I've never seen that expression on his face before.
Horror. Regret. Understanding.
It all collides in his eyes at once.
He takes a step toward me. "Vee—"
The apology starts clumsy and broken. "I should have— I didn't—"
Marie screams.
Not words this time.
Sound.
Raw and broken and wrong.
Her body stiffens in Drake's arms, then folds forward sharply as she doubles over, another cry tearing out of her throat. A thick, unmistakable scent floods the room all at once.
Heat.
I see it before my mind catches up—slick dripping down her legs, darkening the fabric between her thighs, pooling on the floorbeneath her.
"Oh gods," Eli breathes.
Every alpha reacts instantly.
Nostrils flare. Pupils dilate. Bodies tense.
The air becomes heavy with instinct.
Marie whines, the sound needy and broken, her sobs turning into breathless moans as her body betrays her completely. "Ragon. Please."
My heart slams into my ribs.
Now.
Of course it's now.
At the worst possible moment.
Ragon moves fast.
"Out," he snaps, voice booming. "All of you. Now."
He's already stepping between Marie and the investigators, his presence a wall, his scent flaring protective and dangerous.
Chase doesn't argue.
"I understand. You need to care for your omega."
He glances at Marie once more, then back to Ragon. "But when her heat breaks, you will come to the registry."
Ragon snarls. "For what?"
Chase's gaze slides to me.
"To discuss placing Vee with a new pack."
