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This time, both alphas look pissed. Connor shifts, pressing. It’s a predator’s walk, trapping me between them until there’s no way out. Only then does he seem to settle. His head dips and he pauses. Stilling like he doesn’t know how he got there.

I wait. Desperate for him to make the next move. Terrified that he will.

Then his mouth—that fuckingmouth—runs gently over the arch of my neck while Dez does the same on the other side. “We chose to help with your heat, angel. Chose to put life off to enjoy the time with you and we don’t regret it.”

“But you shouldn’t have to structure your whole lives. I mean, you moved next door.”

“Happily. If a pack is really interested in courting you, there’s not much they wouldn’t do. Know why?”

I shake my head and Connor nips my skin. “Because it’s the least you deserve.”

Dez hums his agreement. “I was clear that we want you for this pack, Daphne. Was there some miscommunication?”

Pretty sure them moving in was a solid sign they weren’t joking, but that doesn’t mean this is a good idea. My life is a shitshow and who the fuck knows what’s going on with Connor. We’re two stars on a crash course for collision. Our instincts pulling us together, minds yanking us away.

Maybe we’re too broken for anything but sex.

“I don’t want you to make more work for yourself because of me,” I whisper.

Dez’s hand wraps around my throat, gentle as he leans my head back so he can hold my attention, steal my breath. Brush our lips together. “You said you weren’t ready for more and we respect that, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t treating this like its endgame. We’re going to prove how far we’ll go for you.”

Worship. That’s what they offer, and I can’t deny I’ve always wanted it. Even now, when my heart feels raw and terrified, I crave Pack Morgan with a fierceness that promises to eat me alive.

“Okay.” That’s it. One word that encompasses everything. My willingness to let them in, my fear of what they’ll do once I have.

Connor’s purr startles us all. I like the way he looks at me, as if he’s stripped away my artifice and left nothing but the truth behind. My story his for the taking. My soul mirrored within him.

The man’s terrified of me. Terrified of what we could become.

I think that’s why he fights so hard, why he pulls me in and pushes away in moments where preservation wins over instinct. It makes me feel less alone. We’re just two shattered people skating over broken glass in an attempt to be whole with or without the other.

The doorbell rings and the moment breaks.

Thank fuck.

Instead of rushing away like I expect, Connor traces his fingers reverently over my cheek like he did throughout the heat. “I’m going to shower. Get some food and try to relax.” He smiles gently, though it looks a little forced, before turning to Dez. “She eats first.”

“No shit.”

Another look too sweet and concerned to be so fleeting, and Connor’s gone. The stairs hold my attention until Dez squeezes me once, then lets me go. “I’ll get the food.”

My skin fuckingcrawlsas soon as he’s out of view. No matter how many times I remind myself that he’ll be right back, it won’t go away. This looming, terrible loneliness swallows all reason.

I last ten seconds before I’m near sprinting to the front door. The second I’m in my alpha’s orbit, everything eases. His scent and the warmth of his body as I drop my head to his back makes it all better.

“You okay, gorgeous?”

“Lonely,” I admit quietly.

I’m expecting anger, I think. Maybe irritation. Especially since the door’s open and a curious delivery driver peers in like I’m a science experiment.

I am not expecting Dez to purr so loud my teeth nearly rattle, hand rubbing along my arm.

“Missed you too, gorgeous.”

That’s it. No snapping, no growls, no frustration that I couldn’t be alone for five fucking seconds. Just this sweet alpha giving me his presence and the soothing touch I need without complaint.

This is how it’s supposed to be,my instincts whisper.