Page 41 of Claimed By My Exiled Alphas
Understanding hit me like lightning. “And you think that’s what we want to do. Contain you. Make you choose who gets to keep you in their jar.”
“Don’t you?” She looked at me with eyes that held too much wariness for someone so young. “Eventually? Even if you’re okay with me spending time with Hollis and Cassian now, eventually you’ll want me to choose. Eventually it’ll be about who I belong with, who gets to keep me.”
“No.” The word came out harder than I’d intended, fierce with conviction. “That’s not how this works. Not here.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because I grew up watching healthy pack dynamics in this town. Because I’ve seen omegas thrive with multiple alphas who love them differently, support them in different ways, build lives together instead of fighting over territorial rights.” I paused, making sure she was really hearing me. “It’s not common everywhere, but it’s normal here.”
She cautiously glanced at me out of the side of eye. “But is it really okay, I mean, are you okay with it?”
“Pack formation. One omega, multiple alphas. It happens, Talia. More often than you’d think, especially in communities like this where people understand that love doesn’t have to be limited or competitive.”
“But I barely know any of you. How can I even think about something like pack when I’m still trying to figure out if I can trust one person?”
“You don’t have to think about pack right now. You don’t have to think about anything permanent or complicated or scary.” I kept my voice gentle. “You just have to decide whether you want to keep spending time with people who care about you, and trust that we’re mature enough to figure out how to make that work.”
“And you really think you could? All three of you?” She sounded almost desperate for reassurance. “You really think you could be okay sharing someone instead of having them to yourself?”
“I think the right people could, yeah. I don’t know Cassian well, but I know his reputation, I know what he did for this community and what it cost him. I know Hollis pretty well, and I know he’s got the emotional maturity to handle complicated relationship dynamics.” I met her gaze steadily. “And I know I’d rather be part of your support system alongside other good people than be the only one you’re allowed to lean on.”
She was staring at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read. Disbelief, maybe. Or hope that was afraid to believe what it was hearing.
Chapter 13
Talia
Istared at Jace, trying to process what he’d just said. That there were no rules. That I could have multiple relationships. That pack dynamics were normal here, not something shameful or greedy or wrong.
It sounded too good to be true. Which, in my experience, meant it probably was.
“I want to trust,” I said suddenly, the words escaping before I could stop them. “I want to believe that this could work, that I could have feelings for more than one person without it being some kind of character flaw.”
The confession hung between us, raw and vulnerable. I pulled my knees back up to my chest, making myself smaller again. Safer.
“But I don’t know if I can trust my own judgment anymore,” I continued, the words coming faster now. “Because I trusted Vincent. I thought his attention was flattering, that his interest in my career was genuine. I convinced myself that someone thatsuccessful, that respected in the industry, couldn’t possibly be manipulating me.”
My throat tightened, but I forced myself to keep talking. Jace deserved to understand why this was so hard, why the idea of wanting three different alphas felt less like possibility and more like proof that something was fundamentally broken in me.
“And the worst part is that I knew better. I had friends who warned me, who said something felt off about how possessive he was getting. But I ignored them because I wanted so badly to believe that someone saw value in me.” I pressed my palms against my eyes, trying to hold back tears. “So how do I know I’m not doing the same thing now? How do I know I’m not just so desperate for connection that I’m reading kindness as something more, turning normal friendships into romantic feelings because I’m too damaged to understand the difference?”
“Talia.” Jace’s voice was gentle but firm. “You’re not damaged.”
“Yes, I am.” The words came out harsh, bitter. “I’m a thirty-one-year-old omega who can’t figure out basic relationship dynamics. Who spent three days hiding in the forest because I was too confused and overwhelmed to face the people who’ve been nothing but kind to me. Who apparently can’t spend time with one alpha without developing feelings for two others at the same time.”
I lowered my hands and looked at him, needing him to see how serious this was. “That’s not normal, Jace. That’s not healthy. That’s someone who’s so broken from what happened in Chicago that she doesn’t know how to function anymore.”
He was quiet for a moment, and I braced myself for agreement. For the inevitable realization that I was too much work, too complicated, too fundamentally messed up to be worth the effort.
Instead, he said, “Tell me about them.”
“What?”
“Tell me about your feelings for Hollis and Cassian. What draws you to them? What makes you want to spend time with them?”
The request caught me off guard. I’d expected judgment, maybe pity. Not genuine curiosity about the very thing I was most ashamed of.
“I don’t know if I should,” I said carefully. “Talking about other people while I’m sitting here with you feels wrong somehow.”
