by Kole, Lana
But… alpha or not, all men had one weak spot, and Lyric took advantage of it.
She waited until bad breath stepped back far enough, and she kicked up, nailing him in the balls.
He dropped like a rock, and before the one behind her could even process what was happening, she went limp, surprising him and making him loosen his hold. She drew back her arm, lowered her stance, and thrust her elbow back into his crotch. Warmth trailed down her neck, and she knew he’d nicked her with the knife, but for now, she ignored it.
“Who’s the one singing now, bitch?” she growled and took off.
Leaves and sticks crunched under her feet as she raced through the shallow woods, the lights from the bus shining like a beacon.
She shot through the trees, uneven ground turning to manicured grass, and she ran even faster.
“Lyric! What’s wrong?” Adra asked, running to meet her halfway.
She grabbed his hand, and aimed for Emerson, who was hanging out the door.
“Lyric?” Emerson asked as Adra followed her with a slam of the door.
“What’s wrong?” Adra’s deep voice reached her like a balm, and the tension slid out of her shoulders.
Javi stood from the table, his form stiff with tension, and his fists clenched.
She glanced between them, a growl emanating from Henry’s lips before she could even get a word out. “Where are they?” he asked. “You smell like alpha. What happened?”
“I’m okay!” she promised. “There are two alphas in the woods.”
“Nohen, Desi! Stay with her,” Adra barked, and grabbed Emerson.
Henry touched her cheek gently, wiping a smudge off, before his gaze hardened to stone and dipped to her neck. He pulled out his phone.
“Are you okay?” Nohen asked. He framed her face with his hands, smudging over the same spot Henry had.
“What happened? Did you kick their asses?” Desi questioned.
“I kicked one of them between the legs. Pretty hard too.”
Lyric recounted the quick story, her gaze jumping to Henry, whose gaze flamed with fury as he spoke to someone on the phone. By the time she finished, he hung up and announced, “Police are on their way.”
“Pajarita, look at me,” Javi demanded, and Lyric glanced over. He tilted her head up with a gentle finger under her chin, and a cold cloth was pressed to her neck. She flinched, and Javi growled.
“If we find them—” Javi began, but Emerson’s voice eclipsed the fury in his voice from beyond the bus.
“Henry! Bring us some of that bondage shit you like. Can’t hold onto ‘em forever!”
Lyric’s eyes widened as Henry disappeared to the back and came out with nylon rope and a pair of cuffs. “Don’t worry, I’ll buy us new ones,” he commented with a wink, forcing a facade of lightness, and left the bus.
Javi bandaged her up, taking as much care of her wound as he had with her body only the day before, and then joined the others outside with a growl.
Nohen and Desi stayed with her until blue and red flashed in the parking lot. They were burrowed under a blanket, and Nohen’s arms were wrapped around her waist so tight she couldn’t really breathe.
“Whoa, Emerson and Adra did a good job with the rope. I wonder if Henry taught them that,” Desi observed casually. She was on her knees beside Lyric, looking out the windows and supplying commentary.
“Come on,” she pleaded with her protective beta. “Let me look outside!”
Nohen had refused to release her ever since he’d pulled her down to the couch. “Henry told us to stay on the couch until the cops come to interview you,” he argued.
Lyric turned her best puppy eyes on him. “Please? I just don’t know how I’ll sleep at night if I don’t see them loaded into a police car with my own eyes.”
Nohen groaned, fingers tightening around her. “I know you’re playing me like a guitar, but I can’t resist that face. You’re cruel.”
He opened his arms and let her wiggle free, and she leaned up to crack the blinds alongside Desi. The parking lot was a mess of police cars and dark suits, and it took her a moment to spot her guys. Emerson, Adra, Henry, and Javi had made an appearance, all speaking individually to police officers.
The couch dipped beside her, and Nohen grumbled, “I wanna see too.”
“Where are the bad guys?” she asked.
“To the right, see?” Desi tapped the glass, and Lyric followed the line of her finger to a group of police officers who were leading a struggling set of alphas to a pair of vehicles.
