Page 1 of Rhythm Of Our Souls (Heartbreak Melody #3)

FIVE YEARS AGO

Liam

My body aches, and my eyes are heavy. I’m exhausted. Both physically and mentally.

I’m not sure how much longer I can go on like this. And I don’t just mean my job. I mean my life.

I’m a twenty-four-year-old single, packless Alpha working a dead-end job because it’s the first thing I could get that got me far away from my old life.

I needed to start over new, somewhere that I didn’t know anyone. After everything that went down last year, I was drowning.

After all the legal stuff was sorted out and I was cleared of any involvement and charges, I packed up everything I could fit in the few bags I owned and went back home.

Thankfully, Mom said I could move back in with her.

Nothing makes you feel more like a man than moving back into your mother’s basement.

I know I shouldn’t complain; it could have been so much worse.

Mom worked for a party planning company, and they knew a security firm that was hiring. So, I was able to get a job pretty easily.

This firm works some pretty big gigs, so the pay is decent.

Still, this wasn’t how I thought my life was going to turn out.

Calling Wood was supposed to be my new start.

A shot at a different life than the one I grew up in. A life of my own.

I love my mom—she’s an amazing woman—but what little boy thinks that one day they’re going to grow up to help take care of their younger siblings because their dad’s a piece of shit, cheats on his wife, and abandons his family?

I was the oldest of three; my younger brother and sister needed me. What else was I supposed to do when my mom worked three jobs and barely kept us afloat?

When I became of legal age to work, I got a job. Then another, and another, until all my free time was spent working.

Yes, I had money, and we didn’t have to suffer anymore, but at what cost?

I didn’t get to go out with friends and be a teenager. I hardly had any time to do homework, so I just barely scraped by enough to graduate. The only reason I didn’t drop out completely was because I knew that if I did, there was no way I’d get accepted into Calling Wood University.

It was a pipe dream I had that actually came true when the time came.

And it was good... for the most part... until it wasn’t.

How could three men I thought I knew better than anyone do something so fucked up? Just thinking of it makes my skin crawl and my stomach churn with guilt.

There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by that I didn’t wish I could have done more and seen the signs; possibly, stopping things before they even happened.

I might not have been directly involved with what went down, but I feel like I’m also to blame, merely by association. They were my pack, people I thought I could trust with my life.

Was I hurt by the consistent rejection? Yes. Would I have loved nothing more for an Omega to have picked us to love them, care for them, and be their pack, their Alphas? Of course.

But I would have never gone as far as to hurt another person to get it. I wouldn’t force an Omega to be ours.

I’ll never understand what went through their minds, what made them do what they did. No matter how hurt I was, I would never have taken it that far.

The whole thing ended up fucking with my head, and now, I don’t trust anyone but my family.

The idea of having another pack sends my mind into a tailspin. And finding an Omega? I’ve given up on that dream. I’ve vowed to myself that I would never get involved with an Omega unless they were my scent match.

There’s only so many times a man can fall for someone, only to have them ripped away because they found someone better—someone the universe hand-picked for them. I never stood a chance.

I’m young. I still have a lot of my life left to live. There’s still lots of time to find my happily ever after.

Back then, I was so desperate to have a piece of that happily-ever-after that I joined the first pack that I got along with.

I won’t be making that mistake again.

Even if I find my scent match, who says I’d want to be a part of that pack? Unless he or she has other scent matches, I’d much rather just take care of them alone. I can give them what they need; I don’t need anyone else.

In the meantime, I’ll work, save up for a place of my own, and see where the next part of my life takes me.

That is... if I don’t drop dead from the depression first.

Hopefully, the new meds will kick in soon.

Kicking off my boots, I head straight for the couch and groan as the relief of being off my feet after a twelve-hour shift washes over me.

It was one of the harder days, that’s for sure. We were handling a party for a celebrity, and things got a little crazy. Their location got leaked by the media, and what was supposed to just be a job working the perimeter of the building ended up being a group of us holding off rowdy fans.

They didn’t get inside, but they sure as hell tried.

“How was your day?” my stepsister, Stella, asks as she makes her way into the living room.

Rolling my head to the side, I sigh, hardly able to keep my eyes open.

“Wonderful,” I mumble sarcastically.

She gives me a smirk. “I can tell.”

“What are you up to? Hell, why are you even up? It’s two in the morning.” My brows furrow, looking at the watch on my wrist.

“I’m sixteen.” She rolls her eyes. “Not six.”

