Page 91 of Claimed By My Exiled Alphas
“And I’ll handle the emotional transition,” Hollis said quietly. “It’s going to be hard for me, filling that house with new memories. But I want to do it. With all of you.”
“What about until then?” I asked. “Do we all stay here? Move between places? How does this work practically?”
“I think we should spend most nights together,” Cassian said. “Doesn’t matter where, as long as we’re together. The bonds will make separation difficult for a while, especially this soon after forming.”
“Agreed,” Hollis said. “Though we should each maintain our own spaces too. Independence is healthy, and we don’t want to smother each other.”
“We could rotate,” Jace suggested. “A few nights here at Talia’s cottage, a few at Hollis’s apartment, a few at Cassian’s house. Experience each other’s spaces while we’re working on the permanent house.”
“That could work,” I said. “Though my cottage is pretty small for four people.”
“Cozy,” Jace corrected with a grin. “Not small, cozy.”
Through the bonds I felt their collective satisfaction at having a plan, at moving forward instead of just floating in the aftermath. We were doing this. Actually building a pack, a life, a future together.
“What about the town?” I asked. “People are going to notice we’re bonded. The bite marks are pretty obvious, and in a place like Hollow Haven, everybody knows everybody’s business.”
“Let them notice,” Cassian said firmly. “We’re not hiding this. We’re not ashamed of what we’ve built.”
“Some people might judge,” Hollis warned. “Pack formations aren’t unusual in Hollow Haven, but there’s always going to be someone who disagrees no matter where you go.”
“Let them,” Jace said. “We know what we have. That’s what matters.”
“The bistro,” I said, another concern surfacing. “I’m still planning to open it, but now there are four of us coordinating schedules and responsibilities. How do we make that work?”
“The same way we’ve been making it work,” Cassian said. “We support your dream. I handle the business side, Jace provides ingredients and muscle, Hollis offers emotional support and handles the details I miss. We’re a team now, officially.”
“A pack,” Hollis corrected with a small smile.
“A family,” Jace added.
Family. The word settled into my chest with surprising weight. I’d lost my family when my father disowned me over Vincent. Had convinced myself I didn’t need one, that independence was safer than belonging.
But these three men had shown me something different. That family could be chosen rather than assigned. That belonging didn’t have to mean losing yourself. That love could be multiplicative rather than finite.
“A family,” I repeated softly, testing the word. Through the bonds I felt their agreement, their joy at the acknowledgment. “Okay. I can do family.”
“You can do anything,” Jace said confidently. “You’re the strongest person I know.”
“I’m literally still recovering from heat,” I pointed out.
“Which just proves my point. You went through three days of heat with three alphas coordinating around you, and you’re already making plans for the future. That’s strength.”
“It’s terrifying,” I admitted. “All of this. The permanence of the bonds, the visibility of the bites, the fact that we’re really doing this.”
“Terrifying,” Hollis agreed. “But also right. Doesn’t it feel right?”
It did. Despite the fear and uncertainty and the magnitude of what we’d done, it felt absolutely right. Like pieces clicking into place, like finding home in people rather than places.
“Yeah,” I said quietly. “It feels right.”
“Then we trust that,” Cassian said. “And we build from here.”
We spent the rest of the morning in bed, not for heat or sex but for closeness. Learning how to exist as a bonded pack, feeling each other through the connections we’d formed. Jace told stories about interesting wildlife encounters. Hollis quoted poetry that seemed to perfectly capture the moment. Cassian made lists of things we’d need for the house renovation.
And I let myself be cared for. Let myself accept that these three men genuinely wanted to be here, wanted to build a life with me. Let myself believe that maybe, possibly, I deserved this.
The bonds hummed with contentment, with satisfaction, with the deep rightness of pack.
