Page 56 of Claimed By My Exiled Alphas
She read through it carefully. “This is significantly lower.”
“Because they’re not padding numbers for someone they think won’t negotiate. And because I made it clear that taking advantage of you would mean I’d never use them again.” I watched her face. “You can verify everything. Call other remediation companies if you want comparisons.”
“I trust you.” The words were simple but weighted. “Thank you, Cassian. This doesn’t solve everything, but it makes it survivable.”
“That’s all we can ask for sometimes. Survivable instead of catastrophic.”
We stood in the bistro kitchen while afternoon light shifted across the exposed wall. Talia pulled her cardigan tighter, and I noticed the exhaustion starting to show around her eyes.
“You should go home,” I said. “Get some rest. Tomorrow’s going to be intense.”
“Tomorrow.” She looked up at me. “Are you really nervous? About meeting with Jace and Hollis?”
“Terrified,” I admitted again. “I don’t know them well. Don’t know if we’ll mesh or if I’ll be the odd one out.” I paused, weighing honesty against vulnerability. “And I definitely don’t know how to coordinate a relationship with three other people when I’ve never successfully managed a relationship with one.”
“None of us have done this before,” Talia said, but there was confidence in her voice now. Decision made, no longer questioning. “That’s why we’re meeting. To talk through logistics, boundaries, what we each need.”
“You make pack formation sound like a business plan.”
“Everything works better with a plan.” She smiled, genuine despite the stress of the morning. “Besides, Jace seems to think the three of you talking will make things easier. And Hollis agreed.”
“Smart thinking.” I meant it. Getting the alpha dynamics sorted before adding the complexity of her presence was strategic.
She moved toward the door, then paused. “Cassian? I know you think your family baggage makes you difficult to be with. But you spent all morning solving my problems without hesitation. That’s not difficult. That’s exactly what I need.”
The fierce certainty in her voice made something warm unfurl in my chest.
After she left, I stayed in the bistro for a few more minutes, looking at the exposed wall with black mold spreading across aged wood. A problem that had seemed catastrophic this morning but was now just another challenge with a timeline and a budget.
Tomorrow I’d meet Jace and Hollis properly. We’d talk about boundaries and expectations and whether three alphas could actually coordinate instead of combust.
But tonight, I had confirmation from Talia that my instinct to help wasn’t unwanted. That solving problems for someone I cared about was part of what she valued, not something that made her uncomfortable.
My phone buzzed with a text from my father’s lawyers. Another settlement offer. Another attempt to buy my silence about the development project.
I deleted it without reading past the first line. Some bridges needed to burn.
Going through the emails I’d received today, I noted the confirmations from the contractors with the detailed timeline proposal.
I pulled up a new message to Talia:Remediation crew confirmed for Monday. Timeline back on track. See you tomorrow at 2.
Her response came quickly:Thank you for today. For not making me feel helpless. For understanding what I needed.
That’s what pack is supposed to be,I typed back.Supporting each other.
Three dots appeared, disappeared, appeared again. Then:See you tomorrow. We’re going to figure this out.
Chapter 17
Talia
Ichanged my outfit three times Saturday morning before settling on jeans and a soft blue sweater that Hollis had once said brought out the gold in my eyes. Then I immediately second-guessed that choice because wearing something one of them had complimented felt like favoritism, which was ridiculous because this entire meeting was about not playing favorites.
By one thirty, I was pacing my cottage living room and mentally rehearsing opening lines that all sounded either too casual or too formal. How did you start a conversation about four people potentially forming a pack? Was there etiquette for this? A script I should have memorized?
My phone buzzed with a text from Jace:Breathe. It’s just coffee. We’re all just as nervous as you are.
That helped marginally. At least I wasn’t the only one spiraling. It did have me peering out the window to make sureI wasn’t being watched though. I laughed even as I did knowing no one would be out there, Jace just knew me well.
