Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Kara
As I held onto the railing in the stairwell with white-knuckle force, I started to question my sanity.
This was even stupider than when I decided to go for a thousand-mile joyride, or when I darted through N’Pact’s open gate.
Those were risky decisions, but this? This was a pure lack of common sense.
My brain didn’t care, though, now that my base instincts had set in. My goal was to get away from the people, the scents, the noise. The noise of the concert was so grating on my nerves that I wanted to curl up in a corner of the stairwell and cry.
Almost there.
The last few months I’d been working out since returning to the compound, but my lungs did not appreciate descending stairs while trying not to fall down them. I should have just risked taking the service elevator.
I was finally on the last flight of stairs and nearly cried in relief. Things would be better outside with the breeze and the cool air. It was more difficult to smell a perfuming omega in wide open spaces with a nice breeze blowing around the scent molecules.
The first thing I was going to do when this heat was finished was file a complaint about the heat suppressants and perfume blockers. They weren’t a hundred percent effective, but everyone acted like they were.
I reached the bottom and sat down on the steps to catch my breath. The door said an alarm would sound if it was opened. Shit. Fuck. Shit.
I felt my phone vibrating in my purse and pulled it out. Kayla was calling, and I answered with a sob. “Kayla... I’m scared.”
“My twin radar was going off,” she said softly. “What’s wrong? I told you it would be a bad idea to go to that concert.”
There was male laughter in the background, and that made me cry harder.
“I know, and they’re doing a meet and greet after with all the omegas.
I saw them and my entire body went haywire, and now I’m starting a heat and it’s bad.
So bad, and I’m trying to escape to the bus and the door says the alarm will sound.
” I sucked in air after finishing my ramble.
“Holy knot on a cracker... you’re alone? Kara, that’s so dangerous!” The room she was in went silent. “You need to get yourself to that bus, even if that means setting the alarm off.”
“But-”
“Kara Marie, get your ass up right now.” Her voice was so stern it shocked my sobs into silence. “Is there a door that doesn’t set off the alarm?”
I hiccupped. “Yes.”
“Go peek out of it and tell me what you see.” I grabbed onto the railing and pulled myself up on shaky legs to go to the door. It opened with a small squeak and looked out into the hallway. “It’s clear. We came in this way but went up the service elevator.”
“Okay, so is there a door or something you entered through? Did that have an alarm?” She was making so much sense. I was so grateful that she knew my mind wasn’t all there and I needed to be told what to do.
“No, I don’t think so. It was where they unload the food.” I tried sniffing through the cracked open door, but my nose was stuffy from crying. “I can’t smell if there are any alphas.”
“It won’t matter. You’re going to open that door and walk as quickly as possible to the door you entered through. Right now.”
I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and crept out into the hallway, looking in both directions and not knowing which one to go in. “I’m not sure which way.”
“Pick a way, and if you don’t find the exit in a minute, then go back the other way.”
I shook my head at how ridiculous it was that I couldn’t think of something that simple. The brain fog hadn’t been this bad when I’d last had my heat. “Don’t hang up, okay?”
“I won’t. Just focus on getting out of the building.” Her voice shook ever so slightly, and my tears were back again.
My first choice of direction was correct, and I kept my head down as I passed by betas working to move pallets on forklifts. I could see the green exit sign and picked up my pace, shoving the door open as soon as I got to it.
I breathed in the fresh air and sagged against the wall next to the door. There was a small walkway that opened up into the parking lot, but I didn’t know if the buses had moved and if I’d have to hunt for them. I just needed a moment to regroup.
“Kara? Are you outside? Don’t stop now. Alphas can be anywhere, and you just left a scent trail, right?”
She was right. I had to keep moving because even if I encountered one alpha, I didn’t have the strength to fight him off if he was unbonded.
“I need them, Kayla.” I panted as I stumbled the short distance to the end of the walkway so I could look out into the parking lot. “The buses are too far.”
I could see the two vehicles on the other side of an area of cars. My legs were barely working now and the pain between my legs and in my lower abdomen was so intense little black dots swam at the edge of my vision.
“My pack can call the stadium and see if someone can come out and find you or-”
“No!” The last thing I wanted was for a search party to come after me and find me a blubbering mess on the ground. “Just give me a second and...”
My thoughts left me as I spotted someone with a black hoodie covering their hair, a dog pulling them along. Sweet baby alpha, it was Anya.
“Kara? What is it? Are you okay?”
“It’s... Anya!” I yelled Anya’s name and my sister squealed. “Kayla, it’s Anya with Gizmo! She can take me to their bus. They have a tour bus. I can wait there for them to take care of me.”
“That’s a bad idea for so many reasons.” Kayla sighed. “Is she coming to help you?”
Anya was headed toward me, practically running to keep up with Gizmo. They had been near a patch of grass between the lot I was in and the next lot over.
“Yes. Thank you, Kayla. I love you.” I didn’t know what I would do without my sister. She had more than made up for the countless times I’d saved her ass over the years.
“I love you too. Please be careful. Don’t let them bite you.” I disconnected the call before she could say more.
My decision was already made. I needed my pack, and maybe we weren’t official yet, but that was the least of my worries.
“Kara, what the hell are you... oh, shit.” Anya had her phone out of her pocket and to her ear before I could even express how grateful I was to see her.
“Wait.” I lowered to my knees, unable to stand anymore. “They’re performing.”
