Alpha's Surprise Baby(2)

"You're just saying that ‘cause he was hot," said Tania, who had sat down with us at the table.

"He was hot, yeah, but I felt comfortable with him. And that's important  too, right? He's going to be my personal bodyguard, after all." I  raised an eyebrow.         

     



 

"True," said Michael, skimming over his notes. "But you didn't feel that way about any of the others?"

"Not really," I said, unwilling to admit that I hadn't even been paying  attention. "I mean, they were all qualified, but I just didn't feel that  same rapport."

I couldn't tell them that I had a strong suspicion that Xander was my  fated mate. I couldn't let him go, now that I had found him. He was  probably hoping, at this very moment, that I would choose him.

My fated mate. He was finally here.

"I'm pretty sure," I said. "I mean, maybe I can sleep on it. But he's definitely my top pick for now."

"Okay," said Michael. "If you say so. Just let me know again tomorrow morning, so I can let them all know."

Jareo and I stood up, said goodbye, and left. By now, the sun had gone  down a bit, painting the city in a golden light. Lake City was a  beautiful place, with gorgeous architecture, fountains, and parks. I  always enjoyed walking around in it because it was the perfect city for a  shifter. We needed to feel connected to nature, even if we received it  in small doses.

"You wanna grab a bite before practice?" asked Jareo, motioning towards a taco food truck.

"Those interviews left me starving," I said, as my stomach grumbled. "Good idea."

Ten minutes later, we were carrying steaming bundles of tacos to Joel's  house, where we were going to practice. He was the bassist. He hadn't  been with me as long as Jareo, though he and Tony, the drummer, seemed  like good guys and performed well. Tony, I suspected, was a shifter,  though he had never mentioned it to me. I guessed that the guy liked his  privacy.

"Hey," said Joel, opening the door.

"We brought tacos," I said.

"Dope." Joel swung the door open, and we walked into his place. It was  an old, posh house that had been in his family for generations, but he  had completely trashed it. It looked like someone had thrown a frat  party inside, with beer cans and pizza boxes scattered everywhere. If  Joel wasn't such a brilliant bassist, I wasn't sure I'd want to have him  in the band, just because of this. Sharing a van or a hotel room with  him often got messy.

We normally would have practiced in the studio, but it was on the other  side of the city from Michael's office. And this was going to be a  different kind of practice session-we were brainstorming ways to change  up the songs.

I never liked it much when bands played their songs exactly like how  they were on the album. I wanted to give fans a treat for showing up to  the concert. I included more guitar solos and other kinds of flair to my  live performances, making them unique from their recorded versions.

We didn't need the whole studio for this, and anyway, Michael would have  killed us if we ate in there. The equipment was expensive, he didn't  want to pay cleaning fees, he didn't want to hear complaints of greasy  fingerprints on the pianos, blah blah. It was much less of a hassle to  meet up at Joel's.

We went down to the basement, which was mostly soundproof, and shared  the tacos. Tony showed up soon after, taciturn as usual, though he too  appreciated the food. After we had eaten, I told them about the  bodyguard situation.

"Kade totally has a crush on the one he picked," said Jareo, smiling gently.

"He is pretty hot," I admitted, my cheeks flaring red. My band mates  were all straight, but they were totally cool with me being gay. I  couldn't have handled it otherwise.

"Can't wait to meet him," said Joel. "Maybe he'd be cool to hang with."

"I think so," I said. "He was closer to our age than all the others, who  were like, ex-Marines. I felt like we should have a bodyguard we'd get  along with, since he'll be spending so much time with us on the road."

"Lots of time," said Jareo. "I'm sure."

I jostled him with my elbow playfully.

"Just be sure you don't end up in some kind of mess," advised Joel.  "Like, don't have sex with him and then have some kind of dramatic break  up that fucks up the rest of the tour."

"If he's even gay," said Tony.

"I'm pretty sure he is," I said. "I could just tell."

"So you're going to call Michael tomorrow and tell him you've picked him?" asked Jareo.

"Yep. That's the guy I want," I said decisively. He was going to my  personal bodyguard, anyway, which was why it was my decision. The band  was primarily my project, and Michael and I hired musicians as needed  for tours and recording, with the exception of Jareo, who had been with  me a while.         

     



 

"Awesome. So you guys ready to talk music?" asked Joel.

We launched into what turned out to be a fruitful discussion of how to  make our show dynamite. The other guys weren't feeling as uninspired as I  was-I was still feeling dejected over the poor release of Cinders. But  that was because this band was my baby. While the rest of the band  cared, they had less personal investment, so they were able to enjoy the  experience more than me.

I could see a little spark of inspiration in my future, though.  Something that made me feel a little livelier, more interested in going  through with the tour. And that something was named Xander. I couldn't  wait to see him again.





2





Xander





I still couldn't believe I had snagged the Ignis Lupus gig. They were a  huge band right now. I had done some research before applying for the  position, and I had found out that their most recent album had been  panned. But teenagers still seemed to like them; at least, my younger  cousin did. It was well-known in the shifter community that the lead  singer was one of us.

What I hadn't known was how attractive he was. He was the most perfect  little Omega I had ever seen. His blonde hair, trailing off in wavy  wisps, the colorful tattoos on his porcelain skin, and his sparkling  amber eyes were all intoxicating, conspiring to create a man who I  couldn't get enough of.

It had been hard to focus on his manager during the interview. I had  felt the compulsion-the one that told me he was my fated mate-and my  brain had been running wild. I was intensely curious to know if he felt  it too, and I wanted to just keep looking at his sexy form. But it was a  job interview, so I had to look proper.

I was glad he had picked me. By some stroke of divine luck, he had  chosen me out of all the other guys who had been lined up in the  hallway. Now I'd have a chance to interact with him very frequently, on a  daily basis, and something would happen.

Something was going to happen. That was a no brainer.

There were just a couple of problems. First, I couldn't fuck the guy I  was supposed to be protecting. If we had issues, it would look  unprofessional. That was just common sense.

Second, I wasn't sure I even wanted to be in a relationship. I had found  my fated mate, and he was damn sexy. That was all well and good. But if  we were fated to be together, it could wait. I wasn't ready to trust  someone else again.

We'd have the whole tour to get to know each other. While that was a  boon, it was also a curse. Something was definitely going to happen.  When you put an Alpha and his Omega together in close quarters, both  undergoing their mating peak, all bets were off.

I'd figure out how to deal with the aftermath when it happened.

Right now, I had to guard my heart. My friends had warned me, when I  took on this job, that a rock star would break it. He'd be promiscuous,  they had said, too willing to sleep with any groupies who threw  themselves at him. He wouldn't want a stable, healthy relationship,  instead opting for a world of alcohol, drugs, and casual sex.

Somehow I hadn't gotten that impression when I saw him. He didn't look  like a partying type, the kind who wasn't supposed to be seen in  daylight. He looked almost normal, if you could call a rock star that.  Sure, his fashion sense was a little strange, and his vibrant tattoos  were eye-catching, but apart from that, he seemed okay.

And he was my fated mate. He couldn't be all bad, could he? I couldn't  possibly be matched up with another cheater, doomed to spend the rest of  my life with him. I had suffered through that heartbreak already.

I checked myself in the mirror, making sure I looked clean and neat, and  stepped out, carrying a suitcase with me. Inside it were all the  clothes and other things I'd need on the road. My backpack had all my  electronics in it.

Fated mate aside, I was excited. I hadn't been able to travel much  outside of the Lake City area; I didn't have the money. Now, I was  getting paid to go on what was pretty much a road trip across the  country. It was the experience of a lifetime, and I would have signed up  even if Kade weren't the singer.