Page 124 of Knotted By my Pack

“Everyone out. Now.”

Chairs scrape. Papers shuffle. No one dares question him. The room clears faster than I thought possible, until it’s just the three of us.

He turns to me, eyes sharp. “What the hell is this about?”

I shake my head. “This isn’t about the townspeople. I’m not trying to protect them from the big, bad company. I’m trying to offer something more sustainable.”

Damien lets out a low, cruel laugh. “I get it now.”

My father doesn’t look at him. “What do you think you get?”

“Oh, come on,” Damien says, leaning against the edge of the table like he owns it. “You don’t see it? He’s screwing someone in Driftwood Cove. That’s why he’s so eager to shut everything down. Protect the little town. Rewrite the narrative. He’s buried himself so deep between someone’s legs he thinks he’s found God.”

I go cold.

Her scent. The trail she left on me. How close she was when she kissed my neck, her thighs locked around me in the dark.

I thought I’d washed it all away. The showers. The clothes I burned. But Damien, fucking Damien, has always known how to sniff out the softest parts of me.

“Is that true?” My father’s voice is low and dangerous. “You compromised this company over a fuck?”

My lips part, but nothing comes out at first. Because it’s not just about her. It’s about everything she made me see.

About how long I’ve worn this skin, pretending I cared about quarterly reports and land contracts, when the only thing I wanted was to build something that mattered.

“Her name’s Cora,” I say finally.

Silence stretches thin.

“She owns a bakery in the town. The one you vandalized. The town’s been up in arms since the first contractors started drilling. They don’t trust us, and frankly, I don’t blame them.”

My father walks slowly to the bar cart, pours two fingers of whiskey into a crystal tumbler. Doesn’t offer me any.

“You’ve gone soft.”

“No. I’ve gone aware.”

Damien makes a noise like a scoff. “You threw away months of work for a barista.”

“She’s more than that.” My voice hardens. “And this is about more than her. The town’s infrastructure can’t support the scale we’re proposing. We’ll crush them under the weight of this build, and then what? We’ll pull out and leave a shell behind?”

“You think this board cares?” my father says, sipping his drink. “You think the shareholders care?”

“I care.” My fists tighten. “And you should too.”

Damien laughs again, but this time there’s something bitter in it. “You’re willing to lose everything for her.”

I meet his gaze. “I’d lose a lot more if I walked away from her now.”

My father sets his glass down hard. “Get your shit together. Either you’re in or you’re out. If you’re out, I’ll hand it to Damien.”

“Fine,” I say, heart racing now because it’s not about choosing her over my career. It’s about choosing the part of me that still believes I can create something real.

His expression doesn’t change. “Then you’d better fix this. Fast.”

I turn, walking out, heat climbing my spine. Outside, Brielle watches me like she already knows everything. Her scent is muted now, bitter with disappointment.

I pass her without a word.