Rhea

I walked past them without a word, heading toward the dining room. Their silence was too loud, too heavy. They were mind-linking—I could tell by the way their gazes flicked, their bodies tense like bowstrings. It used to bother me, being shut out of their conversations. Now? I didn’t even have the energy to care.

They always found excuses to touch me before. A hand on my lower back, a brush of fingers down my arm, tugging me close like magnets they couldn’t resist. Not today. Not one of them reached.

Yeah. They were still upset. Probably confused. Honestly? So was I.

I wasn’t sorry for standing up for myself, but maybe the way I’d said it—sharp, cutting—had hit deeper than I meant. Vulnerability wasn’t exactly their strong suit. But I wasn’t about to pretend. I wasn’t going to smile pretty and play Luna if trust was already cracked.

If this bond was real, if we were real, it had to survive honesty. Otherwise? We’d crash and burn spectacularly.

The dining room’s heavy oak doors swung open on their own as we approached, runes carved into the frame glowing faint silver in response to four Alpha auras pressing into the space. The long table stretched beneath chandeliers of enchanted crystal, each light humming faintly with protective wards. The walls carried the scents of roasted meat, herbs, and citrus—homey but tinged with the metallic tang of magic.

Seth pulled out a chair for me between him and Jaxon, his smirk gone but his hands steady. Callum adjusted my plate as if the world might collapse if I wasn’t settled right. Rory sat across, eyes fixed on me, too sober for his usual chaos. Lila and Theo weren’t here yet. Maybe that was a blessing. Less audience for this wreckage.

I cleared my throat. Four heads snapped toward me instantly. Too fast. Too intense.

Callum slid a glass of orange juice in front of me, his knuckles brushing the rim like he wanted to touch but held back. “You okay, little Luna?” His voice was steady, but his jaw was locked.

Seth leaned closer, arm draping across the back of my chair, warmth radiating into me. “You good, snowflake?” The endearment rolled easy, but his eyes were sharp, searching, almost pleading.

“I, uh…” I hesitated, twisting my fingers in my lap. “I wanted to say sorry. Not for what I said—just… maybe for how I said it.”

Jaxon’s hand landed gently on my shoulder, heavy, grounding. His storm contained, but barely. “We deserved it.”

The words punched the air out of me. For the first time since last night, I breathed.

“My sunshine, there’s nothing to apologize for,” Jaxon added, voice dark velvet, unusually tender. “You did nothing wrong.”

Callum’s agreement was quieter but just as solid. “He’s right, little Luna. We crossed a line. I hate saying that pup’s name, but even if you and he were close… you didn’t do anything wrong. Still—” his hands clenched into fists, pale-knuckled—“knowing someone else had even a sliver of your attention? That’s a hard pill to swallow.”

I glanced between them. They weren’t just tense—they looked wrecked.

Seth scrubbed a hand over his face, his usual grin still absent. “We acted like hypocrites,” he muttered, brushing his fingers lightly across my shoulder. “We know what the pack says about us—our reputations. And yeah, we’ve never exactly been saints. But we need you to believe us when we say… we’ve wanted no one the way we want you.”

Rory reached across the table, catching my hand. His grip was gentle, hesitant, like holding me too tightly might make me vanish. “We messed up, Princess. But don’t shut us out. Let us prove it. Give us a shot, and we’ll show you every damn day how much you mean to us.”

At some point, they’d shifted me without me realizing. My chair angled toward them, Jaxon held my left hand, Rory my right, Callum and Seth standing behind me, one broad palm on each shoulder.

Where they touched, sparks lit my skin. Heat. Weight. Safety. The mate bond thrummed, undeniable.

It wasn’t just magic. It wasn’t just the bond. It was them—four feared Alphas—lowering themselves in front of me. A scholarship girl with no lineage, no title. They weren’t commanding. They weren’t demanding. They were begging.

And my chest ached with it.

“I still want to say something,” I whispered, throat tight. “Not because I regret what I said, but because of how I said it.”

They leaned closer as one.

“I didn’t mean to come off disrespectful. You’re my Alphas—bond or not—and I respect that. I was angry. Scared. I lashed out. But I’m here now. And I want to try.”

I don’t know why I said that, but I didn’t want to take it back.

Rory’s grin flickered back, faint but real. Relief softened his eyes.

Then I added carefully, “I have guy friends. That’s not going to change. And Ethan? He’s one of my oldest friends. He’s never crossed a line, and he never will. I need you to trust me on that.”

The silence that followed was sharp enough to cut. The wards in the room thrummed louder, silver runes pulsing faintly like they could taste the tension. They were definitely mind-linking, and from the way Callum’s jaw worked, it wasn’t a smooth discussion.

Finally, Callum exhaled, dragging a hand through his hair. “We hate it, little Luna. But… we hear you.”

Seth groaned, leaning in until his lips brushed my temple. “You can keep the friends you already have. No new ones.”

“It’s not you we don’t trust,” Jaxon added, his voice a low growl. “It’s them.”

“Exactly,” Seth said, his tone lighter now, trying to tease but still firm. “It’s a give-and-take thing, snowflake. And we’re giving.”

The tension in my shoulders eased. Just a little. “Okay. That’s fair.”

As if the universe had waited for the perfect cue, Lila and Theo stepped in. She didn’t hesitate. She came straight to me, yanking me into her arms.

“You okay?” she whispered into my ear.

I nodded, pressing back into her hug. “Yeah. I’m good.”

For the first time in days, maybe I almost believed it.

We started eating while Lila launched into her plans for Friday—dinner in her honor, followed by drinks at the club if everyone felt like celebrating.

The quads and Theo all gave her identical stink-eyes. A wall of male Alpha disapproval.

“You’re not going without us,” Callum said, tone flat, absolute. Not a suggestion. A decree.

Honestly? I wasn’t surprised. If I so much as wore a skirt shorter than regulation length, these four would probably barricade the door.

I stabbed my fork into the eggs. “Relax. I wasn’t planning on getting drunk anyway. Look how the last time turned out.”

Seth smirked over his juice glass. “Four very lucky Alphas?”

“More like four very overbearing ones,” I muttered, not bothering to hide the glare I sent him.

Across from me, Jaxon’s grin curved sharp, unhinged. “You love it.” His voice was velvet-wrapped steel.

Before I could fire back, he leaned close enough that his breath ghosted my cheek. “After classes, meet us at the parking lot. We’re taking you to the mall.”

I blinked. “Wait. Did you just say… mall?”

“Yup.” Rory popped the ‘p’ around a mouthful of toast, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Lila nearly choked on her water. “You? At the mall? With all of them?”

Jaxon shrugged, unbothered.

“I haven’t seen Jaxy-poo—sorry, Jaxon—step foot in a mall since he was like twelve,” she said, smirking wickedly. “Goddess, Rhea, they’re already whipped.”

My fork froze midair. I turned slowly toward Jaxon. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

He gave me a look like I’d just spoken blasphemy. “For you, sunshine? I’d go to a six-hour knitting convention.” His words dripped with menace and devotion in equal measure. Then he tilted his head and pressed a slow, deliberate kiss to my cheek.

Heat roared through me, my skin burning crimson. Sparks crackled where his lips had brushed, traitorous shivers racing down my spine.

The others chuckled, smug as hell.

“Count me in,” Lila announced suddenly, raising her hand like this was a school trip.

Groans erupted in unison from Theo and all four Alphas.

“Perfect,” she said brightly, ignoring them. She winked at me across the table, and I couldn’t help but grin back.

For the first time in days, my chest loosened. Maybe… giving them a shot wouldn’t be so bad after all.