As if we care.

After an hour of awkward laughter, followed by silence, Dominic stood up from the table and announced that he and Seth should leave.

They spent most of the date-time with his mother and sister, completely ruining the plans he had. The Alpha already hated seeing the women of his family alone; both thought they had some sort of power over his decisions.

Now, when they insisted on seeing Seth, it made his hatred even stronger.

If only Dominic's father would have found time to meet him, perhaps his family wouldn't seem like a complete bunch of lunatics.

“It wasn't as bad, was it?” Seth let out a deep breath, grabbing the safety belt and looking outside the window.

Dominic's sister and mother stood by the main entrance door, smug smirks on their lips, waving as if they had won the battle of a century.

Seth wouldn't intentionally make the Alpha feel bad about the ruined date, but deep down, she knew - his family hated cat shifters, and the women made it pretty obvious each time as they spoke.

“It was worse than just bad.” Dominic didn't bother to acknowledge his mother and sister, waiting for him to wave back. He wouldn't, even if Seth wasn't around.

After each family meeting, the Alpha would get into his car and drive away as fast and as far as possible.

They were the reason why he didn't want to come home or spend the holidays together. They were the reason why his father grew so distant over the years of constant nagging and attempts to control everyone.

Dominic loved his family simply because he had no other chance - he couldn't choose who his relatives would be, but everything came at a price. The Alpha's price was separate household and business to keep them away.

“Come on, they were just curious, that's all. It's natural for family members to look out for their closest ones; you shouldn't look at the situation as if something bad happened. They're trying to find out if you've made the right choice; sometimes others see everything better than we do. Just a cup of coffee and a small talk. Calm down.” Seth placed her hand on his thigh, lightly squeezing it.

She knew that it was said that only mates could calm down Alphas, but since there were none left, sometimes the chosen woman could.

The last thing they needed was reckless driving and getting into a car crash because of his anger. As soon as Dominic slowed down a little, Seth tried to take her hand off his thigh, but the Alpha grabbed it and held her.

“Leave it; your touch makes me calmer. I don't want to let my anger blind me and forget that I'm not alone in this damned car. Why did I even think that taking you there was a good idea? God damn it!” Dominic hissed, grabbing the steering wheel tight enough to make his knuckles completely white.

Unlike the tight grip on the steering wheel, the hand which held Seth's was gentle and warm.

“And I told you that it was just a small talk. I'm fine, right? Nothing happened; we didn't fight or argue about anything. Just calm down so we can enjoy at least the car ride,” she knew that at times as such, she had to be as calm as possible.

If she acted as pissed off and aggressive as the Alpha did - they would end up in a big argument, and one of them would probably get out of the car. This day was meant to be theirs but ended up as something absolutely different.

“I wouldn't call a whole interrogation a small talk. How can you be so calm? My mother and sister basically bombarded you with questions about having my children while we're not even dating. This was supposed to be a great chance to show you which one of us would be the best fit for you, and my family had to ruin it.” The Alpha hissed, recalling the encounter with his family. “My sister wasn't supposed to even be there, same for my mother. I wanted to share a part of my most beautiful childhood memories, and I'm pretty sure that you know those two are no part of it. They've never been, and I doubt that I'll be able to see them as a positive part of life in the future. I'll make it up to you,” the Alpha couldn't let go of most recent events.

Ryder took her out, and Seth had to face someone from her past.

Now, on their date, she had to face his snobbish mother and sister. Will this woman ever get a break?

“They didn't ruin anything.” Seth lied, looking at the trees they were passing.

They did ruin a lot, especially her opinion on the family he might have. All this time, Seth thought that Dominic might have the most loving and caring family, yet everything she had seen so far was greed.

“Promise?” The Alpha chuckled, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing the top of her palm gently.

“I promise.” Seth sighed, closing her eyes.

She didn't plan to sleep, but a little silence seemed to be what both of them needed more than anything now.

Dominic turned on the music and focused on the road ahead. Seth had no idea what he was thinking, but perhaps it was better.

Unintentionally, her thoughts traveled back to the meeting with his mother and sister.