Gizmo reached me first, sniffing the air and then butting his head against my chest. I wrapped my arms around him, letting him support some of my weight. He knew me, and my heart felt so full it could have burst. Instead, my eyes did, and I sobbed into his fur.
“Jon? We have a situation. I just found Kara in the parking lot in heat. What should I do?” She was quiet, and I could hear Jonathan’s deep voice giving her instructions. “And we’re certain that’s what they would want? Like, one hundred percent?”
What would they want? Me? How could she even ask that when she’d been on a tour bus with them for the past several months? Didn’t she know? She was a part of the damn pack.
“I know, but they’ve been doing really well, and this...” She looked down at me and bit her lip. “They’re not going to let her go after this. This could cost them everything.”
That was the last thing I wanted, and I used the brick wall beside me to push to my feet. “I’ll just go.”
My legs weighed at least five hundred pounds each as I started dragging them toward the buses. One foot in front of the other, that was how I’d make it.
“Kara!” Anya caught up to me—not that she had far to go to do so—and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go to the tour bus.”
I was comforted by her touch, even though her half of the conversation left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. “I’ll ruin everything.”
She let me go briefly to take the phone out from between her shoulder and ear. “They were a mess when you went through your heat without them. We almost had to cancel a few shows. Pack Health has been doing regular check-ins with them, and luckily, they hadn’t dropped in then.”
I let her steer me toward the grassy area and the other parking lot. “They didn’t tell me that.”
“Of course they didn’t. They didn’t want to worry you.
They at least have each other to get through it all.
Jonathan will tell them what’s going on after the meet and greet, and they can decide what they want to do.
He thinks if they back out of the meet and greet it will get back to Pack Health and they’ll start asking questions as to why. ”
We walked in silence the short walk to the other lot, where semi-trucks, buses, and a few cars were parked. She lifted her hand and waved to a security guard who was patrolling by an exit.
I finally found the energy to form a complete thought as we walked between two buses and stopped outside the door of one. “This is bad, Anya. Really bad. They set off my heat the second I saw them on that stage.”
“I can’t say I’m surprised.” She took a key out of her pocket and opened the door.
Their scents hit me so hard I stumbled forward, nearly taking Anya to the ground as I crawled up the stairs and into the bus. Gizmo barked, running in behind me and jumping onto the couch that was behind the driver’s seat.
I rolled onto my side, curling my knees up to my chest as another cramp tore through me. It felt like my entire lower body was being ripped in half. I needed relief before I passed out from the pain.
“Let’s get you to the back room. They have it set up as another living area, but I’ll move some of that shit out here and get their bunk mattresses in there.
” Anya grabbed me under my arm and helped me stand.
“Try not to breathe in their scents until we get you all situated. It’s not an ideal nesting situation, but it will have to do for now.
How long do your heats usually last? Did you not have any preheat warning signs? ”
“Too many questions.” She was making my head hurt.
There hadn’t been any signs besides being tired and feeling a little warm all day. I thought it was just because it had been a long week. If it had been more than a day, I would have picked up on the signs.
The tour bus was bigger than I expected, even though I’d seen video and pictures of it.
The pack, Anya, Jonathan, and Gizmo stayed on this bus while the backup band and other tour staff stayed on the other buses.
Then there were seventy-five semi-trucks with all of the staging, costumes, and whatever else there was.
It was excessive, but their stadium concerts were sold-out events with tens of thousands of people.
We passed through a living room area and into a small kitchen area that had necessities but wasn’t meant to be used as a full-service kitchen. There was dim night-time lighting on, which was a relief because I couldn’t handle any more lights.
We next came to the bathroom before Anya pushed open a pocket door to a bunk area with eight bunks.
I whimpered, unable to completely block out the scents coming from them.
If they decided they didn’t want to be with me during my heat, I didn’t know what I was going to do.
I’d probably need to go to the hospital.
Anya slid open another door and flipped a switch which turned on tiny ceiling lights that looked like twinkling stars. I liked that and knew the room would be suitable for a nest. It wouldn’t be perfect, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.
I fell onto the couch, grabbing a pillow and inhaling the scents on it. My jeans were soaked through, and I rubbed my thighs together, needing relief.
“If you can wait until I get you set up in here...” Anya turned on a small fan and pointed it at me. “That couch folds out into a bed too, but I don’t know if it’s strong enough for whatever you might get up to.”
“Hopefully, I’ll be getting up to something,” I muttered into the pillow.
She put her hand on my forehead, checking to see how hot I was. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, but Jon and I care deeply for them. We just don’t want them to hurt anymore, and they’ve been doing everything they can to push being in the fall match.”
I looked up at her, surprised. “They are?” My excitement was in my voice, even if it was strained. “Do you think it’s a possibility?”
“I think it is. After the tour ends, there’s a two-month break before they head back to the studio.
The match is right at the end of their break, so they’ve been talking to management about starting the recording right after the tour and shifting their time off.
Well, if the powers that be let them do it. ”
“None of this is fair.” I sat up and took off my purse. “I’m friends with the dean of students. I might be able to convince her not to report that I’m missing.”
“But what about everyone else?” She dragged one of the two gaming chair rockers toward the door. There was a recliner as well, but I didn’t think that would fit out the door without some help to maneuver it.
“She can say I got a ride back to the compound.” I pulled a hair tie out of the front pocket of my purse and could barely lift my arms. “Can you put my hair up for me?”
“Let me get all of this extra furniture out first.” She pulled the chair out of the room, and I grabbed another pillow and shoved it between my legs.
It was going to be a long few hours until the concert was over.