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That was when she knew it was another hit.
Instead of feeling tired and ready for the night to end, she felt exhilarated. Like she could keep singing all night. Love had given her an abundance of energy, and knowing that Zenix was watching her made Ayla want to give her all for the performance. Because she wasn’t just singing to her fans.
This time, she was singing to the keeper of her heart.
Performing so soon after bonding with Zenix had left her feeling conflicted. A part of her had been excited about the concert, while the other half of her had been resentful of the time she’d had to spend away from her new mate. In all the long years to come, she knew without a doubt that she would never get enough of him.
That was the way it was between mates.
After their guests had left the night before, she and Zenix had taken a long shower together. They had made love again under the cascade of hot water, then they had fallen asleep wrapped around one another. They hadn’t stirred again until his alarm sounded, and even then, he’d let her sleep a little longer while he’d gotten ready for the day.
A true night owl, Ayla had always had trouble falling asleep. But once she was out, it was almost impossible to wake her up. Zenix had been worried something had been wrong with her when Artem had shown up with Lina and Travis and an abundance of food. Her mate had been appalled by the way her brother had forcefully dragged her out of bed and shoved her into the shower, but that was completely normal for them.
Thankfully, she had been back to her lively self once they’d settled down to eat breakfast. During the meal, she had gotten a chance to meet her assistant’s new mate. Travis was the complete opposite of Lina. While she was serious and almost fanatically sensible, Travis was fun and had a carefree attitude that would surely drive her insane. Even though they were mismatched, they seemed happy together.
Ayla had been deeply relieved that she wouldn’t be losing her assistant, and Lina and Travis had both been thrilled to hear about the new show they would be putting together on Evo. There had been mixed opinions about Ayla announcing it to the public already, but she wanted to make it clear to all her fans that she was in love and ready to settle down in one spot for the foreseeable future.
As the song came to an end, she struck the final pose and listened to the roar of the crowd. After waiting for the lights to dim, she relaxed again. When the spotlight was turned back on her, she laughed and waved to the people in the audience, making them scream even louder.
“Thank you! Thank you so much,” Ayla shouted over the noise as she bowed. “Give it up for my band. Aren’t they wonderful?” She held her arm out to gesture toward her band, giving them the accolades they deserved.
She paced around the stage while she waited for the noise to die down a little, and she gave her band the subtle signal for them to remain on stage for an encore. But first, she had an announcement to make.
“I hope all of you have been having fun on Evo. This place is amazing, isn’t it?”
People clapped and cheered. She spent a few more minutes talking about the Evolution game and the beta testing but kept most of her remarks pretty basic. While she was happy to promote the game, she didn’t know enough about it yet to really comment on the more technical aspects.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has come out to join me during this last tour. I’ve loved sharing my most recent songs with you, as well as some of my old favorites. However, now, I’m ready for a break.”
As expected, the audience fervently protested.
Knowing she had them in the palm of her hand, she sent them a wink. “But…” she stressed. “While I have you here, I have a secret I’d like to share with all of you. Well, I actually have two things to tell you. The first is I found the keeper of my heart.”
Gasps and cries of dismay mixed with shouts of joy and applause. Since she’d expected that mixed reaction, she wasn’t fazed by it. She laughed again and twirled in a circle, letting the happiness she felt beam out of her.
“Being in love is an amazing feeling. He’s truly a wonderful male, and we are very happy together. Thank you for all the well wishes. This is all so new to me, and we appreciate you giving us some privacy while we get to know each other better. But you can be sure that I will have a ton of new music to share with all of you soon.”
A little incentive to make them behave didn’t hurt.
Adding to that, she said, “And speaking of new music, while I might not be touring anymore, that doesn’t mean you can’t come see me. Yes, you heard me right. I’m pleased to tell you that I will be setting up a residency show right here on Evo!”
She had to wait until the screams and shouts had died down again before she could continue.
“I can’t tell you much yet, but I will definitely share the details as soon as everything is finalized. So, be on the lookout for updates soon! Now, how about I sing one last song for you before we end the show?”
Ayla and the band had decided to do one of her most popular songs as the encore, and the crowd surged to their feet to dance and sing with her. When the song was finished, she blew kisses to the crowd and waved before leaving the stage. Lina was waiting for her with a towel to pat down her face, and her protection team immediately moved in to surround her.
Even the backstage area was chaotic, and people pushed and shoved, trying to get closer to her. Before she could stumble, a strong arm wrapped around her, holding her steady. She immediately smiled when she saw it was her keeper and relaxed against him as he used his much larger body to shield her from the crowd.
“It’s nice having you here waiting for me,”she said, using their bond since it was easier to be heard over the noise.
“Where else would I be?”Zenix responded.“Come on, sweetheart. It’s not safe here. Let’s get you into your dressing room. This is fucking chaos, and we need to figure out a better way to keep all of these assholes away from you.”
That made her laugh.“They are fans. Not assholes.”
“Same difference.”
“You’re mated?” Sebastian Vales demanded as soon as they entered the private area near the dressing rooms.
