Lyric & the Heartbeats

by Kole, Lana

  She didn’t care to open her eyes to search for the others, because their scents were comfortably wrapped around her—it was complete. And now that she knew why, she just had to figure out how to make sure he stayed. Because with everyone surrounding her, it was perfect.

  It was pack.

  A while later, she awoke to the familiar sound of her phone buzzing, and a soft touch on her shoulder. She blinked her eyes open at Nohen, blearily recognized Andi’s name on the screen, and snatched the phone out of his hand.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked as soon as she held the phone to her ear.

  It seemed like Andi paused, and then giggled. “Nothing’s wrong, not more than usual. I just wanted to call and check in.”

  Lyric rubbed at her eyes and sensed movement behind her. Nohen was trying to leave, and she snatched the back of his shirt to pull him back. His eyes widened, and she motioned him to come closer. She grabbed one of his hands and wrapped it around her waist, and he finally took the hint and pulled her close, settling her between his legs.

  “Things are good on my end, just the usual,” she said hesitantly. “How about you?”

  “Lyric, read between the lines. Distract me. How are things with the alphas?”

  Lyric swallowed and leaned her head against Nohen’s shoulder. The room was empty, so it was just her and Andi and Nohen. Where did the others go?

  As she thought over Andi’s question, Lyric wondered if it was too much to say in front of Nohen. Then again… hadn’t Desi told her to be more honest with them?

  “It’s… good. Suspiciously good. Part of me says it’s moving too quickly,” she admitted softly.

  Lyric wanted to groan. There was always a part of her that was making her second-guess her every move. Would she ever be in fucking sync?

  Nohen began stroking a pattern over the fabric covering her side. It was almost ticklish, but she fought against the impulse to squirm away and zoned back into the conversation.

  “What’s the other part of you say?” Andi asked.

  With a sigh, Lyric confessed, “That it’s all finally fallen into place and I’m just being too cautious.”

  Andi chuckled softly. “Sounds like you’ve got it figured out.”

  “I think I just… never imagined that it could be like this.”

  “Like what?”

  “Easy.” Andi was quiet, and Lyric sucked in a laugh. “I mean, it started out rocky, sure, especially with all my hang-ups, but now it’s just… it seems like it’s too easy. Like I should be more suspicious.”

  Nohen hid a smile against her shoulder, so she reached up to thread her fingers through his curls.

  “Suspicious of what?”

  Lyric groaned. Andi was a genius, and Lyric sometimes wanted to yell at her for it. All she did was ask questions and make Lyric talk through it all by herself. When the hell did her best friend become so good at therapy?

  “I don’t even know. It’s not like they have ulterior motives at this point. I think I’m just worried it’s all going to fall apart and I’m going to—”

  End up alone again.

  “Lyric, those are your alphas. It’s your pack. You’re never going to be alone again, not if you don’t want to be.”

  A response rolled to the tip of Lyric’s tongue, but it faded away as she opened her mouth to respond. Andi was right. Lyric didn’t have to be afraid of it anymore. She wouldn’t end up alone. It was all in her hands. They might be alphas, but she was the one in control.

  “You’re right,” she breathed. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

  “Your brain is an asshole,” Andi said with a chuckle. “You always struggle with doubting yourself, even when it comes to your first love—music. Why would this love be any different?”

  Love, huh?

  “It isn’t. Things just haven’t ever been this… good for me. I’m happy,” she admitted. Nohen nuzzled into her touch, and she smiled like a sap.

  Over the line, Andi sniffled, and Lyric froze. “Are you crying? What’s wrong?”

  “No—I’m fine. I’m just happy for you, is all. I was proud of you for following your dreams, but I always hoped you’d find someone who could support and love you. And you found five someones.” Andi sniffled again before rustling came over the line.

  “Andi…” Lyric’s voice broke as her throat closed up with tears. “Don’t make me cry.”

  “I’m sorry. My emotions have been all over the place. I’m just glad I don’t have to worry about you anymore.”

