After we were finished eating all of the food that was on the plate as well as something else, Ari cleared her throat and shifted in her seat, not saying a word while she looked at us.

She looked at me before she looked at the empty plates and then looked at us again, and I knew that she wanted to say something about us going to talk now but didn't because she did not want to seem mean.

I bit back a small sigh and finished the rest of my drink before I slowly nodded and set the cup on the table in front of me. "Ok," I said with another small sigh before I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat before I moved to stand, and they watched me with wide eyes. "Let's go ahead and get this meeting done so that I can try to get some more sleep."

My mate pressed his lips into a thin line and narrowed his eyes while worry and something else flickered through his eyes, and he looked between the two of us before he focused his gaze on me. "Ar-"

"We're talking," I said, interrupting him while I looked at my mate, and my mate pressed his lips into a thin line but didn't say a word, but I knew that he wasn't happy about it. "I'll be fine, Lorcian," I said with a small hum in my voice, and I slowly dipped my head close to my chest. I stood all the way and rubbed my hands against my pants. "I did make a promise that we would talk after we finished eating, and we are finished eating."

My mate pressed his lip into a thin line before he bit back a small sigh and slowly nodded. "Ok," he said before he cleared his throat and shifted in his seat before he stood. "After that, are you going to rest?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Of course," I said and nodded in confirmation. "That was going to be the plan after this."

"Are we allowed to come with you three, as well?" Colt asked and raised an eyebrow in question. "Or are we just sitting out of this?"

"Oh, I am going in there no matter what," Ethan said, and I rolled my eyes and scowled before I pressed my lips into a thin line. He stood and so did the rest of the table that hadn't stood yet. "She can't keep me out of the room even if she tries." He flashed me a small smirk with a small wink.

I scoffed a laugh and rolled my eyes again, folding my arms across my chest. "Very funny, Ethan," I grumbled before I looked at Colt. "You are able to come in the room with Lorcian, me, Ari, and Ethan," I said and then looked at Troy. "You can come in as well."

Troy shrugged and pressed his lips into a thin line. "I was in the same boat as Ethan. I was going to go in there whether you wanted me to come in or not."

I bit back a small smirk and nodded, amused. "Of course you are," I replied coldly before I cleared my throat and grew serious, and they grew serious as well and waited for me to say something. "Are we going to put the plates in the kitchen and clean up?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question while I looked at Lorican.

The urge to go ahead and do it was strong, but for some reason, I was able to keep still and wait for whatever my mate wanted us to do.

My mate smiled and shook his head. "Someone can get them for us, Fox," he said, trying but failing to soothe my worries. "They know that we want to talk and want to get you to bed as well so that you get some more rest," he added, and I knew that he was talking about some of the members of his pack. "They don't, and will never, mind helping you."

But I did...

I set my jaw and narrowed my eyes, not knowing what to say or do. A part of me wanted to get the dishes done so that no one had to do them for me while the other part of me wanted to go ahead and get this meeting over with so that I could sleep.

Ethan bit back an annoyed sigh and shook his head, knowing full well what was going on through my mind. "You're going to have to grab her hands and lead her, Lorcian," he said while he looked at my mate. "She's debating with herself."

I bit back a small growl and flashed him an annoyed look, and Ethan bit back a small smirk and bowed his head. "Shut up, Ethan," I said with another growl in my voice. "There is no need for that."

"But, you know that I am right, Jo," Ethan said, earning another growl from me. He cleared his throat to hide a chuckle before he shifted on his feet and bowed, not meeting my gaze. "Now, go ahead and let him take your hands and lead you to the office so that you don't feel like you have to keep fighting with yourself."

I set my jaw but did what Ethan said and let Lorcian grab my hands, not saying a word.

"Don't feel guilty about this," Lorcian soothed and squeezed my hands reassuringly. "It is a privilege to help you, especially after everything that happened."

I hesitated and pressed my lips into a thin line before I slowly nodded. "Ok," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Lorcian said and squeezed my hand reassuringly. "Now, come on and let's get everything talked about so that we can get some rest."

He took a step back and away from the table and I followed him, hesitantly. He squeezed my hands reassuringly, and I bit my lip while my heart skipped a beat before it started to pound fast and hard in my chest.

