Howling For Love (Rock Star Alpha, #1) (2 page)

Well, it turned out he had nothing to worry about. The moment the curtain rose and his fingers strummed the strings, Mick neared the mike. Dominance owned this stage, this crowd. Mick was home and he planned to sing his heart out, hoping in some way, the music will find the source of this amazing smell.

S
tefano Reyes, Stefan to his friends, hadn’t even heard of Dominance. A nerd by nature who worked as a scientist at the university, Stefan’s opening line would always be,
“I’m like one of those Big Bang Theory guys.”

Except, Stefan would omit two facts—first, he was always unlucky in love and secondly, he was a virgin. That last embarrassing little detail kept him from pursuing anything serious.

His last relationship had been with Louie Buckley, Professor Buckley to most. Dating the older man gave his life excitement. Stefano was twenty-five and Louie was forty. The hot professor had salt-and-pepper hair, like George Clooney, rode a Ducati and wore leather jackets. Louie didn’t look a day past thirty.

By contrast, Stefan looked like a slob, a pity fling, a charity project Professor Buckley took pity on—according to Sammy Lloyd. Sammy was a male hand model by day and Louie’s latest boy toy at night. Apparently, the professor had gotten sick of cute and mediocre young men who wore hoodies to work and talked a lot about the stars.

Well, Stefan couldn’t blame his professor. No, that wasn’t right either. Louie Buckley was no longer his anything. Stefan stared at his reflection in the mirror hanging by his closet. Did he look alright? Still suffering the withdrawals of his painful breakup—via Facebook no less, the prick—Stefan put his energies into this thing.

What kind of name was Dominance for a rock band anyway?

Stefan knew next to nothing about them, except Rory begged him to come with him when one of his friends backed out the last minute. He didn’t know the songs or the members. Crazy. Stefan wasn’t the kind of dude who went to rock concerts. He preferred staying in, wearing his favorite sausage-printed pajama set and nestling on the sofa with a book and maybe a tub of ice cream next to him.

Stefan used to be reed thin. Now, he was a little hale and hearty. According to Rory, he used to be thin clear tomato soup, but now he was a stew full of meat. Who cared if he ate his feelings? Break-ups sucked.

The sound of the pounding door made him jump.

“Stefan, you ready yet? We can’t be late, I worked my ass off to get these prime seat tickets to Dominance’s show at the Red and Blue,” yelled Rory, Stefan’s best friend since kindergarten.

Rory Kentucky was, not so long ago, called the Prince of Tennessee, because his family bred the best race horses in the Midwest...Until the Kentucky family went broke anyway and Rory became homeless and naturally, Stefan was happy to take him in. Because of his breeding and the way he was raised, some of Stefan’s friends considered Rory uptight, but Stefan didn’t.

Stefan looked at his reflection again. Was his black sleeveless shirt a little too tight, the studded dog collar and eye liner too much? Hell, he was practically bursting at the seams in these leather pants, which seemed to have shrunk a size.

“That’s it. Stefan, I’m coming in.” Rory turned the door. “Damn dude, come on—”

“What?” Stefan asked, whirling. Licking his lips, Rory eyed him up and down.

“You’re going out like that?”

“Why are you wearing normal jeans and a shirt? Where’s your black eyeliner and collar?” Stefan asked. He had no idea what people wore to rock concerts so he made do with pictures on Google and copied them.

“People dress normally you know.” Rory grinned. “You look cute though, Stefan.”

“Oh screw you and the horse you ride on. I’m changing.”

Rory grabbed his arm. “There’s no time, we’re going to be late. You look to die for.”

“A moment ago you said I looked hideous,” Stefan protested.

Rory began dragging him to the door. With all the pounds he gained, Stefan wondered how the heck Rory managed to pull him, but he guessed that was the power of true love. Rory had posters of one guy covering his otherwise minimalist bedroom.

Shirtless, the guy was covered in muscle and ink. He had a wild look in his eyes, pupils a strange color of gold. Those were strange eyes, like that of a wolf’s, not a man’s.

Underneath the poster was one name. Steel.

Who named themselves after an alloy was beyond Stefan.

With the right mixture of cajoling and threats, Rory got Stefan out of the apartment and shoved him into the car, already parked right outside their building. They were ready to hustle.

“Buckle your seat belt, buster, because I’m your personal road demon.”

