"Look, you're protective over him. I get it. In your situation, I would be too. He feels persecuted, lost, and alone. He feels like a freak even though we can all relate to him on one level or another. But he's not alone, Athos. Not just because he has you and the other three. It's because he has us. We get it. We understand. And we mean him absolutely no harm." As Brooke said this, she reached inside her own self to tame her usual mix of proud and bitchy emotions. She thought back to that night with Alexander and the way he made her feel - the way she felt warm and loved and (loathe as she was to admit it) protected in his embrace. She didn't push those emotions outward in any direction, but she did use them to quell her usual cocktail.

It wasn't a direct manipulation, it was just creating a safe, comfortable environment.