I cleared my throat, not even bothering to pull out my phone. “Six shows, all sold out,” I said. “Glowing reviews all over the place for the speculated omega couple. The show received successful reviews as well, but everyone is mentioning a two-minute duet in the first half that put the rest of the performance to shame.”
“I feel bad for the rest of the company,” Ivy frowned, pushing around a piece of fruit on her plate. “Nobody wants to read that from online reviews.”
“That’s why we want our future shows to highlight you so the proper stars are at the top and not buried in the middle,” Isaac said as he rubbed Ivy’s back. “It helps the whole company be proud of what we perform.”
I cleared my throat again, getting everyone’s attention. “I also want to mention that ticket sales forNutcrackerhave started to explode. Three shows are close to sold out, and we haven’t even updated casting yet.”
“Did you check if you could add more shows?” Dem asked before taking a sip of his orange juice.
“I did, and we can’t forNutcracker, looks like we’re stuck with twenty shows,” I replied. “I’m still in talks with the box office and theater about it.”
“Good to know,” Dem said. “On another note, I have interviews scheduled with potential new Executive Directors. I’m very much looking forward to shifting a lot of this planning and financial tracking to their plate.”
“That’s so exciting,” Ivy chimed in, reaching for Dem’s hand. “I know how much time that’ll free up for you and Lukas.”
As she reached for Dem’s hand, her scent caught my nose right away. It was so sweet smelling today. Something felt off, not bad—just off.
“I…” I tried to refocus on the Executive Director discussion. “I…can’t wait for someone else to handle these logistical things, like ticket sales and theater details.”
“When I narrow down the main candidates, I want the entire pack to meet them to ensure we’re all comfortable with this person,” Dem looked at each of us. “We’ll probably be spending a lot of time with them, so they need to be the right fit.”
“One last question,” I said, furrowing my brows as I looked at Ivy. I paused for a bit, but just couldn’t quite articulate what I wanted to say. “Actually, never mind. It’s not relevant at the moment. Sorry, just a passing thought.”
“Are you sure?” Ivy shot me a curious look. Her smile tugged at my heart as I caught more of that sweet scent again.
“Yeah, absolutely,” I shrugged, rubbing her thigh. Oops, I wasn’t supposed to do that.
“Sounds like we’re all done here. Two more shows to go.” Dem lifted his glass in a mock toast to signal the end of our pack meeting.
As everyone stood up to leave, I quickly walked over to him and pulled him aside. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
“What’s up?” He looked at me. “Does this have to do with Ivy?”
“Yes, her scent is super sweet right now,” I quietly spoke with him. “Have you noticed?”
“Definitely, I asked her about it Friday night. She thought it might just be the stress of the weekend,” Dem said. “What do you think?”
“I think we need to be ready for her heat. Do we have a backup plan in case we need to take her out today?”
“Millie and Jeff know the duet as understudies. Will she make it through the day?” he asked me.
“I believe we’ll start to feel a mating pull to be with her, though it’s not as pronounced with unbonded packs. We’ve all been avoiding touching her this weekend, which is not the best either, so it’s hard to tell what’s a pull versus just normal need.” I ran my hands through my hair, thinking of ways to help. “Maybe I can spend more time backstage today and just keep an eye on her. I’ll talk to Preston so he’s aware, and Isaac too.”
“Probably for the best. She’s more important than the shows,” he said to me.
“Absolutely,” I agreed.
***
Preston
Four shows down and two more to go, I sadly said to myself as Ivy and I sat in the dressing room backstage. I was surprised at how much I was going to miss this number. This show had quietly launched us as an omega couple, plus this was a change of pace and slightly needed break from the high-stress lead positions I usually performed.
I glanced up at the clock—forty-five minutes to wait before we performed for the Sunday matinee show. Ivy sat in her chair, stretching her neck out. I wondered if she felt any changes within her. She’d never experienced a heat before; would she even recognize one coming on?
Lukas pulled me aside earlier and asked me to keep a closer eye on her. I’d definitely noticed her scent getting sweeter as this weekend progressed. Was that a sign of her impending heat?
I thought back to Thursday night in our group bedroom. Taking Ivy with my packmates was so hot as she worked to please us all, and the feel of being inside her…a shiver ran through my spine at how good she felt. Would her heat be like that?
