Page 85 of Bound By Song (Evie Quad Omegaverse #1)

EVIANA

M y heart is beating so fast I’m afraid it’s going to bruise my ribs.

“This is ridiculous,” I murmur, voice tight as Xar crouches in front of me, fastening the tiny silver buckle on my heels. “It’s just an event.”

“It’s not just anything,” Dane says from behind, his hands steady on my waist. “It’s your first time out with us. That matters.”

“It’s also your first time flying,” Blaise adds, shooting me a smirk from across the bedroom as he tugs on his boots. “You’re practically a debutante.”

“I’m a recluse in a velvet dress,” I grumble.

“A stunning recluse,” Xar corrects, rising to his feet with a smile that’s all wolf and worship. “They won’t know what hit them.”

I exhale shakily and glance down at myself.

The deep green velvet hugs every curve, soft as sin and heavier than it looks.

I feel expensive. Like I belong somewhere far fancier than the crumbling farmhouse I call home.

But that makes it worse, not better. I feel like I’m playing dress-up in someone else’s life.

What if they see through it?

What if I see through it?

Dane senses the spiral coming before I even speak. He wraps his arms around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder. “You’re safe,” he murmurs, calm and sure. “We’ve got you.”

I nod, though my chest still flutters.

“Guest list only,” Xar says firmly. “No press. No fans. It’s just a private fundraiser with people we’ve worked with for years.”

“Besides,” Blaise drawls as he shrugs into his jacket, “if anyone breathes wrong in your direction, I’ll break their nose.”

“That’s not comforting,” I mutter – but my lips twitch despite myself. “Still feels like I’m doing something I shouldn’t.”

Dane leans in from the other side of the room, sliding a final ring onto his finger before grabbing his leather jacket. “That’s the trauma talking, baby. You should be nervous, but you’re safe with us. Always.”

“And you look fucking unreal,” Blaise adds with a grin, straightening up. “They’re gonna think we hired an omega model to boost our brand.”

“You did,” I tease weakly.

Xar leans close, voice low and warm. “We’re going to walk in there like the gods we are, perform one song, drink overpriced whiskey, and come back home. You get a helicopter ride, I get to show you off, and Dane gets to say ‘told you so’.”

“I am looking forward to the ‘told you so’,” Dane murmurs, lips brushing the back of my neck.

“And we’ll fuck you in the back of the limo the whole way home, honeybee,” Blaise adds with a wink and promise that sets my heart beating for an entirely different reason now.

And that’s how they get me through the door. With love. With steady hands. With the bond pulsing between us like a golden net that holds me up when I start to fall.

Well, that, and Dane physically carries me so that my heels don’t sink into the mud.

When the helicopter appears, sleek and humming and waiting on the large field near the edge of the property, I stop breathing entirely.

“It’s beautiful,” I whisper, the blades whirring above us like dragon’s wings.

Blaise grins, ushering me inside. “Wait till you’re in the air.”

The moment we lift off, everything changes. I’d expected to be terrified but I’m not.

The world falls away beneath us – trees shrinking, cliffs retreating, the curve of the sea turning silver and wild. The farmhouse becomes a dollhouse. The hills roll out like a painting. The sky turns to fire as the sun begins to set, and the coast glows gold under it.

I press my hand to the window, wide-eyed.

“I didn’t know it would be like this,” I say into my headset.

“What’d I tell you?” Xar’s voice comes from the front, warm with pride. “You’re a natural.”

Blaise laughs, sprawled beside me in the back with his arm around my waist. “That’s it. I’m buying a damn chopper. I don’t care what Dane says.”

“You absolutely are not,” Dane says from the co-pilot seat, half amused, half horrified.

I laugh – and for a moment, I forget I’m scared about what comes next. For a moment, I feel like I’m flying, too.

Xar just grins from the front. “Let her fly next time. She’ll fall even harder.”

I’m already in love – with the view, the rush, the freedom. With them.

By the time we touch down in London, I feel like I could take on the world.

But then the city hits me like a punch to the chest.

It sprawls beneath us as the sun dips lower – glass and steel and ancient brick, the river cutting through like a dull blade. It’s alive . Pulsing. Glittering. Terrifying.

By the time we land, I’m trembling again. Everything is so huge. So tightly packed and imposing. So busy and bustling. I hate it.

Is this what their world was like before me? Will they expect me to join them once it’s time for them to leave? They made plans for a forever with me in the farmhouse, but how can that work when they’re literal rockstars? And why the hell didn’t we discuss this before…

“Breathe, Eviana. You’re spiralling,” Dane murmurs. “Everything will be okay.”

