Chapter 57

**Milo**

I had not expected that kind of car ride at all when I chose to sit next to Luna. I had expected her to seak Kai out for the comfort she seemed to have needed, but she turned to me. We had only been with her a short time but I could already feel myself shifting to accommodate her needs. It's something I have never felt before and I keep wondering when it will feel like too much and I'll pull away. I'm weird with people, and I usually like to keep my distance for the most part.

I know that sounds crazy since I am a musician and we have thousands of fans across the country, but that's all an act. Playing in a band was meant to be therapeutic and a way for us to get out all our pent-up emotions. When we started gaining popularity I was ready to bolt but Bennett talked me into seeing the benefits of doing something hard so that I can overcome my less attractive qualities. It's not that I hate people because I never once hated being around my pack.

I guess I only feel comfortable around certain people, and Luna has very quickly become one of the most important people in my life. So as soon as she touched me the flood gates opened and I let myself feel and all I wanted was to be near her. She hypnotized me the second she took my hand and my body immediately reacted to her like it's never reacted to anyone. The urge to pull her into my lap just so I could be as close as possible to her was strong but I didn't want to scare her so I pushed that urge down.

Her scent wrapped around me and I felt instantly calm and relaxed.

So when we made it to the mall I couldn't let myself let her go. The others chuckled when I glared at them and silently warned them to step away. They weren't upset by my sudden possessiveness though, and I appreciated it. This kind of feeling is new to me and I know I will have to reel it in soon but it was too strong right now. Kai is the one to test all of our patience caught up to Luna and me and took her other hand. I let it slide but I sent him an annoyed scowl to let him know he was lucky to be the youngest.

Sweet Luna was totally oblivious of all this though and kept her wide eyes fixed on the large building as we moved closer. As we stepped up to the entrance, the automatic doors quickly pulled apart and the many scents hit me like a brick.

It had been a while since we played a live show and had been in a crowd this large, so the number of scents was a bit overwhelming at first. I also realized that if it was hitting me this hard then it must be worse for Luna, and when I turned my head to look down at her my worries were confirmed. She looked panicked, and her breath was quick making her chest rise too fast.

I pull to a stop and lead Luna away from the entrance and off to the side. Her eyes are fixed to the ground and her breaths still have a panicked movement to them. This isn't good.

"What happened?" Declan asked in his dark way.

"The scents from all the people inside are too strong for her," I tell them but I keep my focus on our now-shaking Omega.

"Maybe we should just go. Whatever we need can be ordered online anyway." Kai suggests and I'm about ready to agree when Luna lifts her head to look up at me.

I see fear in her eyes but her face hardens and she starts to sign.

"*I'm fine.*" She signs.

"*Are you sure? It's okay if you want to go.*" I sign back.

She shakes her head. "*I can do it.*" She signs but worries still gnaw at me.

"*You don't have to. Don't do it for us*." I sign and she gives me a small smile.

"*I want to be able to go places with my pack. So let's go.*" She says and gives me a more blinding smile.

"What is she saying?" Rowan asks.

"She wants to go in. She says she wants to be able to go places with us." I explain and they all look at her.

"*Please.*" She signs.

I sigh and give a small nod of my own.

"*Okay, but tell me if you want to go.*" I make her promise and she does happily.

"Okay then, let's go," Bennett says turning and taking the lead inside.

The rest of us follow with Kai and I each taking one of Luna's hands. We walk through the entrance and I feel Luna tense a little but she keeps moving forward. I am a little glad that Luna can't hear the amount of noise in this place because it's almost painful. There are a variety of people rushing around but a good number of them seem to notice us as we walk further into the building. I assumed it was because we are becoming more well-known and maybe they recognize us, but when some calls out something about a pretty little Omega I know that's not whats grabs their attention.

It's Luna. An unbonded Omega.

The comment from a group of young Alphas has all our hackles rising and we all form a protective circle around Luna when we turn to look at the offenders.

"What did you just say?" Declan asks and I could see the tightness in his jaw making the vein in his neck pulse.

He's about to lose it.

The young guys laugh. "We were just wondering if she's available to spend a little time with us. Don't worry you can have her back when we're all done." One of the idiots says.

That was his first mistake.

The second was thinking Declan would give a damn that he is older and bigger than them before slugging the kid right in front of everyone.

The third mistake the kid made was trying to fight back.

See Declan would have happily let the one hit teach the kid a lesson and move on, but now he was getting even angrier and that meant all hell was about to break loose. I moved to stop him but before I can Luna brushes past me and walks toward Declan. It looks like he's vibrating with anger right now and it would be a scene that would make any guy turn tail and run but Luna doesn't seem affected at all.

She walks around him until she is standing directly in front of him. It takes a second for him to notice her but when he does he goes completely still. The rest of us are watching like she's some crazy person trying to tame a wild animal.

I guess in a way she is.

She tilts her head and just looks up at Declan. He is looking down at her but neither of them moves for what feels like several minutes. Then she gives our hot-headed packmate a sweet smile before lifting to the tips of her toes and wrapping her arms around his neck. I felt relief when Declan wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her closer. It was clear that she had just prevented a full-out brawl and from a quick glance around I could see a few more relieved faces.

"That was a close one," Kai whispers beside me and I huff out a weak laugh.

What I didn't expect though was Declan threading his fingers through Luna's hair and pulling her into an intense kiss. Kai chokes on nothing next to me but I just watch on stunned by his sudden PDA. Our Omega sure is bringing out sides of us that we never showed. The kiss goes on a little too long and a few people let out whoops and cheers that I'm sure would mortify Luna if she could hear them. Thankfully Rowan steps in and clears his throat loudly to catch Declan's attention.

Luna and Declan pull apart and I watch Luna slowly notice the crowd around us and her face turns bright red. She ducks her face into Declan's shoulder to hide and he narrows his eyes at all the onlookers.

"Okay shows over." He growls and people start scrambling away.

When he's satisfied that no one was watching us anymore he release his tight hold on Luna and she steps back, but he doesn't let her go far. He wraps his arm around her waist and starts walking off like the rest of us don't even exist anymore.

"What a brute." Kai teases and Bennett chuckles.

"That was amazing. She was able to calm him way quicker than any of us could. he would have taken a swing at us if we stepped in front of him like that." Bennett points out.

"She's his Omega. He would never hurt her. " Rowan says confidently before walking past us and catching up to Luna and Declan.

He also does something I don't expect and grabs her hand and walks alongside them.

"Wow. I think we've stepped into a parallel universe or something." Kai teases before moving to catch up with the others.

"I never said Thank You," I say to Bennett as we walk slowly behind everyone.

"For what?" He asks giving me a confused look.

"For bringing her to us," I say not looking at him.

I walk ahead before he can answer and cringe but it needed to be said. If it hadn't been for him, we never would have found Luna.