Chapter Twenty-Six

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

NOW PLAYING: FALL For Me- Sleep Token

Yesterday was a dream come true. Curled in bed reading smut with the woman of my dreams. Then getting to bring her to release? To lick her essence off my fingers and sing to a crowd of thousands knowing her scent still clung to my skin? I’m hard just thinking about the way she clenched around my fingers.

My mates had been jealous. The happy kind because Omen is opening up to us. She’s spent nearly every free minute with us since Lex dropped her off on our bus after our show in Memphis four nights ago.

She fits so perfectly within our pack. As daring as Titan and as sweet as Cal. She calls to Nebula’s need to care for everyone around him. And she plays right into my goofy, flirty nature. This omega was definitely meant to be ours and I think she’s starting to realize that too.

Heading from our bus to theirs, I can’t hide my grin. I’m so damn excited to have three days off to woo this beauty. I’m surprised to find her and Bea sitting outside, their heads together as they look at something on their phone and whispering conspiratorially.

“Good morning, ladies,” I call out.

Omen smiles broadly when she sees me. Bea offers me a knowing smile but her attention is fully on her best friend. I’m curious to know why Bea looks a little annoyed with my girl, but I don’t think we are close enough yet for me to ask. She tends to stick to hanging out in large groups or spending her time on her bus with their bodyguards.

Callisto and I are certain something is going on between the three of them. We have a friendly bet about it. The prize is orgasms, naturally.

“Good morning Nex,” Omen greets softly when I come to a stop beside her chair. Her contact-covered eyes blink up at me and I find myself missing the mossy green she naturally has. Even if I’ve only seen them once. They reminded me of playing in the woods outside of my parent’s house. Getting lost in fairytale adventures of dragons and princes and happily ever after.

“Are you guys heading back home soon?” I ask. I know my voice betrays my wish for them to not be leaving yet, but I’m not ashamed of my desire to spend time with my girl.

“Not yet,” Omen tells me. She glances at Bea, a question in her eyes. Her bestie shrugs and rolls her eyes obviously expecting whatever silent communication occurred. “Actually, we were going to head to one of the local beaches for the day. Would you guys want to go too?”

My grin grows hearing the nervous hope in her question. “We’d love to spend the day at the beach with you, gorgeous.” Bea fake coughs, so I quickly add, “And your friends too.”

Technically I have to ask our driver first to make sure he doesn’t need to get back to Starburgh to his family, but if anything, my pack and I can rent a car to drive to the beach and back home tomorrow. I’m certainly not passing up an opportunity to spend more time with Omen.

“Okay, awesome! I’ll drop you a pin to the beach we were going to and you guys can meet us there?”

I quickly agree, pressing a kiss to the corner of Omen’s mouth before jogging back to my bus. I glance behind me, smirking when I see her wide eyes and bright cheeks as she watches me leave.

Nebula and Callisto are eating breakfast when I return. The sound of the shower running tells me Titan is awake for the day too. Perfect. “Omen, Bea, and the bodyguard duo are heading to the beach for the day. And guess who's invited to join them?” I sing as I collapse onto the couch beside Cal, leaning against his side to soak up a bit of his scent this morning.

“Orbital Somatic?” Nebula deadpans. His midnight blue eyes are bright with excitement and heat though, proving he knows exactly who I’m talking about.

“Is Jerry okay with another day away from home?” Cal questions from beside me. He’s so thoughtful, my sweet beta.

“I haven’t asked him yet, but I figure if anything we can just rent a car to get us home.”

Nebula nods his agreement, a thoughtful look on his face. “Let’s do that anyway. Let Jerry take the bus. We can pack a few small bags to toss into the rental car in case we end up crashing nearby for the night.”

I let out a whoop as I jump to my feet to find Jerry and let him know of our change in plans. I’ll let Nebula worry about getting the rental car and packing our bags. He likes to be in control of situations like this anyway.

Despite the late June heat, we manage to snag a nice cozy spot on a section of the beach jutting out further into the water, leaving crashing waves on both sides of us. The sun is at its peak, beating down on us, but the water feels nice and cool on my feet. Omen stands in the water beside me with a serene look on her face. Her head is tilted slightly back to let the sun shine down on her face.

Man, I want to kiss her again.

“Nexus, sunscreen,” Nebula calls, breaking the peaceful moment. I would complain, but I know my alpha will be very thorough as he makes sure I won’t burn today. Or as thorough as he can be on a public beach anyway. There are children around after all.

