"Fantastic." I pull out my phone. "What's your cover story going to be when they show up and I tell them this is a false alarm?"
"I... I didn't think that far ahead."
"Of course you didn't." But I'm almost smiling as I dial. "Hi, yes, I need to cancel a wellness check. The address is... yes, that one. No, I'm fine. My friends were worried but it was a misunderstanding. No, no need to come out. Thank you."
I hang up and look at Stephanie. "You're going to have to do better than a dramatic rescue attempt if you want back in my life."
"I know," she says immediately. "I'll do whatever it takes. I'll help you however you need. I'll stand up to anyone who comes after you. I'll—"
"You'll start," I interrupt, "by helping me go back to school on my terms. We have one week before classes start. I need someone to run interference with administration. I need someone who knows how the social dynamics work and can help me navigate them from a position of power instead of fear."
"I can do that." Her voice is stronger now. "All of that. Whatever you need."
"Even if it means going against your sorority? Your social circle? The people who will tell you you're making a mistake by associating with me?"
"Fuck them," she says, and I believe her. "I already lost you once by being weak. I won't make that mistake again."
Robbie stands, moving to my side. "I'm in too. Whatever you need. Though I have to say—" He looks at the three Alphas, who have been watching this entire exchange with varying levels of tension. "—this is the weirdest pack dynamic I've ever seen."
"Good," Corvus says dryly. "We'd hate to be conventional."
"So we're..." Stephanie looks between me and the Alphas. "We're okay? You're okay?"
"We're not okay," I correct. "But we're working on it. And you can work on earning back my trust by helping me make sure that when I go back to campus, everyone knows that I'm not the Omega who got claimed and ran. I'm the Omega who came back stronger."
"We can do that," she says firmly. Then, hesitantly: "Can I hug you?"
I consider for a moment, then nod. She crosses to me quickly, wrapping her arms around me tightly.
"I'm so sorry," she whispers against my shoulder. "For all of it. For abandoning you. For not being brave enough when it mattered. For assuming the worst instead of trusting that you knew what you were doing."
"You're here now," I murmur back. "Late, but here. Don't make me regret giving you another chance."
"I won't." She pulls back, wiping her eyes. "I promise."
Robbie hugs me next, and he's trembling slightly. "You scared the shit out of us," he says. "Please don't disappear like that again."
"I'll try." I step back, suddenly exhausted. "Now both of you sit down and eat. Oakley made enough bacon for a small army, and the French toast is getting cold."
"I can make fresh," Oakley offers.
"See?" I gesture at him. "Eager to please. It's almost disturbing."
Stephanie sits back down slowly, still looking shell-shocked. Robbie joins her, eyeing the Alphas warily.
"So," Robbie says carefully, picking up a piece of bacon. "We're going to have breakfast. With the pack that kidnapped you. Who you're now in charge of. At the lake house where you were held against your will. And we're going to plan your triumphant return to school."
"That about sums it up," I agree, sitting back down. Dorian settles at my feet again, and Stephanie's eyes widen.
"Is he going to stay down there?" she asks.
"Until I tell him otherwise." I run my fingers through his hair again, watching her reaction. "Problem?"
"No, I'm processing."
"Okay," Stephanie says slowly, setting down her coffee cup. "So if we're accepting that this is... what it is... then we need to talk about what happens next. You're going back to school in a week."
The question hangs in the air, heavier than it should be. I haven't actually thought about it. Not really. Being here at the lake house, away from everything, it's been easy to exist in this bubble. But campus means reality. People. The same halls where they hunted me.
