Just not Ri-ckon. He knows everything already, but I’ll keep his secret. Others might want to steal him if they knew about his magic.
“Thanks, White Mine,” I murmur, nuzzling his face. “Means much.”
He chuckles and squeezes me back.
As I release him, ready to turn back to watch my ohm-ee-ga, a loud snapping sound booms across the field, followed by ringing bells. I stagger, whipping around to find the danger. All the people in the seats cheer and scream, deafening me. My precious ohm-ee-ga flies away from me, fast as a bus travels, on the back of her horse.
She’s leaving!
Cold hands clamp onto my cheeks. Rickon jerks my face roughly toward him, our noses a finger-width apart. He calls, but I can’t hear him through the shouting and my pounding heartbeat.
I could rip away from his hold, but I hesitate.
“Zack!” A trace of his voice reaches me. Ri-ckon hauls on the leash, pressuring my neck.
Every instinct tells me to chase after my ohm-ee-ga but Ri-ckon is here, holding me tight. With the leash.
I close my eyes and sink slowly to my knees, covering my ears with my hands. When I can’t trust the noise, the bond will guide me. Red lives there, excitement pulsing through her in hot streams. A touch of fear, but not much. Ri-ckon sails next to her, his presence soured by fear, but not for himself. For me.
I press my face to his chest and breathe in his cake scent, and Ri-ckon wraps his arms around my head, holding me tight. The blazing instinct fades, leaving a bitter chill in my veins and my heart thumping in my breast.
Gripping Ri-ckon’s arms tight, I glance up.
Red’s so far away, chased by the other horses and moving vehicles, but she follows a low fence that curves toward us. As I watch, her horse turns the corner, heading back in my direction. I rock onto my ass and release a long-held breath.
My omega will move away, but she’ll always return. Because we’re pack.
“Zack,” Ri-ckon calls, blocking my view. “I’m so damn proud of you! You did so well.”
I suck in a quivery breath. “Zack not fight,” I murmur.
“Exactly. Well done! It was super noisy, huh? But that’s just the acting for the beginning of the race.” He peers down into my eyes, crouching on his heels. “Thank you for trusting me, my darling.”
Trust. It’s a new word, but I know what it means. It means listening to my bond and not pulling on the leash, and it means believing what my alpha tells me. I reach for the strap between us and wind it around his hand to shorten the length, before tugging Ri-ckon down onto my lap.
He falls with a gasp, which I suck from his parted lips. “We watch our ohm-ee-ga return,” I announce.
“Okay, boss,” he says with a chuckle.
His fear fades away, and the bond vibrates with his pleasure instead. I snuggle my chin onto his shoulder and hum to shed the last of the activity surging in my veins.
With my alpha warming my lap, I turn back to watch, ready to learn something new.
Chapter fifty-six
Red
The end of filming. Who’d have thought I’d make it this far?
We wrap at midday, and Director Yun brings out champagne to celebrate our achievement.
When I watched the actresses on screen, I thought their job must be easy. Five months of early starts, late nights, and memorizing endless lines sobered me right up. Although I’ve learned so much and loved most of the filming, I’m also looking forward to a long break. Rickon hasn’t lined up another contract yet, also suggesting we take a break, and with a big payment due to hit my bank account next week, it’s not like we need to work for a while.
And I know Ricky’s just as tired as me, because instead of driving he’s been calling a service for the past two days. Maybe just this time I’ll take a break to focus on me and my pack.
As I wait for Ri-ckon to finish talking to the director, I dip my nose into a giant bouquet of red roses wrapped in palm fronds. Callisto might be stuck in court today, but he hasn’t forgottenme. The attached card reads:Congratulations on a mountain climbed. I’m in awe of all you’ve accomplished.
Remembering makes me smile. Even with all the chaos, I finished this giant challenge and got my name in the Ommywood headlines. Of course, it’s not for my acting skills per se—yet. But that will change once the movie releases. Because the film already has so much publicity, Director Yun plans to push the post-production team to get it finished in six months.
