"Like you'd been suppressing it for so long you forgot it was supposed to happen," Oliver said quietly.
I turned to look at him, surprised by the understanding in his voice. "How did you---"
"You've been alone for five years, Daphne. You've built a life specifically designed to avoid the things that trigger omega instincts---pack bonds, potential mates, the kind of safety that makes you want to build a home." His eyes were gentle, so gentle it made something ache behind my ribs. "Then we showed up. And your omega started waking up to things it had taught itself to ignore."
"That's..." I swallowed hard. "That's exactly what Viola said."
"Viola's a smart woman." A pause and he took a deep breath. "And the pulling back? Is that because the nesting scared you, or something else?" I looked away, focusing on the koi again. One of them---a massive orange and black creature, had surfaced near the edge of the pond, its mouth opening and closing in silent expectation.
"Everything," I whispered. "Everything scared me. The kiss. The feelings. The way I couldn't stop thinking about all of you, even when I tried. The way I felt at your house---like I belonged there, like I wanted to rearrange your pillows and make your spacesmine." I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly cold despite the mild afternoon. "I've never wanted to belong somewhere before. Not since Margaret. And she---"
My voice broke. Oliver made a soft sound---something between a rumble and a whine---and shifted closer on the bench. Not touching, but close enough that I could feel the warmth radiating from his body.
"She left," I finished, the words like broken glass in my throat. "Everyone leaves. And I know that's not fair…I know she didn't choose to….she died…but it doesn't matter. The result is the same. I let myself belong, and then I was alone again."
"Daphne." Oliver's voice was rough, and when I glanced up, I saw something fierce in his expression---protective and tender and aching all at once. "Look at me."
I turned, meeting his gaze, and the intensity there made my breath catch.
"I can't promise you forever," he said slowly, each word deliberate, like he was placing stones in a foundation. "No one can promise that. Life is unpredictable, and people are fragile, and things happen that we can't control."
Something cold slithered through my chest. "Then why---"
"But," he continued, holding up a hand, "I can promise you this: we won't leave by choice. We won't get bored or distracted or decide you're too much work. We won't wake up one day and realize we've made a mistake." A low growl underscored his words, and the alpha authority in it made my omega sit up andpay attention. "You are not a phase, Daphne. You're not a whim. You're the woman we've been looking for, even before we knew we were looking. If you choose us, when you choose us, we will spend every day proving that you made the right call."
Tears blurred my vision. "You can't know that. You barely know me."
"Then let me know you." He reached out, slowly, giving me every chance to pull away, and brushed a strand of hair back from my face. The touch was feather-light, barely there, but it sent sparks cascading down my spine. "That's all I'm asking, Daphne. Not forever. Not commitment. Just... the chance to know you. To let you know us. To see where this goes without you running scared every time it gets too real."
"I'm not---" I started, then stopped, because that was exactly what I'd been doing. Running scared. Pulling back. Building walls before anyone could breach them.
"You are," Oliver said gently, no judgment in his tone. "And that's okay. You have every reason to be scared. But Daphne..."He leaned in, just slightly, and his scent washed over me---honeysuckle and rum andhome. "Being scared doesn't mean you have to be alone. It just means you need people who will be patient while you figure out how to be brave."
After that there was silence before Oliver led me around to just walk. We walked for hours. Past the rose garden, through the Japanese maple collection where the trees blazed in shades of crimson and gold against the grey autumn sky. Past the herb garden, Oliver laughed when I spent twenty minutes examining their sage varieties and comparing them to my own and through the woodland walk where ferns grew thick and green beneath towering tulip poplars.
We talked. Really talked, in a way I hadn't let myself with any of them since that first dinner at their house. He told me about growing up in a pack household, about his mother who had died when he was young, about his father who had raised him with equal parts discipline and devotion. About how he'd known from childhood that he wanted to lead a pack of his own someday, to build something lasting and real.
"Garrett was first," he said, as we paused at the edge of a meadow filled with ornamental grasses swaying in the breeze. "We grew up together but drifted apart…even though our families were close…we had our own lives until we met again in college. He was building furniture in the sculpture studio, when he was supposed to be doing abstract installations. The professor hated it. I thought it was the most practical thing I'd ever seen."
"That sounds like Garrett," I murmured, smiling despite myself.
"Micah came next, we worked at the same firm after I graduated." Oliver's voice warmed with affection. "He doesn't trust easily. When he finally let me in, I knew I'd never let him down."
"And Levi?" I asked curious as I thought of the man that reminded me of a golden retriever.
Oliver laughed, a real laugh that crinkled the corners of his eyes. "Levi was an accident. The best kind. He was dating Garrett's younger sister for about five minutes before they both realized they were better as friends. By then, he'd already wormed his way into our lives. Into our pack." He shook his head, fond and exasperated. "He drives me crazy sometimes. But I can't imagine us without him."
"They're your family," I said quietly, understanding settling into my bones.
"They're my pack," Oliver corrected, but gently. "Family by blood is an accident. Pack is a choice. They chose me, and I chose them, and we built something together from nothing." He turned to face me fully, and the intensity in his gaze made my heart pound. "That's what we're offering you, Daphne. Not just romance, not just attraction. Pack. Belonging. The kind of home you choose, with people who chose you back."
My instincts keened at the words, a desperate, wanting sound that didn't quite make it past my throat.Pack. Belonging. Home.
Everything I'd never let myself want. I let him lead me into another section. A massive Victorian structure of iron and glass, it rose from the landscape like a crystal palace, its panes catching the afternoon light and fracturing it into rainbows. Inside, the air was thick and warm, heavy with humidity and the green scent of growing things.
"Oh," I breathed, and the word came out reverent.
Tropical plants soared toward the glass ceiling, towering palms, massive philodendrons with leaves the size of dinner tables, orchids cascading from hanging baskets in every color imaginable. A stone path wound through the jungle of greenery,crossing tiny bridges over koi-filled streams, ducking beneath flowering vines that dripped with blossoms.
