Page 15 of Bliss & Her Idols (Pack Bonds Omegaverse #10)

CHAPTER SEVEN

Knight Amphitheater, Haven

B ang, bang, bang.

I tremble, as the door shakes and rattles behind Jin.

The closet is dark, apart from the light coming through the gap at the bottom of the door.

It’s shockingly intimate to be standing trapped in this small space with a man as tall and stunning as Jin, especially as he’s still holding onto my Omega. He’s smiling down at me like this is the best adventure that he’s ever had.

Like we’re partners in crime.

This close, I can finally smell Jin. The designers of the amphitheater must not have bothered to install the scent ventilators in the closet.

Most Betas have a fainter scent than an Alpha or Omega. In turn, they have less of a sense of smell. They’re also less affected by pheromones.

Jin’s scent, however, is as warm and seductive as his eyes are. I take a deep breath of his sweet and spicy orange and cinnamon scent.

I swallow, unable to stop the sudden gush of slick. My panties are soaked.

Our panted breaths are loud in the tiny space.

My heart is hammering hard in my chest. My pulse is roaring.

How has this mission gone so spectacularly wrong?

The hard edge of the shelf bites painfully into my shoulder.

My chest is pressed into Cricket’s back. Cricket is still clutched in Jin’s arms.

“Open the door,” Stapleton bellows.

“I’m trying.” Jin winks at me, as instead of opening the door, he presses himself more firmly against it.

He sets his feet to steady himself, as the doorknob violently rattles.

He winces.

Is his shoulder hurting him?

I once read that Jin injured his shoulder but never had the surgery that he needed because there wasn’t time in his packed schedule.

Jin is breathing hard.

But then, so am I.

What the hell will happen when Stapleton breaks in? Cricket and I took a risk coming to this concert alone as unbonded Omegas.

I won’t be defined by my dynamic.

Most unbonded Omegas won’t take the risk of going out alone, in case they’re attacked by Alphas. I’ve been taught self-defense by Chase, however, as well as knowing that I’m being monitored by my brothers.

Yet I have Cricket with me.

I wanted him to see the joy of the world now that he’s free and not the terror of its brutality, the same as he experienced trapped with his family in the woods.

What will the security team do to Cricket and me?

Yet looking at Jin, I’m somehow more worried about what they’ll do to him .

Especially, when Stapleton’s voice comes startlingly close to the door like he has his mouth pressed against it to stop anyone else from hearing. “Idol, I’m giving you one final chance. Let’s end this now, before it gets out of hand. I am not messing around with you.”

“Here, pass that chair.” Jin kisses the top of Cricket’s head like he can’t stop himself, before gently placing him down and pushing him into my arms. Then Jin plasters himself against the door.

He grabs with both hands onto the doorknob, before yelling through to Stapleton, “Sorry, Mr. Stapleton. It’s stuck.

You’ll need to go and find the janitor, yeah? ”

I stare at Jinn.

“Chair,” he mouths.

I knew that Jin was playful from his vlogs. But he’s a volatile whirlwind.

I guess that I truly don’t know the real Jin, the ever curious one from Cricket’s letters who thirsts to know everything about the world outside his own prison from games to family meals.

I feel to the side of me.

My fingers close around an oak chair that’s stacked against the wall. I grimace as I wrangle it around Cricket in the small space. It scrapes along the floor, while I shove it toward Jin.

Jin grins, before waggling his fingers like he’s about to pull off a magic trick. Then he wedges the chair underneath the doorknob.

He takes a deep breath, before he risks letting go. “See? It won’t turn.”

We all wait in the silence.

Jin rubs his right shoulder.

He’s definitely still suffering from chronic pain.

“I needed somewhere quiet to calm down the Omega, Mr. Stapleton,” Jin tries, listening intently.

I imagine that he’s had a lot of experience with how to deal with — manipulate — his bodyguards.

They may think that they have the control over this man who burns brighter than anyone I’ve met, but I have the sense that they really don’t.

“Please don’t keep banging and growling.

It’s scaring our VIPs. Give me half an hour.

Just concentrate on your breathing, good Omega. In and out…”

Jin’s eyes sparkle, as he acts out helping Cricket through his imaginary panic attack.

Yet he puts on the performance with enough authority that clearly he regularly helps someone with their attacks.

I wonder who…?

Cricket clasps tighter onto me and plays along, whimpering and breathing faster.

A loud sigh comes from the other side of the door.

Stapleton’s voice is quieter now. “Zoe has informed me that you have fifteen minutes. Find a way to get this door open, before I do. For your sake.”