“You need help with your sunscreen, gorgeous?” I send Omen a flirty wink as she watches me walk backward to where the rest of my pack has been setting up our beach towels and umbrella. She giggles but waves me off promising she’ll ask for assistance if she needs it.

Standing in the sand beside our beach chairs, I keep my arms and legs spread and mentally count out the notes to the song we’ve been working on in an attempt to prevent myself from getting a hard-on as Nebula’s large palms massage sunscreen into my skin. I’m partially successful, only rocking a semi when he smacks my ass and moves over to help Cal cover Tee’s massive body.

I glance at the spread-out towels beside us watching as Ridley scowls where Omen is spraying Bea down. I sympathize with his discontent. I too would prefer to be hands-on in helping my omega apply her sunscreen, but what can we do?

We’re all distracted when Omen whips the cute little sundress she is wearing over her head. She’s wrapped in a black halter one-piece swimsuit that shows off the tattoo running along her sternum and dips nearly down to her ass in the back. My semi is now fully hard and I need to get in the water before I give the families nearby a show they didn’t ask for.

Diving beneath the surface of the water, I let the waves crash over me for a minute before pushing back to the surface. Kicking my legs to keep myself afloat, I startle when an arm wraps around my waist. I let out an unflattering squeal as I’m lifted into the air and tossed back into the water.

I resurface to Omen’s melodic laughter ringing out from the shoreline. She looks like an alt-goth wet dream wading into the water toward us. It’s her turn to shriek when Nebula runs up behind her, tossing her over his shoulder and dropping them both down into the waves.

We’ve been in the water for a few hours, laughing and swimming, when Tee lets out an excited yell from where he went to grab us water from the cooler in the back of our car. Searching across the sand, I see him waving his huge arms in the air. When he sees he has our attention he points to the food truck taking up residence at the far end of the public parking lot.

“Fuck yes,” Omen grins. She scrambles out of the water with me hot on her trail, my eyes glued to the way her ass sways as she walks across the hot sand. She veers toward her towel to grab her wallet, but I snag her hand and pull her under my arm knowing Nebula will grab his. We’ll be treating her as much as possible while we are all out together.

“Wait I need–”

“Our treat,” Callisto tells her as he walks beside her. Their fingers brush as we make our way to the parking lot until she finally caves and entwines her hand with his. Cal’s cheeks turn the prettiest shade of pink. I have to focus on the thought of food to keep my hormones in check.

‘You can’t have an orgy at the beach’ I tell myself repeatedly. Not this beach anyway. A private beach for the five of us. Yep, that’s definitely going on the bucket list.

When we reach the edge of the beach where Tee stands, Bea steals Omen from beneath my arm. I pout at the omega as she drags my girl away, but I’m happy to see the two of them so relaxed and carefree. The stress of the increasingly dangerous protests outside of our shows has left us all carrying a little extra weight on our shoulders. They deserve a day of fun in the sun without worrying about any bullshit.

“No way!” Bea exclaims when she gets close enough to see around the line of beachgoers waiting at the truck. “This is the crepe truck Azalea tweeted about a few days ago!”

Peeking over the crowd, I see the bright pink truck decorated with kawaii ice creams and ocean animals. The menu is still too far for me to read, but it’s clear they sell Japanese-style crepes, which makes my stomach rumble loudly. Food really is my love language and I could use some love right now.

The wait is long, with most of the beachgoers coming to order from the pop-up shop, but we spend the time playing a round of musical word chains where we can only name famous bands or artists. We’re sweating our asses off but having the time of our lives.

When it’s finally our turn to order, I find myself face-to-face with the conundrum of indecision. There are too many options and they all look magical. How am I supposed to pick only one? Omen appears to be struggling with the same problem in front of me so I offer to split mine with her so we can both try two different types. Knowing my mates, they will make sure we all get to try anything different our pack chooses. Just one of the many reasons I love them.

Omen finally decides on a matcha cheesecake flavor while I go for a strawberry lychee blend. The workers inside of the truck move quickly and efficiently, smiling and joking together. The monstrous-sized crepes they finally hand us have me double-checking to make sure I’m not drooling all over myself. They’re as big around as a baseball and packed full of fruit, ice cream, and other delicious bites.

I groan as the flavors coat my mouth. They’re magical! Not as delicious as the taste of Omen’s slick, but a close second.

“Here,” Omen offers me hers and watches as I bite from the same spot she did before holding mine out in return. We sit on the edge of the parking lot and enjoy our sweet treats together.

