Page 147 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

They were about the same height, so their cheeks bumped. The woman’s smile was blinding as Lyric tapped the red button.

“Wow, this is awesome. You’re so sweet, thank you for signing her shirt. And the picture.” Her gaze trailed over Lyric’s shoulder, and she cleared her throat. “I should let you guys get back to your night. Travel safe!” Her smile was genuine as she stared down at Lyric’s scribbled signature on the fabric.

“It’s no problem. Thanks for coming. Tell your sister I said hello.” Lyric smiled and waved her off, glaring at the security guard to make sure he didn’t harass her until she was on the other side of the barricade.

Lyric sighed as the woman disappeared from sight and turned to her alphas.

She pulled up short at the expressions on their faces.

“What was that?” Henry questioned, voice sharp as a blade.

Lyric frowned and let her gaze trail from one alpha to the next. Adra, of course, was the most relaxed, but even he had a tension in his shoulders that seemed misplaced.

“That was me signing a fan’s shirt and taking a selfie. What’s the problem? It happens all the time.”

At least it did with other artists. The woman hadn’t done any harm, so what was the big deal?

“The problem is that she could have been a threat, and you just brushed us off.”

Lyric crossed her arms. “No. She wasn’t a threat. Once I recognized that, and realized you were overreacting, I did what any artist does and signed her merch.”

“She was an alpha.”

“So are you saying that all alphas are threats now? You’re alphas.”

“Let’s discuss this more on the bus,” Henry said, shooting a look toward a nosy security guard.

Lyric bit her tongue and nodded, turning and making her way for the bus without waiting.

Annoyance bubbled beneath her skin, and while Lyric knew scratching at it would only make it worse, as soon as she stepped on the bus, she turned and faced the three of them like they were a firing squad.

“So?”

“That was an alpha, who jumped a fence, and shoved aside a security guard, yet you decided she wasn’t a threat?” Henry asked, voice dangerously low.

Lyric crossed her arms. “She wasn’t a danger. She was just excited.”

“You promised you wouldn’t make it harder for us to protect you. But that’s exactly what you did just now,” Henry continued, voice softer but expression no less stern.

With the four of them staring her down, she felt like a child being scolded.

“If she was an actual threat, I wouldn’t have pushed you away. But she was just a fan. She just happened to be an alpha too.”

“What happened?” Desi inquired as she came from the back of the bus.

Lyric huffed, and parted her lips to explain, but Emerson beat her to it.

A soft touch on her shoulder stole her attention, and she turned to glance up at Adra.

“I’m sorry for interrupting. We’re just protective of you.”

Lyric sighed. “I get that… I do.”

And she hoped that would be the end of it. Lyric patted Adra’s hand where it was resting on her shoulder… and tuned into what Emerson was saying as Javier looked up from organizing covered dishes on the table.

“…knows what could have happened? If it had been a crazed fan—a dangerous one—something terrible could have happened. And everything going on with the black market? I mean, she’s our omega, of course I want to protect her.”

Lyric bristled at the last phrase, but she bit her tongue. He did say our…