—that probably should’ve been a sign.
“What the hell!” A shrill voice cries out, loud enough to be heard over all the noise.
I lean forward from the cozy, enclosed space formed by Eli’s massive biceps, to see a girl around my age. She’s wearing Doc Martens, a cute skirt, and a spaghetti strap tank top. It’s cute, but the cuteness of her outfit only emphasizes how mean the expression on her face is.
Cool, cute girls can be the meanest bitches alive. Seems this one didn’t get the memo that kind of behavior should stop after graduating high school. But then again, who am I to judge? Half the world thinks I’m cut from the same cloth as her. Maybe I am.
Hanging around her neck is a VIP lanyard.
“What is someone doing in this wing?” Leo asks Everett, his brows drawn down in concern. “The VIP experience should be in the other section.”
I guess this girl must’ve flirted her way in, if the blushing beta stagehand hovering behind her is any indication. Guess he must have a thing for coconut.
“I asked you a question!” she yells again, taking a few steps towards me and pointing an accusing finger. “How dare you!”
She really didn’t ask a question, but for whatever reason, I’m frozen in place. My mouth won’t work to yell back a snippy comeback.
Am I shaking?
Shit, I am shaking.
“Hey! Whoa there,” Cameron says, immediately stepping in front of me.
Eli’s chest vibrates with a menacing growl. I can’t see his face, but I’m sure his lips are peeling back in a snarl. The arms he has wrapped around me tug even tighter.
“Who the hell are you?” Eli growls.
The omega girl flinches back at first, but then she finds some strange source of power and straightens her spine.
“I’m Beckham’s real biggest fan, and I’m not afraid of you!” She directs her accusing finger back at me. “How could you cheat on Beckham?”
I’d find the absurdity of her question more funny if I weren’t currently teetering on the edge of a panic attack already.
“Wh—Huh?” I sputter, shaking my head. “I’m not cheating on Beck!”
But despite my words, Eli’s arms still remained locked around me. They’re the only things keeping me together right now in the face of this omega’s righteous anger. I guess it makes sense she’d draw that conclusion. This isn’t exactly a platonic hold.
“I don’t believe a single word coming out of your mouth, you crazy bitch!”
Her words hit me like a smack to the face.
She sounded just like Gina.
That same furious, fanatic intensity. I know that she’s made up her mind about me, and that nothing I say or do in this moment will change that. She’s still waving her finger around like it’s some hammer of justice.
“That’s enough,” Everett snaps, his alpha aura exploding out from him with pure dominance. He turns his glare to the stagehand, who looks far more mortified than he is blushing at this point. “Take her away.”
“Wh—what? And who are you to turn me away! Do you know who I am?” she gasps.
If I were less panicked, I’d be curious to know who she thinks she is.
Maybe she’s as fan who runs one of Beck’s fan pages. That would explain the entitlement and why she described herself as Beck’s real biggest fan.
“No, we don’t know who you are,” Leo says, his jaw working. “But you’re speaking to the person in charge of whether your precious Beckham gives his fans opportunities like this.” He gestures down at her VIP lanyard.
“But—but only his label gets to decide that!”
“You’re speaking to Everett Vaughn. His label executive.”
Even in the dim light of the wings, I can see how pale she gets at Leo’s words. But she seems to lack the situational awareness required to stop her accusatory rants.
“So you’re all in on letting her pull one over on Beckham? He deserves better!”
The fervor of her ignorant rage is gob-smacking.
I wish I had a fraction of the amount of confidence she has.
I’d be unstoppable if that were the case.
Why hasn’t it occurred to her that maybe we’re a pack?
That would make all the guys’ defensiveness over me click into place rather nicely, wouldn’t it?
She seems to take our shocked silence as an admission of guilt.
“When I see Beckham, I’ll explain everything to him!”
“What makes you think you’re going to see him at all?” Eli growls from above me, practically vibrating with rage.
Her previously pale expression turns a deep scarlet, and her coconut perfume takes on the sickly sweet scent of rot, nearly making me choke on my own saliva.
Okay, maybe it makes sense Dr. Brennar hasn’t officially dropped me down to stage two yet if another omega’s scent is affecting me this much.
“W—wait,” I rasp, squeezing Eli’s muscular forearm. “We should—we should let Beck explain this to her. She said it herself—she won’t believe anything any of us say, and the last thing we want is this leaking on social media somehow before we’re ready to share it.”