I press my lips together, fighting the lump building in my throat, and look up.
They’re all watching me.
“I love you three,” I say, my voice soft but steady. “With my whole soul. When you became my bodyguards that day, I thought my dad was overreacting…”
“Thank God for that,” Carson says, grinning.
A smile tugs at my lips. “I still think he was, for the record. But I’m so happy you’re in my life—that I found you the way I did, that you’ve shown me what love should look like. It’s not a whirlwind week with a scent match and some bad choices made in the heat of the moment.”
I pause, breath hitching. “Although…that is a version of love. And it’s what makes this so hard.”
Hunter swallows, the corner of his mouth tilting up into something that’s not quite a smile. “Maybe it doesn’t need to be hard. At first, I thought the situation with Landon was the same as the one that broke my mom, but… the way he watches you—that says it’s not the same. And mistakes, even really bad ones, can be made and overcome. Maybe…that version of love is needed too.”
I blink, surprised by the gentleness in his tone, by the grace he’s offering when he has every right not to.
Carson reaches out, brushing a knuckle down my arm. “As long as we’re still in the picture, you can keep collecting love stories like tattoos.”
I snort, warmth blooming in my chest. “That sounds messy.”
Graham finally speaks, his voice quiet but firm. “We don’t mind a little mess. We’ll be there either way.”
I look between them—these three alphas who should have walked away a hundred times by now, but didn’t. Who opened their arms and said, We’ll figure it out together. And somehow, I believe them.
I take a breath. “Okay. Then I guess I’ll keep figuring it out.”
Hunter leans forward, pressing a kiss to my temple. “We’ll be right here.”
“Cheering you on,” Carson adds.
“And making breakfast,” Graham mutters, turning back to the stove and pretending his emotions haven’t just been flayed open and stitched back together again.
The tension shifts, lighter now. Not gone, but manageable.
And when I glance at the flowers again, it doesn’t feel like choosing between lives anymore.
It feels like walking forward into one I’m building for myself, with space for the past and the future.
CHAPTER 66
Landon
The screen flickersbefore it settles into view, Lakelyn’s face dominating the frame, all bright eyes and messy auburn curls. She’s on her bed, feet kicked up behind her, chewing gum in a way that makes me suspicious right off the bat.
“About time,” she says, her voice full of mischief. “Chad and I were about to file a missing persons report.”
Chad leans into the frame behind her, sipping from a mug that probably says something idiotic like Omega Fuel. “We just wanted to see your face. Been too long. Mason said you’ve been dodging his calls.”
“Hey, I’ve been busy,” I say, sinking onto the worn couch in my temporary apartment. “Training a bunch of betas and trying not to screw up my second chance at life.”
Lakelyn narrows her eyes. “Second chance? Or second chance with her?”
My jaw tightens before I can stop it. Lakelyn sees it immediately, because of course she does. She’s my twin. Knows every twitch of my face as if it’s her own.
“I’m not gonna screw this up again,” I say quietly. “Not with her.”
Chad and Lakelyn trade a glance—quick, subtle, but there. They’d been waiting for me to say it. They already knew.
“Well damn,” Chad murmurs, rubbing his jaw. “He’s serious.”