Everything was fine for a couple of minutes until they brought up the competition topic.

Dominic shrugged it off, reminding them how often he repeated that he doesn't want to carry such responsibility on his shoulders. Seemingly only the Alpha's father supported his decision, fully aware of how their life would change if only his son won.

His mother and sister didn't end up as sustaining as the head of the family. Apparently, the sister had bought many expensive ball gowns, getting ready to be addressed as a princess and joining so many social events.

His mother pointed out how disappointed she was in her son - she had given birth to him, yet he didn't care about her needs. The whole setting seemed somewhat narcissistic and hypocritical.

Everyone sought good out of everything he did, not once asking if he was doing okay, if his health had been good, and if the Alpha didn't need any help.

All those thoughts piled up, suffocating Seth. She sighed and opened her eyes, turning her attention towards the male. Perhaps she was making the biggest mistake ever, but she had to come clean.

Dominic had to endure enough because of his family alone; there was no need to add her to the problem.

I think we have to talk. All of us.” Seth mumbled under her breath, partly hoping that he wouldn't catch on to her words.

The problem was that she knew what would be the right thing to do, yet a part of her still didn't want to admit anything. What if her words and actions might hurt them even more?

Would a confession make anyone feel better, especially her? All Alphas would move on sooner or later, but she would have to live with the thoughts of how her life would turn out to be if not only the decision to open up.

“What do you mean by all of us?” Dominic raised an eyebrow, his eyes still focused on the road.

As much as he wanted to take a glance at Seth, he couldn't - her safety meant more than a momentary satisfaction of staring at her.

“You, me, Ryder.”

“I have some things to say, something you should know.” Seth breathed out, looking down at her feet.

Now, she didn't feel regretful at all, but Seth was ashamed for the first time in a long time.

Fitting the puzzle pieces together in her mind, she realized that she hadn't just enjoyed her life and freedom. She had taken advantage of that - sleeping around like a hungry nymphomaniac.

It didn't matter if both of them would change their views on her, for as long as she stopped to mislead them and give false hope.

“Did you make your decision already? Whew, that was fast. Not going to lie - I'm getting quite nervous here, even my palms started sweating.” The awkward laugher, escaping his lips, was just another proof of how excited Dominic was.

Seth could hear his heart pounding against the ribcage at unbelievable speed. The Alpha didn't hide the mixed emotions he had - fear, excitement, thrilling joy, and even part of a terror.

He didn't have to wait for a long time until Seth gave an answer, but even the little he had to wait was more than enough.

Dominic wanted to call her his yesterday, not today, tomorrow, or after a week. If the male was lucky - Seth would completely disregard the meeting with his family and make her decision only based on how he treated her.

“It's not…” Seth tried to explain, but the excited Alpha cut her off before she could say a word more.

“I can't wait; let me give him a call and put it on a speaker so we can do it now.” Dominic grinned, sliding a hand in the pocket of his jacket, trying to grab hold of his phone.

The Alpha had nothing against Ryder, a matter of fact - he was a great guy, but now he could only hope that the great guy didn't win over Seth's heart.

“Dominic, it's not that.” Seth quickly grabbed a hold on Dominic's wrist to prevent the phone call. The conversation wasn't one to happen over the phone, definitely not one he thought might be.

“What is it then?” The Alpha took a quick glance at Seth, hoping to find an answer on her facial expression.

“I just told you - there is something you should know.” She repeated herself. Seth would do anything to keep quiet until they got to the lake house; both had to sit in front of her when she confessed the truth.

“Why can't we discuss it now then?” Dominic questioned her.

Of course, he didn't think that the topic might be anything near serious since Seth seemed relatively calm. If there was anything wrong or absolutely amazing to say - she wouldn't hesitate to share the information. Or would she?

“You don't announce such things over the phone,” Seth whispered to herself, turning her face back to the window, letting her mind run free.

“Alright then, so tell me, and later you can tell everything to Ryder as well.” He wouldn't give up.

The Alpha knew that nothing would happen without trying his best - so he did keep pushing.

