Page 132 of Knotted By my Pack

Noah steps forward, tension rolling off him. Julian hasn’t moved, but his jaw has gone tight, his eyes dark. They’re watching me like I’ve just dropped into the deep end. Like I’ve stopped being just Cora and become something more precious.

Or maybe just more tempting.

I curse under my breath, then louder. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Elias touches my wrist, eyes scanning my face. “It’s the stress. The information triggered something. Your system’s flooded with adrenaline and?—”

“Why can’t I just have a heart attack like normal people?” I snap, breathless. “Why does it have to be this? Why now?”

My thighs clench. My skin’s hypersensitive, each breath making it worse. The pulse at the base of my spine is now a full-blown ache.

Noah swears. Julian looks like he’s seconds away from pacing.

I fan myself with my apron. “This is ridiculous. I’m not even in the mood for this. I’m angry. I’m disgusted. I’m?—”

My voice breaks again. Heat coils in my belly, and I press my knees together, trying to stop the pressure building there.

I can see them breathing harder now. Elias’s eyes darken. Noah licks his lips once and quickly looks away.

Julian doesn’t even try to hide the way he’s watching my mouth.

This can’t happen. Not now. Not like this.

I stare at the ceiling and groan. “I hate this. I hate Alec even though I’ve never met him. I hate this town. I hate this bakery. I hate you. All of you.”

Noah smirks—no, not smirking, not allowed—but doesn’t speak.

Julian exhales through his nose like he’s trying not to react.

Elias squeezes my wrist. “You’re gonna be okay.”

“I am not okay!” I yell. “There’s a town hall meeting in two days, and I can’t go in there smelling like heat and frustration and whatever the hell this is!”

“It’ll pass,” Elias says gently.

“Will it?” I shoot him a look. “Because unless one of you has a cold bucket of water or a damn tranq dart, this is going to get very ugly very fast.”

They all go quiet. Too quiet.

My eyes narrow. “Don’t even think about it.”

No one says a word.

I stand shakily and grab the edge of the table. My hands are trembling now, the heat building between my legs enough to make me want to rip the apron off and curl into the freezer.

I close my eyes and try to breathe. “We need a plan. We need to talk about Lockwood. We need to talk about replacing him. We need to talk about Noah running. Not... this.”

Julian shifts slightly. “We can do all that. But first, you need to stop pushing through it like it’s just another chore.”

Elias’s voice is closer now, soft but sure. “You’ve been holding it together for everyone. It’s okay to fall apart for a second.”

“I’m not falling apart.” My voice is hoarse.

Noah, quiet until now, says, “You’re allowed to let us hold you up for once.”

The room is thick with it now. Heat. Anger. Frustration. Lust. I want to claw out of my own skin. I want to break something.

I want to grab one of them and ride this wave until it crests and crashes and maybe—just maybe—relieves the fire eating me alive.