Tae frowns in confusion. “But Delilah told me she isn’t a fan ofPack Fire.”
Nash snickers, earning him a glare from me.
I flick my wrist dismissively. “She didn’t actually see us play.”
Tae leans forward, resting his chin on his hands. “Back to the story, so you met and…?”
“Right after we met, she went into heat.”
Nash sits up straighter now, setting his beer on the coffee table, shoulders tense. Tae’s expression doesn’t change, but a muscle in his neck twitches.
“I…” I can recall practically every perfect moment of the weekend we shared. I’ve been replaying it every night since. The memories were starting to blur a little at the edges, but seeing her again brought everything back. Her full pillowy lips colliding with mine, the velvety touches, the sweet noises she made... “I helped her through it. We spent the weekend together. It was…” I exhale through my nose. “Amazing. At first, she didn’t know who I really was. We got to know each other properly. Just the two of us.”
Tae opens his mouth to speak then closes it again.
“She was… Sheis…” I roll my shoulders. “The most incredible woman I’ve ever met. Kind, positive, generous, gorgeous, and she smells like apple pie.”
“So what happened?” Tae demands to know. “When she saw you today, she couldn’t get out of the Tea House quick enough.”
“After her heat ended, I left.” I hang my head, gaze zoned in on my lap. “I snuck out and disappeared without saying goodbye.”
Nash crushes his beer can in his large hand. “Helping an omega through heat isn’t something you just walk out on like that. Omegas have needs.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” I snap.
“But I don’t get it.” Tae scratches his chin. “If you had a great time together, why did you bail like that?”
“It’s complicated.” Anything I say will just sound like an excuse. The truth is, I fucked up. Plain and simple. “Back then, I was a mess.Pack Firewas on tour for the second year in a row, and I’d barely taken a break. I was burning the candle on both ends to the point I’d lost sight of who I was. I was struggling to sleep, drank just to get through the day, had just shaken off another crazy stalker, and the press was rabid. I had no privacy or life at all outside the band. Delilah didn’t need that—me—in her life. You’ve met her.” I appeal to Tae. “If she got swept up in my chaos, it would’ve eaten her alive. I thought I was doing her a favor. Those few days with her were the first time in years that I truly felt like myself again, but it would have been selfish to drag her into the shitstorm surrounding me. I left to protect her.”
“But you didn’t give her a choice.” Tae throws up his hands. “Delilah doesn’t seem like the kind of woman who’d run. She’s stronger than you gave her credit for. You could have at least messaged her to explain.”
“I blocked her.” My words are barely audible. “I didn’t want anyone from the label finding out about her. I wanted to shield her from it all. I thought she’d just forget about me, but…” I wring my hands. “I’ve regretted leaving her ever since. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her, so I thought if I came back to SVU, we?—”
“Back up.” Nash interrupts. “You wanted to come to SVU because of this omega? You told us that you wanted to have the normal college experience and take music courses.”
“Well, yeah,” I mumble, although it sounds half-hearted. “That too, but?—”
“You lied to us.” Nash shakes his head, his voice steeped in disappointment. “We’re a pack, Jagger. Packs don’t lie to each other. We’re supposed to be a team. We moved our entire liveshere because we wanted to support you. You’re not the only person who made sacrifices.”
“Nash’s right,” Tae agrees. “You should have told us about Delilah. This isn’t just about what you want anymore.” He looks away. “We’re not like Valerie or the rest of your entourage. We’re your equals.”
“I didn’t…” My words catch in my throat. Seeing the raw hurt all over their faces makes me collapse in on myself, putting my head in my hands. “I didn’t mean…”
First, Delilah. Now Tae and Nash. I ruin everything good that comes into my life.
“I understand if you want me to leave the pack.” I eventually break the long silence, only punctuated by the loud ticking clock on the wall. “I can give you money, make sure to fix you up with a nice place, so you can go back to your old lives.”
“We don’t want any money from you. We never have,” Tae counters firmly. “We’re not going anywhere.”
“But—”
“No buts,” Nash cuts me off. “Just because you’ve acted like a fucking douche doesn’t mean we’re not pack. This pack is for life. But we need you to be honest with us.”
It’s now or never. The moment when I have to finally come clean and tell them the full extent of my feelings for Delilah.
“If you want full honesty, there’s still something I haven’t told you about Delilah.” I take a long chug of my beer for extra courage, the yeasty liquid sloshing uneasily in my queasy stomach. “She’s…” I have to say it. “She’s my scent match.”
The atmosphere changes, like the air before a storm, then the lightning strikes.
