Page 131 of Pack Rivals, Part One

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Bea

As soon asthe alphas leave, I collapse into a heap on the sand dunes and Courtney lowers the gun and drops down beside me.

"Are you all right?" she asks me, clutching my shoulder and shaking me a little.

I close my eyes and breathe. Their scents still cling to the air, but it's not as oppressive and overwhelming as it was when they were here. My head starts to clear and my thoughts rearrange more sensibly in my head.

"I'm okay," I say. "At least, I think I'm okay. Where the hell did you get that gun?"

"Aunt Julia told me where to find it yesterday. I thought she was being paranoid, but it seems to have come in handy."

"Do you actually know how to fire it?"

"Not a clue. But I looked badass, right?" I manage a chuckle that morphs into a flurry of groans. "What happened? Is it your heat?"

"I think so. It's coming. I can tell it's coming."

"And what about Rambo and Arnold?"

"They arrived unannounced and then they went crazy, started fighting. I told them to stop."

"It's your scent," Courtney says, squeezing her nose. "It's so damn strong this morning. I bet it drove them wild."

"I think so." I squeeze her arm. "Thank you for intervening."

She grins proudly. "What were they fighting about?"

My eyes drop to the sand.

"You?" Courtney asks. "Oh jeez, Bea, that is hot!"

I manage a crooked smile. "I have to admit, it was sort of hot. I think that's why my body went haywire there for a minute."

"Do you feel better now? Can you think straight?"

"Hmmm, I still feel like I drank ten shots of vodka in a row." My vision swoops in and out of focus and my head is dizzy as hell. Plus I'm horny, very very, horny. Probably not information Courtney needs to know. "I can think a little straighter now, though."

"Good, because they're coming back and you're going to have to make a decision. I'm not sure I can hold six alphas off with a shotgun, especially when I don't know how to fire it."

I let my head flop against Courtney's shoulder. "I can't choose." I peek up at her. "What am I going to do?"

"You're going to have to make a decision, Bea. Either that or we're going to have to hot-tail it out of here, pretty darn quick."

"I don't know how to choose. Just when I think I've made up my mind, it flip flops again or my heart aches so fiercely I think I might vomit."

"We could flip a coin?"

I think about that. It seems as good a way as any. "Okay, let's try that."

Courtney digs into the pocket of her jean shorts she's slung on and pulls out a quarter.

"Heads York, tails Boston, okay?"

I nod. She tosses the coin high up into the air and we watch it spin, catching the light as it does and hanging suspended, before landing in the sand with a whack.

"What is it?" I say, unable to look.

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