The room falls silent again.
Adrian settles into the couch. Bash's arm remains draped across Maya's shoulders. The three of us return to watching her sleep.
A week ago, this conversation would have gone differently.
Three alphas interested in the same omega should've been a problem.
Instead, we're discussing how to make her feel safe. How to support her through her heat. How to give her room to make her own choices.
The realization is impossible to ignore. Somewhere along the way, we stopped thinking like three separate people moving toward the same goal.
We're already functioning like a pack.
We just haven't said it out loud yet.
Maya shifts slightly in her sleep, a small sound escaping her. All three of us respond immediately—Bash stilling completely beside her, Adrian lowering his voice, and me reaching across the small space between us to pull the blanket higher around her shoulders.
The movement is instinctive. None of us planned it or looked to see what the others would do first. We just responded, each of us moving toward Maya's need without hesitation.
We're already functioning like a pack.
We just haven't said it out loud yet.
Maya's eyes flutter a moment later, her breathing changing as awareness starts to return. I watch the shift happen—the gradualtransition from deep sleep to the edge of consciousness, her body responding to the room before her mind fully catches up.
She's waking up.
Chapter 21
Maya
The first thing I notice when I wake is the warmth of an arm around my shoulders.
Soft fabric presses against my cheek, carrying the scent of bergamot. Bash. I recognize his scent immediately.
A week ago, being this close to an alpha, especially this alpha, would have made my entire body tense. Now I find myself melting further into him instead, tucking myself beneath his arm like my body already knows exactly where it wants to be.
The room around us is silent, and I don’t move. Partly because I’m still waking up, but mostly because I don’t want to break the moment. I want to stay here a little longer beneath Bash’s arm with Adrian’s hand still wrapped loosely around mine. My body feels more relaxed than it has since all of this started, the constant tension finally gone.
I can hear their breathing. Bash's heartbeat thumps steadily beneath my ear, slow and even enough that I think I could stay here all day just listening to it.
I open my eyes slightly. Dim blue light washes across the room from the television, and it takes me a second to realize the movie ended a while ago.
Memory returns slowly after that. The documentary we watched. The sandwiches we made together in the kitchen. The blanket still wrapped around me carrying traces of Bash’s cedar and clove scent worked deep into the fabric. Adrian’s hand in mine earlier in the night, his thumb brushing slowly across my knuckles while we sat together on the couch.
And somewhere in the middle of all those memories, I’m forced to face the truth.
I want these alphas. Not because my omega wants them or because instinct is pushing me toward them, but because I do. I want this. I want to be here with them.
The realization should feel terrifying after how hard I've fought myself this past week, but all I feel is a sense of relief. I fell asleep against Bash without even realizing it, and instead of embarrassment, all I feel is the certainty that this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.
The instinct to pull away never comes.
Neither does the panic.
I turn my head slightly against Bash’s torso, and the contact between us hums through me, settling into something deep and satisfying. My omega is practically preening at being this close to him. I can tell he’s awake by the way he’s breathing. By the way he’s holding himself still so he doesn’t wake me. I realize I feel rested. Completely rested. My head feels clear for the first time in days. I’m not fighting with myself or questioning every omega instinct the second it appears.
“Hey.” His voice is low enough that it’s obvious he’s only talking to me. “How are you feeling?”
