Page 16 of The Pack

My words faltered as Magnus closed the distance between us. He reached out, his hand brushing my waist, and I jerked back, but the heat surged in response, making me gasp.

“It’s worse when I touch you, isn’t it?” he asked, his voice quiet, almost gentle.

I glared at him, my chest heaving. “What are you doing to me?”

His jaw tightened, and for a moment, I thought he might actually be frustrated with me, but then it passed.

“It’s not me, Zara,” he said. “It’s you. Your body is acting like a shifter’s would, and I don’t understand why.”

“That’s not possible,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I’m not… I’m not like you.”

“Maybe not,” Magnus said, his eyes softening just slightly. “But whatever you are, it’s happening. And we’re going to have to deal with it.”

His words hung in the air, heavy and final, as the fire inside me burned hotter, brighter, threatening to consume me. It spread through my body like wildfire and it seemed there was nothing I could do to stop it.

And it wasn’t just in my core anymore—it was everywhere. My skin felt like it was glowing, every nerve sparking to life with a dangerous mix of agony and uncontrollable arousal. It dropped down into the pit of my belly, making my stomach squeeze painfully tight, and then my pussy clenched down hard.

With arousal…

Oh, God. That couldn’t be right.

I took a step back, my legs trembling as I tried to put distance between me and the wolves—or men, or whatever they were. My breaths came fast and shallow, my pulse hammering in my ears.

“I… I don’t feel right,” I managed to say, my voice trembling.

Magnus was watching me, his gaze assessing my every move. The others lingered nearby, their eyes flicking between me and him like they were waiting for him to make a call.

“Zara,” Magnus said, his voice calm, like he was trying not to startle me. “I need you to focus, lass. Can you do that for me?”

I shook my head, stumbling back another step. The heat twisted inside me, coiling low in my stomach like a predator ready to pounce. My hands trembled as I gripped my sides, trying to ground myself, but it wasn’t working. It just kept building, the ache in my core twisting into something terrible and hot.

My clit pulsed so hard that I nearly moaned out loud.

“It’s too much,” I gasped. “I can’t… I can’t control it.”

“Magnus,” Callum said softly, stepping forward. His hair was tousled, his kind eyes filled with concern. “We need to do something.”

“Like what?” Tobias snapped. “She’s human. There’s no precedent for this. We don’t even know what we’re dealing with.”

“Then figure it out,” Callum shot back, his voice uncharacteristically harsh.

“Stop,” Magnus said, cutting through their argument like a blade. His focus stayed locked on me, his expression unreadable. “Zara. Look at me.”

I forced myself to meet his eyes, even as my body betrayed me, my knees threatening to buckle under the weight of the heat. My throat felt dry, my skin too tight, and the fire raging inside me was growing stronger by the second.

My gaze jerked down to their cocks, and I couldn’t help but stare.

“You need to stay with me,” Magnus said calmly, but firmly. “Don’t fight it. Fighting will only make it worse.”

“I don’t… I feel like I’m—” I choked out, tears stinging my eyes as frustration and fear bubbled up.

“Losing control,” Magnus finished for me softly.

“Yes,” I whispered.

He stepped closer, his movements cautious, like he was approaching a cornered animal, and I couldn’t help but take a step back even as my arousal surged at his approach.

“That’s what heat does,” he said. “It takes over. It drowns out everything else until there’s nothing left but instinct.”

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