Page 6

When I look her over, the tension in my body evaporates, and I breathe a little easier.

She’s a petite girl who looks like she stepped out of a 1950s sitcom.

Just my type. Her lime green cardigan is paired with a fluffy cream skirt, and her sparkling silver eyes are framed with tortoiseshell glasses.

Her natural red hair is pulled into a ponytail that bounces behind her in one elegant curl, tied with a pink polka dot scarf.

Cream and white low heels complete the look.

To say that this girl has a distinct style would be an understatement.

Her fair skin looks rosy and healthy, and her lips are a shade darker, like they’re berry stained.

Her smile is radiant and warm. She’s gorgeous in an unassuming—and dare I say pleasant—way.

It changes nothing, though; she’s still an Omega. Her eyes shine and shimmer silver when she stands in my proximity, telling me what I already know. My father set me up. She may look like an ordinary girl, a human, but she’s far more than that, and now she’s on my tour.

Ava approaches me and holds out her small hand, fingers tipped with a flawless French manicure. “Hi. Ava Keats. It’s so nice to meet you.”

Not wanting to be rude, I take her tiny hand and notice my large one engulfs hers. I swear I feel tingles, and the hairs on my arm rise as we shake. What magic is this girl casting over me?

I school my features and tap into my rock star vibe, turning on the charm. “Nice to meet you, Ava. My father spoke highly of you.” Smiling at her, I notice her eyes shift, and I glimpse their true color for a split second, a beautiful sunburst hazel with gradients of forest green and gold.

“Oh, your dad is great!” she says, and I feel her trembling a little.

“Yeah, he is.” Unless he’s hand delivering a tiny little Omega to me and playing matchmaker from hell.

“Is all of Death by Dawn vampires, or is it just you? Not to say that it would be bad, it’s just that your dad is the first real vampire I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. Oh! I’m kinda rambling, aren’t I? Stop it, Ava!”

I clear my throat and release her hand. This girl is strange and fascinating. “Well, I hope this doesn’t disappoint you, but I’m the only vampire in the band. Do you always chastise yourself?”

She giggles, and it sounds almost like small tinkling bells, “Oh God, no, only when I’m nervous.”

“Do I make you nervous?” I hope I make her nervous; then, we’ll be on even footing. Being this close to her makes me feel uncertain, like I don’t know what to expect, my Alpha tendencies clawing at me and begging me to do something stupid…like claim her.

She swallows and takes me in from head to toe, then keeps babbling. “Well, I mean, yeah, you make me nervous. You’re huge. What did they feed you as a kid? Growth hormone? Or blood? Oh, we just brought you food, didn’t we? I didn’t mean to keep you from your lunch!”

I turn and grab my lunch from Stella, who winks at me, eyes filled with mirth. When I straighten to my full height, I can’t help but notice how small Ava is, even for an Omega.

Her babbling is funny. I’m used to women being nervous around me, but the way Ava’s words fly out of her mouth makes me smile. I find that I’m curious, wondering what she’ll say next. My eyes want to track her every move, and I realize I’m enjoying having her undivided attention.

I need to find a reason to hate her and fast, but I have nothing so far.

I answer one of her questions. “Just blood. You know, because I’m a vampire.” I grin, flashing her my fangs.

“Of course.” She rolls her eyes, and the Alpha in me stands at attention, wanting to reprimand her for not looking at me briefly. This girl is shockingly holding my attention and focus, which scares me. It must be our Alpha-Omega biology. It can’t be anything else.

I sit on the couch and open my lunch. I can’t help but wonder if she’s eaten yet, and that’s when I know that my biology is riding me hard. The Alpha in me needs to ensure that the pretty little Omega has what she needs.

“Have you eaten, Ava?” I look at her and watch as she processes my question.

“Oh, me? Yeah, I ate on the plane. Well, I guess it wasn’t just a simple plane. Flying in a private jet was insane. Talk about luxury.”

She sits down next to me, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I didn’t want her sitting beside Ian or Torin, which is weird. I usually couldn’t care less where anyone sits.

Chuckling at her continued babbling, I say, “Yeah, private jets are nice. You’ll get used to it. Lord Stryker and those in his house are very wealthy.”

“I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to it. My parents had me late in life and didn’t travel, and we didn’t come from money. Not the kind where we rode in private jets, anyway.”

Her not coming from money isn’t surprising. I can spot that kind of posh superiority from a mile away. “When you go to House Stryker and promise yourself to the house, you’ll be surrounded by luxury. The palace is really fancy,” I say.

“It really is a palace,” Rex says, coming back to the stage in a new shirt and pants. “Lord Stryker had it moved from Prague and rebuilt in San Diego. How nuts is that?”

Stella quickly makes the introductions, and Rex grabs his food and takes a seat nearby.

Ava looks down. “I figure being an immortal vampire does wonders for the bank balance.”

“One of many perks,” I say, and take a bite of my lunch.

“I hope you can fill me in on the rest of the perks, because when I woke up yesterday, I had no idea that I was anything but human. To say my life changed after meeting your father is putting it mildly.”

“Yeah, that would be intense,” Rex pipes back up. “When I learned about vampires, after meeting Nolan, I was like, ‘Oh, vampires are chill, man.’”

“We’re just people, Rex,” I say, grinning at him.

