The alpha shakes his head with a little smile on his face. “No, nothing that exciting. I was working as a site manager for this tiny construction company while I was studying for my CPA. Knox got hired on there too—came in all gruff and confident, told me my crew was doing everything wrong.” His mouth twitches like the memory still amuses him. “We argued for three days straight before realizing we were saying the same thing.”
Dakota grins. “Classic Knox.”
“And he introduced you to Alex?” I ask.
“Yeah,” Tadeo exhales a soft laugh, shaking his head again. “Once the site wrapped, Knox stuck around. He gotAlex a job there a few months later.” His smile grows as he gives the migas one more good stir. “He was trouble from the start. Showed up hungover, wearing sunglasses indoors, and he talked nonstop.”
I can’t help but smile as I picture it—the four of them crossing paths by accident, colliding in ways that stuck. It makes something wonderful ache in my chest.
“I nearly fired the asshole within an hour,” Tadeo says flatly, making me giggle.
Dakota leans in, smirking. “But you didn’t.”
“Didn’t have the heart,” Tadeo admits. “He made everyone laugh.”
“Alex is very funny,” I say, smiling softly as I glance at the toaster oven.
Dakota gasps, clutching his chest like I’ve just betrayed him. “Excuse me?”
I laugh playfully. “I mean—he’s notnearlyas funny as you, obviously.”
Dakota grins, smug and relieved, as he hops off the counter, brushing crumbs off his lap.When did he snatch a piece of bread?
“You are my favorite person in this whole house,” the beta wraps me in a warm hug, nuzzling my cheek.It feels so good.
“Excuseme?” Tadeo’s dark brows shoot up, pretending to be offended.
“I said it, and I meant it.” Dakota gives me another squeeze as I laugh again.
The toaster oven dings softly behind me, and Dakota releases me. It takes everything in me not to pout.
Butter hisses as it drips off the edges of the toast, the smell warm and salty. I pull the tray out, and hum. For a moment, I’m surrounded by the smell of garlic and spices,and the sound of my pack’s sweet banter. By the time all the toast is done, the front door opens and familiar scents spill through the house—smoked cherries and citrus. Knox and Alex’s voices mix in the hallway.
Dinner comes together fast after that. Plates are filled, laughter between bites. Knox sits in his usual chair beside Tadeo, shoulders loose, expression softer than I’m used to. Dakota’s sitting across from him, mid-story, hands flying as he recounts something that probably didn’t happen exactly the way he’s telling it.
Alex doesn’t sit. He leans against the counter instead, holding his plate in one hand and gesturing with a fork in the other, jumping in with little comments that keep everyone laughing. His grin keeps finding me—quick flashes of teeth that almost feel like winks.
The air feels light—full of laughter and clinking dishes and the warm smell of chorizo and bread. For a while, I almost forget the heaviness that’s been sitting in my chest. Dakota and Alex’s jokes, Tadeo’s quiet smiles, and Knox’s occasional teasing—they all blur together into something that feels so perfect and safe.
But somewhere between bites and laughter, something inside me cracks. It’s small at first, barely noticeable. The sound of their voices feels like it’s coming from a little farther away, like I’m on the outside of the moment instead of in it.
I keep smiling, keep my tone bright, laughing at the right times. I even manage to sound like myself—at least I think I do. But it’s so hard to act normal as this bizarre, disconnected feeling grows in my chest.
I take another bite of my dinner while the boys all chat about their day. But it doesn’t taste as good. It’s tinged by the sharp edge of my own scent—anxiety souring the airaround me. I pretend not to notice, and pray no one else does either…but it’s not likely. Not with their alpha noses.
So I laugh again, a little louder this time, and take another bite of food.Pretend everything is fine.And maybe if I pretend long enough, it actually will be.
After Dinner
Alex
Dinner’s done,and the house smells like dish soap, spice and Skyla’s lovely musk drifting faintly through the air vents. She’s in the bath, chatting with Dakota. I can hear the splash of water every now and then and laughter. Every time I think they must be done, I hear Dakota’s voice rise and the sound of a washcloth plunging back into water.
I pace the living room, fingers running along the back of the couch, back and forth. Back and forth. The TV’s on low, some mindless sitcom nobody’s really watching, it’s noise to fill the space. Tadeo and Knox are in the kitchen doing dishes. I should be helping, but Knox told me to sit this one out.
“You did enough today,” he said, his tone clearly telling me to man-up and finally connect with our omega.
I can see the two alphas every time I pace back toward the kitchen—Knox washes, Tadeo dries and stacks, both moving in that unspoken rhythm they have. They lookso solid and calm. The kind of alphas who never pace holes in the carpet out of nerves.
