Page 110 of Daisy

"All four of us alphas. The biological compatibility thing. It's real."

I laugh, but it sounds hollow even to me. "That's... that's just a myth, isn't it? I was always told it was just something people believed in."

But they're not laughing. Their faces are serious, almost guilty. Oh god, they're serious.

Wait. If they're telling the truth... My mind scrambles to process this. Everything I was taught, everything I believed about scent matching being impossible... Uncle used to laugh about it, said he let the beta-born alphas believe in that myth to keep them compliant.

"It's real," Gunner says quietly. "Rare, but real. We knew the moment we scented you."

Everything clicks. This is wild, impossible, but it makes so much sense. Why they calm me instead of overwhelm me. Why I felt safe from the beginning. Why my body responds to them like nothing I've ever felt. Why even now, cramping and uncomfortable, being surrounded by them makes me want to gather their clothes and build something soft and safe.

"How long have you known?"

"Since that first night," Dante admits.

The betrayal hits hard. Since the beginning. They've known this whole time, and they never told me. Every moment, everychoice I thought I was making freely... were they just waiting for biology to kick in? I try to pull away but he holds me gently.

I look around at all of them, seeing the guilt written across their faces. "You've been lying to me?"

"We kept it secret," August says quickly. "But everything else was real. Every feeling. Every choice."

"How can I trust that? I thought you actually wanted me. I thought I was choosing." My voice cracks.Was any of it real? Or were they all just following some biological programming?

"You absolutely were choosing," Dante says firmly. "Every moment, every decision—that was all you."

"But what if it's just biology for you? What if I'm not good enough on my own? What if I disappoint you when the novelty wears off?"

"Impossible," Hawk says. "Scent matching doesn't create feelings. It just says you might be compatible. Everything else—how you make us laugh, how brave you are, how you see the best in us—that's all you."

"Scent matching doesn't make me want to protect you," Cassian says quietly. "That's just who you are."

The sincerity in his voice makes my chest ache. He's always been my shield, even when I was afraid of him.

"I can't scent match with you," August says softly. "I'm a beta. But what I feel for you is real. Everything I've done, every choice I've made with you—that's all me. And if I could claim you like an alpha, I would."

Oh, August. My heart breaks a little at the longing in his voice. He's been my safe harbor this whole time, and he chose that without any biological push.

"We kept it secret because we wanted you to choose us for who we are," Gunner says. "Not because genetics told you to."

They wanted me to choose freely. Even when they knew we were meant to be together, they wanted it to be my choice.

I sit quietly, processing. They wrap around me and finally I understand why they feel like home. A particularly sharp cramp makes me double over slightly, and before I can stop myself, I'm reaching for Gunner's jacket draped over the chair, pulling the soft fabric against me. His scent helps, but not enough.

"So that's why you all make me feel safe."

"Part of it," August says. "But matching is just a bonus. We were meant to find you, meant to form this pack. We have a family we've chosen, with you at our center."

I think about every moment. Every laugh. Every time they put me first. How they taught me wanting things doesn't make me selfish.

"I'm still mad you kept it secret."

"We're sorry," August says.

"But I understand why." I look around at all of them. "You wanted me to choose freely."

"Did you?" Dante asks quietly. "Choose, I mean?"

Instead of words, I kiss him. Soft and sure and full of everything I feel.