“Don’t apologize,” Theo said, cupping the back of my neck. “But no more retreating. You have us to lean on.”
Tears blurred my vision again and all I could do was nod.
“Do you want to go back to bed?” Ben asked, glancing at the clock.
I hesitated. “Is it okay if we stay here?” I was still too anxious to sleep, worried about who would find me in my dreams.
“Of course,” Ben said, cupping my face with his hand. “Want to watch a movie or something?”
I nodded and leaned into Ben’s touch. Some background distraction was exactly what I needed.
“How about the next movie in that vampire series?” Cam suggested.
Ben’s lips quirked and I pulled away so I could look at Cam.
“You want to watchBreaking Dawn?” I asked, a slow smile spreading across my face.
To my amazement, Cam’s cheeks tinged with pink.
“No, just thoughtyoumight want to watch it,” he mumbled, averting his gaze.
Theo snorted.
“I don’t know, precious,” Ben drawled. “I think Cam isdyingto see Bella and Edward’s wedding.”
“Fuck off,” Cam told Ben.
“You must really love me if you’re willing to watchTwilightfor me,” I said.
My tone was teasing, but after the words were out, a truth settled in my chest. “You love me,” I said, looking at each of my alphas, my eyes welling with tears. At this point, I wasn’t sure how I still had liquid left in my body.
“Of course we love you,” Theo said fiercely. He pulled me out of Cam’s arms and settled me sideways across his lap. “How is that even a question?”
“Now you made him cranky,” Ben said, squeezing my leg. “But he’s right. It’s never a question. We love you now, always, and forever.”
A little purr of happiness sprang from my chest as I pressed a kiss to Theo’s neck.
“Now, let’s watch this terrible fucking movie that Cam loves,” Theo said.
I let out a shocked giggle, amazed that Theo could crack a joke right now. I met his gaze and he winked at me, and that, more than anything, made me feel like things might be okay again.
ChapterTen
Ben
Iguessed one cathartic moment and watchingBreaking Dawntogether wasn’t going to magically solve all our problems, but I was still frustrated by how unsettled things felt this morning.
Josie and I were in the kitchen. She was gazing out the window, her eyes unfocused. Her wavy hair surrounded her face in a tousled halo, and she was wrapped in a thick, pink blanket that carried all our scents. She kept burrowing her head into it when she thought I wasn’t looking.
We’d all fallen asleep during the movie in the early hours of the morning, and Josie had slept in, to all of our relief. Theo had been the first to get up, leaving our sleeping omega with the excuse of having to do some work for the Alliance. Shortly after, Cam headed to the basement gym to torture himself and his body. They were both dealing with the guilt we all felt in their own way, but I wanted to demand they all stay and cuddle and spoil Josie. We needed time together as a pack after what we’d experienced, but as usual, Cam was drowning his emotions with physical pain, and Theo was doing the same with work.
Josie had woken up disoriented. She had looked around groggily and whined—fucking whined—when she saw Cam and Theo missing. I held in a growl, wishing I could knock some sense into my two idiot brothers, but instead, I wrapped her up in a blanket and curled my body around her, purring until she settled.
As she’d woken up more, her scent had soured with embarrassment as she apologized for her emotional reaction the night before. She had nothing to be embarrassed about. I couldn’t imagine what it was like for her to have her body’s agency stripped awayagain. She had every right to be pissed and throw things and cry. What my heart couldn’t handle was seeing the hopelessness that had filled her eyes last night. I would do anything to stop her from feeling that again.
“It’s almost lunchtime,” I said, trying to get Josie’s attention on me. She kept glancing at the doorway, as if hoping Cam and Theo would materialize. “What are you in the mood for?”
“I’m not very hungry,” she said, chewing on her lip.