Rory wasn’t kidding around. The engine rumbled and Stefan was nearly tossed forward. Muttering a curse under his breath—something he didn’t do often because his mama taught him manners—Stefan managed to put his seat belt on.

“So, what’s the deal with Dominance?” Stefan asked, catching his breath. Damn, that little excursion stole the breath out of him. He made a mental note to start his diet and regular exercise after tonight.

“What’s the deal? I can’t believe you just asked me that question,” Rory muttered. “Where do I start? They’re really hot right now, heck, you should know that. Three hot and single werewolf Alphas who are able to create music that literally stops your heart and rip out your soul? Come on. Who doesn’t want that?”

“I like to keep my heart beating in my chest, thank you very much,” Stefan muttered. “By the way, I’m not sure if you’re being too dramatic or sarcastic.”

“I’m being real with you here, Stefan,” Rory muttered. “God, the guys are to die for. Let’s begin with my man crush Steel...”

Stefan barely heard what Rory said. They were werewolves, so that explained the strange eye color, although from what Stefan knew about shifters, their pupils only turned yellow when intense emotions came over them, like desire or anger. Because the walls between their rooms were paper thin, Stefan could hear Rory indulging in his private time, murmuring Steel’s name over and over again.

He had to buy earplugs to block out the sound, but he didn’t have the heart to tell his best friend to keep it down. After Rory’s family lost everything, it had been a tough blow for Rory, who never worked a day in his life.

He adjusted to his new life soon enough, like Stefan predicted. Going to this concert was Rory’s way of curing his broken heart. While Stefan wasn’t into Dominance or rock for that matter, he was touched, even though he was Rory’s second choice after his first dumped him.

They finally entered the parking lot of the Red and Blue Room. It wasn’t so much a room but a concert hall. Not surprisingly, the lots were full, but with Rory’s mad driving skills, they managed to shimmy their way between a Volkswagen and a truck. Maneuvering his body between the tight space proved harder and by the time they squeezed their way through the entrance, Stefan was covered in sweat, front and back.

“Don’t worry about it, everyone’s sweating, but they’re too busy screaming their hearts out. We will be too,” Rory said, patting his arm, but Stefan wasn’t the least bit reassured.

He didn’t like crowds, the annoying press of bodies everywhere. Afraid of getting lost, Stefan kept close to Rory.

Damn, but he sort of looked out of place. Stefan should have gone for a more conservative choice, like Rory in his jeans and shirt with the words ‘Dominance’ written in front in red letters. Rory’s shirt at the back looked more embarrassing though, with Steel’s figure plastered and a huge heart circling it. Heck, there were a lot of loyal fans wearing ‘I love’ shirts with the names of band members—Mick, Steel and Korey. A three-man group then.

Well, there were crazier looking dudes and ladies, but they looked at home with their get-up while Stefan felt like a Ken doll playing dress-up. Rory should have let him change. He kept tugging his shirt down, face red, but no one seemed to give a damn about appearances at least.

There was little space to maneuver, although they were up in the front and Rory called these prime seats. What seats? Everyone was standing, chatting, screaming, excited and the show hadn’t even started yet. Stefan couldn’t wait for all this to be over. He wasn’t like the rest of the fans here.

The lights suddenly went off, the lighting changed. Smoke appeared on stage, shadowy figures of the band members appeared. Stefan thought a popular band like Dominance would have fancier effects. His apprehension vanished when the spotlight shone on Dominance.

“Steel, I love you! Make me yours!” screamed Rory beside him. Where the hell did the fabled Prince of Tennessee go? Usually, Rory was a prig about manners and class, uptight, but now he was jumping and screaming with the rest.

“How’s every son-of-a-bitch and all the pretty things this evening?” the lead singer’s voice echoed through the speakers everywhere.

Wait. What kind of greeting was that? Still, the crowd went wild.

“Mick Badder, give me your babies!” the young woman next to him nearly made him deaf and damn the tall dude in front of Stefan. What kind of name was Mick Badder? Not any worse than Steel, he supposed. He rose on tiptoes, trying to get a peek at the guy on stage.

“Our first song this evening is one I recently wrote, Angel on His Knees. Enjoy.” The sound of a guitar, mournful and long, came out, followed by the bass and then, the drums.

