171. (KNOX POV)

(KNOX POV)

The hot water washed over me, but it did little to cleanse away the filth I felt clinging to my skin.

I replayed the day's events, the chaos at the Bayou Pack House, Phin's drunken antics, and the overwhelming pressure Teddy faced trying to keep things under control. I tried to help him to distract myself, but it was hard not to think about that asshole down where we killed him. The memories of Fletcher and Burk's manipulations overshadowed everything else.

They had pumped us full of high-level pheromones, turning my body into a ticking time bomb of uncontrollable desire.

The need to mate had been unbearable, pushing me to the brink of madness a few times. At the time, I didn't know what was happening to me. I thought it was just part of being an alpha, part of the raw, untamed power we were supposed to wield.

I thought about the countless times I had to sneak away just to find some relief. During early morning training sessions, I would slip into the bathroom multip