Page 22 of Nesting With My Three Alphas (Hollow Haven #1)

"That's a shame," I said, meaning it. "Young people need creative outlets."

"Exactly!" Anna's eyes lit up. "But try telling that to the town council."

I guess every place had its troubles, and for the first time in a long time, a need to try and fix something in a community that was fast becoming important to me started to settle inside me.

Omegas weren’t the only people who needed art and creativity.

It was an important part of us all in so many different ways.

"And have you? Figured it out?" Mrs. P asked gently, pulling me from my thoughts.

I looked down at my painting. The garden that Charlie and I had planted together, the house where Jonah made me feel safe, the community that was slowly but surely claiming me as their own.

"I think so," I said, surprising myself with how certain I sounded. "I think I want it to look like this."

"Like what?" Lily prompted.

"Like belonging somewhere. Like being part of something bigger than myself." I started to add a small figure to the garden. Charlie, arms full of flowers, face bright with joy. "Like having people who care if I come home at night."

"You have that," Mrs. P said simply. "You've had it since the day you arrived, whether you realized it or not."

Since the day I arrived. The idea that this community had been ready to claim me before I'd even known I wanted to be claimed was almost overwhelming.

"Sometimes it doesn't feel real," I admitted. "Like I'm waiting for someone to realize they made a mistake."

"Honey," Anna said, setting down her own brush, "the only mistake would be letting that fear convince you to leave."

The conversation was interrupted by my phone ringing. Sheriff Rowe's name appeared on the screen, and my stomach immediately clenched with worry.

"Excuse me," I said to the group, stepping away from the easel. "Sheriff Rowe? Is everything okay?"

"Kit, I need to speak with you about a legal matter," his voice was serious but kind. "Someone claiming to be your former partner has filed some paperwork with the county courthouse. Documents suggesting you have a prior binding agreement with him."

My knees went weak. "What kind of documents?"

This was what Marcus’s email had been talking about. Things were moving quicker than I’d anticipated. Involving people I didn’t want to get the wrong impression of me when I was trying to build a future here.

"Pre-bonding contract, cohabitation agreement, some other papers I'm not entirely convinced are legitimate. I've seen my share of forged documents, and these have some red flags. But I wanted to make you aware and get your statement on record."

"Sheriff Rowe, I never signed anything binding with Marcus. Nothing. Whatever those papers are, they're fake."

"That's what I suspected. Can you come in tomorrow morning to give an official statement? We'll want to document this properly in case we need to pursue charges for falsifying legal documents."

"Of course," I said, though my voice sounded shaky even to my own ears. "Thank you for calling."

"Kit? You're not alone in this. This man is making a lot of noise, but he's got no legal standing here. We'll handle this."

After I hung up, I stood there for a moment, my hands shaking as the weight of Marcus's latest manipulation attempt settled over me.

My vision blurred at the edges, panic trying to claw its way up my throat.

But for the first time in a long time, I wasn't spiraling alone.

I could feel their scents still grounded in the room.

Soft, steady, safe. The harmonic energy Mrs. P had described wrapping around me like a shield.

I belonged here. Even now, even with Marcus trying to drag me back into his web of control.

When I returned to the easel, three pairs of concerned eyes immediately focused on me.

"Everything okay, dear?" Mrs. P asked gently.

"Marcus has filed fake legal papers claiming I'm bound to him somehow," I said quietly. "Sheriff Rowe wants to see me tomorrow to give a statement."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.

"Fake papers?" Lily's voice was carefully controlled.

"I never signed anything with Marcus. Nothing binding, nothing legal. But apparently he thinks he can manufacture a claim."

"Then we make sure Sheriff Rowe has everything he needs to shut this down," Anna said with surprising fierceness for someone so young.

"And we make sure you're not dealing with this alone," Mrs. P added firmly. "This town protects its own."

She said it like I was already one of them, already worth defending.

"Thank you," I said, my voice thick with emotion. "All of you. This means more than you know."

As I drove home through the golden afternoon light, my painting safely secured on the back seat, I felt the weight of the morning's revelation settling around me. Marcus wasn't giving up. He was escalating, getting desperate, trying new tactics to drag me back to a life I'd fled for good reason.

But I wasn't the same woman who'd run from Chicago with nothing but two suitcases and a desperate hope for something better. I had roots now, community, people who would stand between me and my past.

I had a future worth fighting for.

I'd only just stepped out of my car when the sound of familiar footsteps made me look up to see Jonah approaching from the direction of his truck, his work clothes suggesting he'd come straight from a job site.

His expression was serious, concerned, and I realized word had probably already reached him about Sheriff Rowe's call.

Small towns.

"Hey," he said softly, falling into step beside me. "Heard you had an interesting phone call during art class."

"Mrs. P?" I guessed.

"Mrs. P," he confirmed with a slight smile. "She was worried about you."

We walked towards my front door in comfortable silence for a moment, the weight of unspoken concerns hanging between us.

"Jonah," I said finally, "about tomorrow's meeting with Sheriff Rowe. Would you... would you mind coming with me? I'd feel better having someone there."

His relief was immediate and obvious. "Of course. I was going to offer anyway."

"Thank you," I said, squeezing his arm gently. "For everything. For making this feel like something I can actually deal with instead of something I have to run from."

I looked back at the garden painting still resting in my back seat, then at the duplex that had become my haven, then at Jonah whose steady presence made everything feel possible.

Marcus could file all the fake papers he wanted. He could try every manipulation tactic in his arsenal.

But he couldn't uproot what I'd planted here. He couldn't destroy the belonging, the love, the family I was growing one careful choice at a time.

For the first time since his threatening text that morning, I felt like I might actually win this fight.

Because I wasn't going to have to do it alone. I’d never be alone again.