Omen finishes hers, offering the last chunk to Tee to try, and leans her head against me. Her hair’s pulled up into a messy bun on the top of her head leaving her unmarked neck exposed. The desire to sink my teeth into her skin and claim her as mine strikes me suddenly.

I shake the thought away, focusing on the distant skyline instead. One day I will claim my omega, but not before she’s ready.

“Back in the water or do we want to take a break for a bit?” Nebula questions after he’s thrown all of our wrappers and trash away. He stretches his arms behind his head, flexing the muscles in his upper arms, and I’m not the only one who can’t pull my eyes away from the sight of his ripped torso. Omen tracks along each tattoo on his chest and arms, devouring them with a heat in her eyes that has me shifting uncomfortably.

Beach orgies are illegal, right? Yeah, probably best to distract us before this devolves into a level of debauchery we could face jail time for.

“I’m good out of the water for a bit,” I reply.

Omen manages to tear her eyes away from Nebula to scan the beach. A lot of the families are packing up for the evening, ready to head home with their exhausted little ones. I fight back a pout when she spies the empty volleyball net a short distance down the sand. Me and athletic games do not mix.

“Beach volleyball?” she asks. Her question isn’t directed to me or my pack though, she’s looking at her best friend. Bea shrugs before turning to look at us all thoughtfully.

“You look like you’re going to perish just thinking about playing, Nexus,” Bea snorts. “We could do three on three? That way Nexus and whoever else isn’t interested can sit out.”

Cal relaxes at her suggestion. My sweet beta isn’t very fond of athletic competitions either. We follow behind everyone else, his hand in mine, as we listen to them decide who will pair with who. Though it’s easy to see the divide between the six of them. So it’s no surprise when Omen winds up on the same team as Nebula and Titan while Bea pairs up with Lex and Ridley.

Ten minutes into their game it’s very clear neither omega is taking this seriously. Meanwhile, all four alphas are playing as if this were a championship game being broadcast on national television. Omen slips in the sand landing on her butt and bouncing the ball back into the air with her knee, not on purpose, earning a mocking tease from Bea.

Things take a turn only moments later when the ball bounces back to the other side and Bea shrieks before ducking to avoid a hit to the face, earning my packmates another point.

“I might be clumsy and most of my shots lucky, but at least I’m not afraid of the ball, Bea,” Omen calls.

Bea rolls her eyes, one hand across her forehead to block out some of the sinking sunlight. “Not everyone likes taking balls to the face, Oms!”

We all stop, the ball falling to the sand before raucous laughter breaks out. Their game comes to an end when both omegas call it for the afternoon, too tired to continue jumping around in the sand.

“We’re tied though,” Lex says with a scowl. Bea pats him on the back in feigned sympathy as we head back to our spot on the beach. Most of the groups around us have left so it’s much quieter now. Only the sound of crashing waves and wildlife keep us company.

The girls are knee-deep in a mermaid sculpting competition with Ridley and Titan as their mermaids when the members of Orbital Somatic show up. Apparently, they also decided to spend the day at the beach and hadn’t realized we were here too until the crowd had thinned enough for them to spot us from their place up the shore.

“We have a small fire pit in the back of the truck, we can grab it and chill while the sun sets the rest of the way.” Their lead singer Caleb offers. We all quickly agree. Anything to prolong our day out with Omen.

I barely refrain from laughing as I listen to the members of Orbital Somatic critique the omegas’ sand sculptures. None of those men are willing to disappoint either girl, but it’s clear they also hold a little bit more fear of disgruntling their manager.

Omen is a good sport when they announce Bea the champion, only pouting for a moment before shrugging and promising Tee he’s the prettiest mermaid she’s ever seen. My packmate plays along with her playful teasing, tossing his long hair over his chest and singing a very poor rendition of ‘Under the Sea’. It makes our girl giggle like crazy though so I can’t complain.

After both alphas are unburied and have rinsed off in the water, they join us around the slowly growing fire. Omen moves to sit with her friends but I snag her hand and pull her down to sit between Nebula and me.

“Sit with us, sweet girl, Nebula brought his guitar down so we can cuddle and listen to him play.” Omen smiles, glancing between me and my alpha, before settling in against us. I wrap an arm around her back, letting her head lean on my shoulder. My eyes fall closed as peace settles within me.

I’ve got my pack, our girl, and music.

Our future couldn’t look brighter.