Page 120 of Knotted By my Pack

Around two, Elias shows up in jeans and a black T-shirt, sleeves rolled up, sunglasses pushed into his hair.

“I heard the princess needed backup.”

I wrap my arms around him before he can make another joke. He smells like sawdust and cedar, the scent of someone who’s been working outside all morning, but he still presses his mouth to my neck like he’s ready to start all over again.

“Don’t tempt me,” I whisper. “I’m barely walking as it is.”

He grins, then turns to Noah. “Trade off. You do the dishes. I’ll handle the oven.”

“Fine,” Noah mutters, tossing him the towel. “But she’s still mine after four.”

“I’m not a shared calendar slot,” I mutter, stacking clean plates.

“You’re our girl,” Elias says from behind me, voice low. “You always have been.”

By three, I lose count of how many cupcakes we’ve sold. I forget to eat lunch. I forget what silence sounds like.

The cops stop by. Two officers in uniform, faces familiar from town meetings and Sunday market patrols. They ask if I have a minute and pull me aside near the storage closet.

“We’ve gone through the footage again. No matches yet, but we’re still combing the surrounding counties. Might’ve been someone passing through.”

“So you think it wasn’t personal?”

“Can’t say for sure. But it looks random. Smash-and-grab with no pattern.”

I nod, trying to keep my voice steady. “Thank you for checking in.”

“We’ll keep you posted.”

Noah watches the whole exchange from behind the counter, arms folded, protective and unreadable. I shake my head at him. Not now. I’m okay.

Not long after they leave, the front bell rings again. Everyone quiets.

Lockwood walks in.

The assistant mayor isn’t someone I ever expected to see here. He’s always struck me as polished in a fake way. Something about him makes me distrust him.

Unlike Mayor Jake, who tries to stay out of dirty town politics, there’s something quite fishy about his assistant. Everyone in town knows that the two of them don’t get along.

Lockwood walks up to the counter and orders a black coffee and a lemon tart, then pauses as he scans the room.

“You’ve got quite the crowd.”

“I’m lucky.”

“You’re part of what makes this town worth protecting.”

I blink. That... wasn’t what I expected.

“You’re doing a good thing,” he adds. “Don’t let anyone scare you off.”

I nod slowly, the words settling in my mind. He believes this was targeted. Or does he know something I don’t? I shake that thought away. Julian would never stoop this low. And he’s proven he cares for me.

“Thank you. Really.”

When he leaves, I just stare after him. Noah nudges my shoulder.

“You okay?”