18. Kaia
Chapter Eighteen
Kaia
Iwake up and don't know where I am.
My eyes open slowly, my body still heavy with sleep in a way that feels unfamiliar. The ceiling above me isn't cracked and water-stained. The sheets don't feel thin, and the air doesn't feel tense.
For a second, my body still reacts like it has for the past week. I'm on alert, bracing for the inevitable bout of panic that comes next—the restless wake-ups, the constant checking, the quiet fear that lives just under the surface, ready to pull me out of sleep at the smallest sound.
But nothing comes. No racing heartbeat or impulse to sit up and scan the room. No lingering fear pressing against my chest.
Just stillness, warmth, and quiet. I blink, allowing my mind to catch up slowly.
I remember the house, the room, the bed. I hadn't woken up once throughout the night. My stomach flips as I mutter, "That's…insane." My body feels rested, actually—truly rested.
I push myself upright slowly, scared that moving too fast might break whatever this feeling is.
The blanket slips from my shoulders, carrying the faint, blended scent of everyone.
My chest tightens slightly at the smell, but not in panic.
With something softer, something I don't quite know what to do with yet.
I swing my legs over the side of the bed, stand, and stretch. My muscles loosen in a way they haven't in…well, I don't even know how long. After changing into my work clothes and brushing my hair, my hand pauses on the door handle.
Lachlan said he'd be up early.
I don't know why that matters so much, except that I want to see him.
The house is quiet when I step downstairs. I move slowly, my feet padding softly against the floor as I make my way to the kitchen.
"I don't want to scare you," a voice says, "but I am over here by the back door." I jump slightly anyway and my head snaps toward the sound.
Jonas stands near the sliding doors, already dressed in running gear, one hand braced lightly against the glass frame.
The early morning light filters through the glass—pale and soft, the sky beyond still caught between night and day.
The ocean beyond is just beginning to catch the first hints of sunrise, the water shifting from deep gray to something warmer, more alive. My heart skips once, then settles.
"Sorry," he says, though he doesn't sound sorry at all.
"You said you didn't want to scare me," I point out.
"I didn't say I wouldn't." He chuckles.
I ask, "Are you coming back from a run?"
He shakes his head. "No, I just got up." There's a beat of silence, then he adds, "Something made me sleep in." He winks, and I blink.
My cheeks warm.
"Oh," I say. Smooth. Very smooth.
His mouth twitches. "Lachlan's getting ready," he says.
"We both slept a little later than usual.
" The words hit me sideways—the casual intimacy of it, the two of them waking up together, sleeping in together.
Heat floods my face and my stomach does something complicated.
Something that feels like attraction mixed with confusion.
And…wait. My brows pull together slightly.
Do they…? My brain stalls for a second. Are they all…
together? I blink again. That's a big question.
One I absolutely do not want to be asking Jonas.
I need to ask Finn. Immediately. Because if anyone is going to answer me in a way that makes sense, it's him.
"If you need to go now, I can take you," Jonas says, pulling my attention back to him.
I process that for a moment, my mind still spinning with questions I'm not ready to ask.
Jonas seems to sense it. He doesn't leave.
Instead, he leans against the wall, giving me space but staying present—a quiet anchor while I work through whatever just shifted in my chest. I shake my head quickly. "No, I have plenty of time."
Lachlan appears a few minutes later, keys in hand.
He pauses in the doorway, unhurried and calm, taking in the room with that steady gaze of his.
When his eyes find mine, he gives me a small nod—the kind that says everything is fine, everything is manageable.
The room feels more anchored simply because he's there. "Good morning," he says.
"Good morning." My voice comes out softer than I intended.
He nods toward the door. "Ready?"
I nod. "Yeah."
The drive to the café is quiet. Not uncomfortable, just easy.
I watch the town wake up through the window—streetlights flickering off one by one as the sky shifts from deep gray to pale blue, shop owners unlocking their doors and flipping signs from closed to open, a bakery displaying fresh pastries in the window that catch the early light like gold.
Early joggers pass by in their running gear, and the parking lots begin to fill with cars as people arrive for their shifts.
The beach pathway grows busier with early morning walkers, their silhouettes moving against the brightening horizon.
The quality of light changes on the buildings as the sun climbs higher, turning the weathered paint warm and alive instead of shadowed and cold.
My mind drifts back to the house. To the room. To the way I slept. To them.
Lachlan asks, "Did you sleep okay?"
I turn my head toward him. "Yeah, amazingly actually."
His jaw relaxes slightly. "Good. I'm glad." There's a beat, then he says, "One of us will pick you up when you're off your shift."
I blink. "You don't have to…"
"Kaia, let us do this."
My chest tightens, not with pressure, but with certainty. "Okay."
