Page 13 of Rhythm Of Our Souls (Heartbreak Melody #3)

Brady looks at Lulu, dismissing me, and that pisses me off. “And you're okay with this random person telling you what to do with your life?”

“Excuse me?” I step closer to him, getting in his face. “Watch it, buddy. First off, I’m not some random person. I’ve known her over half my life. And if Lulu wasn’t okay with any of this, I’d back the fuck off. Just like you need to.”

I see the emotions on his face. He’s not very happy with the fact that he’s scent matched to me. He’s trying to fight the connection. Not gonna lie, it fucking hurts. But right now, the feeling is mutual.

“You don’t know anything about her,” he growls. “You took off on her years ago, left her to suffer at the hands of two fucking monsters.”

Ouch. Oh yeah, that really fucking hurts.

Liam growls. “Watch it!” he snaps. “You don’t know what Ally’s been through.”

“It’s okay, big guy.” I hold up a hand towards Liam, eyes still on Brady’s. “I got this.”

Pulling my fist back, I let it fly forward, nailing Brady right in the face. He lets out a grunt, but my punch didn’t do much damage. But this will. I swing my arm again, this time with an open palm.

He looks down at me, shocked, hand on his jaw as the room rings out in gasps.

That's when I bring my knee up and hit him right between the legs, hitting his knot and all.

He lets out a pained groan, dropping to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

“Fuck!” he coughs out.

Kneeling down next to him, I grip his chin.

“Let’s get something straight. This bullshit isn’t going to fly with me.

I’ve been controlled by an Alpha for years, and I won’t allow anyone else in my life to mistreat me, talk down to me, or make me feel less than.

If this is going to work out, you're going to need to understand that I’m in charge here.

Not you. Don’t like it, see that fucking door.

.. go walk through it and don’t come back.

Scent match or not, it doesn’t mean I’m going to turn a blind eye to that behavior. ”

“It’s not like that,” Gavin defends his brother. “He’s not a bad guy. He’s just looking out for Lulu. We know her past, and we are very protective of her. We love her. We just want what’s best for her. We also know about her past with you. He just doesn’t want her to get hurt again.”

I stand up, crossing my arms with a raised brow. “Then why aren’t you being an asshole like your twin?”

He rubs the back of his head sheepishly. “Mostly because I’m not shot up full of hormones. I’m also the more level-headed one of the two of us.”

“Are not,” Brady growls.

“Are too,” Lulu says, storming over to Brady.

“And it serves you right, getting your ass kicked. I love that you want to protect me, and I love that you care. But that doesn’t give you the right to talk to Ally like that.

She didn’t do anything wrong. All of us have been blindsided.

You don’t see Liam being an asshole to me.

This is your scent match, Brady Harrison. Now give her some damn respect.”

“Fuck me,” I groan. “That was fucking hot.” I look over to Nate. “Not gonna lie, I’m a little turned on,” I whisper.

Nate chuckles, shaking his head. “Of course you are.”

“Like your dick doesn’t get hard when Liam gets all bossy?” I raise a brow.

“Fair point.” He winks. I grin back.

“Ahh, guys? Hate to break this up, but what’s happening with the show? Are we still going on, or...” Skyler interrupts with the question of the hour.

“Shit,” I curse. “The concert.”

“We can cancel,” Nate says.

“No, we can’t,” Tyson disagrees. “We have thousands of people starting to make their way into the building. It’s a sold-out show, and the proceeds are being donated to charity. So unless it’s an emergency, I don’t recommend canceling."

“Shit. He’s right,” Nate sighs heavily.

“Don’t worry. The show will go on. I’ve been through much worse and still performed. This is no different.”

Gavin helps Brady to his feet as I take a look around the room.

“Alright.” I clap my hands. “Here’s what’s gonna happen.

I’m gonna go out there.” I point towards the door.

“And sing my ass off with my besties. And you.” I point to Liam.

“You're going to have to deal with being away from Lulu for a few hours. It might feel like you’re dying. Trust me, you’re not. ”

“I can get another person to cover for him,” Nate says, already going to call someone on his phone.

“Not fucking happening.” Liam snatches the phone from Nate. “She’s mine.”

“Ohh, feisty.” I grin. “I love it. Keep that up.” I lean up on my tiptoes to kiss Liam on the cheek. He stops me, gripping my chin.

“What am I going to do with you?” he murmurs, eyes searching mine.

“Keep me. Love me. Make me yours,” I whisper. “This is literally the best outcome we could have ever asked for. Please don’t keep denying me now that you don’t have a reason to.”

His nostrils flare, a low growl leaving him.

Another growl sounds, this one coming from Brady.

“You don’t get to be all territorial,” I huff, stepping out of Liam’s hold. “You need to learn how to share, big guy.”

“I mean, sharing is caring,” Lulu teases, grinning over at me like she did when we were kids.

“My girl is so smart.” I step over to her and grip her chin. “Come with me.” I kiss her softly.

“Where?” she asks, eyes dancing between mine.

“Out there.” I nod my head towards the door. “Hang out backstage. Let me dedicate this show to you.”

“Really?” Her eyes glitter with excitement.

I nod.

Lulu walks over to Brady and Gavin. “I know we have a lot to talk about. And that can all be done later. I want you both to know, I love you. And this doesn’t change that. I’m not going anywhere. You're not losing me.”