“Stand over here, Stefan,” Rory said, tugging him near after he noticed Stefan struggling to see.

Stefan did as instructed. Through a gap in the audience, Stefan could finally see the lead singer. He saw the outline of Mick’s body, every hard muscle and colorful ink.

Wearing nothing but jeans and a leather vest, Mick played the guitar like he was born with it. A soulful sound came out, tugging strange things inside Stefan. When Mick lifted his face to eye the crowd, Stefan saw piercing blue eyes under strands of messy black hair. He froze. Under Mick’s mess of hair was a gorgeous face and strong jaw.

God, was he going to end up like Rory now? Would he fall for the same spell as Rory did?

The thought wasn’t entirely an unpleasant one. A new obsession would help cure Stefan of his love sickness. Mick was much, much hotter than Buckley anyway. They didn’t even exist on the same level.

His heart came to a stop for several cloying seconds when their gazes crossed...literally. Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  It felt like Stefan was suddenly transported in one of his gay romance novels, where love at first sight was possible. Stefan’s heart was thudding so hard in his chest, he was sure it would burst. His breathing became uneven. Mick held his gaze, before turning back to the crowd.

No, Stefan had to be imagining it. There were what, thousands of people here? Mick couldn’t be looking at him specifically.

Then Mick opened his mouth to finally sing, Stefan knew, deep down, that was the killing blow. This man had the body of a Greek god and a voice like an angel.

Was Mick even real, or a figment of his imagination?

He shuddered. Despite the din of the roaring crowd and the sound of the instruments, the lyrics were loud and clear in his head. Finally, he understood what Rory meant about Dominance’s songs, that each one reached right into his soul and left a hook there. That hook wouldn’t easily give way without a vicious tug, without taking bits and pieces of flesh back.

“Take me deep, yank out my heart strings...you’re close enough to touch, but I can’t bear to sully your pure body, angel on his knees...”

The world came to a standstill. Why had Stefan never heard this band, this man’s music before?

What would it be like, to stand so close to this handsome, damaged Alpha and look into his eyes?

Would Stefan be able to see his beautiful soul?

B
y the end of the first song, heck, even at the middle of it, Stefan began swaying and roaring like the rest of the crowd. Unnamed emotions whirled inside him. His heart and soul felt full, close to bursting, yet at the same time, he hungered for more. Stefan wanted to hear more of this man’s music, to have Dominance embed more hooks into his soul, despite the danger.

Mick finished off the first song with a guitar solo. Stefan pressed against the crowd, eager to catch a glimpse of the rock star Alpha. Finishing off with a flourish, Mick growled, the sound reverberating through the speakers. Once more, the Alpha looked towards their section, making Stefan’s heart start up again. That couldn’t be a coincidence, could it?

On stage, Mick stopped playing. Stefan saw Steel and Korey give their lead singer worrying looks. Mick started walking forward, the plug connecting his guitar to the amplifier detaching, creating a screeching sound that hurt Stefan’s ears. The crowd loved it though, this seemingly impromptu move.

“Mick, what are you doing?” Stefan heard Korey yelling over the din of the crowd.

“Leave him, he’s caught a good scent, I think,” Steel remarked.

“He’s here,” Mick said, looking like a man who’s suddenly forgotten he was in the middle of a concert.

With amazing agility and grace, Mick leapt off the stage, guitar still hanging around his neck. Fans pressed at him from all sides, calling out his name, yelling requests that verged from the obscene to the crazy.

If Stefan were Mick, he’d be running back to the stage. The bouncers were telling everyone to back off, but no one was listening. It turned out Stefan didn’t need to worry, because a werewolf Alpha could handle himself just fine in the midst of a riot.

Men and women threw themselves at Mick, but Mick looked like a man with a mission. When someone got in the way, Mick opened his mouth, a dangerous snarl came out of his throat, warning people to stay the hell out of his way. Stefan wondered what the hell went wrong. Maybe he ought to grab Rory and get the hell out of there. A moment ago, Dominance’s music seeped into his soul, soothing the torrents, but now, panic set it.

Whatever outcome that came from this mess, it wouldn’t be good. The crowd was on the verge of spinning out of control. Turning his back on the stage, Stefan desperately searched for Rory. Seeing Rory yelling with a bunch of head bangers, Stefan waded past the crowd to reach him.