I don't want their approval.
I don't want to be theirs.
I just want out.
Of this house.
Of this dynamic.
Of this version of myself they built and then broke.
The idea of the registry no longer feels like a threat.
It feels like a door.
Across the yard, someone laughs in the neighbors' kitchen.
But it sounds like warmth.
I tuck my chin down, close my eyes, and breathe.
I don't know what tomorrow will look like.
But I know it won't look like sitting in Ragon's lap pretending that hurt never happened.
That, at least, feels like a beginning.
Chapter 21
By the time Friday rolls around, the house has turned "trying to love me" into a full-time sport.
Every morning, there's some new little adjustment. A mug of tea left at my usual spot on the counter, exactly how I used to like it. Drake switching out the soft soap in the bathroom for the brand I prefer. Marie announcing loudly that she's "totally fine" with me having more time with the alphas, as if she's granting me visitation with someone else's kids.
Ragon's trying the most obvious angle (to him anyway): structure.
"Rotation goes back to normal," he declares over breakfast, like a judge banging a gavel. "We all do better when there's a schedule."
Marie hums, stirring honey into her yogurt. Drake's fork freezes halfway to his mouth. Eli looks at his coffee. Jasper just watches.
I put my plate in the sink and dry my hands thoroughly before I turn back around.
"Understood. Where would you like me tonight?"
Ragon blinks like he was expecting resistance. "Drake's. We'll start where we left off." He glances atDrake. "You're on early shift tomorrow, right? You can handle the first night."
Drake nods, relief and hope threading his scent. "Yeah. Of course. If you want."
I hold his gaze, feel nothing shift inside me. The old ache, the old anticipation, isn't there.
"I actually think I should sleep alone. I've got a headache coming on and I don't want to keep you up tossing all night. You've got a long day ahead of you with work."
Drake's face falls. "Vee..."
"It's one night. It's better for everyone if you're rested."
"It's been a lot of nights," he says softly.
Ragon's jaw tightens. "We're not letting you withdraw indefinitely. You're part of this pack. You belong with us."
