Page 63 of Knot Your Romeo

I’m faced with the worst possible timing, but my biology doesn’t care about convenience or safety or the promises I just made to my mother. The need claws at me, primal and desperate. I need comfort, need someone to hold me, to tell me everything will be okay. But the Alphas I know are off-limits. Yes, they would take me through my heat. But at what cost? And Romeo... Romeo has never been an option.

But Jude... I press my hands against my mouth to stifle the whimper that wants to escape.

“Jude,” I whisper into the darkness, my voice barely audible even to myself. “I need... I need someone to hold me. I need you to hold me.”

But would he break his celibacy for me? The words hang in the air like a prayer, desperate and broken. I curl into myself, pulling my knees to my chest as another wave of heat washes through me.

And then, soft as a whisper in my mind, I hear:Come to me.

The voice is warm, familiar, unmistakably Jude’s. But that’s impossible. He’s not here. He can’t be here. I sit up straighter, my heart pounding.

“Jude?” I whisper again, but there’s no response except the sound of my own ragged breathing.

I must be hallucinating. The heat, the stress, the emotional upheaval—it’s all catching up with me. Making me hear things that aren’t there. But the voice had sounded so real, so present. And for just a moment, the ache in my chest had eased, replaced by something that felt like hope.

But I have to do this alone. I have to pretend everything is normal while my body betrays me at every turn. I have to keep my promise to stay away from the very people my Omega instincts will be screaming for me to find. And I have to do it all while my world burns down around me.

24

Jude

The knock on myapartment door comes at nearly eleven p.m. It’s soft but insistent. I'm grading papers at my kitchen table, a cup of lukewarm tea forgotten beside a stack of essays on cellular biology, when the sound pulls me from my work.

Through the peephole, I see Jolie swaying slightly on her feet, one hand pressed against the doorframe for support. Even in the dim hallway light, I can see she's flushed, her new haircut damp with perspiration.

I unlock the door immediately.

"I had to come." She practically falls into my arms, her skin burning hot even through her clothes. The scent that hits me makes my breath catch—her usual honeyed sweetness is there, but it's overlaid with something richer, more complex. Something that makes my Omega instincts sit up and take notice despite the suppressants I take religiously.

"I'm sorry," she gasps against my shoulder. "I didn't know where else to go. Something's wrong with me."

I guide her inside, kicking the door shut behind us. Her legs are unsteady, and she leans heavily against me as I help her to the couch.

"Tell me, when did this start?"

"This evening. Maybe earlier." She curls into the corner of the sofa, pulling her knees to her chest. "I thought it was just stress from everything with Mom, and then Eli, but it keeps getting worse. I'm so hot, Jude. And I ache everywhere."

My heart sinks as the pieces click into place. The fever, the restlessness, the way her scent has intensified—I've seen this before, during my own heats, before I found suppressants strong enough to prevent them entirely.

"Jolie," I say gently, sitting on the coffee table so I can face her directly. "When was your last heat?"

She looks up at me with glassy eyes. "I've never had one. The suppressants..." She trails off, understanding dawning across her flushed features. "Oh God. I need to stop it. I can't go through a heat, Jude. You must know how to stop it."

"It's too late." I press the back of my hand to her forehead, confirming what I already know—she's burning up. "Stress can cause breakthrough heats, especially if you've been around multiple Alphas whose pheromones have been affecting your system."

A broken laugh escapes her. "Mom was right. She said they were influencing me, and I didn't listen."

"This isn't about being right or wrong," I say firmly. "This is about getting you through the next few days safely. How long have you been feeling symptoms?"

"I've felt weird since yesterday, but it's gotten so much worse tonight. Like one hundred percent worse." She doubles over slightly, a soft whimper slipping from her lips. "Jude, I need... Ican't think straight. Everything hurts, but it also feels like I'm on fire."

I've never felt so helpless in my life. As an Omega myself, I understand exactly what she's going through—the desperate need for an Alpha's knot, the way heat makes every nerve ending scream for relief that only claiming can provide. But I can't give her what she needs, and seeing her suffer, knowing there's nothing I can do, makes my chest ache.

"Okay," I say, forcing my voice to remain calm. "Let's get you more comfortable. I'm going to set up a nest in my spare bedroom—it's smaller, easier to make cozy."

Her hand shoots out, gripping my wrist with surprising strength. "Don't leave me. Please."

"I'm not leaving," I promise, covering her hand with mine. "I'm just going to gather some blankets and pillows. I'll be right back."

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