Chapter 17 Rehearsal
"Niko! You're late," Ripley snapped the second I stepped into the rehearsal warehouse. "Where have you been?"
"It doesn't matter where I've been, I'm here now, aren't I?" I hissed back as I shrugged off my jacket.
The air vibrated with leftover bass. Amplifiers hummed in the corners. Dust floated in the stage lights. It smelled like sweat, cigarettes, metal, and the ghosts of a thousand past rehearsals.
Lorenzo folded his arms. "What if Hermes had noticed you'd been gone for most of the day? You know we all would've been the ones punished. All four of us."
"Well, as I said before, I'm here now," I replied while sliding my signature shades onto my face. "Let's do this."
Ryder, already sprawled upside down on a sofa he had no business sitting on, tilted his head and squinted. "You seem... chirpier than usual," he said. "What happened? Did you accidentally grow back a soul?" He grinned like a kid poking a wolf with a stick.
I turned toward him, pushed my sunglasses down the bridge of my nose, and said, "Maybe," with a slow grin.
The room froze.
Ripley lowered her drumsticks to the floor slowly as she contemplated what to say to me next.
Ryder's jaw dropped. Lorenzo straightened, eyes narrowing with interest.
"Okay, now we gotta hear what has tickled your balls into such a good mood," Ryder laughed, standing upright at last. "Please enlighten the room."
"I must admit," Lorenzo said with a small smirk, "I'm intrigued too."
I let out a slow breath. "Maybe I met a girl who makes me feel something..."
"A girl?!" all three of them yelled in perfect, horrified unison.
Ryder immediately scrambled closer. "Where's she from?"
Lorenzo stepped forward. "Is she high-ranked?"
Ripley crossed her arms, her stare drilling into me. "What pack is she from?"
The questions hit me like rapid-fire bullets.
I answered calmly.
"She's from right here in New York," I said to Ryder.
Then to Lorenzo: "She's not high-ranking."
Finally, I met Ripley's hard glare. "She's not from a pack because she's human."
Ripley shot up so fast her stool clattered to the floor. Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes went feral.
"Nikolai, are you feeling well? Because I could've sworn you said human!" Lorenzo yelled, his calm façade cracking.
"That is what he said," Ripley growled through clenched teeth. She looked like she wanted to claw my face off with her bare hands.
Ryder's eyes sparkled with pure nosiness. "What's she like? Is she nice? Is she pretty? Will you tell her what we are? Oh my God, are you going to mark her? Oh wait—"
"Shut up, Ryder!" we all shouted at him.
Ripley marched right up to me and jabbed a finger into my chest. "Are you out of your fucking mind?" she roared. "Hooking up with humans backstage is one thing. We clean up, they forget our faces, and no one gets hurt. But actually seeing one, liking dating one, is insane. They're filth. They're weak. They break too easily."
I didn't blink. "Watch your mouth, Rip."
She bared her teeth. "No. You watch yours."
"Enough," Lorenzo said firmly as he stepped between us. His presence alone carried authority. "Ripley, calm down and let him explain himself. I want to hear more about this girl."
I ran a hand through my hair. "I don't know much yet. But she has the most beautiful green eyes I've ever seen, and her hair is like the reddest sunset. She's... something special."
Ryder let out a dreamy sigh. "Awwww."
Ripley smacked the back of his head.
"Niko," she snapped, "she's probably only into you because of who you are."
"Actually," I said with a shrug, "she doesn't know who I am. She's not a fan. I spent hours with her and she didn't recognize me. After overhearing her talk with her friends, I realized she doesn't give a damn about our band. It's refreshing not having someone throw themselves at me."
Lorenzo nodded slowly. "I'm glad you found something that feels... normal. But we leave New York in a few days."
"About that," I said, crossing my arms. "I'm planning on asking Hermes to extend our time here."
All three of them stared like I'd grown a second head.
"Niko..." Lorenzo warned.
"I'm serious," I continued. "Tonight's stadium will be packed. And I heard hundreds of thousands wanted to come but couldn't because tickets sold out instantly. The arena can't hold everyone, and the city is begging for more dates."
Ripley threw her hands in the air. "Oh great. So now the Alpha has a crush and the whole damn tour schedule must shift. Perfect."
"It's not because of her," I said, my voice dropping with authority. "It's because this city is on fire with demand. And as lead singer, I'm telling you, staying benefits all of us."
Ripley stepped forward again. "You don't get to make that decision alone, Niko."
I pushed my sunglasses up the bridge of my nose. "I'm not asking for permission."
The room crackled with tension.
Ripley's eyes narrowed into slits. "You stubborn asshole."
"Watch your mouth. Just because we’re sleeping together does not mean you can talk to me like that," I said coolly. Ryder and Lorenzo immediately hung their heads low, feeling my Alpha aura. Ripley tried to fight it, but in the end she could not, and her head bowed too. "I make the decisions. I am your future Alpha."
Lorenzo sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is going to be a long night."
Ryder clapped his hands together. "Okay! So Niko's in love, Ripley wants to commit murder, Enzo is dying inside, and I'm starving. Perfect. Let's rehearse!"
Ripley threw a drumstick at his head.
He barely dodged it.
I smirked.
Suddenly, the atmosphere snapped from chaotic heat to a cold, bitter tension.
Every sound in the room seemed to die at once, no buzzing amps, no shifting feet, not even Ryder's usual fidgeting.
We all turned toward the entrance as Hermes stepped inside.
His presence sucked the air out of the room like a black hole swallowing light. The man didn't need to growl or shout, his power rolled ahead of him like a storm front. His eyes skimmed over us with quiet calculation, the kind that made even Ripley press her lips together and stand straighter.
"Good," Hermes cackled. "My little pups are here and accounted for. I take it rehearsals are going great?"
"Yes, Hermes," we all replied in unison.
Even Ryder didn't dare crack a joke.
"Good." He clasped his hands behind his back and paced slowly across the room. "Now, there are a few things we must go over before tonight's show."
I tried to steady my breathing while he spoke. This wasn't the right moment to pitch my idea. Not yet.
Hermes was in business mode, and challenging him now would only end with a lecture, a punishment, or a reminder of who held the leash.
I would tell him after the concert when he saw the size of the crowd, felt their energy, and realized New York wasn't ready to let us go.