“I thought you said there was rope,” Lyric whined. She didn’t see anything but regular cuffs on the alphas.
“I just said that to get you up here. Worked, didn’t it?” Desi teased with a smile.
Lyric hummed and watched as the two alphas were loaded into the vehicles. She might have been joking with Nohen, but she couldn’t lie and say it didn’t make her feel better to know that the two were in custody. But that was just the two. What about the ring?
“Are you okay? Really?” Nohen asked, and pushed a strand of hair off her forehead.
“Yeah, I…oh! They’re coming back!” Lyric said, and pointed to her four alphas who were turning their backs to the police.
The door beeped, and one by one, four alphas stepped onto the bus... and kept going. A pair of officers followed them, and Lyric’s nose wrinkled at the unfamiliar scents. What followed was an exhausting interview process as the others waited in the back. She went over the occurrence of events until her throat was sore from recounting the attempted kidnapping. By the time they finally left the bus, Lyric wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep for five years.
But first… she wanted her alphas.
Adra was the first one to come for her, his steps loud and booming as he stomped across the bus to scoop her up. He squeezed her so hard she squeaked, but she wrapped her arms around him. His relief was heavy through their connection, and she stroked a rhythm up the back of his neck.
“You should’ve screamed. I would’ve been there in a heartbeat. I’m so sorry.”
Lyric didn’t know if mentioning the knife held to her neck would help or hurt in the moment. “You were there when I needed you, that’s all that matters. You all were.” Lyric glanced over his shoulder at the other three and smiled. “Thank you.”
Henry grunted. “I recognized those alphas. They were at one of the meet and greets not too long ago. I guess they were scoping out security, waiting for their chance.” Henry rubbed a hand over his eyes out of frustration. “Apparently they first caught your scent when they were working on the bus after it broke down.”
Lyric’s mouth formed an ‘O’ shape as it dawned on her. The missing sweatshirt she’d loved so much.
“See?” Henry groaned. “This is exactly why the buddy system is important. I told you from the beginning, in order to protect you—”
“Henry?” Lyric interjected, a saccharine sweet grin on her lips. She extracted herself from Adra’s arms with a peck on the lips and faced off against her manager.
Alpha. Lover. Whatever.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to protect me if we were bonded?”
Silence.
Henry’s brain might have short-circuited. He eliminated the few feet between them and stopped with their toes touching. His gaze was dark and intense, and Lyric curled her fingers into fists to keep from reaching out to him.
“Lyric, don’t you play with me,” he growled.
“I’m not playing.” She met his gaze, the whirlwind of emotion reflecting the same storm in her chest. “Bonding won’t fix me. I still have issues, and it will take time to work through them, but what I’m saying is that I want to work through them… with you. As a pack.” She caught Javi’s gaze so he knew he was included.
“I don’t know what it looks like after we get off this bus, but I just know that I don’t want to go back to my brownstone alone.”
“Are you just making this decision because you’
re scared?” Henry asked. “We’ll protect you even if you don’t bond with us, you know that, right?”
Lyric smiled. “I know. I made this decision before the attempted kidnapping, promise.”
“And you’re sure? You want a pack?”
Lyric searched his gaze and found a whole lot of worry, but the tiny speck of hope that glimmered deep in the sea of hazel was what gave her the courage to admit the truth.
“A pack used to sound scary, like a life sentence as an object rather than a person. But I know now that it’s not like that at all. It’s a family, and I want that with all of you.” Lyric’s cheeks heated. “Now can you hurry up and agree? How much do I have to confess?”
Henry’s laugh was low and gruff, and it sent shivers over her skin as he reached out and wrapped a hand around her waist. She tipped forward, buried her face in his chest, and took a deep breath of his intoxicating scent.
“I’m sure that was painful to admit,” he teased. “But thank you for suffering on our behalf. You won’t have to go home alone, I promise.” Henry squeezed her tightly. At his vow, something in her chest eased, and she felt like she could take a deep breath again.
