Page 155 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

Would she want that with her pack?

Henry or Adra? Emerson?

A pang of sadness went through her at the thought that Nohen wouldn’t be able to leave a mark on her as well.

At least… not one that he wouldn’t have to refresh each day.

She chuckled to herself, and then brushed her thumb over the tattoo on her thigh.

Hmm.

Her and Nohen could find their own version of a bond mark.

Lyric blinked, the kitchen coming back into focus as she let go of her thoughts. What was she thinking?

She was thinking as if she’d already made up her mind, as if she was already planning to stay with her band. With her alphas.

Lyric glanced up at Javier. “What the hell d’you put in my sandwich?”

“Pardon?” he asked, a smile curling his lips. “Why do you ask?”

Lyric crossed her arms and stared up at the alpha. “I’m not a normal omega.”

“Yes, pajarita, I believe I recognized that from the start.”

“But I’m having normal omega thoughts.”

“What are normal omega thoughts?”

Waving her hands around, Lyric sighed. “You know, thinking about a pack and bond marks and stuff like that.”

“Have you never wanted a pack before?” he asked, moving closer, bracing his palms on either side of her on the counter.

Lyric shook her head, breath a commodity in the moment. “No. Never. To be honest, I’ve kept it that way on purpose. Until recently… I’ve never seen alphas as anything more than a danger to me.”

“But now you’re changing your mind, hmm?” he questioned, scratching his cheek as he gazed off into space. “You’ve been focusing solely on music, yes?”

She nodded.

Javier shrugged, then shared a knowing smile with her, one she was close enough to taste if she wanted. “Maybe you were a normal omega all along. Maybe you just needed the right alphas to feel safe to let her out of her cage.”

Lyric propped her head on her hand and lost the battle against the smile curling her lips.

Maybe he was right.

“Do you feel better?” Emerson asked, stroking his fingers through Lyric’s hair.

She hummed lazily, not even bothering to open her eyes. “Mm-hmm, as long as you keep playing with my hair,” she murmured.

If Emerson hadn’t been looking at her, he probably wouldn’t have even realized she was talking. That was how blissed-out she was.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he responded, lips twitching.

He glanced up to meet Adra’s gaze across the bus, the other alpha smirking as he looked up from the sketchbook on his lap.

His pencil continued to move lightly even as he studied the omega sprawled out on Emerson’s lap.

Lyric’s head was pillowed on Emerson’s thigh.