Chapter Twelve
Jasmine
From the doorway of what I presumed was the kitchen, Theo walked through. Stopping dead in his tracks when he saw me. He smiled, and then when he spoke, his voice was surprisingly gentle.
“Let me make us some drinks,” he said, the suggestion casual, normal, like we hadn't just had a crisis in the studio. “Something warm. Maybe some food.”
He turned and moved into the hallway, his massive frame somehow managing not to seem threatening as he walked. Just present. Solid. Real.
Kade gestured for me to follow, and I did. We moved through the hallway back into the main penthouse living area, and I stopped in the entrance, surprised by what I saw.
The space had been transformed. The leather couches were covered in blankets and pillows, layers of soft fabric in shades of cream, gray, and burgundy, creating what looked almost like a nest. Throw pillows were arranged along the backs and arms of the furniture, providing support and comfort.
On the low stone fireplace, a small fire crackled, sending warm light dancing across the walls.
It looked cozy. Inviting, and safe in a way that made my chest ache.
“We thought you might need some comfort after the recording session,” Lucian's voice came from deeper in the room. I found him near the fireplace, adjusting the position of a blanket draped over one couch. His ocean-colored eyes met mine with warmth. “A movie night seemed appropriate.”
They'd done this for me. Had set up this entire space, built this nest of comfort, because they'd anticipated I might need it.
I didn't know what to say.
Theo appeared from the kitchen. He moved to where I stood frozen in the entrance and smiled; the expression transforming his scarred face into something unexpectedly gentle.
“Come on,” he said, and then he was draping something soft around my shoulders.
A throw blanket, thick and warm, settled around me like a gentle weight. The fabric was impossibly soft, maybe cashmere or something equally luxurious, and it carried the faint mixed scents of all three Alphas—oak, leather, and rosewood tangled together.
Theo's hands lingered briefly on my shoulders, adjusting the blanket, and then he guided me toward a large couch with a light touch at the small of my back. “Sit with me,” he said, making it a request rather than a command. “I promise I don't bite.”
The attempt at humor should have fallen flat, but something about his delivery, about the warmth in his dark eyes, made the corner of my mouth twitch.
I sat down and sank into the cushions, which were even softer than they looked. The blankets surrounded me; the fire crackled warmth in my direction, and for the first time since arriving at the penthouse, I felt my body start to truly relax.
Theo settled beside me, close but not touching, his large frame taking up more than his fair share of the couch but not crowding me. He reached for the remote on the coffee table, and the overhead lights dimmed, leaving just the firelight and the soft glow of accent lamps.
“I have something you'll enjoy,” he said, his voice holding a hint of mischief as he navigated through a streaming menu on the large television mounted above the fireplace.
A comedy appeared on the screen, something I vaguely recognized from posters I'd seen at bus stops. Lighthearted, silly, the kind of thing designed to make people laugh without requiring deep thought.
Perfect for someone whose brain felt wrung out from emotional exhaustion.
Theo hit play, and the opening credits started rolling. Movement on my other side made me glance over. Kade had settled on the opposite end of the couch, leaving a space between us, respecting boundaries even in this cozy setup.
Lucian appeared from the kitchen entrance carrying a large tray.
The smell hit me first—butter, salt, and sugar, sweet and savory mixing in a way that made my stomach suddenly remember it existed.
He set the tray on the coffee table in front of us, and I saw glasses of fizzy drinks and bowls of popcorn, glossy with melted butter, and several smaller bowls filled with different candies.
Chocolate, gummies, something that looked like caramels.
“Help yourself,” Lucian said, settling onto the other couch at the side of us. “We weren't sure what you'd like, so we brought options.”
My hand reached for one of the popcorn bowls without conscious thought, drawn by hunger and the comfort of familiar food. I pulled it into my lap, felt the warmth of it through the ceramic, and took a handful.
Then, Theo leaned forward, grabbed a small bowl of M&M's, and before I could react, tipped a generous portion of the colorful candies directly into my popcorn.
I stared at the bowl, then at him, my eyes wide with something between horror and disbelief. “What are you doing?”
His grin was pure mischief, the expression making him look younger, less intimidating. “What? You've never tried it before?”
I shook my head, still staring at the contamination in my bowl. Sweet and salty mixed together, chocolate and butter, it seemed wrong on a fundamental level.
“Trust me,” Theo said, his voice dropping to something more serious despite the smile still playing at his lips. “Just try one bite. If you hate it, I'll get you a fresh bowl.”
I looked down at the popcorn studded with candy, then back at his face. He was watching me with such genuine enthusiasm, such open hope that I'd like this thing he wanted to share, that I couldn't bring myself to refuse.
Picking up a piece of popcorn with an M&M stuck to it, I brought it to my mouth, and bit down.
The candy shell cracked first, releasing the chocolate inside.
Sweet and smooth, it melted almost immediately against the heat of the buttered popcorn.
Then the salt hit, mixing with the chocolate, creating a flavor combination that shouldn't work but somehow did.
The popcorn's crunch provided texture contrast to the melting candy, and the butter tied everything together into something that was simultaneously indulgent and comforting.
A sound escaped me before I could stop it. A soft moan of pleasure, muted but unmistakable.
The room went absolutely still.
I froze, the realization of what I'd just done hitting me like cold water. My eyes snapped up from the bowl, and I found all three Alphas staring at me with expressions that made my breath catch.
Kade's hands had tightened on the armrest beside him, his knuckles white with pressure.
Lucian had gone rigid in his seat, his ocean eyes darkening to something more intense.
