Page 67 of Claimed By My Exiled Alphas
This was so unfamiliar to me and yet it felt so natural.Strategic planning is important for first dates.
Hollis:It’s also endearing. She thought it was sweet.
Jace:Nerd. But congrats. Glad it went well.
Hollis:Agreed. Thank you for taking care of her tonight.
The casual acceptance in those messages hit me harder than it should have. This was what pack meant. Not just romantic relationships with Talia, but genuine care and coordination with Jace and Hollis. Three people who could be happy about my success without feeling threatened by it.
I typed back:Thank you both for being okay with this. I know it’s complicated.
Jace:Stop overthinking. We’re good. Get some sleep.
Hollis:What Jace said. Though more eloquently, I’m genuinely pleased for both of you. Sleep well.
I set my phone down and stared at my living room, at the house I’d bought with money I’d saved before my father cut me off. It had been empty when I arrived three months ago. Just furniture and books and the equipment I needed to work.
Now it held the beginning of something else. Connections I hadn’t planned for. People who cared about my wellbeing without expecting anything in return. The possibility of building something permanent in the place I’d saved but never expected to call home.
I’d made the right choice tonight, at the restaurant when Talia asked what I wanted. Being honest instead of strategic. Admitting fear instead of projecting confidence. Kissing her because I wanted to, not because it fit some calculated relationship timeline.
Maybe that was what pack formation required. Not perfect strategy or optimal planning, but the courage to be honest about what you needed and trust that the right people would meet you there.
I finished my whiskey and headed to bed, already mentally planning next Sunday’s concert. Where to get tickets, what time to pick her up, whether she’d want dinner before or after the performance.
Then I stopped myself and smiled. Maybe some things didn’t need extensive planning. Maybe some things could just unfold naturally, guided by genuine feeling instead of strategic analysis.
But I’d still get the tickets early. Some habits were too ingrained to break completely.
I fell asleep thinking about vanilla and honey and hazel eyes that saw straight through every defense I’d carefully constructed. Thinking about how Talia Quinn had taken my over-planned, over-analyzed approach to dating and somehow made it feel like exactly the right amount of effort.
Thinking that I was completely gone for her, and for once in my life, that felt less like a strategic weakness and more like the smartest choice I’d ever made.
Chapter 19
Jace
The group chat had been active all week. Mostly logistics about schedules and who was seeing Talia when, but also random observations and jokes that suggested we were actually becoming friends instead of just coordinating around a shared omega.
Thursday afternoon, I was finishing paperwork at the ranger station when inspiration struck. I pulled out my phone and typed into the pack chat:Alpha bonding activity. Tomorrow night. 7 PM. Hollow Creek Bowling. No excuses.
Hollis responded first:Bowling?
Yes. Bowling. Team building exercise.
Cassian:I haven’t been bowling since I was twelve.
Perfect. Neither has Hollis probably. We’ll all be terrible together.
Hollis:I’m not terrible at bowling. I’m adequately mediocre.
Cassian:This feels like a trap.
It’s not a trap. It’s three alphas learning to function as a unit by throwing heavy balls at pins. Very primal. Good for pack dynamics.
Hollis:That’s the worst justification I’ve ever heard.
Cassian:Agreed. But I’ll come anyway.
