ERIK

The Midnight Hiss. Raven had mentioned it on our Bramville tour, and today I finally had the chance to see it. Raven’s band was performing for the night, and I was invited. Lilah was supposed to come with me, but she had a last-minute situation she had to solve and couldn’t make it, so I was alone. The place was great and full of people, everyone waiting for the performance to begin. I felt people staring at me, flirty looks came my way from a group of ladies at a table close to mine. I grinned at them and went back to looking at the stage. Another band was playing at the moment, and then it was Raven’s turn. I was excited to see him play. He had been passionate when talking about his music, so I was curious to hear how good it was. A waiter came to my table and placed a brand-new beer bottle on it. I looked at him, confused.

“I didn’t order this.” I said.

“The ladies from that table sent it to you, it’s on them.” He said, pointing at the table that was giving me flirty looks earlier.

“Oh. Okay.” I turned to look at the ladies again with a gentle and thankful smile. Some of them winked at me and blew kisses my way, making me let out a chuckle.

‘Nope. Don’t you dare, Erik. We are here for Raven.’ Ed said in my mind, reminding me why we came to this bar in the first place. ‘No flirting with anyone.’

‘I won’t flirt with anyone. They just gifted me a drink, that’s it. I’m just being polite.’

‘Yeah, right.’

The band stopped playing their last song, and everyone burst into applause. The next band was introduced, it was Raven’s. The Atomic Felines. I asked him what they went with a name like that, but all the omega told was ‘You’ll see.’ Which only made me more excited to hear them play. Raven walked in, accompanied by three more guys. One had blue hair and took the place of the microphone. Another one had brown hair with green tips and took his place on the drums. A blond, tall guy walked with a bass guitar. Once they were all settled in their places, the blue-haired guy nodded at the band and then turned to look at the crowd.

“Hello, everyone! We are The Atomic Felines.” The blue-haired guy said, his voice soft and sweet. He grinned at the crowd before shouting. “Let’s get ready to party!”

The crowd burst into cheers, and music started to play. What came next shocked me. The song they played was completely original and different than anything I had heard before. And what tied it all, was the angelical but powerful voice of the vocalist. I could understand why they chose the name now. It was…an atomic performance. My eyes went to Raven, and I couldn’t help but be hypnotized by him. He was a whole different person on the stage; the way he played the guitar had me in awe. And his voice…

His voice was just as good as the vocalist's, even though he was just doing the backing vocals. The crowd was hyped, and it was really a big party with them on the stage. A whole lot different from the previous band. The energy was over the roof, and I was jamming through the whole set. My eyes barely able to look away from Raven. 

He was just fantastic. 

‘And sexy.’ Ed said in my mind, and it may sound weird, but I kind of agreed.

~oOoOo~

Raven texted me when their performance ended. He told me to come to the back so I could meet him, and I did as he told me. Someone was waiting for me there and guided me to a room where Raven and his bandmates were. They were having a lively conversation until I came into the room. All eyes turned to me, and Raven stood up with a smile and walked up to me.

“Hey, you made it!” Raven said with a smile. “How was the show? Did you like it?”

“Hey, it was fantastic. You were great.” I said, telling the truth. I had been in awe just looking at him on the stage.

“Thank you. Let me introduce you to my friends.” He said, a soft blush showed on his cheeks. He led me to where his friends were sitting. “Guys, this is Erik. Erik, these are the guys. Introduce yourselves.”

I looked at the members of the band and waved at them awkwardly. The first one to approach me was an alpha, the same height as me. From his scent, I could tell he was a leopard, just like me. He grinned and offered his hand.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Liam, Raven’s best friend.” He said, his smile disappeared. He was looking into my eyes with a serious look. I grabbed his hand.

“Nice to meet you.” I said, keeping my cool. Just giving him a gentle smile.

The strong grip of his hand and the serious look he gave me seemed odd to me. It was as if he was trying to tell me something, as if he was trying to intimidate me. But I kept my posture. Liam let go first, but the grip sensation of his hand around mine never abandoned me. Perhaps he was just a protective friend, fearing I would hurt Raven. Yes, that explained his behavior. 

“Nice to meet you, man. The name is Wes.” This time, a beta, a lion, approached me, offering his hand. I shook it with a smile, but I couldn’t help but still feel bothered by Liam.

“Westley, actually. But he goes by Wes.” A soft voice said, the omega singer came into my view, pushing the beta away. “I’m Jaden, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Nice to meet you both.” I said with a gentle smile, shaking the omega’s hand. He looked at me with curious, big eyes—another leopard.

My eyes went back to Raven. Liam stood next to him, whispering something to his ear. Something that made Raven laugh. The alpha had a big smile. Way different from how he had been minutes ago. His attitude had completely changed, and that’s when I noticed it. A glimmer in his eyes as he looked at the omega. He wasn’t a protective friend. He had feelings for Raven, my Raven. Anger filled my chest at the realization that another alpha wanted my omega. My fated mate. How dare he? I tried to walk to them, but Jaden continued to talk with me.

“Did you like the show?” The omega asked, and I nodded.

“Yes, you guys are fantastic.” I said with a smile, and tried to keep a conversation with him to distract me from the weird rage forming in my chest. “You have an amazing voice, Jaden. More people should hear it.”

“Thank you. That’s so nice to say.” He said with a genuine smile and a soft blush on his cheeks. He offered me a seat on the sofa and I joined him.

“I’m just saying the truth. You all deserve more recognition. Your set was really good.” I said, sitting back on the sofa, trying not to think of Raven and Liam.

“Yeah, we have tried approaching labels, but we never get good news from them.” Jaden explained with a sigh.

“That’s a shame. They are missing out.” I said, and Jaden nodded.

As I talked with Jaden, I couldn’t help but steal glances at Raven. That alpha standing close to him made my rage grow, especially the arm that was wrapped around his shoulders.

“So, how long are you here for?” Wes asked curiously, sitting next to Jaden and me.

“I don’t have a return date. Long vacation.” I hadn’t lied there. My parents hadn’t contacted me or anything. I didn’t get a message from them to come back either. It was odd, but maybe they were just busy as always.

“Cool. So you can hang out more with us.” The beta said with a smile. 

“Yeah. We sure can.” I said with a smile. I liked Raven’s friend, sure. All of them except Liam. If it were without Liam, I would be down to hanging out with them. My mind went back to the memory of Victor saying I was Raven’s type, but looking back at Liam, I realized that he was also Raven’s type. 

‘Fuck.’ My hatred for the alpha grew stronger.

~oOoOo~

The night went by, and on the way back home, the feeling of anger against that alpha never left my body. After saying goodbye to Raven, I went to my room and sat on the bed. I let out a deep breath to calm myself down. To be fair, I couldn’t understand why I was feeling this way. It’s not like I had feelings for Raven. Or did I? No, I wasn’t into men. Surely it was just my alpha instincts being possessive over my fated mate. It was just the bond. Surely. Right? 

‘Sure. Sure. Just the bond.’ I rolled my eyes at Ed’s words. 

But was I sure it was the bond only? Have I developed feelings for Raven? For a man? What if I were? But I was certainly not gay. I needed answers. I took out my phone, unlocking it.

“I can’t believe I’m going to do this.” I said aloud to myself, took a deep breath, and typed into the Google search bar. I was hesitant, but pressed the search button. I stared at the screen as many pages popped up, and I pressed the first one I saw.

‘Am I gay? Quiz’