Alpha's Surprise Baby(4)

"So, this is it," said Michael, when we stopped off in front of the sushi restaurant.

"Looks good," said Jareo, stepping in.

We were led to a private area in the back; this place was just as fancy  as the hotel and the van. I would have to get used to the life of  luxury, instead of being dazzled by everything.

I relaxed a little, but I still watched the waiters with an eagle eye.  Maybe one of them was a rabid Ignis Lupus fan, disguised as a  deferential, high-class waiter.         

     



 

The band drank quite a bit through their meal, though I just settled for  a beer. I was on the job, and I didn't want to compromise myself in any  way. Still, I was able to laugh at their jokes. They were getting  pumped up for the show, and the excitement was palpable. I was feeling  hyped up myself, and it usually took a lot to get me excited.

Soon enough, it was time for us to head to the venue to get ready for  the show. I had never had the opportunity to go to concerts much in Lake  City, so I was excited. I remembered driving to local cities to hear  bands back in high school, and they had been exhilarating. From what I  knew of Ignis Lupus, they brought a lot of energy to their performances  as well.

It didn't hurt that I actually liked their music. It wasn't what I'd  choose to put on, but it was good stuff, similar to the hard rock I had  been a fan of when I was a teenager. And Kade's voice was powerful.

I wondered why I had never recognized him as my fated mate before. I had  seen pictures of him and heard his voice in recordings, but those had  had no effect on me. It was only when I first met in person that I had  recognized him as my fated mate. Maybe it had something to do with  pheromones.

Or maybe, said a tiny, romantic part of myself, maybe it was love at  first sight. After all, wasn't that part of what the legend of the fated  mates was about? I didn't know the first thing about Kade, but I had  had feelings for him the moment I laid eyes on him.

I stood out in the pit with some of the venue technicians and other  staff while the band tuned up and practiced a couple of songs. They  sounded amazing already, I could tell, and with the complex light  displays and set decorations they would have, the concert would be a  spectacle of light and sound.

"The first attendees are going to be filing in within twenty minutes,"  said Michael, briefing us after tuning up was over. "Tree Spiders are  going to open fifteen minutes after that. It looks like everything is  going smoothly, so I don't expect any delays."

"Awesome," said Joel, grinning. He had since removed the sunglasses, but  I was starting to get the idea that they were part of his signature  look, even though he had been wearing them earlier because he was  hung-over.

"I know we went over this already, Xander, but you're going to stick  like glue to Kade any time he isn't directly on stage. That means you  have to escort him from the stage to the green room. Fans sometimes try  to squeeze in during that point."

"Got it," I said. My whole body was buzzing with the energy of the music and I felt good about tonight.

"There will almost certainly be crazy fans, especially in a big city  like this," said Kade, with a crooked smile. "So you will have work to  do."

"I look forward to it," I replied, smiling confidently back.

My wolf loved this. It didn't understand the concept of money, but I  did. I was literally getting paid to keep watch over my Omega and make  sure he was safe. I felt the rare but endlessly satisfying sense that I  got when what my wolf wanted and what I wanted were in sync.

We went back to the green room to wait. I could hear the roar of the  crowd and the eventual throbbing of Tree Spiders' guitars. And thanks to  my heightened shifter senses, I could tell that they were a damn good  band. Not as refined as Ignis Lupus, but good. If they had another year  or two to perfect their craft, they had a shot of becoming big too, if  only on the indie circuit.

Joel and Jareo were pacing around the room. They couldn't sit still at  all. Tony, on the other hand, was sitting on the corner and staring at  his cell phone screen. He hadn't said much at all since I had first met  him, making him a mysterious character. It also made me feel a little  distrustful toward him, which probably wasn't fair.

Kade looked like he was meditating, with his eyes closed and legs  crossed on the chair. He took slow, even breaths, appearing oblivious to  Tree Spiders' thrashing guitars. He had to have that clarity, I  realized. He was the frontman, the face of the band. Everyone would be  looking at him. It was a big job.