But Javi had been strangely silent, and she dared to risk a glance around Henry.
“Javi?” she asked. Henry released her, and she approached her last alpha. “I didn’t scare you off, right?”
“You couldn’t if you tried,” he purred in that accented tone that made her knees weak. He held out his hand, his long, lithe fingers awaiting her touch. Lyric placed her hand in his and squeaked as he pulled her close. His heat warmed her from head to toe, and she wanted to feel more of it. “Thank you for including me in your pack.”
“I’m not including you—you were always a part of it.”
His smile was blinding, and Lyric melted on the spot. When he finally released her, Lyric had to catch her balance, and clapped her hands together.
“So, how should we do this? Like a conga line?” Lyric snorted.
“Pajarita… no.” Javi chuckled. “Don’t you know these things have to happen naturally? No rushing perfection.”
“But…” Lyric pouted. “No orgy?”
Nohen snorted a laugh before he covered it with his hand, and Henry rolled his eyes, though his twitching lips belied his fake exasperation. “No bus orgies. And besides, bonding shouldn’t be scheduled like an interview. It happens naturally. When you’re ready.”
But I am ready, she wanted to argue. But if she was honest with herself… “Okay, fine. I guess I am sleepy. We can still puppy pile, right?”
“Of course,” Emerson agreed, sneaking up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist. “I want to be the big spoon.”
Adra chuckled. “Fine, but only if I’m the bigger spoon.”
“Can I be the smallest spoon?” Nohen asked.
As they began to argue for sleeping positions, Lyric’s chest swelled so full she thought she might burst.
“Guys! It doesn’t matter who sleeps where, as long as it’s next to me.”
Her outburst paused their argument for exactly three seconds before Nohen turned to Emerson and poked a finger in his chest. “Exactly.”
Then Nohen grabbed her hand and pulled her into the bunk room, down onto the mattresses, and wrapped her in his arms before the others could follow. They grumbled and groaned, but instead of joining them, Henry shut the door to the bunk room with a wink.
Lyric ran her fingers through Nohen’s loose curls as they settled into the mattresses. It had grown quite a bit on tour, and now they almost dangled over his forehead. Nohen caught her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “I know I’m not an alpha, so I can’t bond with you, but—”
“You’re as much a part of the pack as any of the alphas. Just because they get a fancy mark doesn’t mean you matter any less to me than they do.”
Nohen’s eyes softened, and Lyric pulled him to her for a kiss. Their lips melded together, his clean, bright scent like a balm to wash away everything else. The other alphas, the fear, the adrenaline. It all disappeared.
Nohen leaned his forehead against hers, their breaths mingling in the shared space. And with it, Nohen murmured, “I love you, Lyric. I’m glad you’re okay,” framing her cheek with his hand.
Lyric’s heart stuttered to a halt before it thumped into overdrive. “I love you too,” she admitted. Placing her hand over his own, she gripped it tightly and brushed her lips over his fingers. Then a giggle escaped. It bubbled in her chest until she couldn’t contain it, and she buried her head in Nohen’s chest to muffle the sound.
“Why are you laughing?” he asked. She could hear the smile in his voice despite his worried tone.
“Because I’m happy,” she replied. She wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but sharing the confession with Nohen in the privacy of the bunk area would have to do.
“Good,” he murmured, and stole another kiss before letting her giggle into his chest.
Hours later, she woke up curled into Adra’s chest, with Nohen’s back pressed against hers. Oops.
Her dream faded away before she could remember it clearly, but for some reason Nohen’s voice was echoing in her thoughts.
I know I’m not an alpha, so I can’t bond with you, but—
“Hi,” Adra whispered, voice deep and so low she wondered if she’d imagined it.
“Hi. What time is it?”
“It’s around four. Go back to sleep,” Adra told her.
Lyric tried to do just that, but it didn’t come easily. Doubts crept in under the shadows of night, and despite the strength she found in the comforting, easy breaths of Adra and Nohen and the others, she couldn’t fend them off.
