Page 16 of Knot A Chance

“You relentless alpha,” I said, shaking my head as I walked toward the door. “How about you sleep on all of the information I just gave you tonight and see how you feel about a date when you wake up in the morning.”

He shrugged. “I’ll sleep on it if it’ll make you feel better, but I won’t change my mind. You can anticipate seeing me again tomorrow evening.” He put his hand on the small of my back and guided me through the door ahead of him. The protective energy coming off him was oddly soothing, and I stepped a little closer. The quick glance he gave me told me he noticed, but he said nothing.

I resumed my bartending duties, freeing a frazzled looking Oakley, whose long, straight hair was now wet.

I don’t even want to know how that happened.

She sat down next to Bennett, and they hung out for a while. The glimpses that I got of them chatting easily and laughing gave me the impression that they were close, and I felt pulled to hear about their relationship. I wanted to know more about the people Bennett loved.

As the night progressed, the chatter in the room died down and people started to clear out, Oakley among them. I glanced at Bennett, who was still sitting on his barstool as the last couple walked out the front door. I finished my final cleaning tasks for the night and walked over to the door to lock it before making eye contact with him.

“You’re planning to walk me to my car tonight, aren’t you?” I asked.

“It’s not optional.”

“I didn’t think it was,” I said. “Let me grab my stuff.”

I walked to the break room and muttered under my breath, “Fucking alphas.”

“I can hear you,” he called after me. “We fucking alphas have great hearing.”

“Oh, I know!” I called back, smiling to myself the whole time as I gathered my things.

Chapter Five

Bennett

June

“Good morning, Mr. Winchester.” A petite Asian woman stepped into Felix’s room with a trepid smile on her face.

“Hi,” I said, not moving from my spot beside him in his bed.

After I’d finished my breakfast, Julia explained that Felix was in a medically induced coma, and that even in his state, omegas could be calmed by physical touch from their alphas. I’d barely let her finish her sentence before I’d kicked off my shoes and slid under the covers to hold him.

She’d also noted some unverified science that true mates could help heal one another faster, so I wasn’t getting out of this bed unless I was forced out.

The doctor stepped closer. “His heart rate and blood pressure look much better than they did in the middle of the night. How long have you been holding him?”

“A couple hours.”

“Well, it seems to be helping. I’m Dr. Tanaka. I’m the critical care doctor who’ll be taking the lead on Felix’s case. Is this an okay time to talk to you about his condition?”

I nodded, tightening my arm around Felix’s waist. “I don’t have to get up, do I?”

“No, of course not.” She sat down in the chair next to his bed and balanced an open laptop on her legs. “I’m not sure how much you’ve heard from law enforcement already.”

I shrugged. “I’d rather hear what you have to say right now.”

Since Donovan still isn’t fucking here.

“Okay. According to the report I received from the ambulance company, when the paramedics found Felix yesterday, they were working with two major issues. First, he’d overdosed on heroin.”

I felt the growl in my chest before I even knew it was happening. I was damn tired of people saying Felix had done this to himself, and if Donovan didn’t get here soon, I was going to be ripping Wyatt a new asshole over the phone for leaving this up to his deputy when it was fucking Felix we were talking about.

Next time Ally gets a flat tire, I’ll tell her to wait for Calvin to show up and see how Wyatt likes that.

I won’t.