  “Now it’s my turn,” Lyric teased. “Have you been eating?”

  The sigh over the line was like something out of a movie. “Yes, Mom,” Andi teased, and then went quiet.

  “Really, are you okay?” Lyric pressed. “I’ll be home soon. What can I do?” A pang pierced her heart, and she wished she could wrap her arms around her best friend.

  “I’m… well, okay is saying a little much, but I’m handling it. It makes me feel better to know that you’re okay too.”

  “I’m not the one you should be worried about. You’re the one who just…”

  “I know, I know,” Andi whispered, saving Lyric from finishing her sentence. “I’ll be okay. I don’t really have a choice at this point. But the tour’s coming to an end, how do you feel?”

  Lyric shrugged, and Nohen buried his head into the back of her neck. Her empty brownstone flashed in her mind, and suddenly her chest felt cold.

  “I think I’m just scared to go back to reality. When the tour ends and I walk off that bus… what happens?”

  “What do you want to happen?”

  Lyric ground her teeth together. Dammit, Andi. She willed the burning in her eyes to subside. But it persisted, and tears welled until they spilled over in a hot flood.

  “I don’t want to go back to my apartment.”

  All alone was what she didn’t add. Nohen squeezed her tighter, offering his own comfort, reminding her that she wasn’t alone.

  Lyric didn’t want to be alone anymore.

  “Then don’t. Talk to your pack,” Andi replied, and something rustled in the background. “I’ve taken up enough of your time. Text me any time.”

  “You call me,” Lyric demanded, reaching up to dash the tears from her eyes.

  “Yeah, yeah,” she drawled. “Love you.”

  Lyric mirrored the sentiment before hanging up and tossed the phone to the side, losing it in the blankets and pillows her pack had gathered for her. This was her safe space now, with them.

  What was once her safe space, her home, she now dreaded returning to.

  Nohen was quiet, offering silent support until Lyric needed him.

  They rearranged until Lyric was curled up against his chest, his arms wrapped around her and holding her close.

  “Want to talk about it? It sounded pretty heavy,” Nohen murmured.

  Lyric curled into him, breathing his comforting scent, pulling him into her lungs. He’d already heard most of it.

  “Where’d the others go?”

  “They didn’t wanna wake you up, they’re in the main area. Is this a group conversation?”

  Lyric shrugged, clenching her fingers in his shirt. “Not necessarily. Andi has a way of seeing right through me that I still haven’t gotten used to even after all this time.”

  “I hope I can be that way one day,” Nohen said softly. “I wanna know what’s going on in that head of yours.”

  Lyric chuckled dryly. “No you don’t. It’s a mess up there.”

  “Want me to help untangle the bits?”

  Lyric hummed but didn’t know where to start.

  Nohen didn’t have the same hesitation. “You don’t want to go back to your apartment? Why?”

  Color rushed to her cheeks, and Lyric was glad Nohen was there for her to bury her head into. “I don’t wanna be alone,” she mumbled, forcing the words out through a tight throat.

  Squeezing her tighter, Nohen pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You don’t have to be.
Just say the word.”

  Lyric’s heart pounded. She had never learned to ask others for help.

  “It’s different,” she hedged, stalling. “After my mom died, I was alone, and I didn’t mind. I empathize with Andi. I feel bad for my friend having lost someone who means so much to her… but I can’t imagine that. When my mom died, all I felt was…” Lyric paused, shame squeezing her chest the same way she tightened her fists. “I felt relieved. She wasn’t there to control me anymore. I’m a terrible person.”

  “You’re not terrible. You were just tired of living under someone else’s thumb. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Nohen said softly. “I understand why you’re scared, so take all the time you need. You’re going to want to push us away, and while we understand that urge, I’m asking that you let us—”

  With each word he spoke, Lyric’s emotions ballooned in her throat until she couldn’t hold them back. “Please stay,” she asked, voice quiet and soft and fragile.

  Nohen paused, his prepared speech falling off his lips at the crack in her voice.

  “Okay,” he agreed softly, holding her tighter. “Okay, I’ll stay.”