“I can hear you thinking. What’s wrong?” Adra murmured.
Lyric squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in Adra’s chest, marshmallow sweetness filling her lungs. “I want to do something for Nohen. Since we can’t… bond.”
“What did you have in mind?”
Lyric chewed her bottom lip as she rolled the thought over in her mind. She didn’t want Nohen to feel left out. It wouldn’t be the same as a bond mark, but…
“What if we got a tattoo together? Is that laughable?”
Adra chuckled, the sound bouncing his chest against her. “I think Nohen would be over the moon about that.”
Her heart pounded against her chest, and she resisted the urge to lean over, wake Nohen up, and pitch the idea to him in the middle of the night.
Adra tugged her close as if he could sense what she was thinking, and completely wiped all thoughts from her mind by drifting his lips over her collarbone. Over the bond mark. It sent shivers dancing down her spine, awareness tickling across her senses.
“Nohen’s a little spoiled, and you’re only going to feed that side of him.”
Lyric chuckled at the thought. “Good. I want him to feel spoiled. I want you all to.”
Adra leaned up and frowned down at her. She lifted a finger and tried to smooth away the frown lines, but he nipped at her fingertip instead. “That’s our job.”
“Can’t we share the job?” Lyric asked innocently. “I mean, I’m such a generous person, you know?”
Adra chuckled, a little louder than necessary, and Emerson grumbled something on the other side of Nohen.
Lyric slid her hand over Adra’s mouth and tried to muffle her own giggles. She gasped as another hand slid over her hip and warmth blanketed her back. Nohen’s voice was smooth as silk as he murmured in her ear. “I know you guys are bonded and everything, but you’re not allowed to be this cute at four in the morning. You have to wait until my first cup of coffee is gone. My heart can’t handle it.”
Lyric sighed and tilted her head back to nudge him gently. “Wanna get matching tattoos?”
Nohen froze. The hand on her hip tracing patterns stopped, where he had been rubbing his cheek against the top of her head like a cat paused, and even his chest seemed to be still. Was he even breathing?
Lyric rol
led over to check that he was still among the living, and almost laughed at the wide-eyed stare he gave her. Almost, because he cupped the back of her head and swallowed any chuckle she could have released. Their lips melded together as warmth infused her from the inside out. Her lips parted beneath his, their tongues dueling until she finally gave in. The kiss was so intense, it was like he was trying to mark her with affection alone.
When Nohen pulled away, Lyric sucked in a breath and blinked dazedly, trying to clear the fog from her head.
“Tattoos? So I can have my own mark too?” he asked, his voice hushed, but no matter how quiet he spoke, he couldn’t hide the infectious excitement that laced his words.
“You saw through that, huh?” Lyric inquired, brushing a thumb across his cheek.
Nohen chuckled softly. “It might have been wishful thinking.”
“Why do you even have to get me anything?” Lyric asked.
Henry scoffed. “Because you’re my omega. You deserve to be spoiled.”
Lyric sighed. “Fine. Let me guess what it is,” she said, tapping a finger to her chin as they walked from the last interview of the tour back to the bus. “A gun, so I can protect myself?”
Henry snorted. “Please. You’d have to get lessons first. Have you ever even shot a gun?”
“Well… no. But I play a lot of first person shooter games. It can’t be that hard, right?”
Henry almost choked, and Lyric had to pat his back once he stopped coughing. Shaking his head, he waved a hand through the air. “Hell no. But I see your point. How about I schedule some self-defense training for when we return? I know a few moves. But I’ll make an appointment with a trainer once we get back to town.”
“You just wanna get your ass kicked. Is that another kink of yours, Henry?”
Henry arched a brow and opened the door for her, waited until she stalled in the middle of the entertainment area before he sat his tablet down.
“I dunno,” he drawled, kicking a foot against her ankles gently. “Sweeping your feet out from underneath you...” Lyric stumbled and fell backwards, only for Henry’s hands to wrap around her waist and neck, catching her and holding her close. “Does have its appeal.”
