"Yes, Alpha?"
He deflates. "You can go."
I turn, open the door, and close it gently behind me.
The photo stays on his desk.
I don't go straight to my room.
Some restless speck of curiosity pushes me down the hall toward the murmur of voices.
In the living room, Drake is half-sprawled on the couch. Marie's head is in his lap, feet tucked across Eli's thighs. Eli stiffens as I enter. Jasper occupies the armchair nearest the hallway, book open on his knee, gaze nowhere near the page.
Every alpha lifts their head when I step through.
"Vee," Drake says, sitting up. "How was the neighbor hang? Really?"
"Fine. They're kind people."
Drake studies me with worry in his scent. "You okay? Really okay, not just 'I can still stand upright' okay."
"I'm functional. I ate dinner. I walked to the neighbors'. I came back. Everything else is supplemental."
"That's not what okay means, babe."
I don't correct the term. I don't lean into it either. It hangs between us, untethered.
"Ragon lifted your ban," Eli says, needing something. "You know that, right? We're allowed to— If you want—"
"I'm aware. He told me."
Jasper's gaze sharpens faintly.
Drake half-rises, reaching out; Marie immediately tightens her grip on his wrist.
"She's fine," Marie says. "Look at her. Calm. Quiet. Less likely to kill me. Isn't this what we wanted?"
Drake's mouth twists. Eli stares at me over Marie's feet.
"I'm going to bed."
"It's not that late," Drake protests.
"I'm tired."
Ragon emerges from the hallway then. He takes in the scene—the way the others are looking at me, the careful distance. "The ban is over. Normal routines resume. Within reason."
Drake's expression brightens with hope. Eli's breath catches. Marie's face pinches, but she hides it quickly. Jasper says nothing.
Ragon takes a breath, like he might add something else, but the words never land.
I turn and walk toward my room.
No one stops me.
No one orders me back.
No one says my name.
