Chapter 2

Two

LACY

L ooking around in a panic, I slowly picked up the dead bunch of roses and dumped it in the trash. I didn't want my maid coming tomorrow morning to see it and wonder too much about what was happening. She came over once a week to deep clean since I was always busy.

My hands shook as I walked into my house- locking the door behind me.

I ran around the house checking to see if all the windows were closed and all the doors were locked. I felt like I was getting paranoid now.

First, the weird gift, the voicemail, and then the dead flowers? It didn't make any sense, and I started to get frightened. I was used to fan mail and attention, but this one sent a weird chill through my body that I couldn't explain.

After making sure all the doors and windows were secure, I headed into my bedroom and stripped down to my pajamas. When I got ready for bed, I sat on my cozy chair next to my bed to play a little bit of music before I went to bed. I closed my eyes and strummed the guitar as I sang out loud. Every nerve in my body began to relax as I allowed my body to flow with the slow song. I cherished this moment to myself. It didn't happen every night, but only on certain nights when I felt stressed or on edge.

And it was one of those nights.

I slowly set the guitar down, relaxed, and felt my spirit grow stronger. No one was going to scare me. Shutting off all the lights, I lay in bed and closed my eyes. I needed to get enough rest before tomorrow's performance on the beach for the locals. I was stoked about it. It would be the first time we'd done a live performance in a while.

In the middle of the night, I woke up to an odd noise.

I groaned, annoyed, as I opened my eyes in the pitch dark. A loud scuffling sound was coming from outside. I slowly rolled off the bed with memories of yesterday's odd events rushing through my mind. It sounded like someone was jiggling the doorknob from the front door. Anger surged through me, and I grabbed my guitar as a weapon. Running down the stairs, my heart was pounding in my chest.

The noise was for sure coming from the front door.

"Leave!" I screamed at the door.

The sounds stopped, and I heard a low chuckle from the other side. I gripped my guitar high, ready to fling it at his head if he broke in.

I was ready to smash him to bits.

My heart thundered in my ears as I stood there for a long while. When I didn't hear any more noise, I slowly backed away from the door and went to my room.

Locking my room door behind me, I took deep breaths.

I needed to know who this was, and he needed to be arrested. For the rest of the night, I stayed up on my phone looking up the best cameras to install around my house.

The next day, after we finished singing at the concert to the delight of our fans, I was ready to collapse from lack of sleep.

Young fans were reaching out with their hands to the stage, and I high-fived a few of them, smiling. This was always the best part of performances. The look of joy and excitement on everyone's faces invigorated me.

"We love you, Lacy!" screamed a group of teen girls wearing pink and brown, my signature colors. I blew kisses at them and turned to the rest of the Electric Rose group. Ben and Ty were getting their own attention from the fans. Ben gave out autographs using lipstick given to him by a fan.

I grinned at the sight even though a wave of dizziness came over me. I knew I needed sleep, or else I'd collapse.

As I waved and chatted with fans, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I couldn't explain it. An eerie, heavy feeling settled over me. A presence watching my every move, or maybe I was just paranoid.

I couldn't shake off the feeling.

I looked around the crowd at every cheering face—nothing out of the ordinary. Then I turned and saw a man standing in the shadows of the building. I couldn't see his face, which was covered by his hoodie.

"Lacy, could you sign this for me?" a fan asked, distracting me.

"Sure," I muttered, turning away from him and quickly signing the fan's flute with a marker. I hastily turned back to see that he had disappeared.

"Alright, thank you, everyone!" said Ty over the microphone, and just like that, it was over after he gave a small speech thanking the crowd for supporting our songs.

"Want to go out for lunch?" Ben asked as we gathered up our instruments.

"I can't, sorry. My wife's cooking tonight," said Ty.

"You look excited," I said, wishing my future husband would one day be excited at what I made for him. But I couldn't cook to save my life.

"I am. But yeah, we did an amazing job, guys," said Ty, hugging us both. "I'll catch you two later."

With that, we went our separate ways. In the limo, I was glad for the cool air conditioner and the quiet. It had been such a hectic day. I leaned back against the seat, laying a hand on my aching forehead.

"Big day, huh?" said Phil.

"I didn't get enough sleep," I said.

"Why is that?"

"I don't know…" I mumbled, not wanting to divulge what happened. Just thinking about someone on the other side of my front door last night was a nightmare. I didn't want to think about it.

"Take care of yourself," said Phil finally, parking in front of my house.

"I will."

But I wasn't prepared for what I'd find next.

As I walked into my home, something on the kitchen counter caught my eye. I wanted to sob with fear when I spotted a little note. Maybe it was my maid leaving me a message, I thought hopefully, but after reading it…I realized it definitely wasn't the case.

Holding the paper in my trembling hands, I read the note again:

You'll be mine soon, Pinkie. And I'll be your breeder. Are you excited for the little alpha babies running around?

My heart was racing out of control at this point.

I dropped the letter back onto the kitchen counter, worried to death that he was lurking in any of the rooms with a knife. He wanted to fucking breed me.

Was this another one of those cases where an omega had gone missing? Was I the next target? What the hell did he want with me ?

I couldn't relax in my home anymore until I called some sort of personal bodyguard service. I really didn't have a choice right now, and I needed them to look around to make sure the creep wasn't hanging around.

But I couldn't stand around the kitchen like a sitting duck.

I ran to the office across from the kitchen and locked the door. I started to look up all the bodyguard services we had on Howl's Edge. I needed the very best. My hands were shaking, and I had to set my phone down for several minutes first. I paced around the office, pondering what to do. I'd avoided hiring bodyguards for so long.

I finally picked my phone back up and dialed.