Page 133 of Knotted By my Pack

But not now.

Not like this.

Not when it’s a trauma response masquerading as arousal.

I collapse into the chair, sweating and shaking and breathing hard.

“I swear to God,” I mutter, pressing my forehead to the cool table. “If I survive this week without committing murder or climbing one of you like a tree, it’ll be a miracle.”

“What do you need, princess?”Julian asks, his voice rough.

“Give me a second to think,” I choke out and get up, pressing my back against the wall in the back room of my bakery, panting like I’ve just sprinted five miles barefoot through the forest.

My thighs are slick. My dress clings to every part of me like it’s been sprayed on. I can’t stand still. My nails drag across my hips like scratching will ease the molten burn building low in my belly.

Julian takes a step forward, and I swear my knees buckle. The scent of him is sharper now. All Alpha. All authority and sex.

Noah is standing to his left, jaw tight, eyes dark with restraint.

Elias leans into the counter with his arms crossed like he’s trying to pretend he’s unaffected. He’s not.

None of them are.

Every single one of them is watching me like I’m prey they’ve already decided to catch.

I drag a palm across the side of my neck. It’s burning up. “This is ridiculous,” I mutter, pacing in the small space, trying to cool the burn between my legs with logic. “I just found out the town is rigged, my business was vandalized, my mate’s father is the actual devil, and now my heat decides to show up like this?”

Julian exhales hard and drags a hand over his face. “Cora, you need to lie down. This isn’t going to pass on its own.”

“No shit.” I grip the back of a chair, my body vibrating. “Why can’t I just get a stress ulcer like a normal woman? A migraine? Maybe a mild breakdown and a bottle of wine? But no. My womb thinks now is the perfect time to prepare for a litter.”

“Jesus,” Elias mutters under his breath, rubbing his temples.

“You think I’m joking?” I glance up at all of them, sweat sliding down my spine. “I could claw through a brick wall right now. My teeth ache.”

Noah moves first.

He crosses the room with slow steps, like approaching me too quickly might detonate something. I’m already so wet I’m scared to move. He cups my face with both hands and leans in until his forehead brushes mine. “We take you home,” he murmurs. “Now. No distractions. No stopping. We’ll break this heat, Cora. You don’t go through this alone.”

I blink, swallowing down the surge of arousal that threatens to drown me right there. “All of you?”

Julian’s voice comes from behind me, velvet and full of command. “You think we’d let you deal with this like it’s shameful? You’re our Omega.”

Our.My knees give.

They catch me between them. Noah’s arms wrap around me as Julian slides one hand down my spine. Elias doesn’t touch me yet. He just stands nearby, jaw ticking, scent growing richer as he battles every instinct screaming to mark me.

“Say the word,” Julian whispers into my neck. “Tell us what you need.”

I exhale with a sharp, aching sound that’s somewhere between a growl and a cry. “Take me home.”

Elias grabs the spare keys off the hook before I can blink, already moving, and Noah carries me to the back door. Julianopens it before we even reach it, holding it wide while his other hand presses against my back possessively.

I’m cradled in Noah’s arms like I weigh nothing, and I press my face into his throat just to inhale him. Sharp cedar and crushed black pepper. Masculine. Steadying. Comforting.

In the car, I’m laid across their laps like a fevered thing.

Julian strokes my thigh in slow, claiming sweeps. Elias drives with both hands on the wheel and his eyes darting to the mirror every three seconds.