I wasn't too surprised to feel a pang over jealousy at the thought that  my fated mate was such a huge celebrity. There would be hundreds, even  thousands, of people out there who had crushes on him, who wanted him. I  wondered if he had received love letters or weird gifts.

And just like that, the importance of my job became a lot more evident. I  thought about the bands I had idolized in high school. I had had strong  feelings about them. Ignis Lupus had a more diverse audience in terms  of gender and age, but still. I understood how passionate fans could  get.

"It's time," said Michael, cutting into my thoughts. The band stood up  and I took my place next to Kade. My heart was pounding, almost as if it  were me who was going to go on stage.         

     



 

"The fans usually get crazier after the show," said Kade. "So this shouldn't be too bad."

He was right. There was no trouble at all. Now I would stand at the edge  of the stage, out of sight, along with some of the venue staff, who  would also step in if things got out of hand. I took a pair of earplugs  out of my pocket and popped them in.

The show was about to begin.

The first song began explosively, with the guitars and drums forming a  wall of sound, over which Kade's clear voice carried. I knew he had  written all the lyrics himself, and I had seen them already, so I knew  how heartfelt they were. They were strange lyrics, cryptically alluding  to themes of love and loss and betrayal. It was one of the things fans  liked about him.

The arc of the set carried its energy well into the middle, after which  the band sang a couple of slower, more ballad-like songs. There was even  a surprise acoustic rendition by Kade, who sat in the stage, small and  sad-looking, while singing a powerful song about being cheated on by a  past lover.

Huh, I thought. I hadn't heard that one before. Had he undergone the  very same heartbreak I had? I'd have to talk to him about that. It was  going to be difficult, though. I hadn't even had the chance to talk to  him about us both being shifters.

After the heartfelt interlude, the set concluded with several more  songs. They had purposefully left out one of their hits, though, which I  supposed they'd include in the encore. I was on high alert as they  filed out, the sound of applause taking the place of the thundering  guitars. It was prime time for a fan to ambush Kade, even though they  still hadn't done an encore yet.

They waited close to me as the applause turned into a sustained chant. "Encore, encore, encore!" the crowd cried.

After letting them do this for a minute, the band filed back out to even  louder applause. People were screaming and whooping, making all kinds  of sounds to show their enthusiasm. I couldn't help but grin a little.  There was just so much positive energy in the room.

"Okay, okay," said Kade into the mic. "You guys have been such a good  audience, I think you deserve a little more. How about this?"

Tony started up the drums and Joel plunged in with a twisting bass line.  I peeked past the curtain and saw that the crowd was swaying and  dancing with the music, which was more rhythmic than their previous  songs.

But when they played the hit song, the crowd went wild. I was amazed  that they could reach such heights of fervent emotion, but here it was,  right in front of me. I glanced at the venue staff around me. They were  smiling as well. Everyone seemed to be delighted.

"Denver, you have been awesome," said Kade. "I could not have asked for a  better start to our tour. Thank you, thank you, thank you, and  goodnight. I love you!"

He was really hamming it up, I thought. But I could tell he was sincere.  He didn't sound like he was spouting off recited lines-he sounded like  he really meant what he said.

When he approached me, I prepared for what could be the most difficult  part of the night. I escorted him carefully down the stairs, and as we  expected, there were several fans waiting. This time, though, they were  being corralled by several of the venue staff.

"Looks like I get to sign some t-shirts," said Kade. "That should be easy."

The other band members hung around, but it was Kade that most of the  fans wanted. He dutifully scrawled his signature on t-shirts, CD cases,  and vinyl record sleeves and took photos with a few fans. It was over  pretty quickly.

But as we turned to head back to the green room, a young man burst past  the venue bouncers and towards Kade like a speeding bullet. I stepped in  front of him and caught the guy in my arms, holding him out at arms  length. His eyes were wide. He seemed drunk.