Chapter 6

Six

LACY

I didn't want to go outside the next morning to greet my bodyguards.

Still embarrassed from last night, I stood in front of the door for a couple of minutes while they waited outside for me. My heart was pounding hard, and I couldn't seem to get over it. I wanted to die after masturbating in front of a camera last night.

I was saving my body for the right alpha and his pack- and until that time came, I never wanted to be exposed like that to anyone.

Opening the door, I saw all five of them standing there waiting for me. My cheeks flushed pink as if I was standing naked before them. Ryder had an odd glimmer in his eye. No, I needed to stop being paranoid. They had no reason to watch the cameras under any circumstances. And I told myself they couldn't watch the feed outside my home.

"Good morning, ma'am," said Adrian, saluting me.

"Morning," I said dryly. "You can just call me Lacy."

"Awesome, so we're on a first-name basis now," said Adrian. I was most nervous about seeing Ryder. The scar on his face shone more in the bright sunlight. He didn't have any facial hair, so his rough features stood out even more. My heart raced, and I didn't realize how sweaty my palms were until I wiped my hands on my bright blue skinny jeans.

"Hello, Lacy," he said. His drawling voice sent butterflies to my stomach, which I didn't expect. Maybe it was the combination of being mortally embarrassed and him likely seeing what happened in my living room last night. Or maybe he hadn't seen the video. I would never know. "We should get going."

"You guys can follow behind me. I'm having my driver take me with the limo," I said.

"Then we're all coming with you," said Ryder, and the rest of the pack nodded. "Everywhere you go, we're hired to be with you. We take no chances."

"Oh, umm," I said, seeing there was no way out of this. I was starting to regret hiring bodyguards. If they got too close and smelled my true scent, they'd laugh. They were going to follow me no matter what. "Yeah, that's fine, I guess."

I walked to the limo, holding my little black clutch with shaking hands.

The deltas immediately flanked me on both sides, and the alphas walked in front and behind me. A sense of power and accomplishment flowed through me at the bodyguards following me. Now, I would be able to go through large crowds easily without Ben and Ty having to suffer for me.

Phil opened the door for us, bug-eyed at the five muscular men surrounding me.

"Morning Phil," I said. "Meet my personal bodyguards. This is Ryder, the pack alpha. This is Ethan, Cooper, Lucas, and Adrian."

"Nice to meet you all," nodded Phil.

"Likewise," said Ryder gruffly.

They all shook hands, introducing themselves to each other as I crawled into the limo. I sat to the far right, pushing myself against the wall so we could all have enough space for ourselves. I was a trembling mess just by shaking Ryder's hand. I needed as much space from them as possible.

Adrian came in after me, sitting right next to me. The rest of the bodyguards crowded inside, and the limo never felt so small before. Once everyone was inside and the door was shut, I started feeling heady with arousal as I took in all their different scents. Adrian's powerful thighs touching mine sent my mind into a spiral of dirty desires.

I wanted to sit on his lap and grind on him.

Sometimes, I felt like I had sexually repressed myself on purpose because of my mother's reputation on Howl's Edge. When the kids started to make fun of me in school about my mom being the alpha king's whore, I cried at home until she explained her version of the story. My mother, Vanessa, was the toughest omega I knew, and I would always admire my mother no matter what the kids said.

But that made me try even harder not to be like her.

I didn't want to have a child I didn't plan for or get myself into trouble taking an alpha that wasn't mine. My half-brother Gabe didn't care what anyone thought of our mom. He was an extrovert and thrived on the attention of the Royal Pack since King Armon was his father.

The Royal Pack didn't pay attention to me as much as they did my precious brother, but I was glad. I didn't need attention from them.

"Hope you slept well last night?" asked Adrian, turning to me. I looked around at all the men nervously. Ryder's lips twitched, and I panicked inside, wondering if he'd been watching the cameras.

"I did, thank you," I said, trying to focus my gaze elsewhere. But the limo was full, and everywhere I turned, I locked eyes with one of them.

"After we left your residence, I presume you felt much safer?" asked Ryder with a lilt in his tone that only I noticed.

It made my heart beat faster. He knew.

"Yes," I said, clearing my throat loudly to block out any awkwardness in my answer. I stared boldly at him to show that he didn't intimidate me in the slightest. I was his employer.

