Discharge day finally came, but the celebration was… short-lived.
Krishna sat in the backseat of Aaron's sleek car, staring out the window as the city blurred past, her dominant arm now strapped up in a stiff white cast that stretched from her knuckles to just under her shoulder.
She hated it.
Hated the awkwardness. Hated the loss of control. Hated the constant dull ache that wouldn't let her forget how fragile her Beta body truly was.
And worse?
The three dogs hovering around her like she was made of glass.
"Slow down on the turns," Alliyah snapped from the passenger seat, glaring at Aaron like he was driving an ambulance over potholes.
"I'm literally going under the speed limit," Aaron muttered, but his hands gripped the wheel tighter, focus sharper than it had ever been behind the wheel.
In the backseat, Allysa didn't miss the opportunity to lean into Krishna's good side, gently adjusting the blanket draped across her lap like she was tucking in a feverish child.
"You're pale," Allysa whispered, voice softer than usual. "Do you want me to call the doctor back?"
Krishna rolled her eyes. "I'm fine."
But her voice came out hoarse, and all three of them caught it.
When they arrived at her apartment, the chaos began.
Aaron had barely killed the engine before both twins practically leapt from the car, scrambling to open Krishna's door for her.
"I can walk," she grumbled.
"You're in a cast," Alliyah countered.
"Your legs still work, but your balance is off," Allysa added like she was reciting from a medical textbook.
Aaron scooped up her hospital bag before she could touch it, shooting both twins a competitive glare as if daring them to try and steal the job from him.
By the time Krishna stepped foot back inside her apartment, her peaceful sanctuary was officially gone.
They unpacked her things without being asked.
Replaced her bedsheets.
Checked her fridge.
Reorganized her medicine stash like overenthusiastic nurses.
And then came the final blow.
"We're moving in," Alliyah declared, hands on her hips.
"Until you're healed," Allysa confirmed with an all-too-pleased smile.
Aaron, standing behind them, didn't even pretend to argue.
"Yeah. No objections," he said quickly.
Krishna blinked at them from her spot on the couch, hair messy, pain meds still swirling in her system.
"You're serious."
Three nods.
And that was that.
For days, they stayed.
Nesting inside her home like overgrown, territorial housecats with Alpha instincts and too much free time.
Lucius, trapped inside Debonair Holdings by Harlan's sudden mountain of paperwork and endless assigned meetings, could only send occasional text check-ins, short, clipped, and clearly frustrated at being forcibly kept away.
But Krishna?
She didn't mind the quiet from him.
Not now.
Not when she had her hands full with three very persistent shadows.
Every hour… one of them was beside her.
Brushing her hair.
Feeding her food she didn't ask for.
Adjusting her pillows.
Massaging her legs or shoulders whenever she so much as shifted wrong.
At night, her bedroom became their favorite haunt.
And though none of them crossed the line she didn't set…
They worshipped her in other ways.
Aaron curled beside her good side like a loyal pillow, refusing to sleep unless she let him hold at least her ankle or wrist.
Alliyah and Allysa took turns laying on her other side, one playing with her hair while the other whispered complaints about how pale she looked, how cold her fingers felt, or how she shouldn't push herself even in her sleep.
The first time she tried to sit up by herself in the middle of the night?
All three were on her within seconds.
"No moving."
"No stretching."
"No stressing."
It was ridiculous.
It was suffocating.
And…
Somewhere deep down…
It was comforting.
For the first time in what felt like years… Krishna allowed herself to be still.
To not lift a finger.
To not bark orders.
To not play the game.
For three whole days… she stayed tucked between them.
Their voices… their warmth… their attention.
Her mind should've screamed at the lack of control.
But instead… she sank into it.
Just for now.
Because she knew the truth.
This was the eye of the storm.
Temporary peace… before she unleashed herself back into the world again.
Her cast would come off eventually.
Her strength would return.
And when it did?
Every single person who had thought she'd gone soft…
Every single person who had whispered she was finished…
Would regret underestimating her.
For now though…
She let Aaron rest his head against her stomach with a satisfied sigh.
Let Alliyah hum some old song she barely remembered.
Let Allysa lazily trace circles on her shin like she wasn't already half-asleep.
Her dogs… curled up around her like a protective wall of devotion.
And Krishna?
She smiled faintly against the ceiling.
Because when she stood up again…
The world wouldn't be ready for what she had planned next.