Page 51 of Claimed By My Exiled Alphas
I set down the papers and looked at him directly. Cassian Black, brilliant and wounded and careful. Who’d been nothing but kind since the moment I’d arrived in Hollow Haven.
“I had dinner with Hollis Green last night.”
His expression didn’t change. “The bookstore owner.”
“Yes. He told me he has feelings for me. That he loves me, actually.” I watched Cassian process this. “And I have feelings for him too.”
“I see.”
“But I also have feelings for Jace Maddox. We’ve been spending time together. Foraging, cooking. We kissed last week.”
Now Cassian’s eyebrows rose slightly. “That’s quite the week you’ve had.”
“And I… I have feelings for you too.”
The words hung in the air between us. Cassian went very still, his entire focus narrowing to laser precision.
“Me?”
“You. The way you’ve helped with this place. The way you see solutions where I only see problems. The way you make me feel competent instead of helpless.” I leaned forward. “I’m attracted to you, Cassian. I have been for weeks. And I’m done pretending I’m not.”
He was quiet for a long moment. Then: “Three alphas?”
“If you’re all interested. I know it’s unusual. Jace already explained pack dynamics to me. How it works in Hollow Haven. Multiple alphas, one omega.” I held his gaze. “I’m just trying to be honest with everyone and see what you think, see what you make about the situation. I just… Ineedto be honest with everyone. With you.”
“Because honesty matters to you.”
*”Because I’m done hiding what I want. I think I’m done trying to tell myself that I’m being unreasonable for wanting things. Life’s too short for that.”
Cassian leaned back in his chair, studying me with an intensity that would have made me nervous a month ago. Now I just met it head-on.
“You’re serious about this. All three of us.”
“I’m serious about seeing if it could work. I’m not asking for promises or commitments right now. Just honesty about whether you’d be interested in exploring it.”
“And if I said yes? If all three of us said yes? What then?”
“Then we figure it out together. Communication. Boundaries. Making sure nobody gets hurt.” I paused. “Or at least, making sure if someone does get hurt, we talk about it like adults instead of letting it fester. This is just us saying we’re interested in trying, it doesn’t make you obligated to do anything you feel uncomfortable with.”
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. The first real smile I’d seen from him in weeks.
“You’ve thought about this.”
“I had a very long night.” I smiled back. “So. What do you think? Is this a crazy idea?”
Cassian stood and moved around the desk. Leaned against it so he was closer. Close enough that I could smell cedar and leather and something warm underneath.
“Talia Quinn. You moved to my town, started rebuilding your life, and somehow managed to get the attention of three alphas in under two months.” His voice was low, amused. “Yes. I’m interested. Very interested.”
Relief and excitement flooded through me in equal measure. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He reached out and tucked a curl behind my ear. The touch was gentle, careful. “But I need you to understand something. I’m not easy to be with. I have a complicated past and a family that actively hates me. Choosing me means choosing that baggage too.”
“I know about your family. About the development project.” I caught his hand before he could pull away. “Hollis told me some of it. How you sacrificed everything to protect Hollow Haven.”
His expression shuttered slightly. “Did he? I wasn’t aware that he knew.”
“He respects you. I think he’d like to meet you properly. To talk about this.” I squeezed his hand. “And so would Jace, probably. If we’re doing this, we should do it right. All four of us need to be on the same page.”
