Page 49 of Claimed By My Exiled Alphas
“Honestly? No. It makes me curious about what happens next. About whether the three of us can actually make this work.” I smiled. “And it makes me want to meet with Jace and Cassian. Talk to them directly. Figure out if we’re all on the same page.”
“You’d do that? Talk to them about me?”
“Aboutus. About what we might build together if you want it.” I tucked a curl behind her ear. “But only if you’re ready for that conversation. Only if you want to pursue this.”
She was quiet for a long moment, processing. Then: “I should probably go home. Think about all of this.”
“Of course.” I stepped back, giving her space even though everything in me wanted to keep her close. “But Talia, I meant what I said. All of it. I have real feelings for you. And I’m not going anywhere.”
“Even if I need time to figure out what I want with Jace and Cassian too?”
“Especially then. Take all the time you need. We don’t need to make any decisions now. There’s nothing wrong with taking things slow.”
She studied me for another long moment, then rose on her toes to press one more soft kiss to my lips. “Thank you. For being honest. For not making this harder than it already is.”
“Thank you for trusting me enough to be honest back.”
I walked her downstairs and out to her car. Before she climbed in, she turned back to me.
“Hollis? When you talk to Jace and Cassian,ifyou talk to them, tell them I’m not trying to play games. I’m not trying to manipulate anyone. I just don’t know how to want only one person when I clearly want all three.”
“I’ll tell them you’re being honest. Which is the only thing that matters.”
She nodded, then drove away into the October darkness.
I climbed back upstairs and stood at my window, looking out at Hollow Haven settling into night. Somewhere out there, Talia was processing what I’d told her. The insanity of me realising I was in love with someone I barely knew and just blurting it out at her. Somewhere else, Jace was probably finishing an evening patrol, unaware that I now knew about them. And Cassian Black was likely in his house on Ridge Road, isolated and brilliant and apparently part of something complicated that was just beginning.
Three of us orbiting the same omega, each offering something different. Each wanting her in ways that might complement rather than compete.
The logical part of my mind knew I should reach out to Jace first. Have a conversation before things got more complicated. But tonight wasn’t the time for that. Tonight was for Talia to process what I’d told her, to sit with her feelings and figure out what she actually wanted.
The rest would come when it came. Conversations with Jace and Cassian. Figuring out if the three of us could actually coordinate instead of compete. Learning whether packformation was a real possibility or just a beautiful theory that wouldn’t survive contact with reality.
But for tonight, I had the memory of her kiss and the certainty that I’d finally been honest about what I wanted. That was enough.
My grandmother’s voice echoed one more time, warm with approval. “The right words at the right time can change everything, Hollis. You spoke them. Now trust that the people worth having will rise to meet your honesty with their own.”
I’d been honest tonight. Completely honest.
Tomorrow I could start figuring out next steps. Tonight, I’d let the truth settle and trust that Talia would know what to do with it.
I finished the wine, washed the dishes, and eventually made my way to bed. But sleep came slowly, my mind full of possibilities and complications and the taste of vanilla and honey that lingered despite the wine I’d drunk to wash it away.
Whatever happened next, everything had changed tonight. For better or worse, I’d laid my cards on the table.
Now I just had to wait and see what hand we’d all end up playing.
Chapter 15
Talia
Isat in my car outside the cottage for ten minutes before I could make myself move.
The engine ticked as it cooled. October night air seeped through the closed windows, but I barely felt it. My entire body hummed with the aftershocks of what had just happened. What Hollis had said. What we’d done.
I love you.
Three words that changed everything.
