Page 47 of Claimed By My Exiled Alphas
“Yeah, she was.” The words came out more intense than I’d intended, but I didn’t take them back. “Come on. Dinner’s almost ready.”
We settled at the table, and I brought out the chicken piccata with fresh pasta and roasted vegetables. Talia watched me plate the food with an expression I couldn’t quite read.
“You cook like you’re meditating,” she observed.
“I cook like I read. Paying attention to each step, finding the rhythm.” I set her plate in front of her. “Hoping the end result is worth the care put into it.”
We ate in comfortable silence for the first few minutes. Through the window beside the table, I could see Main Street settling into evening, shops closing, people walking home. Our own private world above the bookstore.
“This is amazing,” Talia said finally. “Where did you learn to cook like this?”
“My grandmother. She believed in competence across multiple domains.” I smiled at the memory. “Reading, cooking, gardening, basic carpentry. She said specialization was for insects.”
“Heinlein.”
“You know Heinlein?”
“I know a lot of things that surprise people.” She set down her fork and looked at me directly. “Hollis, why did you ask me here tonight? Really?”
Here it was. The moment for honesty.
“Because I saw you with Jace this morning, and it made me realize I’d been waiting for the perfect moment to tell you how I feel. But there is no perfect moment. There’s just honesty.” I met her gaze steadily. “I have feelings for you, Talia. Romantic feelings. I think I’ve had them since the moment you first walked into my store.”
She didn’t look surprised. “I thought you might. But I wasn’t sure if I was reading too much into things.”
“You weren’t reading too much into anything.” I paused, gathering courage. “And I need you to know that seeing you with Jace this morning didn’t change how I feel. If anything, it clarified things.”
“How?” The question was soft, genuinely curious.
“Because I realized I wasn’t jealous. I was happy for you. Relieved that you’re letting yourself connect with someone again.” I leaned forward slightly. “And I want to be part of that too. If you’ll have me.”
Talia set down her wine glass carefully, precisely. “There’s something I need to tell you. About what Jace and I talked about last week.”
“Okay.”
“He told me about pack dynamics. About how it’s normal in Hollow Haven for one omega to bond with multiple alphas.” Her voice was steady but I caught the underlying nervousness. “He said he was okay with me having feelings for other people. That it didn’t have to be a choice between him and someone else.”
“That sounds like Jace. He has a way of seeing through complicated things.”
“The thing is, Hollis, I already know I have feelings for you too. I’ve known for a while. I just didn’t know what to do about it because I thought wanting both of you meant something was wrong with me.” She looked down at her hands. “And then there’s Cassian.”
“Cassian Black?”
“He’s been helping with the bistro renovations. Being incredibly kind and supportive and making me feel competent instead of helpless.” She finally looked up at me. “I have feelings for him too. Which makes me three for three on impossibly complicated situations.”
I processed this, turning it over in my mind. Cassian Black. Not many people know how much he’d sacrificed to save Hollow Haven. Brilliant, wounded, fiercely loyal to the few things he cared about.
“So you’re telling me you have feelings for three alphas simultaneously,” I said slowly.
“Yes. Which is probably too much. Too complicated. Too…”
“Stop.” I reached across the table and took her hand. “Talia, look at me.”
She did, and I saw years of conditioning telling her that wanting things for herself was wrong, selfish, greedy.
“There’s nothing wrong with you. Nothing broken or too complicated or too much.” I squeezed her hand gently. “You’re honest about what you’re feeling. That’s brave. That’s healthy.”
“But how can this possibly work? Three alphas and one omega who’s still figuring out how to trust anyone?”
