I take a slow breath before answering. “Better,” I whisper. “I can’t believe I fell asleep. And actually slept well.”
“I know,” he says, his thumb tracing a slow circle against my shoulder blade that sends a pleasant shiver through me. “You went out fast. Pretty sure you were snoring within three minutes.”
I pull back just enough to shoot him a look. “Idon’tsnore!”
The corner of his mouth lifts into a smile. The blue light from the television catches against the sharp edge of his jaw, and my attention catches briefly on the line of his throat before I can stop it.
“You’re right,” he says easily. “It was more of a gentle purr.”
I roll my eyes. “That’s worse.”
“It was cute,” he says, completely unrepentant as he grins at me. His blue eyes catch the glow from the television in a way that makes him look almost lit from the inside. “I was honored.”
Only then do I realize I'm still holding Adrian's hand. My fingers loosen automatically, but neither of us pulls away immediately. When I finally glance in his direction, he's already watching me. His body is angled slightly toward mine, his attention fixed on my face with an intensity that would have made me uncomfortable days ago.
He doesn’t immediately ask questions or try to break the moment apart with a joke or casual comment. “Did you have a good nap?” he asks finally. His brown eyes are softer than they were earlier tonight. Or maybe he’s simply stopped trying to hide it.
I tilt my head slightly toward Bash. “Apparently I purred.”
“I heard,” Adrian says, his smile widening further. “It was very dignified.”
I glance past Bash then, instinctively looking for Elias. He’s still seated on Bash’s other side, watching us. I can feel his gaze taking in the entire scene, and I can’t help wondering what he’s thinking about all of this.
He’s been telling me for days that I need support. That I need to stop fighting what’s happening to me. That I need to let people help me instead of trying to survive all of this alone.
And I fought him on every part of it.
But then I spent one evening really surrounded by these alphas, actually letting myself exist around them without constantly pulling back, and I immediately gave into instincts I’ve spent days resisting.
Elias stays silent, but when his dark green eyes meet mine, I catch the faint curve of a smile at the corner of his mouth. He looks relieved that I’m finally allowing myself to have the thing he’s been trying to convince me I needed all along.
And suddenly, I notice something different about the room.
About the dynamic between the three of them. I can't fully explain it, but my omega notices immediately that something important shifted while I was asleep.
Earlier tonight, there had still been lines between them. Bash and Adrian together on one side. Elias slightly apart. Mesomewhere in the middle of all of it, trying to figure out where I fit.
Now those lines feel blurred somehow. I glance from Adrian to Bash to Elias and realize I can't pinpoint where one connection ends and another begins.
They're still three separate people, but the space between them feels different somehow.
Like they've stopped orbiting around the same problem and started moving in the same direction. To my surprise, the realization feels reassuring instead of overwhelming.
They spent the entire night making sure I felt safe. Comfortable. Taken care of.
And for the first time since all of this started, I let myself fully acknowledge how badly I needed that. Bash shifts beside me, drawing my attention back toward him as he pulls his arm away from around my shoulders.
“It’s late,” he says. His tone stays calm and easy, like he’s simply acknowledging the time instead of trying to end the night. Elias checks his watch. “Call time is at seven,” he says while looking in my direction. “We should probably head out soon.” I pull my phone from where it’s wedged between the couch cushions and glance at the screen.
It’s past midnight.
I stare at the numbers on my screen in disbelief for a second, surprised by how quickly the evening disappeared. We’ve been here for hours, but the night still feels strangely short to me.
Adrian leans forward and stands from the couch. “You don’t have to leave tonight,” he says. “The guest room’s already set up. Has been for a while.” For a second, I can't find words. “You could stay here,” he continues before glancing toward Elias. “Both of you.” Bash picks up the conversation easily. “We can grab whatever you need in the morning,” he says. “Clothes, chargers, anything else. We already have extras here.” I look back at him and catch the vulnerability in his expression. He isn’t teasing me or trying to charm me into agreeing. He looks completely sincere.
Emotion swells inside me.
They already planned for this. Somewhere between the guest room and the extra chargers and the complete lack of surprise in their voices, it becomes obvious they'd been making space for me long before I realized I wanted it.