And Theo beside me... Theo's entire body had tensed, his jaw clenched, and when I met his gaze, I saw something predatory flickering behind the warmth.
Want. They wanted me. All three of them, responding to that small involuntary sound with the kind of focused intensity that prey animals recognized instinctively.
My eyes went wide, my heart rate spiking, and for a moment, the comfortable nest of blankets felt like a trap again.
But none of them moved. None of them reached for me. They just sat there, frozen in place, clearly fighting their own instincts, their own responses to what my moan had triggered.
The moment stretched, taut and charged with something I didn't fully understand but felt all the way through my body.
Then Lucian moved, breaking the frozen moment with deliberate casualness. He shook his head, reached into his own popcorn bowl, and flicked a kernel directly at Theo's face.
The popcorn hit Theo's cheek and bounced off, tumbling down to land on the blanket draped across his lap.
“Really?” Lucian said, his voice holding exaggerated exasperation. “Neither of you could control yourselves at a snack table if your lives depended on it.”
Theo blinked, the predatory intensity draining from his expression, replaced by something like sheepish amusement. He reached down, grabbed the popcorn kernel that had landed on his blanket, and threw it back at Lucian with terrible aim. It went wide, hitting the back of the couch instead.
“Says the man who ate an entire cake by himself last month,” Theo shot back, but he was grinning now, the expression transforming his face back into something gentle despite the scar.
“It was a small cake,” Lucian protested, catching another piece of popcorn that Theo had thrown and popping it into his mouth. “And it was my birthday.”
“It was actually my birthday,” Kade interjected from beside me, his voice dry but holding an undercurrent of humor. “And you ate my cake.”
“Details.” Lucian waved his hand dismissively, then flicked another kernel at Theo, this one hitting him square in the forehead.
I watched the exchange with growing confusion. They were... playing? These Alphas, who moments ago had been looking at me with such intense want, were now throwing food at each other and bickering like siblings.
Theo launched a handful of popcorn at Lucian in retaliation, the pieces scattering across the coffee table and floor. Lucian ducked, laughing, and the sound of it was rich and unguarded.
“You're cleaning that up,” Kade said, but even his controlled demeanor was cracking around the edges. I saw the corner of his mouth twitch, saw him fighting a smile.
“Worth it,” Theo declared, and threw another piece.
The corner of my mouth was doing something strange. Twitching upward. A smile wanted to form, and more than that, something else was building in my chest.
Pressure. Not painful, not frightening, but insistent. It rose from somewhere deep inside, bubbled up through my ribs, and before I could stop it, sound emerged.
Laughter.
It was small at first, just a huff of breath that might have been mistaken for surprise. But then it grew, became real, genuine laughter that shook my shoulders and made my eyes water for entirely different reasons than they had earlier.
I was laughing. Actually laughing, the sound bright and surprised even to my own ears. When was the last time I'd laughed? Really laughed, not the bitter, cynical sound I sometimes made at the cruel ironies of street life, but genuine amusement?
Years. It had been years.
The three Alphas stopped their food fight immediately, all attention turning to me. But their expressions weren't predatory now. They looked pleased, satisfied, like they'd accomplished something important.
“There it is,” Theo said softly, his voice holding warmth that made my chest ache in a good way.
I tried to stop laughing, to get myself under control, but another giggle escaped. My hand came up to cover my mouth, trying to contain the sound, but it kept coming anyway.
Lucian was smiling at me, with a tender expression that made his handsome features even more striking. “You should laugh more often,” he said. “It suits you.”
The comment should have made me self-conscious, should have shut down the laughter and brought back my wariness. But somehow it didn't. Somehow, in this moment, surrounded by blankets, firelight and three Alphas who'd deliberately broken their own tension to make me comfortable, I felt... safe.
I let myself nestle deeper into the blankets, pulling them tighter around my shoulders, and turned to watch the movie.
The characters on screen doing something silly that I'd missed while watching the Alphas' food fight.
But it didn't matter. I could catch up, could follow along, could just exist here in this nest of comfort they'd built.
My body was relaxing in ways I hadn't allowed in years. My shoulders dropped, the constant tension draining away. My injured ankle was propped on the couch cushions, elevated and supported. The fire crackled warmth across my skin, and the blankets cocooned me in softness.
For the first time since leaving my mother's house all those years ago, before the pack, the beatings, the loss, and the streets, I felt something close to home.
The thought should have terrified me. Should have sent me running back to my room to lock the door and remind myself that feelings like this were dangerous, that letting my guard down led to pain.
But I was so tired of running. Exhausted of being afraid. Wearied of surviving instead of living.
Maybe, just maybe, I could let myself imagine staying.
Not forever, not permanently, but at least for the six weeks until the gala.
Maybe I could imagine what it would be like to have a place, to have people who cared whether I was okay, to have Alphas who broke the tension with popcorn fights instead of fists.
Theo shifted beside me, adjusting his position to get more comfortable, and his shoulder brushed against mine. The contact was brief, casual, and he didn't pull away or apologize. Just let it rest there, a point of warm connection.
I didn't pull away either.
On screen, the movie characters were doing something that made Lucian snort with laughter. Kade commented on the implausible physics, and Theo defended the movie's artistic license with mock seriousness.
They were just... normal. Just three men watching a movie together, comfortable with each other, including me in their space like I belonged there.
Maybe I could believe that. Just for tonight. Just for this moment.
I let my eyes drift half-closed, watching the movie through the filter of my lashes, and let myself feel warm, safe and almost, almost home.