“Yeah, but it’s a school night. You’re going to be tired.”

She raises a brow. “Ah, no, it’s not. It’s Friday.”

“What?” My eyes widen. “Really?”

She looks at me with concern. “Are you okay?” she asks, looking me over. “You look beat.”

“That’s what a twelve-hour shift will do to you,” I sigh, closing my eyes, the feeling of sleep ready to take over me any second now.

“That's not what I’m talking about,” she says, her voice sounding more distant as I drift off. I’m out like a light before we finish the conversation, but I know she’s worried about me.

Everyone has been for a long time now.

When I wake the next morning, my head is pounding like crazy.

If I didn’t know better, I’d say I’d have been drinking all night, rather than working.

“Fuck,” I grunt when a sharp stabbing pain hits me in my back.

“Sleeping on that tiny couch will do that,” my little sister, Lilly, quips.

“Fucking hell,” I gasp, eyes flying open to see her looming over me, practically in my face.

“Leave your brother alone,” Jack, my stepfather, chuckles. “Come eat.”

Jack’s a nice guy. Mom met him a few years ago.

A meet-cute right out of a romance novel if you ask me.

He’s a widower, lost his pack when Stella was a baby, and did the single dad thing her whole life, until he met Mom.

I admire him. He’s a better father than mine ever was.

I’m glad he came into our lives. He’s good for my mom. And Stella isn’t so bad either.

“You were right.” Lilly looks over at Stella, who I’m just now noticing is standing behind the couch. “He does look like shit.”

“Gee, thanks,” I mutter.

“You're welcome.” She grins widely.

“Told you. He’s working too hard,” Stella declares, her curly hair hanging around her face as she stands over me. “You need to take it easy before you burn yourself out.”

“What do you know about burnout?” I mutter.

“Lots. Skyler said he and the band got it. Mostly because that stupid manager of theirs works them so hard.”

“I don’t know why they’re complaining. They’re friggin’ rockstars!” Lilly sighs wistfully. “Oh, what I wouldn’t give to work alongside the Ally Cat.”

“I know!” Stella squeals. “She’s so amazing.”

“Alright, I’m done listening to this teeny bopper love fest,” I grumble, trying not to show just how sore I am as I get up off the couch.

“Ah, not a teenager,” Lilly grumbles.

“You're nine teen . Therefore, a teen ager.”

“I’ll be twenty next month. It doesn’t count,” she huffs, crossing her arms. She has my mom’s looks: dark brown hair and bright blue eyes.

Do you know how hard it’s been to keep horny teenage Alphas away from her since she presented as an Omega?

Mom’s a Beta, so living with an Omega has been kicking my Alpha protective instincts into high gear the past two years. Big brother on crack if you ask me.

I hope that I’m long gone before Stella presents, because if she ends up being an Omega as well, I don’t think I’ll be able to handle two overly emotional girls at the same time.

Omegas going through puberty is not for the weak.

“And Ally Cat isn’t a teenager. She just turned twenty.” Lilly juts her chin out like she’s just told me off.

“Whatever you say.” I grin, messing up the hair on the top of her head.

“Ah, stop!” she screams. “I just did my hair!”

She punches me in the stomach, making me grunt with laughter. She shoots me an evil glare before turning around and storming off.

“Not cool,” Stella scolds me. “You don’t mess with a girl’s hair.” Giving me the middle finger, she takes off after Lilly.

“Stella!” Jack shouts after her. “No giving your brother the middle finger.” He turns to look at me. “Do you have to get them going?” he asks with an amused brow.

“Isn’t that what big brothers are for? Skyler isn’t here, so I have to do his part too.”

He shakes his head, but there's a grin on his face.

“You better go shower before your mom gets up. If she sees you’ve been sleeping on the couch, smelling like that, she’s going to flip.”

“I don’t smell,” I grumble, giving myself a subtle sniff. Okay. Never mind. “Yeah, that shower sounds good.”

He chuckles. “I’ll make some extra pancakes.”

“Thanks.”

After my much-needed shower, I do feel a little bit better. And I’m fully hungry by the time I make it into the kitchen.

“Hey, your phone has been going off like crazy,” Jack informs me, nodding towards where I left my phone on the coffee table.

Knowing I should check first before doing anything else, I grab it and see who’s been calling me.

My brows furrow when I see three missed calls from my boss. “I’m just gonna make a quick phone call,” I tell Jack, heading back towards the basement where my bedroom is.