Page 91 of Coco and the Misfits

“Acute infatuation.”

“Fuck you.” Heat rushes to my face. “I thought we were having a serious conversation.”

“We are. You’re still kind of young.” He lifts his hands when I open my mouth. “Just stating facts. And you’re hard about a girl. Let me guess: it’s Coco.”

I nod, fuming.

“There is a vestigial condition in alphas that resurfaces from time to time. I have a cousin who had the exact same thing.”

“You do?” Hope flares. “So what is this thing?”

“My friend... you’re going into an alpha rut.”

33

RYDER

Here I am, sitting with this young alpha who is madly in love with Coco, giving him knotting advice.

Just another Monday.

I wanna be jealous and mad at him. To slap his face and kick him to the street because Coco is mine. She was mine from the second I laid eyes on her.

But that’s a lie, an illusion I entertained for a while. This guy is a much better match for her. Look at him. An alpha puppy, perfect and loyal, steadfast and strong. He could actually make her happy.

“I’ll help you,” I find myself saying.

“Come again?”

“I’ll help you fix your problem so you can be with her,” I explain, using all my patience. “Only promise me one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“You won’t break her heart.”

He tips his head back, giving me a long look. “Like you did?”

“You catch on fast. So what will it be?”

He rubs his mouth. “Look, I’m not sure she wants me after this. I ran out on her a couple of times.”

“If you weren’t interested in getting her, you wouldn’t be here, buddy.”

“You’re right.” He nods to himself, gaze turned inward. “Fine, I promise. No danger of me breaking her heart, although she may break mine.”

“It’s a risk you have to take.”

A chuckle. “Again, like you did?”

Fuck this puppy. He isn’t afraid to speak the truth and I should take the pain of it without complaints because it’s my just punishment.

Helping him get my girl is only the fucking start.

“So how do I stop it?” he asks that evening over drinks. We’re sitting in the Alpha Bet, the hottest bar in town, the place where it all started. “How does one end a rut?”

“By knotting the one you want.”

Zach snorts and sips at his drink. “Right. I need to court her, not knot her right off the bat.”

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