He smiled, and I quickly turned away.

"We'll have to check the cameras later to see if Lacy's stalker returns," said Ethan gruffly.

"No, it's okay," I squeaked in a panic. Ryder's smile widened, and that's when I knew for sure that he watched it. My pussy clenched painfully, and my head spun.

"You're right, Ethan," said Ryder. "But it'll be best if I check it first. If I see anything, I'll send it to you because god knows that I have enough to analyze."

When he spoke the last line, he was looking directly at me. My face couldn't get any more hotter than it already was. The limo was stuffy and full of males. I had to get out of here, but there was another ten more minutes before we arrived at the studio.

Even though the air conditioner was on, I tried to fan myself with my hands.

"Are you okay there, Miss Lacy?" asked Cooper, the delta with blue eyes and long locks of blond hair. Even though he towered above everyone, his hands were slim, and his suit immaculate.

"Doesn't it feel a little stuffy in here?" I asked.

"Give her some space, Adrian," ordered Ryder in a sharp voice. "This omega is in distress."

"A wet towel to her forehead might help," said Ethan worriedly.

"No, it's okay. It's not Adrian," I protested, taking deep breaths, but that only made me more drunk off their male scents.

Adrian scooted over to give me room and turned up the air conditioner so it was blasting towards me. Ryder poured water onto a towel from a water bottle and knelt before me, pressing it to my forehead. His closeness made me nearly hyperventilate. He looked concerned as he pressed the wet towel to my forehead. I felt the cool air on my face and took a few deep breaths. Their scents were not as strong anymore, and I started feeling more clear-headed.

"I'm okay now," I said, wrapping my fingers around his forearm to pull him away.

The muscles on his arm bunched, and my heart palpitated audibly in my chest.

I pressed my thighs close together so he didn't notice my scent. Every morning, I slathered on a bunch of scent blocker lotion because I was embarrassed by the scent that emerged from me during puberty. My scent was ginger-like, which wasn't pleasant like all the other omegas. I wished my omega scent was flowers or candy- anything but ginger. It was a sweet-smelling ginger.

But it was still ginger .

"I don't think so," he said in a low voice so only I could hear him. I was breathing hard, trying not to perfume. My scent blocker cream was the most powerful one I could find in the stores. It felt like it was only me and him in this space. The closeness of his body and the deep baritone of his voice was causing havoc on my body.

I couldn't think straight.

"I'm okay, I swear," I said. Ryder pressed his hand over my left breast, and I jumped.

"I need to make sure your heartbeat is normal," he said calmly. His hand was causing my heart to race even faster. "You're not used to being around so many males, huh?"

"No," I whispered.

He removed his hand from my breast, and I could breathe easier again.

"Take deep breaths, omega," he said. His eyes glowed, having discovered that I was a virgin.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why this is happening," I said.

"Don't be sorry," he said. "It's not something you can control. Some omegas are more sensitive to alphas than others."

"I think I feel better now, though," I said, trying to reassure him.

He slowly removed the wet towel from my forehead, and Adrian handed me some napkins to wipe off the cool moisture. Ryder returned to his seat directly across from me, watching me closely.

During the rest of the ride, I leaned back against my chair and closed my eyes, trying to regulate my breathing. I never felt like this around my ex-boyfriend, not even remotely, even though he was an alpha. My feelings were much more heightened around these males. I don't know if it was because of Adrian and Cooper's devilishly handsome looks and Ryder's gruffness. My ex wasn't bad-looking, but maybe our scents just didn't align. It was a possible factor in why a mating wouldn't work out.

I grew worried about my future now.

I breathed in the air conditioner as Phil parked the limo, unaware of what was occurring in the back of his limo. All the alphas could be knotting me in the back, and he wouldn't even know.

"Where are you guys going to go while I practice?" I asked.

"Half of us will be with you inside," said Ryder.

"Listen, I'm not in any danger inside the studio," I said. "Ben and Ty are in there, so it'll be fine."

"Who the hell are Ben and Ty?" asked Ryder.

"Haven't you heard of the Electric Rose?" asked Adrian, rolling his eyes at his pack leader's cluelessness. "They're her bandmates. I can't wait to meet them."