Page 35 of Claimed By My Exiled Alphas
Chapter 11
Talia
The morning light caught the three business cards scattered across my kitchen counter. Jace’s park service card, edges soft from being carried in his wallet. Hollis’s elegant bookstore card with its pine tree logo. Cassian’s pristine corporate card, heavyweight paper that whispered expensive.
Three different men who’d somehow appeared in my life over the past few weeks. Three alphas who’d each found reasons to spend time with me.
I sipped my coffee and tried to sort through what I was feeling. Jace was an old friend reconnecting over cooking lessons. Hollis was a bookstore owner who’d created an entire reading section based on our conversation. Cassian had spent an hour helping me understand renovation costs when he could have been doing anything else.
Perfectly reasonable interactions. Friendly, professional, helpful.
So why did looking at their cards together make my stomach flutter with something that felt suspiciously like hope?
My phone buzzed with texts from all three of them. Jace had found wild mushrooms on his patrol route and wanted to know if I’d like to forage together. Hollis had set aside a new poetry collection he thought I’d appreciate. Cassian was offering to review my permit applications before I submitted them.
Three messages. Three different ways of maintaining connection. And I wanted to say yes to all of them, which felt like wanting too much.
I set my phone down and stared at my coffee like it might contain answers to questions I wasn’t sure I was allowed to ask.
A knock at my door interrupted my spiraling thoughts. Through the window, I spotted a woman I vaguely recognized from around town standing on my porch with a covered dish in her hands. Blonde, warm smile, the kind of easy confidence that suggested she knew exactly who she was and had made peace with it.
“Hi there,” she said when I opened the door. “I’m Kit. Kit Maddox-West-Thornton, from down the street. I know we haven’t officially met yet, but Micah made way too many cinnamon rolls this morning and thought you might want some before our daughter Charlie eats them all.”
“Oh.” I blinked at her, processing the hyphenated last name. Maddox-West-Thornton. That was a pack name. Multiple alphas. Three of them, if I remembered the town gossip correctly. “That’s really kind of you. I’m Talia.”
“I know.” Her smile widened with genuine warmth. “Small town and all. Word gets around, especially when someone new arrives and starts planning the kind of restaurant this place desperately needs. Can I come in? Or is this a bad time?”
“No, please.” I stepped aside, suddenly grateful for the interruption to my circular thoughts. “Would you like some coffee?”
“I’d love some.” She stepped inside with the casual ease of someone comfortable in her own skin, setting the dish on my counter. Her gaze caught on the three business cards arranged there, and something flickered across her face. Recognition, maybe. Amusement. “Making friends already, I see.”
Heat crept up my neck as I poured her a mug. “Just people I’ve met around town.”
“Mmhmm.” Kit settled onto one of my kitchen stools, accepting the coffee with a knowing look. “Jace Maddox, Hollis Green, and Cassian Black. That’s quite a trio.”
I busied myself uncovering the cinnamon rolls, which smelled incredible and gave me an excuse not to meet her eyes. “They’re just business cards.”
“Three of them. All from alphas. All sitting on your counter like they’re important enough to keep visible.” Her tone was warm, curious rather than judgmental. “How are you settling in? Really?”
The question caught me off guard with its directness. “Fine. Good. The town’s been welcoming.”
“Has it?” Kit pulled apart a cinnamon roll thoughtfully, and I noticed the way she moved with complete unselfconsciousness. “Three alphas going out of their way to spend time with you. That’s more than just welcoming.”
I finally looked at her directly, trying to figure out why this conversation, which should have felt invasive, somehow didn’t. Maybe it was the warmth in her eyes, the complete lack of judgment. Or maybe it was just that she seemed genuinely interested rather than nosy.
“I don’t know what to make of it,” I admitted, surprising myself with the honesty. “Jace and I knew each other as kids,so maybe he’s just being friendly. Hollis created an entire book section based on one conversation we had about healing, which could be good customer service or could be something more. And Cassian spent an hour helping me understand contractor quotes when he barely knows me.”
“And you’re trying to figure out if they’re interested or if you’re reading too much into normal kindness.” Kit’s observation was gentle, understanding. “Been there. It’s confusing as hell.”
Something in my chest loosened at her casual acknowledgment. “How did you figure it out? With your pack, I mean?”
She took a sip of coffee, considering. “Honestly? I spent way too long convincing myself they were just being nice. That three incredibly attractive men couldn’t possibly all be interested in a scared and slightly broken omega trying to hold her life together. Took them literally spelling it out before I believed it.”
“But you must have felt something. Known somehow.”
“Oh, I felt plenty.” Kit’s smile turned rueful. “Terrified, mostly. I’d just gotten out of a bad situation, moved to a new town. The idea of being interested in anyone, let alone three people simultaneously, felt impossible.”
I pulled apart my own cinnamon roll, the cardamom hitting my tongue with perfect subtlety. “What changed?”
