The rush of the waterfall was loud—deafening, but Echo ignored it along with the small splashes of water on the hem of his pants. His focus was on one thing and one thing only—a rock, small and smooth. The small pebble in his hand was not even big enough to fit his palm, yet right now it was as if he was directly staring at the sun. He couldn't look away no matter how painful it was even if he wanted to. If he blinked, he was afraid that something would go wrong.
The stone was hot and red as if it was scalded, the temperature only rising as it rested atop Echo’s skin. Thankfully, its red luster slowly faded a few minutes later, turning it into an ordinary stone. The hot color evaporated with steam and by a gust of air that came from nowhere, the solid object crumbled into dust.
Echo tilted his hand and let whatever was left of the pebble fall into the colorful water. The moment the remnants of the stone touched the surface, it sizzled before turning into glitter, blending with the water as it followed the stream.
No matter how long he had been doing this, Echo would always be mesmerized by this sight. Along with the dazzling display, he also felt a sense of satisfaction seeing the culmination of his efforts—of his life's work, the stone turning into dust. It meant that destiny was fulfilled.
He gave himself a pat on the back at a job well done, unabashed at the self-commendation he had done a thousand times before. He allowed himself to feel the small moment of victory.
However, the feeling didn't last long. He swept his gaze at the stones and pebbles in various sizes by the bed of the water, knowing full well that any of them would need his intervention sooner or later. They looked ordinary but they might as well be ticking time bombs, seconds away from needing the Keepers’ intervention.
Echo sighed to himself, exhaustion slowly creeping into his bones. He should have been asleep at this hour, but an emergency was an emergency.
It was tiring, even if this was the only thing he knew how to do, the only job he was trained for since young. On nights like this, a selfish part of him wished he didn’t awaken, wished that it was someone else who had to live this unique lifestyle instead of him, but a wish was just that—a wish.
It was not like he had a choice now, did he?
--
Once again, V pondered if not bringing his nest into his temporary home was the best idea. An omega moving their nest to an alpha’s home is only something mates would do, so he gave it up to avoid misunderstandings, but something didn’t feel right without it. It was not Echo's fault, he provided V with the best mattress on the market and the softest sheets made specifically for omegas. The bed was big and lavish but it had none of the familiar scents, the warm comfort, it was not his.
His secondary gender was anxious at not being near their territory for so long, but V could do nothing about it except roll a few times and silence his inner omega. It was already too noisy in his head, he didn’t need a whiny voice asking for their nest to add on to it.
He rolled around a few times more as the memories of a few hours ago replayed in his mind. V was usually the skeptic type, he would not believe in something unless he saw it with his own eyes, but he seemed to have adjusted his mindset after living with Echo. After all, it would be easier for him to accept the supposed reality quickly than to demand proof every time, so accept it he did.
From the moment Echo told him to change clothes till he walked to his room, he combed to every scene one by one, but even the pole dancer’s flexible moves could not overpower the Alpha’s last words for the night.
No, it was not the ‘good night, V’ he said before entering his room, but the bomb about Venus Entertainment recruiting him.
Venus Entertainment, a subsidiary of Quina Corporation, was one of the best and biggest companies for aspiring artists. Although it hadn’t been around as long as its competitors, it already produced artists with countless hit songs, actors and actresses with numerous accolades, and models who walked international runways. This could be done because not only was the entertainment company good at nurturing talents, but it was also self-reliant, having everything their celebrities would need. From its own production studio to its own ad agency, if it can be named, then they have it.
Of course, this was made possible because the young company had the gargantuan Quina Corporation backing it. Thinking about it, wasn’t Venus Entertainment going to celebrate their tenth anniversary this year?
V wasn’t sure, but the gathering of stars was something he looked forward to. His idols hailed from that company, and thinking about he might be their junior had his stomach in knots.
How could he, a person who played music as a hobby, even think about joining such a prestigious company? Wouldn’t he just make a fool of himself if he stood next to those professionals? Wouldn’t it magnify how incompetent he was if he was surrounded by people who had been to more award shows than he could count? How could he even dare? Where would he get the courage from?
Sure, he took music classes as a child, but he graduated with a completely unrelated degree—accounting, and his grades were nothing to brag about either. Even his last employment ended badly, having to resign because he might lose his temper one day and murder his pervy boss. It was nothing to be proud of but V’s adult life had not been smooth sailing at all. Who was to say he would not mess it up this time too?
He pressed his face to the soft pillows, hoping the fluffiness could bury his thoughts along with him. Sleep would not come to him, not with his mind running like a hamster on a wheel. If he could find the off switch in his brain, that would be great, but he couldn’t so he reached for his phone instead.
He clicked on the familiar app as he searched around the room for the right angle to prop his phone on. After he found it, he grabbed his guitar and started the live stream, leaving his face out of view again.
Usually, not a lot of people would view his stream at this ungodly hour, maybe five or six who had been there with him since the beginning, because who was he in the first place? It was not like he was some star.
To his surprise, a lot of viewers flooded in his stream the moment he opened it, and the number kept on increasing to the hundreds till it breached the thousands.
“Uh, hi. I see there’s a lot still awake at this time,” he waved to the camera, voice timid and a little hesitant.
[HI YOU’RE BACK OMG]
[URE HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!]
V tried to read the messages but they kept popping up one after the other, pushing the last one to the top in the blink of an eye.
He gave a light chuckle, hoping to ease his nervousness at this sudden development, and said, “I can’t really read your messages. Everyone’s typing too fast.”
The messages paused for a second and then exploded once again.
[sing for us]
[can you show us your face]
[are you new? He doesn’t show his face.]
[y not. I bet he’s cute.]
[play the guitar]
V saw the same few words, picking up what the viewers demanded from him. He originally wanted to talk first but with the way people were fighting to send messages over the next one, he knew it would not be possible.
“Well, it’s late so we shouldn’t stay up for too long. I’ll go after this song, okay?”
Without waiting for the viewers to respond, he began lightly picking his guitar. The melody flowed like raindrops by the window, falling softly and slowly. His voice was still as smooth, even if he sang with a hush, yet it was also teasing. There was a smile on his face that no one on the other side of the screen could see.
In the night when the wind howled by the window
And there was not a single light,
How the moon was so bright
Don’t you see?
But Luna, why do you look so lonely?
All there, by yourself, with no one to care
Don’t worry, Miss Moon, you have me
I’ll keep you company
With this old guitar of mine
I’ll be your Valentine
I’ll sing for you, this lullaby
Luna, have I told you how beautiful you are?
When I gazed upon the stars
I wish forever will be ours
Because you are everything I see
I’ll have you, as long as you have me
Luna, please have me
V found himself relaxing as he kept serenading the moon, oblivious to how quiet the bullet messages were. Everyone on the other side was mesmerized. All they saw was the singer from the chest down and his acoustic guitar; their focus was pulled to the screen, nonetheless. Those who were in bed fought off the sleep in their eyes to spoil their ears with the sweet voice a little more, just a little more. Others lost the weariness in their souls, as if they were granted solace after being trapped in desolation. Of course, the happiest among all of them were those who recorded the moment they entered the live stream; they would treat this recording as their treasure and watch it on replay for the days following.
After everyone’s moods were lifted, V bade a casual goodbye and ended the live stream. He peeked at the viewer count before doing so and received another shock at the large number—300,000 and more!
He hugged the phone close to his chest, disbelief running through his wide eyes. It appeared as if he became famous overnight. Was this why Venus Entertainment scouted him?
While thinking so, he made a decision that forever changed his life. Not bothering to wait until morning, he clicked on Echo’s contact number and texted:
[I’ll sign.]