  She tucked her head into his chest, hands fisting the fabric of his shirt.

  Then her shoulders began to shake, and she could practically hear Nohen’s heart break.

  Eventually, the others joined. How they knew she needed them, she would never understand, but they appeared one by one, surrounding her with their warmth and their scents. Adra, Emerson, Henry, and even Javier curled around her at one point.

  How worries spilled out of her eyes to soak into their shirts, and sometime in the middle of the night she realized she was empty. Empty of the sorrow and anxiety that tightened her chest, and instead she felt full of their warmth and support and care as they surrounded her.

  Right where she wanted to be.

  Lyric blinked sleep from her eyes hours later, the rustling of blankets waking her gently.

  “Where’re you going?” she asked sleepily, pushing one arm beneath her to lift herself up. Adra smiled softly up at her, and she cranked her head around to see the others leaving the room one by one.

  “We’ll be back, go back to sleep,” Emerson murmured, and shut the door between the living and bunk room, effectively shutting out the world.

  Lyric settled back into the darkness of the bunk room and Adra’s warmth, seeking more of him since everyone had left her cold.

  His arms wrapped around her, and Lyric breathed deep, pulling in more of his sweet scent. It was comfort and care and softness, all wrapped up in a big bear of an alpha.

  “What are you giggling at?” Adra murmured, his hand playing in the strands of her hair.

  “Just thinking about you,” she admitted.

  He paused at that for a split second before the slow strokes in her hair continued, pulling a sigh from her lips.

  “And why did I make you laugh? I didn’t tell a joke,” he teased.

  Lyric chuckled again and nipped at his pec. “You’re such a softie for an alpha. Did you know that you smell like marshmallows to me?”

  “I hope that means you like sweets.”

  “I do,” she said honestly. “And you’re the sweetest of them all.”

  The hum he let out vibrated beneath her cheek. “I come second only to you.”

  Lyric propped her head up on her hand and stared down at him, now that her eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting. The curve of his lips, the sharp shape of his jaw, the dip in his cheekbones. “I don’t know what I did in life to deserve you all, but whatever it is, I’d do it again and again.”

  “You keep saying you’re so lucky, but you’re wrong. I’m the lucky one.”

  Lyric’s cheeks heated, and she ducked her head. “You’re talented, another artist would’ve scooped you up eventu—”

  His hand drifted up to the back of her neck and turned her attention to him. “I mean you,” he interrupted. “Not the tour. I’m lucky because I have you. I get to share moments like this with you.”

  Lyric’s heart thundered in her chest so loudly she wondered if he could hear it. In that moment, she had no doubt that Adra was hers, it was as sure as the pulse pounding in her throat. He was part of her pack. Part of her heart.

  Lyric leaned up, caught his lips with hers. Her palm pressed against his chest, and his hand covered hers as the other cupped the back of her neck, pulling her closer. His soft, warm lips captured hers as his stubble scraped her cheeks gently.

  With Adra, it was always easy. Like liquid, they moved together.

  It was surreal to imagine someone could throw this man away, set him to the side, not choose him.

  Lyric didn’t think she’d ever really had a choice since she’d met this alpha. And oddly enough, the thought didn’t bother her. No, the realization landed like a wave she’d watched rise and rise until it finally crashed to the shore, soaking her and the sand beneath her toes.

  As her reservations were laid to rest, her walls were finally dissolved along with her and Adra’s clothes. When they were skin to skin, when Lyric was pushing her hips down, taking him in inch by inch, Adra placed a hand under her chin and pulled her gaze to his.

  “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Adra asked, worry pinching his features. He slid a hand to her hip, stopping her from sliding down any further. “Am I hurting you?”

  With a chuckle, Lyric lifted a hand and smoothed her thumb between his brows, trying to get rid of the worry lines.

  “Nothing’s wrong. You’re not hurting me. I’m just… feeling things.”

  “Oh, that sounds serious,” he teased, finally easing the grip on her hip and letting her take control again. “Should I call a doctor?”

