Chapter 31 Cracked control

Chapter 31 Cracked control
Elsie’s Pov
The last time I watched anyone do a complete change in character over a week was after my father’s death when my step-mother took over the pack as Luna.
The first hit was a shock that still ingrained itself in my body to flinch at her presence even when I didn’t want to.
This was different because It had taken a full week for me to begin to consider forgiving the three Alpha men that had participated heavily in making sure I knew how to flinch.
Forgiveness was a word that felt foreign on my tongue. I hadn’t considered it in a long time since they took away my mother's necklace. It weighed heavily on the little bit of self respect I’d managed to find.
I sat at the edge of Topher’s bed as I’d been occasionally doing in the past week. Each of them insisted I spent different nights at their spaces so smelling their scent would help dull the heat. It did the opposite.
My thoughts only ran in circles, looping over the same questions over and over till my mind bled out in doubt.
Why the sudden change? Why the careful touches?Since when had they learnt to wield such thoughtful restraint and look at me like I wasn’t something to break anymore?
I didn’t trust it. I couldn’t. Yet…
The bedroom door creaked open behind me and my stomach tightened as it always did when they were near. I didn’t need to turn to know who it was. The heated change in the room gave him away.
Topher’s presence was softer than the others. It didn’t suffocate me but subtly lingered. Again with the thoughtfulness I wasn't used to.
“Still avoiding us?” he asked gently.
I huffed under my breath trying not to roll my eyes at him. “I’m literally sitting on your bed.”
“Our bed,” he corrected. “Which you have every right to as my mate.”
A tug pulled at my chest fluttering my heart in an uncomfortably tingling manner.
I really detested how easily they said things like that now like it had always been this way. They were literally actively making my life hell not too long ago.
I turned slightly, just enough to glance at his toned silhouette from the corner of my eye.
Topher stood still by the door like he had no intention of coming closer or reaching for me yet. Was he really waiting for permission? That alone made something in my chest twist painfully.
A week ago, they would have taken what they wanted without a second thought. Now,they apparently waited for me.
“I brought you something,” he said after a moment, holding up a small tray.
He suddenly pulled out a small box which I recognized as the staple packaging of a popular pastry shop in the highborn wolves circle. The chocolourve.
“Is that?” I got excited by it. I had been dying to eat one of their chocolate desserts since I tasted the leftovers left by their mother for the kitchen staff.
How did he?…Of course he knew. He was an Alpha.
My lips pressed together as I relaxed my expression.
Small things. It had been nothing but small things. Tristan who makes sure no one in the pack so much as looked at me wrong. Tyler and his efforts to bite back his temper instead of unleashing it. Topher liked to hover, but he never crossed the line unless I let him.
It was driving me insane because it felt real and that was the problem.
“Leave it there,” I muttered.
Topher obeyed instantly, setting the petits white box down on the table by the bed before stepping back again.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked suddenly.
An answer came immediately without thought, “Because it's my duty and what we should have been doing from the start.”
I let out a small, humorless laugh. “That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one I have Elsie,” he responded softly like a little broken boy.
I finally turned to face him fully. His eyes met mine and the honesty glimmering in them burned more than the heat in my underbelly. I didn’t know what to do with it.
“One week of whatever this is doesn't fix everything!” I challenged them.
“No,” he spoke out instantly, holding my gaze. “But it’s a small start if you let it be.”
“Why should I?” My throat tightened. “I hate you,” I whispered, though the words lacked their usual edge. I felt like a pushover.
Topher winced like I'd cut into his gut. “I know.”
“I should never forgive you!”
“I know.”
My fingers clenched tighter into the sheets. “You know, yet here you are waiting for me to!”
“I can only wait, Elsie. It is your choice to make,” He told me gently.
It hit me. The choice was what I wanted. It was something so simple yet they had never given me one before.
A shaky breath slipped past my lips.”I don’t know how to do this,” I conceded letting my walls crumble in front of him.
Topher took a slow careful step forward this time. I could somehow feel his intention in the way he approached. He was giving me enough time to stop him if I wanted to.
I didn’t.
“I think,” he started, stopping just short of me, “you already are.”
My eyes flickered up to his. My heart began pounding again and not from the heat or fear. Maybe not entirely of fear.
I found the last bit of courage in me and reached out. My fingers brushed his hand and sparks danced from that little collision.
He held his breath as he calmly watched him. I knew better. I saw the fire in his darkening eyes. His larger hand grasped my smaller one. My wolf howled in excitement. She had been giving me time to heal but now was her moment.
“I’m not saying I trust you,” I warned. “I just don't want to fight this anymore.”
His grip remained restrained as his breath unsteady. He nodded and I understood that he understood
As I let myself relax, my body fired up in that little moment of weakness. A deep simmering fire spread through where his hand touched me down to settle low in my gut.
I squeezed my thighs together unconsciously. Topher noticed Instantly.
“Elsie, I can smell you,” he growled as his gaze darkened slightly. However, he remained motionless.
He was still waiting. The thought brought a flutter in my chest.
My wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin with her hungry craving. I had denied her proper contact with her mates after all. I needed their touch and my body was done pretending otherwise.
I slowly let go of his hand, only to push myself up from the bed to face him.
Topher tensed up and he gulped. “Elsie?”
“I know how this works,” I cut in, my voice quieter now. I was very certain about what I wanted.
“Are you sure?” he asked with a very strained tone.
I wouldn't say it out loud but I enjoyed watching him squirm like that. My body arched slightly into his without permission. My heat flared in demanding waves.
I blinked up at him, meeting his gaze head-on with mine unfiltered by caution. “I won’t beg,” I teased.
Something dark flickered in his eyes. “Then don’t,”
The space between us disappeared in a second as his hand came up to tug at my waist pulling my body to meet his in full. His mouth found my neck as he shuddered.
I leaned in closer. “Tristan and Tyler are going to be very upset if you start without them,” I murmured.
As if summoned, the door opened again albeit harshly.
The moment Tristan and Tyler stepped in, the atmosphere snapped completely. Their eyes landed on me and my desires only soared under it.
My pulse roared in my ears as I straightened slightly, forcing myself to stand my ground under the weight of their gazes.
“Don’t just stand there,” I urged with a breathy moan as Topher’s tongue grazed my skin.
Their control cracked.