Page 183 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

Lyric paused, straining to hear any footsteps or leaves crunching—and got a whole lot of nothing.

Carefully, she squatted down, grabbed a rock off the ground, and tossed it behind her. As it landed, thumping and breaking some sticks and leaves, she took off.

But she wasn’t fast enough. The lights of the venue were just past the first line of trees, but they weren’t bright enough to penetrate the underbrush, and a hand wrapped around her head to cover her mouth as an arm circled her waist, trapping her arms at her side.

She stilled immediately as the bitter scent of alpha overwhelmed her, but not one of hers. Acidic and pungent, the scent burned her senses, and she wrinkled her nose.

“I don’t think so,” he taunted, voice deep and scratchy.

Her heart stopped.

“Didn’t really need both of us for this,” another voice, higher and raspier, said. The matching alpha came into view and she narrowed her gaze. “She was easy enough to catch. Don’t know why they made such a big deal about her.”

“She’s a singer or something,” the stinky one said, the one behind her shuffling around.

Lyric barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. They were kidnapping her and they hadn’t even heard of her? Rude.

The only option she had left was to use her one advantage—that others assumed she was at a disadvantage. She’d used it all her life. Just because she was an omega, a woman, they assumed she was weak or helpless. Lyric fed into that, shrinking into the alpha holding her and whimpering.

Adra’s satisfaction took a nosedive, and Lyric felt his tension, his worry permeate their connection. Through the line of trees, she heard the bus door slam open.

“Lyric?” Adra’s voice rang through the night.

Emerson’s voice echoed after his. Her fear must have travelled down their connection, and suddenly the bond seemed a whole lot cooler.

The other laughed quietly, stepping forward to grab her face, his grip bruising as his hot breath washed over her. The other’s hand slipped away from her lips, but she didn’t scream, especially as he placed a knife to her throat. “This one’ll get us a pretty penny, hopefully.”

So it was the omega traffickers.

Lyric would be damned before she’d let herself become nothing more than a number. But how did she get herself out of this? The prick against her neck from the knife told her these alphas meant business.

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.