Page 162 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

It wasn’t until the platter was empty and the road once again rumbled beneath the tires on the bus that Lyric realized she no longer felt that something was missing. Because Javi was there too.

Her cheek was pressed against Adra’s chest, the rumble of his heartbeat comforting in her ear. Nohen was curled against her back, and behind him, Emerson was stretched out.

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?”