Chapter 9: Rut

As Beth leads him toward the other side of the bar, Sean lowers his voice to a murmur. “You good?”

Her smile vanishes. “Thanks for rescuing me from Chris. I don’t know why he won’t leave me alone.”

“You smell different.” You smell delicious, he means.

“Yeah, thanks to my f*cking suppressants. You smell—" her step falters. She turns and frowns at him, looking him over. “Are you okay? Your scent is…”

Dangerously close to rut is what it is. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you—”

“Beth!”

Sean feels his haunches go up instantly at the other voice. He turns with a scowl to the other Alpha. Beth turns to glare at him, too, her hand tightening around Sean’s. “What, Chris?”

Chris stops to glower up at Sean, then tries to soften his expression toward her, with little success. “We should really—”

“No, Chris,” she says, exasperated. “Please leave me alone. I’ve already told you over and over. Go away.”