The celebration dimmed slightly as Oliver straightened, his Alpha authority settling over the room like a weight. "Go on."
I took my time, making sure I had the right words. This was important—maybe the most important conversation we'd haveabout this whole situation. "Daphne is not going to be easy. She's going to test us, probably without even meaning to. She's going to panic and retreat when things get too intense. She's going to assume the worst because the worst is what she's experienced. And we need to be prepared for that."
"We can handle it," Garrett said immediately.
"Can we?" I challenged, looking around at each of them. "Because it's one thing to say we can handle someone with trust issues. It's another thing to actually deal with them day after day. To have patience when she pushes us away for the third time that week. To not take it personally when she assumes we're leaving. To keep showing up even when it feels like we're making no progress."
Levi's expression had turned more serious. "You're worried we'll give up on her."
"I'm worried we'll hurt her without meaning to." I corrected as I set down my coffee, meeting each of their gazes in turn. "She's fragile in ways she doesn't even see. If we do this—if we actually court her—we need to be all in. No half measures, no backing out when it gets hard. Because if we fail her, if we prove her fears right, we'll do damage that might never heal."
The kitchen was quiet for a moment, the weight of my words settling over all of us. Oliver was the first to speak, his voice carrying the authority of head Alpha but also something gentler underneath.
"We don't do half measures," he said firmly. "That's not who we are. When we commit to something—to someone—we see it through."
"Even when it's hard?" I pressed, my eyes assessing him. He was head Alpha but I wanted to make sure Daphne or anyone in this pack doesn’t get hurt.
"Especially when it's hard." Oliver's blue eyes were steady, certain. "That's when commitment matters most."
Garrett leaned forward, his hands clasped on the table. "Micah, I've been thinking about her non-stop since I met her. I know that sounds obsessive or like infatuation, but it's not. It's recognition. She's... she fits. I can't explain it better than that. She just fits."
"I felt it too," Levi admitted quietly. "At the store, and again at the market. There's something about her that just clicks into place with us. Like finding a piece you didn't know was missing from a puzzle."
I nodded slowly. I'd felt it this morning too, sitting on her porch talking about gardens and fear and the complicated mess of choosing and being chosen. There was something about Daphne that resonated with the pack in a way I couldn't quite quantify, but couldn't deny either.
"Okay," I said finally. "Then we do this right. Wednesday night, we keep it casual. Low pressure. We let her see how we interact as a pack, let her get comfortable in our space. No big romantic gestures, no overwhelming displays. Just dinner and conversation."
"I can handle that," Garrett said, though he looked like he wanted to do approximately a thousand big romantic gestures immediately.
"What about Trinity?" Levi asked, his expression darkening. "She made a scene at the market yesterday. Accused Daphne of all kinds of shit in front of everyone. What if she escalates?"
Oliver's jaw tightened, a low growl escaping him, "I'll handle Trinity. I should have dealt with her more firmly from the start."
"We all should have," I admitted as I fiddled with hate cup in my hand, "We thought ignoring her would make her give up and leave. Instead, we gave her time to fixate and escalate. That's on us."
"How did Daphne react to the market thing?" Garrett asked, concern evident in his voice. "Levi said she was pretty shaken."
"She was panicking, no question." Levi confirmed. "Thought everyone in town was judging her, that she'd become some kind of spectacle. Took me a bit to convince her that people were actually on her side."
"That'll feed into her fears," I noted. "She's worried about being visible, about people having opinions about her life. Trinity put a spotlight on her that she definitely didn't want."
"All the more reason to show her we're serious," Oliver said, and I could see the gears moving in his head already. "To prove through actions, not just words, that we're choosing her deliberately. That this isn't some whim or fantasy."
I grabbed another piece of bacon, thinking through the logistics. "Wednesday dinner. What are we making?"
"Steaks on the grill," Oliver said immediately. "I'll handle the meat. Garrett can do vegetables—he's best with the grill basket. Levi, you're on sides and dessert."
"What about me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You're on Daphne duty," Oliver said with a slight smirk. "Keep her comfortable, make sure she's not overwhelmed. You're good at reading people and adjusting accordingly. Plus, she seems to respond to your directness."
"She responded to all of us differently," I pointed out. "Garrett's patience, Levi's humor, your protectiveness. That's the point—we each bring something different to this dynamic."
"Speaking of dynamics," Levi said, settling into a chair with his own coffee, "have we actually talked about what this would look like? If she says yes, I mean really says yes, to all of us?"
The question hung in the air, heavy with implications. We'd been so focused on whether Daphne would even consider a courtship that we hadn't fully discussed what success would actually mean.
"Four Alphas and one Omega," Garrett said slowly. "That's not exactly traditional..but it isn’t too different from the pack I was raised in."
