He steps in first, his fingers curling gently around my wrist and easing my hand away from the death grip I have on my own arm. Corey moves to my other side, his warmth settling beside me, while Jakob remains in front of me, watchful and controlled, as though Louis is on the other side of the door and Jakob is personally holding the entire room between us.
“He knows exactly what to say to make me feel stupid,” I whisper. “I had things I wanted to tell him, but the second he started, my head went blank.”
“That doesn’t mean he was right,” Brody says. His thumb moves slowly over my pulse. “It means he spent too long learning where to hurt you.”
Corey’s mouth loses every trace of humor. “A man who has to confuse you before he can win an argument isn’t clever, Claire. He’s just a coward.”
I swallow hard.
Jakob’s gaze holds mine. “You told him to leave you alone while you were frightened and overwhelmed. That took more strength than standing there calmly would have.”
The tears threaten again, but these feel different. Less like Louis taking something from me and more like the three men around me are quietly putting pieces back.
“I hate that you’re seeing me like this,” I admit and pinch my lips together.
Brody’s eyes soften. “Like what?”
“Falling apart.”
Jakob studies me for a moment. “All I see is a woman who kept standing long after someone made a habit of trying to knock her down. You’re allowed to shake afterward.”
Tears are creeping out of the corners of my eyes, and I quickly wipe them away, adjusting my glasses.
“And you found a storage room with champagne crates,” Corey adds, glancing around. “Which shows excellent judgment under pressure.”
I laugh properly this time, even though it comes out wet and uneven.
“There she is,” Corey murmurs, but there’s no triumph in it. Only relief.
The room is still too small. My face is on fire, and my heartbeat hasn’t fully settled. But I’m standing between three Alphas who followed me not to demand an explanation or tell me I was overreacting, but simply because they noticed I was gone.
For the first time since Louis approached me, I breathe all the way in.
They remain close, and their warmth presses through the thin fabric of my dress, their scents tangling around me, and the last of the panic begins to loosen from my ribs.
“How are you all so amazing?” I ask, my voice muffled, wiping away a stray tear from my cheek.
“Excellent genetics,” Corey says immediately. “Years of training. A strict diet of protein and emotional intelligence.”
A laugh shakes out of me. Their arms soften, but none of them move away. When I lift my face, Brody has shifted to stand in front of me, Jakob to my side.
Too close.
Or perhaps exactly close enough.
His gaze travels over me slowly, taking in the wetness beneath my eyes, the flush in my cheeks, the smile I’m still trying to hold on to. He reaches up and brushes his thumb under one lens of my glasses, catching the tear I missed.
“We’ve had practice,” he reminds me quietly.
“At handling weddings?”
“At knowing when someone needs people around her who aren’t going anywhere.”
My breath catches.
The humor fades from the room, leaving something softer and far more dangerous behind. Corey and Jakob are still at my sides. Brody’s thumb lingers against my cheek, and my pulse races.
I want them here.