He means now, at the event, because he doesn’t know that I’m freaking out about how our two polar opposite lifestyles are meant to work, but I take a deep breath, following his instructions, and push my panic to the side. I owe them that. Tonight is about them, not me. Not us. Just them.

My rockstar mates.

The venue is tucked away on a quiet street near the Thames. An old theatre turned into a private event space, all velvet and shadow and gold trim. I step inside and immediately feel the walls closing in.

There are people everywhere.

Not crowds – not in the packed, concert way. But people . Elegant. Powerful. Polished. Probably famous if I cared enough to look closely. Swirls of expensive perfume and low laughter, crystal glasses clinking. I cling to the shadows as the guys greet a few familiar faces.

Blaise finds me a flute of something fizzy and non-alcoholic. Dane squeezes my hand. Xar brushes a kiss to my temple.

“You’re doing amazing,” he murmurs.

I nod, but my stomach knots tighter.

They disappear backstage, and I hover by the side wall, half-hidden by a massive velvet curtain. The chandeliers glow above me like moons. The whole place feels like another planet.

And then they start to play.

It’s one of the new songs – written in the nest, born of bond and breath and pain. And hearing it live, here, now…I feel everything. Every note. Every word. Every heartbeat they pour into the music.

They look at me when they sing. Not the crowd.

Just me.

My vision blurs. I clap as the last chord echoes. I’ve never felt prouder in my life.

And then it all shatters.

They come offstage glowing – flushed and grinning, buzzing with adrenaline. Blaise reaches me first and lifts me clean off the floor, spinning me in a giddy hug.

“You see that?” he pants, voice wild. “That was for you .”

I barely have time to respond before?—

Flash.

The light blinds me.

“What the fuck?—?”

“Is this Honey?” a voice shouts. “Are you hiding her? Have you been lying this whole time?—”

Dane grabs me. Blaise lunges .

“Don’t!” Xar snarls, hauling him back with both arms. “Not here.”

The man’s camera dangles from one hand, a smug twist on his face.

Dane steps in front of me, voice low and lethal. “Delete it. Now. Before I make you regret being born.”

“Security!” someone calls, and within seconds, the man is dragged off within seconds, but it doesn’t matter. The damage is already done. My legs are shaking, my mouth dry, my pulse screaming.

“Evie.” Dane turns me in his arms. “You’re okay. You’re safe.”

“I— I ruined it,” I whisper. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have come?—”

“Stop,” Blaise snaps, face flushed with fury and fear. “This is not your fault.”

I’m shaking. Humiliated. Exposed.

“We should leave,” Xar says, already pulling us toward the rear exit.

The limo is waiting, sleek and dark and blessedly quiet. I curl up against Dane’s side, shaking too hard to pretend otherwise.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper again.

“Don’t,” Blaise growls. “Don’t you dare apologise. You did nothing wrong, honeybee.”

“They’ll find out,” I whisper. “They’ll know who I am.”

“They already suspected, sweetheart,” Xar says from across the seat, voice gentler now. “They’ve been circling for weeks. This was inevitable.”

“But now it’s real. And it’s my fault.”

Blaise leans forward from the front seat, catching my eyes. “You listen to me, honeybee. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’ve done nothing but survive and love us. That’s all.”

I nod, but the fear still claws at me and I can’t relax.

We’re not even halfway out of the city when Dane stiffens beside me.

“Shit. They’re following,” he mutters.

Sure enough, I spot the flashes behind us. Headlights. A second car.

My stomach flips.

“Fuck,” Xar mutters. “Paps. They’re tailing us.”

“I can’t— They can’t—” I stammer, voice cracking.

“Keep driving,” Xar tells the driver. “We’ll lose them.”

“You okay, baby?” Blaise asks quietly, reaching back to touch my leg.

“No,” I whisper. “But I’m trying.”

It takes nearly twenty minutes for the cars to peel off, and even then I don’t relax until the silence stretches unbroken.

By the time we reach Silver, my whole body aches from tension.

I didn’t relax the whole drive back and it took hours .

Blaise was cursing the entire time – apparently it had been his idea to take a slow drive back originally instead of the chopper because he wanted to have his wicked way with me and reward me for coming with them to the performance.

But instead, everyone was on edge and time crawled by at a snail’s pace.

Pleasure was the last thing on anyone’s mind.

But when we turn into the Main Street running through the village, Xar swears under his breath.

“They’re here.”

Flashes burst from the hedges. People scatter from parked cars. Within moments the street is half-blocked.

Paparazzi. Everywhere. Shouting my name. My real name. They know who I am.

“Plan B,” Dane says sharply. “Silver Sands Hotel, please.”