“Yeah, true, man, true.”

I’m leaning toward Ava again, and I give a start. I didn’t even realize I’d shifted closer to her. My biology makes being around an Omega unpredictable and intense. It’s part of why I avoid them with everything in me. The lack of control makes me feel uneasy, and I hate it with all my being.

I’m starting to worry about my dad’s mental state, sending a newly uncloaked Omega here.

Going against Lord Stryker—his boss—could be hazardous to his health and life.

At a minimum, he could be banished from House Stryker.

He could lose everything—his position as Lord Stryker’s chief of staff, even the security of my parents’ suite in the palace.

I need to call him. Sending Ava here was a mistake. She shouldn’t be on tour with us. She should be in San Diego, at the Omega Sanctuary.

Nodding at Stella, I step away from everyone and call my dad, needing to figure this out. He answers the video call on the second ring and clears his throat, and I see defiance in his eyes.

Marcello Szasz is never defiant. He’s always calculated, to a fault.

“What were you thinking, Dad? Does Lord Stryker know? Tell me he knows.”

“Well.…” He glances behind him as if someone might overhear.

“She’s not yet known to Lord Stryker. She’ll be promised to House Stryker once you return from tour.

It’s only a few extra days. You’ll need to protect her and teach her what she needs to know.

I’m sure I don’t need to stress the importance of that.

But listen, she’s great! You’ll like her, trust me, and you guys need her more than she needs to be sequestered away immediately.

She’s creative and good at her job, and hiring her takes care of this nasty Larissa business in two ways. ”

I stare at him. “Dad, this is such a bad idea. I’m focused on the end of the tour—I don’t need another woman hanging around. We have plenty of those.”

He looks at me sternly. “You will teach her everything she needs to know about Alphas. You can give her a perspective that the sanctuary can’t. She also needs to learn about Omegas and becoming a vampire.”

“I’m not a preschool teacher, and I don’t know many Omegas apart from Mom. I’m a busy musician.”

“Ava is unlike other Omegas. She was barely phased when she learned about her Omega status, and she’s famous in her own right as an influencer.

Your fame is a nonissue for her. Plus, when she told me what she did for a living, I would have been stupid to let this opportunity pass.

I wouldn’t have sent her to you if she wasn’t special.

If it doesn’t work out, and I’m wrong, she’ll return to San Diego and join the rest of the Omegas in the sanctuary sooner, but I don’t see that happening. She’s very much her own person.”

“Well, there’s nothing I can do about it now, thanks for that. I guess it’s only for a few shows. But I’m not happy about this.”

I guess rebelliousness runs in the family. It shouldn’t surprise me that my dad always seems to get away with things when it comes to Lord Stryker. That uncanny ability just might need to save us both in this situation.

“I know.” He smirks. “Just help her by answering her questions. Omegas aren’t bad, Nolan.”

“Sure, Dad, whatever you say. I gotta go.”

I can’t believe he put me in this position. If anything happens to this Omega—Ava—both my dad and I will be in some serious shit. Thankfully, it’s only for a few nights—a little more than a week in all.

“Okay, Nolan. Call me in a few days and let me know how it’s going. I trust that the two of you will get along. She’s a sweet girl. I’ve never met someone quite like her—Ava will fit in well with the band. Your mom and I are looking forward to having you home again. We miss you. Love you.”

“Love you too, Dad. See you soon.”

He disconnects the call, and I’m unsure how to feel about all of this.

An Omega has been thrust into my life against my will. Ava can’t be all that special. Where did my dad even meet her?

I lean against a wall and stare out onto the stage, lost in my thoughts. This is going to end horribly. Ava will be a pain in my side, and now, this tour can’t end soon enough. We head to Vegas tonight after the show, and I dread being stuck on my bus with her, an absolute stranger.

I know what he’s trying to do. He wants me to fall for her. I’ll tell her what she needs to know, but after the tour is through, it’s straight to Lord Stryker and the sanctuary for her. I need to offload her as quickly as possible, for all our sakes.

As I go back to the group, Ian and Torin are talking about the set list, and Rex laughs at their bickering, but I’m checked out.

I should be pissed at my dad, but I can’t be.

He’s wanted me to meet the Omega who would make him a grandfather ever since I was born.

My father has always been a hopeless romantic.

The only person worse than him is my mother.

Ava is probably a master manipulator and gave Dad the wrong impression.

Sending her here out of the blue to work for us is crazy, even for him.

I sit down beside Ava again, studying her. “How much has my dad told you?”

Those damn hazel eyes flash to silver, and I try not to be mesmerized. “Not much. We just met last night.”

“And then you just…packed up your things and got on a stranger’s jet?” With this girl’s lack of judgment about her own safety, I need to teach her more than just about being an Omega and becoming a vampire. The Alpha in me wants to punish her for putting herself at risk.

She must hear something in my tone because she frowns. “Yeah, I guess it was kind of sudden, but your dad was so kind, and I’m an excellent judge of character.”

I can’t help but disagree with her assessment. If she’d known my father was sending her here to become my eternal life mate, would she have hopped on the plane then?

Who am I kidding? If she’s anything like the thousands of groupies I’ve met during my career, she would have jumped on that plane to meet me, the famous Nolan Szasz. Maybe she did .

Maybe I need to keep my guard up, for both our sakes.