Page 65 of Daisy

Whatever I want.The concept still feels foreign.

We eat in comfortable quiet, and slowly, the tight band around my chest starts to loosen. They're not pressuring me to talk, not asking invasive questions. Just... being here.

But I can't stop stealing glances at Hawk.

His dark hair catches the morning light. When he laughs at something Gunner mutters, the sound does something to my stomach that I don't understand. Makes me remember his scent surrounding me in that bathroom. The way my body responded to just the memory of him.

Heat creeps up my neck, and I feel the telltale dampness between my thighs. I duck my head, focus on my food.

"So," Dante clears his throat after we've finished eating. "What do you want to do today?"

Another choice. Another moment where my opinion actually matters.

"I don't know," I admit. "What... what do people normally do?"

"Whatever they feel like," Gunner says simply.

"Watch movies," Hawk adds. "Read books. Talk. Sleep if they're tired."

"Go for walks," Dante offers. "Though maybe not today. Too risky."

The reminder of our situation settles over the room. We're still hiding. Still running. But somehow, in this small space with these three men, it doesn't feel like a prison.

"I've never watched a movie," I say quietly. "I mean, not a real one. Just educational films. Documentaries about proper omega behavior."

Another heavy silence.

"Well," Hawk says, his voice light. "That's about to change. What kind of story do you think you'd like? Adventure? Romance? Comedy?"

"I don't know," I say again, frustrated with my own ignorance. "What do you recommend?"

"Something fun," Gunner suggests. "Something that'll make you laugh."

"Or something with a strong female character," Dante adds. "Someone who takes charge of her own life."

The way he says it makes me think he understands more about my situation than I've told him.

We settle on something Hawk calls a "classic"—a story about a woman who everyone underestimates because she's blonde and likes fashion, but she proves them all wrong by becoming a brilliant lawyer. The premise sounds incredible.

"You'll love Elle," Hawk says with a grin. "She's fierce."

Hawk closes the curtains and starts the movie while Gunner and Dante arrange pillows on the beds. They move around each other carefully, still learning each other's space, but there's a quiet understanding between them. The way they all work together, even as relative strangers, makes something in my chest ache with longing. What would it be like to belong somewhere like this? To be part of something real instead of just an asset to be managed?

I settle on the bed farthest from the TV, back against the headboard. Safe. The movie starts, and within minutes I'm completely absorbed.

Elle is nothing like any omega I've ever known. She's bright and determined and refuses to let anyone make her feel small. When she decides to follow her ex-boyfriend to Harvard Law School, something inside me cracks open.

"She's incredible," I breathe during a particularly triumphant scene.

"She is," Hawk agrees, and when I look over, he's watching me instead of the screen. "Reminds me of someone."

The way he says it makes heat flood my cheeks. Is he talking about me? Impossible. I'm nothing like Elle on screen.

But the look in his gray eyes makes me think he sees something I don't.

Halfway through the movie, my eyelids start getting heavy. The emotional weight of the past few days, combined with the warm safety of this room and their scents wrapping around me like a blanket, makes it hard to stay alert. I shift, trying to get more comfortable, and accidentally catch Gunner's attention.

"Tired?" he asks softly.