Page 60 of Claimed By My Exiled Alphas
“That’s fair,” Hollis said. “And important. We can commit to honesty.”
“Agreed,” Jace and Cassian said together.
“What about you three?” I asked. “What do you need from me? From each other?”
They were quiet for a moment, considering.
“I need to not feel like I’m competing,” Jace said finally. “If we’re doing this, we’re doing it as a team. No keeping score or ranking ourselves against each other.”
“I need clear communication,” Cassian said. “If I’m doing something wrong or overstepping, tell me directly. I’m not good at subtle social cues.”
“I need us to actually like each other,” Hollis added. “Not just tolerate each other for Talia’s sake. Real friendship and respect between the three of us.”
More silence as we absorbed that. Then Jace grinned. “Well, I already like you, Hollis. You gave me that book about forest ecosystems that completely changed how I think about my job.”
“And I’m starting to like you, Cassian,” Hollis said. “Anyone who can quote Thoreau and actually mean it has potential.”
“I didn’t quote Thoreau,” Cassian protested.
“You did. Last week when you came in for those field guides. You mentioned something about wilderness preservation being the preservation of the world.”
“That’s not... okay, yes, I did say that.” Cassian looked slightly embarrassed. “I read Walden in college and it stuck with me.”
“See? Common ground,” Jace said. “We’re basically best friends already.”
That broke the remaining tension completely. We spent another thirty minutes just talking, learning about each other beyond our relationships with me. Jace’s conservation workand his frustration with tourists who didn’t respect wilderness. Hollis’s love of obscure poetry and his grandmother’s legacy. Cassian’s architectural history knowledge and his quiet passion for sustainable development.
They were actually interesting to each other. That realization settled something deep in my chest. This wasn’t just three alphas tolerating each other for access to an omega. This was three people who might genuinely become friends.
“So,” Cassian said eventually, glancing at his phone. “We’ve been here for almost three hours. I think we’ve covered the basics. The question is, do we want to actually try this?”
“I’m in,” Jace said immediately. “I mean, assuming everyone else is. But yeah. I want to try.”
“I’m in,” Hollis agreed. “With the understanding that we’re committing to trying, not to immediate perfection. We’ll make mistakes and need to adjust.”
They both looked at Cassian, who was studying his notes like they might contain answers to questions he hadn’t asked yet.
“I’m in,” he said finally. “But I need everyone to understand that I’ve never done anything like this. I don’t have experience with healthy relationships, plural or otherwise. I’m going to need patience and clear feedback.”
“We’re all figuring it out,” I said. “None of us have done this before.”
“Then we’re in agreement?” Hollis looked around the table. “The four of us are committing to exploring pack formation, with the understanding that it requires work and communication and genuine care for each other’s wellbeing?”
“Agreed,” I said.
“Agreed,” Jace and Cassian echoed.
Something shifted in the air between us. Not the snap of a pack bond, that would come later if we made it that far. But an acknowledgment that we were choosing this, choosing eachother, choosing to try something unconventional because it felt right despite being complicated.
“We should celebrate,” Jace said. “This feels like it deserves celebrating.”
“Dinner?” Hollis suggested. “All four of us?”
I looked at the three of them, these vastly different men who’d somehow all found their way into my heart, and felt something warm settle in my chest. “Dinner sounds perfect.”
We gathered our things and headed out of The Brew, Sarah giving us a knowing smile as we passed. On Main Street, I found myself walking between Jace and Hollis while Cassian fell into step beside them, the four of us moving together in a way that already felt natural.
“Where should we go?” Jace asked. “Somewhere nice or somewhere comfortable?”