Jin waits for a moment, listening to Stapleton’s footsteps walk away, before he slumps with relief against the door.

“Finally, we’re alone.” Then he grins like this is the most thrilling moment of his life, rather than topping the charts or winning a Grammy.

“Wow, this is what freedom feels like. It’s been years since I’ve been somewhere that I shouldn’t be during the daytime.

Alone with people who aren’t approved by my manager, Rory Idol.

Alone with the sexiest Omegas I’ve seen.

Not on schedule. This feels incredible. Is this what it’s like to be free? ”

“We’re locked in a closet.”

“Details.”

I really should have thought about the added risks of attempting to rescue a creative.

Jin taps Cricket on the shoulder. “You can stop pretending to have that panic attack now. You should take up acting. That was impressive.”

“I’m not pretending anymore.” Cricket heaves for breath. “You’ve trapped us in here, and all those people sound angry.”

Jin’s expression falls. “Ah, sorry. Fuck.”

Shock at Jin’s swearing appears to be enough to startle Cricket out of his spiraling anxiety.

He twists in my arms to stare up at Jin. “You cuss.”

“Don’t you?”

“But you never cuss.”

“You mean that I don’t in public . It’s against the rules. I’m not in public now. I’m with you.”

Jin wraps his arms around Cricket, holding him now between my embrace and his.

Cricket fits perfectly between both of us.

I’m possessive but I don’t feel jealous that my tiny Omega is resting his head on another man’s chest.

Instead, it feels right, as if he’s caught exactly where he should be.

My gaze meets Jin’s. His pretty lips quirk, as if he’s thinking exactly the same thing as I am.

“And who are we?” I demand. “The two Omegas who you’ve decided to pull into a closet? Normally, that’s the opening line in a court case.”

“You’re my best friend, my little Chirp, and his Omega.

” Jin looks down at Cricket with a deep tenderness.

It shocks me. He’s fallen hard. How many years has he been secretly in love with Cricket?

“I knew that you’d break the code. I trusted you.

You’re so fucking smart. But I didn’t know that you’d also be so fucking cute. ”

Cricket’s eyes widen. He lets out an involuntary chirp.

I try not to laugh.

Jin traces a finger down Cricket’s face, as if he can’t believe that Cricket is real. It should be the other way around, after Cricket and I have painted Jin and dreamed of him in our own way for years.

“I knew that it was you, Cricket,” Jin murmurs.

“The moment that I saw you, I felt it in my soul like lightning. I’m sorry that I had to ask for your help, yeah?

I never expected that from you. I wrote back to you because you appeared to actually care about me.

I needed to hear about the world outside the Idol Estate.

I wanted to tell you about my real life but I couldn’t because of the fucking Idol rules.

Plus, Zoe reads anything that I send out to fans.

I’m not allowed to write to anyone who isn’t a fan.

Idols aren’t allowed access to any electronic device.

I don’t even have a phone. I told you everything that I could.

But really, I wanted to hear about your life. Hey, look…”

He jostles us to reach into his coat pocket and pull out a worn, golden knitted cricket.

Cricket’s face lights up. “You kept it!”

Jin looks offended. “You made it for me, Chirp. Not only did I keep it, I sneak it into my pocket as my good luck charm whenever I can. I’m kind of superstitious like that.

Do you still have my dragon? I know that it’s shit compared to yours.

Knitting isn’t a top skill for Idols.” When Cricket’s face falls, Jin’s shutters.

“It wasn’t perfect. It belonged in the trash. ”

“Wait,” Cricket breathlessly gasps, nuzzling Jin. “I loved your dragon with the wonky tail. I slept with it every night. It was the only soft thing that I had in my nest. But…”

He trails off and glances at me, as if unsure how much he’s allowed to say.

I help him out. “Crick had to leave his family in a hurry. I helped to rescue him from a bad situation, but it meant leaving everything that he owned behind, including your dragon. He didn’t want to. He’s part of my Wolf pack now.”

Jin’s expression darkens.

“I’m sorry. Is that why your face is bruised? I’ll make you a new dragon.” He reaches up to cradle the back of Cricket’s head, holding him harder against his chest. “This time with wonky wings.”

I’m relieved to see that this makes Cricket relax and chuckle.

Jin cocks his head, studying me. “Thanks for helping him. You seem to do that a lot.”

“It’s a bad habit.”

Jin’s eyes become half hooded, before he murmurs to Cricket without breaking eye contact with me, “Good job on getting yourself a real woman. I should have known my friend would be a legend like that. Bliss is one of the best journalists I’ve read. But who is she to you, Chirp?”