Page 31 of Forget-Me-Nots and Apricots

The four Alphas exchanged glances, a silent communication passing between them that made me feel distinctly like an outsider.

Collins was the first to break the silence. "Today," he said, surprising me. "But not alone. I'll go with you."

I set down my fork, relief washing over me. "Thank you. I need to see the damage, figure out what can be salvaged." I know Collins had mentioned something about my shop earlier, but seeing it in person would make me feel alot better.

"We've already started cataloging the damage," Theodore said, turning back to the stove. "I took photos this morning for insurance purposes. The structural damage is minimal—mostly broken fixtures, shattered vases, that sort of thing. I have someone coming from Insurance to look everything over too."

"Your flowers didn't fare as well," Lucas added, his tone gentler than I'd heard from him before. "But the cooler was untouched, so your stock orders should be intact."

I nodded, touched by their thoroughness. "Thank you. All of you. I know this isn't exactly standard procedure."

Reeves snorted from his position at the table. "Nothing about this case has been standard procedure," he said, looking up from his case file with a wry expression. "Might as well throw the rulebook out the window at this point."

Collins shot him a look that I couldn't quite interpret. "The rulebook exists for a reason."

"Yeah, and so do exceptions," Reeves countered, closing his file and leaning back in his chair. "Or are we pretending this is just another case?"

A tense silence fell over the kitchen. I looked between them, sensing I was missing something significant in this exchange.

"So," I said, desperate to break the awkward tension, "what's the plan beyond visiting my shop? I can't stay here forever." Though part of me wondered if that would be so terrible—the security, the protection, the pancakes...

Collins turned his attention back to me, his expression carefully neutral. "We're working on identifying the intruder from last night. Theodore's analyzing the security footage, trying to get a clearer image of our attacker."

"And the syringe?" I asked, my appetite suddenly diminishing at the memory of that glinting needle. "Do you think it contained the same compound that killed those other Omegas?"

"We can't be certain without analyzing the contents," Theodore replied, his expression grave. "But given the pattern of attacks, it's a reasonable assumption."

"So what am I supposed to do?" I asked, setting down my fork. "Hide here while you try to catch this person? For how long? I have a business to run, a life to live."

"Your life is exactly what we're trying to preserve," Collins said, his voice firm but not unkind. "Until we know who's behind this and what they want, you're safer here with us."

I bristled at his words,“Detective…”

Reeves snorted at this, “You should just call us by our names now. You are inourhome.”

I glanced at Reeves, then back to Collins—or Gabriel, I supposed. It felt strange to think of using their first names, as if crossing some invisible line between professional and personal. But Reeves had a point. I was in their home, eating their food, sleeping in what was presumably one of their beds.

"Fine," I conceded, picking up my fork again. "Gabriel, then. And you're Dakota?" I looked at Reeves, who nodded with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"And you already know Lucas," Gabriel continued, gesturing to the Alpha who'd fought to protect me. "And Theodore." He nodded toward the quieter Alpha at the stove.

"Theo is fine," Theodore said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Only Gabriel calls me Theodore, and that's because he's incapable of using nicknames."

I couldn't help the small smile that tugged at my lips, some of my anger from how this situation was playing out going away. The normalcy of their banter was oddly comforting in the midst of this chaos.

"So, Theo," I said, testing the nickname, "you mentioned insurance adjusters? How did you arrange that so quickly?"

Theo shrugged, sliding another pancake onto Lucas's empty plate. "I have connections. And Gabriel has pull with the department. Between us, we expedited things."

"We want to get your shop back up and running as soon as possible," Gabriel added, leaning against the counter with his own coffee mug. "The sooner things return to normal, the better."

"Normal," I repeated, the word sounding hollow. "I'm not sure that's possible anymore."

A somber silence fell over the kitchen. These men understood better than most how quickly life could change, how fragile normalcy truly was.

"So, Vivian," Lucas said, leaning forward on his elbows. "I've been wondering. What's an Omega like you doing running a flower shop alone? No mate, no pack to help out?"

"Lucas," Gabriel warned, his tone sharp.

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