A fist connects to my cheek as the hand lets go of my hair. “This is for your own good, if I don’t teach you now, you will never beobedient. Your daddy let you get away with too much. Weak, pathetic alpha.”
Spit lands on the floor next to me, right before a foot connects to my stomach, kicking me hard. I cry and beg for it to stop, but it doesn’t, it keeps going until I pass out on the floor.
I snap out of the memory when I feel myself being lifted onto someone’s lap, the smell of whiskey and honey enveloping me. I glance up just long enough to see Nash’s amber eyes looking down at me with concern, and I quickly bury my face in his chest. A second later, a ragged purr starts in his chest, and it opens the floodgates. I cry into his shirt for what feels like hours, and he gently soothes me by rocking me in his arms.
“I’m sorry if I overstepped,” he clears his throat, sounding a bit uncomfortable. “You weren’t responding to anything I said. You scared me, Kitten.”
“T-Thank you,” I scoot forward on his lap until my feet hit the ground, and I get up. “Where is the restroom?”
He points at a door in the opposite direction Oliver went, and I breathe a sigh of relief when I notice it’s right next to the exit. Nash gets up to walk me there, but I shake my head.
“I’ll be right back; I just need a minute.” I bolt towards the door, but instead of going into the restroom, I push open the door that leads me into a small alleyway, and eventually, I’m outside the entrance of the club.
I pulled my phone out, quickly checking the bus schedule, and relief washed over me when I saw there was a bus leaving in ten minutes. If I start running now I’ll make it on time.
That’s exactly what I do as I start sprinting down the sidewalk, dodging a couple of people here and there. I run from my problems. I run from my dreams; the ones I kept buried deep inside until tonight. I ran from the hope I had that Liam Jones could have saved me. I ran from my alpha, who has the voice of an angel, knowing I probably broke a piece of his heart. Knowing he would never know I did it to protect him.
The bus is thankfully close to empty when I finally make it on, and I find a seat at the back. As it starts moving, I allow the tears to start falling again. I wrap my arms around myself and realize I’m still wearing Oliver’s hoodie, which makes me cry even more. I pull the hood over my head, and snuggle further into it, using his scent as a security blanket.
When the bus pulled into my town, I had made a decision. When I turned eighteen in six months, I would find my alpha and explain everything. I just hope it won’t be too late.
Oliver
I’m surprised how easy it is to talk to Hale Reed and his two bandmates.
I met Jack Evans, their drummer, briefly before going on stage. Apparently, he had joined in on drums, but I had been so focused on not fucking up - and Savvy, let’s be honest - to notice it was him. He has brown eyes that match his short, messy hair. It sticks up in places like he either doesn’t own a comb or just gave up trying. He’s been bouncing all over the place and Hale has even threatened to put a leash on him if he didn’t calm down. What shocked me was how much I didn’t mind it. It made talking to the group easier.
Grayson Pierce, the band’s bassist, was slightly shorter than me with big blue eyes. He has that awkward, bookish look—dorky glasses that slide down his nose as if they don’t quite fit his face. His curls are very similar to mine, but his are dyed a light shade of purple, which suits him. There’s a nervous energy about him too—fidgeting and adjusting his glasses as if he’s thinking three steps ahead but never quite in sync with the present. A bit lanky, a little uncoordinated, but not in a way that’s entirely off-putting. Just… a guy who probably knows way too much about random trivia and gets sunburned if he merely thinks about going outside during the day.
Hale, clearly the leader of the group, is a giant of a man, and I realize my earlier assessment of him wasn’t wrong. He must be around six foot seven or maybe six foot eight. He has that sharp, clean-cut look with short, neatly kept blonde hair, suggesting he actually puts effortinto it without making a big deal about it. His icy blue eyes carry an intensity as if he’s sizing up the world, absorbing everything without revealing much. He would be intimidating if he weren’t so nice.
Jack is currently bouncing on the balls of his feet, doing his best to stand still while Hale explains their situation to me. The three of them have been best friends since childhood and started a band when they were thirteen. Liam Jones, the owner of JoJo Records, heard them play at a Battle of the Band event in Los Angeles and signed them a couple of months later when Grayson turned eighteen. That was about a year ago, and apparently, the label has been very patient and supportive in giving them the time to find a fourth member for their group. They agreed with the label that, while the three of them would do well on their own, something was missing.
Hale also mentioned they registered as a pack as soon as they could, wanting to solidify their friendship and make sure they stuck together forever. It was also why it’s taken so long for them to settle on a new bandmate; they wanted someone they could eventually add to their pack.
“We like you, Oliver,” Hale trades looks with Grayson and Jack before focusing on me again. “We will be in the area for a few months and would love to do a couple of test runs with you if you’re up for it?”
“You’re the first person we’ve clicked with since we started looking,” Jack adds excitedly. “It’s all a formality. We would love for you and the pretty girl to join us.”
“Jack!” Hale barks at his friend. “I told you not to mention the girl yet.” He shoots me an apologetic look. “We are interested in both you and your girlfriend, but we weren’t sure if she would be on board. Itdidn’t look like she was planning on participating until you froze on stage. No offense.”
“None taken,” I assure him. “Without her, I wouldn’t have gone through with it. I still can’t believe she did that for me.”
I still have a lot of feelings in need of processing when it comes to Savvy, but they need to wait for now.
“How long have the two of you been together? I met her briefly when she was trying to get to the stage and had me carry her the rest of the way. She’s a tiny little thing isn’t she.” Hale chuckles as he recalls meeting her.
“Oh, Savvy isn’t my girlfriend, I only met her tonight.” My eyes widened when I realized he was the one carrying her on his shoulders. “Holy shit, that was you?”
“You only met each other tonight?” Grayson asks me, the shock evident on his face. “That is surprising, the way you performed together, the kiss, it looked like you’ve known each other forever.” He blushes at the mention of the kiss. “I promise I wasn’t perving; it was just hard to miss.”
“That kiss was hot, I was totally perving,” Jack adds with a smirk.
“I think she might be my scent match,” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. Fuck. Fucking fuck. Saying that means I just outed Savvy as an Omega, something she wasn’t aware of or didn’t want people to know. “Oh God, I didn’t just say that. Please forget what I said, she says she’s a beta. I don’t know the reasons, but it wasn’t my place to mention anything regarding her designation.”
Hale puts a hand on my shoulder, the weight of it calming me down a fraction. “Dude, breath. We won’t mention anything to her, but it was an accident. She would understand.”
I shake my head, but I know it’s true. Savvy wouldn’t hold a grudge against me, she’s way too sweet for that. Doesn’t stop me from feeling guilty about it. I’ll tell her about it later when it’s just the two of us.
