So when they spoke amongst themselves, when she was able to just listen, to absorb it, she felt normal for the first time.
Besides the fact that she continued to eat the food Trent supplied. He’d steal a bite for himself now and again, but only of the things she wouldn’t eat. He didn’t mention it as he did it, as though it were nothing out ofthe ordinary. Stranger still, he seemed pleased by doing it.
She tried to think back to her childhood. Had her father ever treated her mother this way?
No. Mom did all the work. If anything, she’d be the one feeding him…
The thought did what it always did—made her tense. She recalled being in that house, always doing everything wrong, never living up to who she was supposed to be. What would he think if he saw her now?
He’d be happy to see me collared…
Fingers caught her chin the way her father used to and tugged until she met Kyle’s blue eyes.
The touch was the worst part of it. She was playing a stupid part, and she couldn’t even do that right. The way Kyle’s fingers gripped her chin—not hard enough to hurt, but then again, her father had never hurt her physically either—took her back to being that same kid.
“Whoa there, pet,” Trent said before taking the plate from her lap. She’d forgotten all about it and had nearly toppled it to the tiled floor.
Kyle held her chin, studying her expression. It was only then she realized how shallow her breathing had become.
She wanted to yank backward. She wanted to shove his hand away and tell him to never grasp her chin like that again, but the words wouldn’t come.
Be a good girl.Her father’s voice repeated in her head like an echo of a life she’d thought she’d killed and buried.
Telling Kyle to stop would mean admitting she couldn’t handle it, giving in, proving she wasn’t up to the task.
And the part of her that strove for perfection wouldn’t allow her to do it.
He let her go after another moment, and Alison curled forward, closing her eyes to slow her breathing.In. Out. Nice and slow.
None of the alphas rushed her. They didn’t tell her to get over it, didn’t even ask whatitwas. They only stayed there, like solid, unmoving presences, giving her the time to get her shit back in line.
When she finally shuddered, the last of that panicky energy slipping from her, Trent held up another piece of food. “Still hungry?”
Alison shook her head, not trusting her voice.
He set the food on the plate and placed it all beside him, then turned his focus on Daniel, whose gaze seemed locked solidly on Alison. “I’m thinking lasagne for dinner. We should make a list, because whoever stocked this place didn’t know shit about feeding people.”
The warmth of Kyle’s arm, the way Trent had shifted to talking about mundane things, all helped her regain her footing.
And wonder exactly how far she’d be able to take this.
* * * *
“Fuck,” Kyle muttered as he paced the length of the pool.
Trent sat back and let him storm about. That was Kyle’s way. Daniel was the sort to see a problem and try to fix it immediately. Kyle liked to talk it through until he all but killed it. Trent? He preferred to sit back and examine it until he had what he saw as a great idea.
So after Alison had gone upstairs after breakfast, ready to shower and get prepared for the day, the three of them had gone to the indoor pool.
Best place to talk without being overheard.
“She’s clearly lying about a past,” Kyle said.
“Maybe.” Daniel sat in one of the lounge chairs, at the foot so he was still upright. “Maybe it’s just a reaction to being around alphas for the first time?”
Kyle gave Daniel the sort of look that said he thought he was an idiot. “No. Nerves, those are one thing. I know what nerves look like. Her? That’s fucking panic.” He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it back.
Kyle so often looked like the go-with-the-flow sort of person, and he was in a lot of ways, but give that man something he couldn’t fix, and he lost his shit.