  Lyric laughed past her sniffles and pinched his nipple before smoothing the sting with a kiss.

  “Smart ass. Nice try. You’re not distracting me,” she promised, nudging her hips up and down, taking him in a little deeper each time. When her ass rested against his thighs, she sighed, and the swell of emotion bubbled in her chest again.

  “Distracting you from what?” Adra inquired, palming her hips and rocking against her just enough for her thoughts to scatter.

  She tried to grab the scattered thoughts, but they slipped through her fingers like grains of sand, and what she ended up blurting was, “Bond with you.”

  Adra froze, pulled her tight against him, and he pulsed inside her. “You what?”

  “Want to bond with you,” Lyric admitted, her heart pounding.

  Adra’s fingers tightened on her hips before he eased up and brushed his fingertips up and down her thighs like she was something to be treasured. “I… would love that. Would love nothing more than that. But I don’t want you to regret it. It’s unbreakable. It’s permanent. It’s…”

  “I know all of that,” she insisted. “I just—” She sniffled back her tears. “I just want the assurance that things aren’t going to change the moment we step off the bus. Some part of me is so terrified that this is all some stupid dream, and I’m going to wake up in my apartment all alone and—”

  “You’re not alone,” Adra promised, and pulled her close. She breathed in his soft marshmallow scent and sunk into his warmth like she would a marshmallow itself. “You won’t be alone ever again, not if you don’t want to.”

  “I don’t want to,” she admitted. “So bite me.”

  Adra’s cock pulsed inside her again, and she rocked on him, wanting to feel more of him. Something even bigger nudged at her entrance. His knot.

  Lyric groaned, tightened her knees around his hips, and rolled her hips into him. His knot nudged at her core and she cried out at the promise of being filled by it. By Adra.

  Adra wrapped a hand around her waist, holding her to him, and propped a knee up to roll them over. The soft mattress cushioned her back, such a contrast to the hardness that blanketed her front.

  Lyric gripped his hips, digging her nails in, and pulled him closer. His knot pressed harder, more persist
ent, and she rocked up into him.

  “Please, please, please,” she begged in a desperate breath. She wanted all of Adra, wanted—

  Lyric gasped as the realization came to her and framed Adra’s face with her hands. “Bite me,” she demanded. “I already know you’re mine, but I want others to know too. Do it.”

  His hips nudged into hers, and Lyric wrapped her legs around him, pulling him in deeper, teasing herself with his knot.

  “Are you absolutely certain?” His breath ghosted over her lips, his gaze searching hers desperately.

  “Yes.”

  “You want others to know?” he asked.

  Lyric nodded, lifting her head and nipping at his lips.

  “Yeah. You won’t be the odd one out ever again.”

  His eyes flared. “Then I’m gonna bite you somewhere you can show it off,” he murmured, drifting his lips from her cheek to her neck. Lyric tilted her head, baring her throat to him, but he slid lower, wrapping his lips around the curve of her collarbone, nipping in a tease.

  Lyric knew this was irreversible. But she knew without a doubt that Adra belonged to her. “You won’t leave, right? At the end of tour?”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Adra promised.

  Her fingers clawed into his shoulders, his hips, pulling him into her. His hips bucked, sending his cock even deeper inside her, the knot pushing at her entrance. Lyric cried out, bucking into him, needing the fullness awaiting her, wanting the teasing to end.

  “Bite me,” she demanded, tilting her neck to the side, baring her throat.

  With one last thrust, Adra’s knot slid inside her. Lyric cried out, the incredible fullness so much better than she remembered. It sent her over the edge, and she squeezed her eyes shut just as Adra’s teeth broke her skin, and he came tumbling after her.

  Lyric didn’t know how to describe it—the bliss of falling together, the connection that snapped into place and wrapped around them. It was like a wave crashed over her, over them as Adra wrapped himself up in her. Everything was intensified—the pulse of him inside her, his teeth in her flesh—it was multiplied, mirrored back at her until she didn’t know where it began and ended.