Page 35 of Omega Rock

But for one quick night—we’re alive.

The crowd goes wild for it. I grin back at my bandmates as we end the song and roll into a slightly remixed version of my songDreaming Late. Aiden, Noah, and Leo—they all grin back at me. The very same magic we created on the day we first met, during our very first jam session, is here and it’s grown ten-fold. I feel it all around me—the music, the creativity, the way we fall into step together. Even Aiden seems less worried now, less full of stage fright I didn’t even know he had until today. Our vocals blend together seamlessly, as if we were always meant to form one voice in a song. I feel Noah’s bass lines thrumming in my chest, and my feet move to Leo’s beats.

It’s like we’re all one creature, breathing together. Living together.

Being apacktogether.

The energy brings us throughUgly Love Affair, our second original song, andEnmity, the one we threw together last. So far,For The Nightis the crowd’s favorite. The covers come next and bring us through to the end of our set. Any uncertainty in the crowd about Exit Fate seems gone by then, and we leave the stage to thunderous applause.

“Holy fuck,” I exclaim once we’re back stage. My body feels electrified and I’m pretty sure it’s got nothing to do with the alcoholic buzz warming my veins. “That was everything.”

Leo and Noah share a beaming grin themselves, but it’s Aiden coming up to me, a look of sheer joy and relief on his face, that steals my attention. As it should. Because he doesn’t stop until only inches separate us, even as Noah and Leo watch us.

“Mia,” Aiden says.

“Aiden.” I look up at him. He towers over me, his green eyes bright and soalive. I understand how he must feel because I’m feeling it, too.

“So maybe social media isn’t all bad,” Aiden admits.

I shrug a little and smile wider. “It’s not all bad, no.”

“Your live filled Sound House tonight.”

I shake my head. “No, ourbanddid. Each of us brought something tonight, and that’s what matters most.”

“Our band,” Aiden echoes as his hand slowly comes up to cup my face. His thumb brushes my cheek and takes my breath away.

For years, I had posters of Aiden on my bedroom walls. I fantasized what it would be like for him to hold me like this. Leo, too. That the versions of them I watched on stage for years as a fan have fallen away to these more intimate andrealselves. The fact we’re here, now, and this ishappening, still hasn’t fully set in. Sometimes I think it has, and then one of the guys does something to shatter my reality again. Like Aiden is right now, his gaze dropping to my lips with Leo and Noah barely feet away.

I swallow hard. My mouth has gone dry as Aiden’s scent completely envelops me. As all of their scents do. Words bubble up my throat but I’m too afraid to voice them. To put into reality things we’ve all thought about. Things we’ve alreadytalkedabout.

Right now, it all seems possible.Everythingseems possible. Because everything inside me and outside feelsalive.

“Our band,” I say again. “Ourpack.”

Aiden treats it like the invitation it is. He leans in and captures my mouth with his. His hand lowers to hold the back of my neck, and his thumb caresses my throat as our tongues dance.

Leo and Noah sort of chuckle in acceptance and satisfaction.

I still worry that balancing a new pack and a new band at the same time might not work. That one or both are paths to destruction for the other.

But in this very moment, my worries wash away with the taste of Aiden. And then the taste of Noah and Leo as they kiss me, too, in turn.

The door then barges open and Wes erupts into the room, “Well fucking done, Exit Fate. Well fucking done.”

Wes goes off about how there are loads of videos being uploaded, comments everywhere, and emails to him about gigs and interviews for us. I’m not entirely sure any of us hear it because we’re all still smiling at each other.

ChapterEleven

LEO

The smartest thingwe did the night of our first gig, aside from calling ourselves a pack, wasnotgo to an after party or even stay together at Aiden’s place again. For one thing, couch-sleeping—even when that couch is comfortable as hell—isn’t glamorous. And another, I think everyone still prefers to take the pack side of things slowly.

I’m grateful, honestly. I mean, I’m so ready to jump into that. I was ready to do anything Mia required to get through her heat and we allwantedto. I can’t speak for Noah or Aiden, but my inner alpha is still a little upset that we left her alone for the most part, other than the one night.

But I’ve seen the flip-side of this scenario before. Years ago, another band who picked up an omega on the road. They were scent matches, and not only did their band crash and burn because focus was all over the place, so did their relationships.

As right as everything with Exit Fate feels—or no,becauseof how right it all feels—taking things slowly is the right way. It ensures ample chance for communication and organic growth, or at least gives us space for it.

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