Work feels different, not necessarily harder or easier, just…lighter. I move through the morning without a constant edge sitting under my skin. The café still smells like coffee and citrus and ocean air, but now…now it feels like something I can return from, not something I have to survive.
At the end of my shift, the bell chimes, and of course it's Finn. He bursts in like he's been waiting days—no, weeks—just for my shift to end. "I'm here to kidnap you," he announces, and Maria looks at me, smiling. "Have fun, you two!"
I shake my head but am already untying my apron.
Somehow, we end up with ice cream on the beach. Finn walks beside me, his energy as bright as always, but I can tell there's something steadier underneath it now, something intentional. "Are you good?" he asks, glancing at me.
I nod. "Yeah, I am." There's a small pause, then I ask, "Are you sure you're okay with… this? With me?" The words come out more hesitant than I expected. I'm not sure I even want to know the answer.
Finn stops walking and turns to me. "Kaia," he says. "You are our missing piece." My breath catches. "I know that's a lot. But it's still true."
I look away, out at the water, my thoughts tangling.
When I turn back to him, I say, "Okay, I need to ask you something."
Finn lights up. "Oooh, I love questions!"
I hesitate, then go for it. "So…are you all…like…together?"
Finn's grin turns downright dangerous. "Yes!" he says. "It's the fucking best."
I blink at his answer, and he asks, "Want the rundown?"
"Well, of course."
He nods, like he's been waiting for this moment his entire life.
Knowing him, he probably has. "So…" he says, gesturing loosely.
"I'm a brat, so Adrian usually has to wrangle me when I'm being bratty.
Lachlan's the grounding one—the anchor we all lean on.
And Jonas...he's the one who actually understands what's happening with your feelings before you do. "
I choke on a laugh. "That's very honest."
"I pride myself on that."
"Do you all sleep together?"
"Most nights," he says easily, like we’re discussing ice cream flavors. "Some nights, I'll just sleep with one of them, and on other nights, contrary to popular belief, I'll want a night alone." I nod slowly, processing, recalculating everything I thought I understood.
I was taught that Omegas were with Alphas or with Betas, one on one. The Betas and Alphas were never together. I also didn't think there could be two Omegas in one pack. Finn watches me carefully, then asks, "Who's your favorite so far?"
I don't even hesitate. "Obviously you."
Finn freezes, like this isn’t an answer he ever expected. Then he lights up like the sun. "Yes!" he says. "I knew it!"
I laugh and we continue walking down the beach, our ice creams dripping into the sand.
We pull into the driveway just as Adrian steps out of the house, keys in hand. Finn gets out and asks, "Where ya going, daddy?"
Adrian doesn't even break his stride. "I have a meeting." Then his gaze shifts to me. "Do you like Italian food?"
I blink. "Absolutely. Who doesn't?"
Adrian nods. "Good. I'll pick some up. We normally order a bit of everything, but Finn can show you the menu." He points at Finn. "Text me what she wants within the hour."
"Yes, sir," Finn says immediately, and Adrian nods once.
"Bye, Omegas."
"Bye," we both echo. He leaves, and Finn turns to me. "So, what do you want to do?"
I blink. There are options. Real, actual options of what to do with my day.
"We could go bug Jonas? Lachlan? Beach? Pool? TV? Movie?" he continues.
My brain stalls. I don't know what to do. I've never had free time that wasn't consumed by the thought that I should be doing something. "I don't know," I admit. "Anything's fine with me."
Finn grins. "Perfect answer. Let's go find the others."
We find Jonas and Lachlan in the living room. There's a baseball game playing on the TV. Both of them are on their laptops, working, but not really.
"We're home!" Finn announces. Lachlan looks up first and smiles, and Jonas follows suit, shutting his laptop.
"Thank goodness," Jonas says. "I need something more interesting than spreadsheets."
Finn says, "Anything is more interesting than spreadsheets."
Jonas asks, "Want to go swim, Kaia?"
I blink. "In the ocean?"
Jonas says, "Or the pool—whatever you want."
I hesitate, then whisper, "I've never swam in the ocean."
There's silence, then all three of them react at once.
Finn says, "What?"
Jonas asks, "Never?"
Lachlan just stares at me, and I laugh nervously. "Is that weird?"
"Yes," Finn says immediately. "Extremely."
"Okay," Jonas says, standing. "We're fixing that."
"Tomorrow," Lachlan adds. "Emergency beach day."
My chest warms at the way they move into action without hesitation, without making me feel broken for not having done this before.
They're not judging the gap in my experience—they're already planning how to fill it.
There's something in the way they look at me, like this is the most natural thing in the world, like they're honored to be the ones to show me.
"Today." Finn claps his hands. "We tan and swim in the pool. Let's go!"
This time, I don't hesitate before following.