He appeared in the doorway with a tray — tea, small sandwiches, sliced fruit. Always taking care.
"You haven't eaten." Min-jun said gently, crossing to settle beside me, placing the tray within reach, his vanilla-and-fresh-bread scent mixing with the others around us, his warm hazel eyes soft with concern. "Your body needs fuel, especially with everything going on."
"I'm not hungry." I said, even though my stomach chose that exact moment to growl, betraying me completely, heat rising to my cheeks at the timing.
Min-jun just smiled, his deep dimples appearing, and nudged the tray closer, his expression patient and knowing. "Eat. Then we can talk."
I picked at the food, more to appease him than from actual appetite, though once I started eating I realized how hungry I actually was. Min-jun watched with quiet satisfaction, not pushing, just present, his body warm beside mine in the nest.
"One more question." I said eventually, setting down a half-eaten sandwich, my eyes meeting his, my voice soft with uncertainty. "If that's okay."
"Always." Min-jun shifted closer, his hand finding my knee, warm and grounding through the blanket, his hazel eyes — shifting between golden-brown and soft green in the light — patient on my face.
"What if I can't be what you all need?" The question came out ragged, the deepest fear I'd been carrying all night, my voice barely above a whisper. "Five alphas. Five different people with five different needs. What if I try my hardest and it's still not enough? What if I disappoint you?"
Min-jun's expression shifted — something pained flickering across his soft features before settling into fierce tenderness, his jaw tightening with emotion. He reached up, cupping my face in both hands the way Hwan had that morning, his warm hazel eyes burning with intensity.
"You already are." Min-jun said, his voice low and rough with emotion, his thumbs brushing away tears I hadn't realized were falling, his grip gentle but unshakeable. "What we need. You already are, Keira. Just by being here. Just by trying. Just by letting us love you."
"But I haven't done anything." I protested, my voice cracking, my hands coming up to grip his wrists, my eyes wide and wet. "I've just been scared and confused and crying all over everyone?—"
"You've been brave." Min-jun cut in firmly, his hazel eyes never leaving mine, his grip on my face gentle but unwavering, his voice resonant with conviction. "Braver than you know. You could have run. You could have rejected the bonds, rejected us, closed yourself off completely. But you stayed. You tried. You let us in, even when it terrified you."
"That's not—" I started, shaking my head against his palms.
"That's everything." Min-jun leaned forward, pressing his forehead to mine, his breath warm on my lips, his comforting vanilla scent enveloping me completely. "That's exactly what we need. Not perfection. Not some impossible ideal. Just you. Imperfect, scared, brave, beautiful you."
I closed my eyes, letting his words wash over me. The rose pink bond between us pulsed with warmth, with certainty, with something that felt like coming home.
Ours,my omega whispered.They're ours. Want them. Choose them.
By evening, I knew.
The conversations had worked their way through me like medicine, each one addressing a different fear, each one leaving me a little more certain than before. The bonds hummed in my chest — golden amber, violet, crimson red, rose pink — all of them warmer than they'd been that morning.
I wanted Option B.
I wanted the bonds to complete. I wanted the marks. I wanted to be theirs, permanently, visibly, irrevocably. But there was one more conversation I needed to have first.
Jae-won. The pack alpha. The one who always asked what she wanted, who never said what he needed. I needed to understand his perspective. I needed to know if he wanted this too — not just for the pack, but for himself.
The bond in my chest pulsed, as if responding to the thought of him. The one that had triggered last, the one that sometimesfelt like it anchored all the others. I curled into the next, closing my eyes hoping that my mind would let me sleep.
Chapter Thirty-Four
KEIRA
I found him in his office.
It was late — well past midnight — but light still spilled from under his door, the only sign of life in the otherwise quiet dorm. The others were asleep in the nest, their breathing soft and even when I'd slipped out, careful not to wake them.
I needed to talk to him. Alone.
My hand hesitated on the door before I knocked, soft enough that he could ignore it if he wanted to.
"Come in." Jae-won's voice came through the wood, low and tired but not unwelcoming. I pushed the door open and found him at his desk, laptop open, papers scattered around him. He looked exhausted — his jet black hair slightly disheveled from running his hands through it, the top buttons of his shirt undone, his usually perfect posture slumped with fatigue. Dark circles shadowed his nearly-black eyes.
He looked up when I entered, surprise flickering across his strong features before being replaced by concern.He straightened immediately, that commanding presence reasserting itself even in his obvious exhaustion.
