Aksel’s guitar wailed.
And then… Noah’s voice soared.
The first few lines were tentative, a slight shudder in the high-pitched growls that were barely noticeable over the instruments unless you’d heard him sing live before. But as the verse progressed, his confidence grew. By the time they hit the chorus, Noah was swimming in his element. And he was fucking glorious.
The throng of people surged forward, headbanging, horns raised up in the air, merging with the thundering melody like they belonged in it. The mosh pit became a chaotic dance of brutality, limbs, and sweat. Kaj abandoned himself to the rhythm, and muscle memory took over as he pounded out beat after beat.
The concert turned into a haze of smoke, red flashes, and vicious heartbeats. Flying through their setlist, each song weaved seamlessly into the next. Kaj’s wrists and lower back burned with exertion, but the pain only fueled him, just like the crowd’s savagery was feeding back into the band. Faster. Harder. Louder.
In the middle of this mayhem, his gaze locked with Noah’s as he walked across the stage. The intensity in his eyes made Kaj’s breath catch in his throat. And for a moment, the rest of the world fell away. It was just the two of them, connected by the riptide of energy shaking the venue.
Darkly and more tempting than ever, Noah’s lips curled into a smirk right before they launched into “Abyss”, the last song.
Kaj had seen that expression before. When the wordlovemeant something. When they played in crappy bars with Theo and Val. When, years later, their relationship was driven by toxicity and hedonism.
A wall crumbled.
A torrent of desire flowed right through him.
Fire caught under his skin and every nerve in his body came alive, hyperaware of Noah’s blatant invitation.
Getting a boner in the middle of a concert wasn’t only inconvenient but painful as fuck.Shit.Kaj wanted Noah. Couldn’t deny it anymore. Not when such a simple thing made him feel like he was walking on the edge of a blade. Yet at the same time, he hated how confusing he could be. How he provoked him. How, with just one look, he disarmed him so completely.
Clenching his teeth, Kaj tried to focus on everything but Noah. Though it was quite a challenge considering he was there, up on the platform in front of the stage, letting out the nastiest, grittiest, lowest sounds a human being could produce.
Shit. Think of something else.
Aksel’s guitar wailed with unbridled passion. Xander’s bass licks rumbled through the walls. Kaj’s drums thundered like a storm. Then the solo hit. There was a sense of madness in the way it unfolded, a place where chaos, beauty, and fury collided. One of their best creations to date, and the hardest song to perform technically.
Just as the track seemed about to implode, Noah joined them again. His growls embraced the composition, elevating and spearing through the air as they infected every particle surrounding them.
Ominous, cathartic end.
After the concert, the rest of the night went on smoothly and fast.
They had arrived in Toronto the previous afternoon, but between getting up at an unholy hour to practice, soundcheck, and mingling with the other bands backstage to bond, they were dead. Considering they had another gig in two days, a long sleep was more than deserved.
Though, apparently, for Kaj’s body, none of that was enough.
So, here he was now, in front of the half-fogged mirror in the bathroom, with afinallyspent dick dangling between his legs while drying his hair with a towel.
He was tired of the constant battle between the black and white wolves within. One filled with anger and envy. The other filled with hope. Sometimes there were fleeting thoughts of the perfect life, with the perfect partner, in a fucking fairytale perfect house. It was… cozy.
However, that wasn’t for him. He was an empty vessel, shallow and damaged. Although Kaj didn’t have suicidal ideations anymore, some days he was so drained he wished he could fall into a dreamless sleep forever. Instead, he kept waking up every day.
Letting out a sigh, he tossed the towel in the sink and perched both palms on the counter, head hanging low.
People say time heals, but for him, that was bullshit. Time only helps you learn how to deal with your ghosts. It helps you befriend them despite the pain they cause, because accepting that darkness is the only way tosurvive.
A knock on the door yanked him back into the real world.
Kaj exhaled sharply, tapping the screen of his phone resting beside his hand, brows pinched together.Three in the fucking morning. He considered ignoring it—probably some drunkard confusing doors—but the knock came again, too steady. Too deliberate for someone who shouldn’t be able to walk a straight line.
Kaj grabbed the large towel from the rail and wrapped it around his waist. He cursed under his breath as he walked out of the en-suite, ready to punch whoever was annoying him at this hour.
He wrenched the door open. “Do you know what time—” His eyes almost fell out of their sockets. “What are you doing here?”
“What you said last week, about Mads and you. Is it true?” Noah’s gaze roamed over his body with a purpose.
