Page 68 of Knot on the Market

Her alpha.

When did I start thinking that?

She pulls back just enough to look at me, her lips pink and slightly swollen. "More," she whispers, her hand fisting in my shirt. "Please, Callum. Need more."

"Lila..." I start, but she's already moving, throwing one leg over my lap to straddle me properly. The position puts her core directly against the hard ridge of my cock, separated only by my jeans and whatever scraps of fabric she's wearing.

The contact sends electricity shooting through my entire system. My hands go to her hips automatically, fingers digging into soft flesh as she rocks against me with a broken moan. A growl rumbles deep in my chest before I can stop it.

"Please," she breathes, grinding down harder. "Need you inside me. Need you to make it stop hurting."

Every alpha instinct I have roars to life at those words. She's asking for exactly what my body wants to give her. It would be so easy to flip her onto her back, strip away what little clothing she's wearing, and bury myself in all that slick heat.

But she's not thinking clearly. Heat does things to judgment, makes omegas want things they might regret later. And I refuse to be something she regrets.

"Sweetheart," I say carefully, my hands stilling her movement even though it's physically painful to stop her. "You're in heat. You're not thinking straight."

"I am," she insists, but her voice is breathless and desperate. "I know what I want. I want you."

I want you.

The words hit every vulnerable spot I have. She wants me. Chose to text me when she needed help.

But I can't. Not like this. Not when she might regret it tomorrow.

"Lila," I start again, but I'm interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

"Callum?" Julian's voice carries up from the hallway, carefully controlled but edged with something sharp.

A possessive snarl wants to tear from my throat—mine, she's mine—but I force it down. Julian's here to help. We need help. "I'm here."

Lila whimpers at the sound of another alpha's voice, her grip on my shirt tightening. "Don't leave," she whispers urgently. "Please don't leave me."

"I'm not going anywhere," I promise her, even as Julian appears in the doorway.

He takes in the scene. Lila straddling me in her nest, my hands on her hips, the air thick with heat and want and goes completely still. I watch his nostrils flare as her scent hits him, see the way his pupils dilate and his jaw clenches.

"How long has she been like this?" he asks, his voice carefully controlled but rougher around the edges.

"Not sure," I say, trying to ignore the way Lila is still moving against me. "Found her like this when I got here. She said it hurts."

Julian nods, taking a careful breath before speaking. "Being around us triggered this. Our scents, the attention—" He pauses, jaw tightening. "Her body's responding to potential pack bonds." His gaze flicks to where Lila is nuzzling against my neck, then back to my face. "We need to get her through this safely."

"We?" I ask, even though part of me already knows the answer.

"Yes," Julian says simply. "We."

And despite everything, despite my insecurities and fears, I find myself nodding.

Because Lila needs us. All of us.

Lila makes a soft sound against my throat, her lips pressing against my pulse point in a way that makes my entire body tense. Her scent spikes sweeter, more desperate.

"Lila," Julian says, his voice softer but strained with control, stepping further into the room. "Can you look at me, love?"

She turns her head without lifting it from my shoulder, those green eyes heavy-lidded and dark with want. "Julian," she breathes, and even his name sounds like a plea.

"We're going to take care of you," he tells her, his voice tight but sure. "All of us. But we need to know what you want. What you really want."

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