Seth might get tired or annoyed by his persistence and break. Ryder could wait a little more until Seth told him anything; after all, it was Dominic's date day today, not the other way around. Sometimes patience might be one's best friend, but the Alpha couldn't care less.

“No, we will sit down and talk together; none of us will be absent. It's about all three of us, so the conversation must happen when we're together, in privacy. Please stop trying to make me talk before we get back to the lake house. Trust me on this one; it is better to sit down and talk like grown shifters do. Dominic, we're not children, we have a past, and we have made many mistakes. Some shifters regret them, some not as much, but we're still human enough to make the same mistakes again even after getting burned. Please, let's enjoy the little moment of silence we can share.” Seth didn't bother to look his way anymore.

Alphas were strong and pretty vicious wolves, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't have sincere emotions.

She had seen many powerful men getting hurt - a problem she would try to avoid by hurting them in the first place. The whole adventure had gone too far, Seth still had two more men on her heels, and if she didn't make the choice today - she wouldn't take it ever in the future.

Dominic gulped loudly, slowly turning the steering wheel to drive into the forest area.

Within a few minutes, they would reach the lake house - if the Alpha could, he would make sure that the road was at least an hour away. The car drive had passed way too fast, making him feel as if he was drowning in stress and fear.

As soon as the car stopped, he didn't waste a moment to lean closer and press his lips against Seth's, pulling her into a passionate kiss.

The Alpha didn't try to deepen his kiss, quite the opposite - with all desire and lust playing in his mind, he wanted to show her how much he cared.

When their lips parted, both of them panted for breath, eyes still closed. Dominic rested his forehead against hers and whispered: “Just in case this was our last one.” He unbuckled her seat belt and added: “Now, get that pretty little ass out of my car so we can get done with the damn conversation before I lose my mind.”

He got out of the car and opened the door for her. He grabbed Seth's hand, leading her into the lake house. If this was his last chance - Dominic wanted to feel like they were together just for a little more.

Being next to Seth, holding her, and watching the waterfall made Dominic feel as if they were an official couple. The feeling was indescribable, unique.

Ryder seemed to catch that something might happen soon since the Alpha sat on the sofa and stared at the door. He disregarded the swollen lips and hands they held, greeting both with a weak smile.

“Good evening, lover birds,” Ryder laughed, for some reason utterly unfazed by the weird dynamic between them all. “I was thinking about having an evening outside, you know - campfire and maybe some marshmallows. How does it sound?”

“Actually, Seth here has something important to tell us. And no, don't freak out, because I already did - it's not about making a choice,” Dominic led her closer to Ryder, a weak smile on his lips.

“I think that sounds lovely. Give me a minute to change, and I'll meet you boys outside. We could talk there?” Seth gladly agreed to the offer.

Perhaps the whole confession would feel more comfortable if they had some fun while talking.

She ran upstairs without waiting for a reply from both Alphas. Seth quickly grabbed a hoodie and slid on a pair of sweatpants, ignoring any mirror on her way.

She was there to feel comfortable, not to impress someone with unrealistic beauty standards.

Thankfully, the Alphas already took care of the campfire and sat by it, laughing as Seth approached them.

When she sat down, the joyful atmosphere died down, replaced by intense tension. The men eyed each other, silently waiting for Seth to speak up. Whatever it was - both agreed that they would accept it without a second thought.

“The reason I wanted to talk is to avoid hurting anyone. You two are not the only men in my life, and I'm not talking about family members. I value my freedom and love to explore everything life would throw at me. I have had an intimate type of relationship with two men before, and Dominic here. I don't think that I could choose - every one of you has something special that I can't say no to, yet I want it all. I know that this makes me a terrible person, but even after a week, month, or a year, I don't think that I could ever choose.” Seth spoke as fast as she could, ignoring any thought that might pop in her mind. She didn't care if her words made any sense, the main goal was to confess, and she did.

Dominic and Ryder started laughing at her.

All Seth could do was stare at them in a mix of confusion and shock. She just told them that more men were in her life, yet they laughed it off as a joke. Did she look like she was joking?

Was there something about her appearance that made them feel as if she was trying to test them?

“As if we care.”