"Miss Daphne Evens?" Sheriff Morrison crouched down in front of me, his weathered face kind. "I know this is hard, but I need to take your statement while it's fresh. Can you do that for me?"
I nodded numbly. Answered his questions. Described the confrontation in halting sentences while he took notes in a small notebook. Around us, other witnesses were doing the same with his deputy, Brad and Eleanor and Mrs. Chen and half a dozen others, all of them there because they'd chosen to stand up for me.
"Multiple witnesses, multiple recordings," Morrison said when I'd finished. "She made threats in front of at least thirty people. That's more than enough to establish a pattern of harassment." He met my eyes steadily. "I know this was frightening. But she hurt herself more than she hurt you today. Her credibility is shot."
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to feel the victory in that. But all I felt was hollow.
"Do you have someone who can be with you today?" Morrison asked gently. "I don't think you should be alone after something like this."
"She does." Eleanor's voice was firm. "I'm calling those boys of hers right now."
"Eleanor, you don't have to—" I started, but she was already pulling out her phone.
"Hush. This is exactly the kind of thing they should know about." Her eyes softened as she looked at me. "Let them take care of you, Daphne. That's what a pack is for."
Pack. The word hit me differently now. Not just a promise of belonging, but a safety net. A group of people who would come running when I needed them. If I let them. My phone buzzed in my pocket---once, twice, then a continuous stream of notifications. I pulled it out with shaking hands to find the group chat exploding.
Oliver: Eleanor just called. We're on our way.
Garrett: Don't move. Stay with people. We'll be there in ten minutes.
Levi: I'm going to kill her. I'm actually going to kill her.
Micah: Levi, that's not helpful. Daphne, are you physically unharmed?
Levi: It's a little helpful.
Despite everything, a watery laugh escaped me. I typed back with trembling fingers:I'm okay. Shaken but okay. The whole town saw her lose it. Sheriff Morrison is here.
Oliver: We're still coming. Don't argue.
I wasn't going to argue. For once in my life, I wasn't going to push people away when I needed them most. They arrived in eight minutes, not ten, two trucks pulling into the square with barely restrained urgency. Oliver was out first, his eyes scanningthe crowd until they found me, still sitting in the borrowed chair with Eleanor hovering protectively.
The look on his face when he reached me, relief and fury and something fierce and protective, made my eyes sting with fresh tears. The others were right behind him, four alphas moving as one unit, their combined presence making the air feel charged.
"Daphne." Oliver crouched down, cupping my face in his hands, searching my eyes. "Are you hurt?"
"No." My voice cracked. "She just... she said things. About me, about my past. About us. In front of everyone." A growl rumbled through Oliver's chest, low and dangerous. Behind him, I could see Garrett's jaw clenched tight, Levi practically vibrating with restrained anger, Micah's eyes cold and calculating as he took in the scene.
"She dug up information about my childhood," I whispered. "She knew about the foster homes. She said nobody ever wanted me, that I was greedy for wanting all of you, that I was desperate and pathetic for…" The words caught in my throat.
"For what?" Levi's voice was tight. "For being ours? For letting us court you?"
"She said I was collecting you. Like…like trophies. Like I was too broken to be satisfied with just one person so I had to have all four." The tears spilled over now. "And I know it's not true, Iknowthat, but hearing it said out loud, in front of everyone..."
"Hey." Garrett moved closer, his hand warm on my shoulder. "Look around you. These people stood up for you. They told her exactly where to shove her opinions about pack dynamics."
"Eleanor told her there was nothing wrong with a pack courting an omega," I said, remembering. "She said it was beautiful."
"Because it is." Oliver's thumbs brushed away my tears. "What we have, what we're building, that's not something to beashamed of. Trinity's just jealous and bitter because she wanted what you have, and we would never have chosen her."
"We chose you," Micah said quietly, moving to stand with the others. "All four of us. Independently and together. That's not manipulation or desperation. That's four people recognizing something special when they see it."
"She's done," Garrett said, his voice hard. "After today, everyone knows what she really is. She has no credibility left."
"The whole town stood up for you," Levi added. "That doesn't happen for just anyone. That happens for family. For pack."
I looked at them, these four men who had dropped everything to come to me, who were surrounding me now like a protective wall against the world. Beyond them, the townspeople who had stood up for me, who had claimed me as one of their own. Five years ago, I had come to Haven's Rest looking for solitude. Looking for a place to hide from a world that had never felt safe.