Oh, Goddess...

My heart leapt into my throat and kept its fast pace, and I again was very glad that my mate wasn't able to hear it because of the suit I wore.

'Is your heart pounding hard and fast in your chest?' Ethan asked through the ear piece, and I subtly nodded in confirmation. He cleared his throat to hide a chuckle while he looked at me with furrowed brows and a cocked head. 'Why?'

I didn't respond and pressed my lips into a thin line, even though I knew that he wouldn't be able to see it.

He furrowed his brows further and cocked his head while he followed Lorcian and I to the office with Troy, Colt, and Ari following closely behind him with Ari at his side.

Ethan waited patiently while I tried to come up with an explanation as to why, knowing full well that I was having a hard time letting my feelings into words.

Finally, I bit back a small sigh before I shook my head and mentally cleared my throat, ignoring my mate's eyebrow going up in question. 'Because all I want to do is pull my hands away from my mate and get that stuff taken care of,' I replied coldly, my voice barely above a whisper even through the bond we share. 'I do not want someone else to clean up my mess.'

Ethan bit back a small chuckle by clearing his throat, and I knew that a few of them looked at him curiously, even though my mate only had eyes on me.

He shook his head, silently indicating that he wasn't going to tell them before he cleared his throat again, but this time, it wasn't to cover anything up. 'I know,' he said softly, 'but they will do it even if you tell them not to.'

I set my jaw tighter and squeezed my mate's hand but not tight enough to hurt him. 'And that is what I am afraid of, Ethan,' I replied coldly, my voice barely above a whisper. 'I... I'm not used to all of this and the fact that they are willing to do it is something new.'

Ethan bit back a small hum and slowly nodded while he looked at me, silently urging me to continue with what I was feeling, even though he knew that I wasn't a fan of talking.

I bit the inside of my lip and started to chew on it, becoming very nervous and anxious about leaving the mess behind, even though we were in the hallway and about to go up the stairs.

It was out of my sight, but it wasn't out of my mind.

As if Lorcian could sense what I was about to do, he let go of my hands and pulled me into a hug, which I didn't respond to like hugging him back, and thankfully, he didn't seem to mind or to be hurt because of it.

I flicked my fingers and stayed as still and tense as a statue while I waited for my mate to let me go and for him to take a step back so that I could clean up my mess.

My heart pounded faster and faster in my chest, and my whole body was tense while I waited for him to finish hugging me so that we could either continue our path to the office or for me to go back to the dining room and pick up our plates and do them myself.

"I am not going to let you go until you hug me and begin to relax," my mate said with a soft soothing voice that didn't calm my nerves as much as either one of us would like. "You are fine, Fox. Everything is fine."

But it wasn't...

I set my jaw harder and it started to shake because of the tension that I was feeling and seemed to take over my whole body.

Oh, Goddess, please...

"Breathe, Jo. You are having a panic attack,' Ethan said. Concern filled his voice and I knew that he didn't like seeing me like this even without looking at him. "Please. You are scaring us and getting us very worried."

However, for some reason, I couldn't.

Oh Goddess, I couldn't breathe...

Panic settled on me like a thick warm blanket, and all I wanted to do was to try to pull myself away from my mate, even though I couldn't move away from my mate either.

"Ethan," Lorcian said with panic filling his voice when I slumped up against him. He took a step back and tried to steady me while he looked at my second.

"Pick her up," Ethan said in a calm voice, even though a part of me knew that he was worried too. "She's shutting down.'

"How do yo- oomph."

My mate quickly picked me up when I all but tumbled to the ground with my eyes rolling to the back of my head and everything started to turn fuzzy.

"Because it happened before," he replied softly, his voice barely above a whisper. He cleared his throat and shifted on his feet while he looked at his mate. "Sorry, Love, we will have to have this conversation later. Go ahead and take her back to your bedroom, Lorcian," he said. "She will be fine."

"Are you sure?" Lorcian asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He hesitated before he did what Ethan said and started to walk to his bedroom with me in his arms.

"Yes," Ethan confirmed with a quick nod. "This isn't the first time this happened, but hopefully it will be the last. I-"

And without hearing the rest of Ethan's response, I became limp as a rag doll with everything going black...

Oh Goddess save me...