"We'll handle it tomorrow," I interrupted, my voice carrying the weight of my position. "After Daphne's had a chance to tell us what happened on her terms." The kitchen fell silent for a moment, tension thrumming beneath the surface. This was the part of being head Alpha I'd never particularly enjoyed—having to balance everyone's needs and instincts, including my own, while making sure we moved forward as a unit rather than four individuals.
"Garrett," I sighed, more gently this time. "I know you want to fix everything for her. But this isn't something you can fix. She needs space to tell us in her own time."
"I hate that she's dealing with something alone," Garrett muttered, running a hand through his dark hair in obvious frustration. "She's been alone for too long already."
"And tomorrow she won't be," Levi pointed out, moving to start slicing the focaccia. The knife cut through the golden crust with a satisfying crunch. "Tomorrow she'll be here, with all of us. That's progress." Micah stood, stretching his lean frame, and moved to lean against the counter beside me. His scent—that sharp, rain-and-green smell that was distinctly his—mingled with mine, pack, home and belonging all mixed together.
"How did she seem?" he asked quietly, pitched just for me. "Really. Beyond the scared and tired."
I thought about Daphne on her porch, the way she'd wrapped her arms around herself like she could hold her own pieces together through sheer will. The tears she'd blinked back when I'd told her she wasn't too much work. The small, surprised laugh when I'd mentioned Garrett's flower dilemma.
"Fragile," I told him after a minute of silence. "But not broken. She's bending, not breaking. I think..." I paused, making sure of my words before saying them. "I think she wants this to work. She's just terrified it won't."
"Aren't we all," Micah murmured, and there was something vulnerable in his tone that he rarely let show.
Levi appeared at my other side, pressing a piece of still-warm focaccia into my hand. "Eat. You haven't had dinner, and you always get philosophical when your blood sugar's low."
Despite everything, I felt a smile tug at my lips. "I'm not philosophical."
"You absolutely are," Garrett huffed out, finally managing a small smile of his own as he joined us at the counter."Remember the lumber debate of last Tuesday? You spent twenty minutes talking about the metaphorical significance of choosing sustainable materials."
"That was a practical discussion about environmental responsibility," I protested, but I took a bite of the focaccia anyway. The flavor exploded on my tongue—rosemary, salt, olive oil, and something indefinably perfect that made me understand why Daphne had given Levi's baking such high praise. "This is incredible."
"I have been practicing," Levi said with obvious pride and I couldn’t help but release alaugh at his evident pride.
"The house needs work before tomorrow," Micah spoke up, his strategic mind clearly already moving ahead. "We've been living in construction chaos, but we can't have her walking into a disaster zone."
"It's not a disaster zone," Garrett protested, though he looked around the kitchen with a more critical eye. "It's just... in progress."
"There are sawdust and tools everywhere," Micah pointed out. "The living room has drywall compound on the floor. The bathroom nearest the kitchen still doesn't have a door handle. The deck boards we pulled up are stacked against the back wall like we're building a bonfire."
He wasn't wrong. We'd been so focused on the major renovations—getting the structure sound, the plumbing functional, the electrical up to code—that we'd let the day-to-day cleanliness slide. It worked fine for four Alphas who didn't care about a little construction dust, but for Daphne...
"Cleaning party," Levi announced, already moving toward the closet where we kept the broom and mop. "Tonight. We make this place presentable."
"It's almost eight," Garrett pointed out laughing, though he was already rolling up his sleeves.
"Then we'd better get started," I grinned, setting down my half-eaten focaccia. "Micah, you take the living room—get rid of the drywall mess and organize the tools into the workshop. Garrett, you're on the deck situation. Move those boards to the barn area. Levi, kitchen and bathrooms. I'll handle the upstairs.”
We had a lot to do before Daphne came over and we wanted this place to look presentable. I gave my pack one last look, a smile coming to my lips as they all quickly went about their tasks with looks of determination on their faces. This could really work. We’d moved to this town to start our lives and figure things out as a full pack. Garrett’s Dad was a huge big help, but Levi and my own family helped by getting us contacts…and now with Daphne coming into our lives. Things seemed to definitely be falling into place.
I climbed the stairs to the second floor, taking in the space with a fresh perspective. The hallway still needed paint, but at least the walls were up and the floors were finished. We'd chosen wide-plank oak, refinished from the original flooring we'd salvaged. The wood gleamed in the overhead light, warm honey tones that made the space feel inviting despite the bare walls.
Three bedrooms lined one side of the hall—Garrett's at the far end, mine in the middle, Micah's nearest the stairs. On the other side, Levi had claimed the master suite with its attached bathroom, and the remaining room sat empty.
The room we'd unconsciously been saving.
I pushed open the door and stood in the doorway, studying the space. It was the best bedroom in the house besides Levi's suite—corner position with windows on two walls, eastern exposure for morning light, a view of both Daphne's direction and the forest beyond. We'd finished it completely, down to the fresh coat of warm cream paint and the new curtains Levi had insisted on installing last week.
Almost like we'd known, even before we'd met her, that we were building a home for more than just ourselves.
The room was simple but welcoming—empty of furniture but clean and light-filled. I moved to the window that faced toward Daphne's property, though all I could see was trees and a darkening sky. Somewhere beyond that tree line, she was probably finishing her evening routine, maybe thinking about tomorrow with the same mixture of anticipation and dread I was feeling.
"We're really doing this," I said to the empty room, to myself, to the universe. "Courting someone together. Four Alphas and one incredibly wary Omega."
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to find a message from my father.
Dad: Heard you boys are having company tomorrow. Jack talked to a woman named Lynn. Said she mentioned something about a girl from the market. This the same one who's had Garrett walking around like a lovesick puppy?
