Page 8 of Knot A Chance

“Just one. She’s older, but she’s always on my case about something.”

Bennett laughed. “I have two. Both younger. Both pains in my ass for different reasons.”

“Ally seems great,” I said, tossing the towel over my shoulder.

“She is. She’s also a hotheaded alpha who tries to dominate both me and her alpha mate.”

“I’ve never met a female alpha before, but I thought I could tell that’s what she was. Are female alphas more dominant than male alphas?” I asked, unsure of how gender dynamics among alphas worked. For omegas and betas, it didn’t really make a difference, except for the female ability to reproduce.

“If Ally is any indication, female alphas certainly think they’re more dominant, but that might just be because her mate, Wyatt, loves her enough to let her get away with anything. She can shift into wolf form though, so there is something arguably more primal in female alphas,” Bennett said. “I hope you’re good with working during the full moon each month while she runs around outside.”

My jaw dropped. “Are you shitting me? She can really shift?”

I’d heard rumors that female alphas could shift, but most people didn’t know for sure because so few people had actually encountered a female alpha. Thousands of years ago, our wolf-shifter and human ancestors had started mating, and as time went on, the ability for male omegas to reproduce and for any of us to shift into wolf form was bred out of our lineage.

“She can.” Bennett nodded, taking a slow sip of his beer. He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “And if she doesn’t during the full moon, she turns into an agitated pain in the ass.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “Something tells me you have no problem telling her that.”

He shrugged and leaned back. “I might have mentioned it to her once or twice.”

A rush of desire ran through my body as he relaxed. I wanted to climb over the bar, curl up in his lap, and ride him while he held me against his chest until I couldn’t walk straight.

His nostrils flared, scenting something, and his eyes widened, arousal taking over his features. I instinctually took a step back. An aroused omega gave off pheromones that some alphas couldn’t ignore. Most of them could control themselves; some chose not to. I’d spent two years with someone who’d chosen not to control himself, and fear pulsed through me as I tried to sus out exactly what kind of alpha Bennett was.

He can clearly smell the desire I feel for him.

Bennett set his beer bottle down and stood up, rounding the bar with his hands in the air in surrender. I watched, mesmerized, as he dropped to one knee in a sign of submission. My jaw went slack and my heart raced as he looked up at me, hands still in the air and his face devoid of all the amusement I’d seen moments ago.

“You don’t need to be afraid of me,” he said slowly. “If you went into heat in front of me right now, I’d put you in my truck and take you somewhere safe, but I wouldn’t touch you even if you begged me to.”

“Why are you saying this?” I asked.

“Because I don’t want to be the reason you smell like fear,” he said.

I shook my head, trying to snap myself out of the trance he’d put me in. I waved my hands at him. “Will you stand up? You’re making me more nervous doing whatever the hell that is.” I gestured at him impatiently. “Seriously, get up!”

His lips curved upward in amusement. “It was supposed to be a gesture of submission. Letting you know you’re in control and that I respect you. I don’t think I’m entitled to you just because you’re clearly attracted to me.”

“Alphas are so fucking weird,” I said, shaking my head. My eyes caught on Ally as she stepped behind the bar.

“What the fuck are you doing on your knees, Bennett? If you think you’re blowing my new bartender while I’m still here just because you’re both clearly horned-up for each other—”

“That’s not what this is, Ally,” Bennett snarled, standing up.

“I literally just hired him.” She gestured to me. “Can’t you pick people up somewhere else?”

“I’ve never picked anyone up here.” Bennett ran a hand through his hair.

“He wasn’t picking me up,” I said, jumping in to defend him and clear up any misunderstanding that might get me fired. “I’m not interested. You don’t have to worry about me jeopardizing my job.”

“Not interested,” Bennett scoffed under his breath. “Yeah right. She can smell you too, you know.”

“I can smell both of you!” Ally said. “I don’t care what this is or isn’t, but it’s not happening here.”

“This is nothing,” I said quickly, turning back to Bennett. “If I were in the market for an alpha, you’d be at the top of the list, buddy, because you are clearly smoking hot. But I’m not interested in being anyone’s omega right now, so we can all pretend this never happened.”

Bennett lifted one eyebrow. “People don’t forget smoking hot, Felix. They don’t forget an instant connection with someone either. I’ll see you around.”