“I know, Little One.” Gavin wraps his arm around Lulu’s waist, pulling her close to him and cupping the back of her head. “I trust you with my heart. Always.” He winks, grinning before leaning down to kiss her softly.

Okay, that’s fucking adorable. And I’m a little jealous. I want that.

A low growl leaves Liam. “Enough of that.” I elbow him, making him grunt. “You gotta share too.”

“I fucking hate sharing,” he grumbles.

“Well, I’m stealing your Beta. So, gonna have to deal with that too.” I glare up at him. “Also, why don’t you act like that with me?”

“Up until five seconds ago, you weren't even my Omega, woman,” he mutters, glaring back down at me.

“Lies.” I poke at his chest. “I’ve been yours for years. You’ve just been too traumatized by your past to see it. But it’s okay, we’re all a little fucked up. Keeps life interesting. It’s why I know we’ll end up being the perfect little dysfunctional pack.”

“Ally, babe, concert,” Nate reminds helpfully, trying to keep me on track.

“Right. Sorry.” I look at Lulu. “Dude, guess what?”

“What?” She looks over at me with a dazed look in her eyes from the kiss.

“Turns out, I got ADHD.”

Her brows furrow. “Huh. That makes a lot of sense now that I think about it.”

“Right?” I look around at the guys. “You all are in for a fun night.”

“Ally, babe, did you have coffee today?” Nate asks, turning me towards him.

“Maybe.” I blink.

“That would explain the very energetic vibe you’ve had about all of this.” He smiles. “Would you believe me if I told you she’s not always like this?” he asks Gavin and Brady.

“No,” Gavin and Lulu say at the same time before smiling up at one another.

“Alright,” Nate says. “You. Show. Now.”

“But my makeup.” I pout.

“You look amazing. Also, the black under your eyes looks fucking hot,” Nate says.

“Yeah?” I step towards him, biting my lower lip.

“Ally,” Liam’s gruff, firm voice snaps me out of my wandering thoughts.

“You okay?” Nate asks, concern on his face.

“No,” I snort. “My body is humming with so many damn hormones and pheromones I’m surprised I’m not creaming my panties right now.” Reaching my hand into Nate’s pocket, I pull out the neutralizing nose sticks and inhale deeply in both nostrils.

“What the hell is she doing?” Brady growls. “Is she doing drugs?”

“No, I’m not fucking doing drugs,” I scoff. “It’s a neutralizing spray. With how this room smells like a damn whore house, I need my body to chill the hell out if I want to avoid being horny throughout the whole concert.”

“She’s fun,” Gavin chuckles. “I like her.”

“Aww, thanks.” I smile. “You don’t seem too bad yourself. Although you look exactly like my Alpha, so I’m sure I’m going to have very sexual thoughts about you too.”

His eyes widen as Nate and Liam groan. “Honestly, wouldn’t be upset about that.”

“Okay, let’s go.” Liam grabs my hand.

“See you all after the show.” I wave my hand before grabbing Lulu’s.

“Wait!” Brady shouts as we start to leave the room. For a second, I think he’s stopping us to talk to Lulu, but he surprises me by stepping close to me.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I was a dick, and I shouldn’t have talked to you like that.”

“Oh.” I blink up at him, and my damn body ignites. “Thank you.”

“This is just a lot to take in all at once. And I’m happy you and Lulu can be so quick to accept what's going on, but I’m gonna need a moment to process, okay?”

“Okay.” I nod. “That’s all you had to say, you know.”

“I know... now.” He nods, blowing out a breath. “And again, I’m sorry.”

“Fine. I guess you're not too bad,” I sigh.

He chuckles. “I’m really not.”

“He’s really not,” Lulu agrees.

“Good to know,” I say, looking him in the eyes. “See you after the show?”

“We’ll be here,” he responds.

Once we leave the room, the annoyance I had towards him disappears, replaced by this urgency to go back to him.

“Shoot!” Lulu spins around, facing Liam and Nate. “Where did Maya go?” she asks, eyes wide with worry.

“The fighting got to be a little bit much for her, so Benji took her to another room to calm down,” Nate says.

Lulu chews on her lip, guilt in her eyes. “Can someone please tell her everything is okay, and I’ll talk to her after the show?”

Nate smiles. “I’ve got you.” He winks. “Go, have fun. I’ll make sure she’s okay.”

“Thank you,” she breathes out in relief. “I feel so bad. She was so upset.”

“She’s going to be fine,” Nate promises. “A lot was going on. It’s to be expected.”

“Still.” Lulu sighs heavily.

“We can go see her now if you want?” I tell her, hating to see her look so upset.

“No.” She shakes her head. “You’re already late enough. We don’t want an angry mob on our hands.”

“Nah.” I wave her off. “The guys are most likely just messing around on stage. The fans eat that up.”

“I got this,” Nate says. “Now be a good girl and go sing your pretty little heart out.”

“Fine, fine,” I sigh heavily, still feeling bad about her friend.

“Hey.” Lulu gives my hand a squeeze. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“Yeah.” I force a smile, but as I look into her blue eyes, I actually believe her.

She’s here. With me. Her hand in mine.

Now that I have her back, I’m never letting her go.