Page 33 of Coco and the Misfits (The Candyverse #4)

RYDER

H ere 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.”

“You need to sleep with her, dumbass. That’s how your body will get the message.”

He puts his glass down, frowning. “Are you sure about this? Knotting your omega is a commitment.”

“And you don’t wanna commit?”

“Damn, yeah, I do.” He pauses. “I think.”

“You think? ” Universe, gimme strength. “You promised me, dimwit.”

“I promised not to break her heart. And you called me a boy. I’m still young, man. Up until a few weeks ago, I was sure I wasn’t ready to commit, but now…”

I sigh. “Fucker… let me repeat myself: the only way to get out of the rut is to knot your omega. That’s what this physical reaction is all about.

A relic that has mostly faded over time, but long ago, when omega heats weren’t this obvious and painful, alphas went into ruts and that’s how they kept their omegas locked up in their dens until they conceived.

It’s a biological thing. No medicine can stop it.

Knot her, or… or you can ride the rut out. ”

“Ride it out? How long would that take? It’s…” He grimaces. “Hard. I’m always hard. The knot pops up even when I think I smell her. When I think about her. When I dream of her.”

Ouch.

“The only cure is to be close to her,” I tell him.

“But—”

“Closer. Court her. Kiss her. Hold her. And get on with the knotting already, if you’re sure. As sure as your body is. Is she the one for you?”

“Yeah.” He seems not to have any doubts about this bit. “Yeah, she is.”

“Will you give her a pack?”

He slumps on his stool. “I don’t know. Maybe over time.”

“Fair.” Dammit, he’s so honest. “You could be good for her. You seem gentle.”

“Are you trying to insult me?” he growls.

“Honestly, no. You’d be a good match. She’s sweet. You’re kind. It’s like a fucking fairytale.”

“Whatever.” He shakes his head. Gazes down into his glass. “You had your chance with her. Why did you waste it? Or don’t you like sweet girls?”

“She’s amazing.” I hesitate. “I’d ruin her.”

“Why?”

“Told you. I’m a black sheep. Bad luck. Bad dice, man.”

“You’re an idiot,” he informs me.

“You don’t know me.”

He arches a blond brow. “I have all night. Tell me.”

“No. I won’t talk about this. Forget it. My demons are my own to obsess over.”

“Suit yourself,” he breathes. “Although it’s hypocritical, don’t you think? Encouraging me to talk when you won’t?”

“Never said I was perfect. Rather the opposite, or weren’t you listening?”

“Hell,” he grunts.

A growly puppy. I grin and finish my brandy. Damn, I like him. Never wanted to. Never thought I would.

“Let’s think up a plan, then,” I say.

“Plan?”

“For you to get the girl. Unless you’re planning on simply appearing on her doorstep?”

His lip curls. “That was the idea.”

“Not good enough.” I dismiss the thought. “Has she shown any interest after you ran away?”

“She sent me a text. Said my dad was asking after me.”

“That’s good.” I ponder this. “Yeah.”

“Is it? She couldn’t sound more disinterested.”

“She wrote,” I say. “That is something. Your dad could easily have called you himself.”

“He did, later,” he admits. “Not that I’d talk to him about this.”

“Yeah. I feel that. Some things are not family-friendly material.” Not that I have any such experience. “So… a plan.”

“A plan about what?” a new, bass male voice says and a literal shadow falls over us.

“Atticus,” Zach breathes.

“You!” I snarl. It’s the older guy who decided to punch me for fun as I’d talked to Coco, acting as if he owned her. I jump off my stool and glower, ready to pick up where we left off. “Back for more? What the fuck do you want?”

He chuckles. The fucker chuckles at me and scratches his gray beard. “I own this place.”

“Bullshit,” I snarl. “Own as in…?”

“I’m the main shareholder.”

“Fuck. This’s news to me,” I mutter. “I’ll still punch your face, you entitled asshole.”

He chuckles some more. “I guess I deserve this.”

“You sure do. What the hell.” Scowling, I turn away. “Looks like I should stay away from here from now on.”

“Don’t,” he says gruffly. “That night… I thought you were pushing her into something. I realize in hindsight that I might have been wrong.”

I go still. Then I turn back around. “Are you… apologizing?”

He bites his lip. Grins. “Let’s call it… a confession.”

My hands curl into fists. “Not good enough.”

Zach is watching us, sipping his drink. “This should be interesting.”

“Want any popcorn with that?” I growl.

Zach laughs. “I’m good.”

“Yeah, both of you, keep laughing.” I lift a hand in a brief salute. “I’m outta here.”

“Wait,” Atticus says. “Let’s have a drink.” He snaps his fingers at the bartender. “Drinks!”

I turn my glare back on him. “Why should I have a drink with you?”

“Because I overheard what you said. About your plan.”

“You old pervert,” I mutter.

Zach almost chokes on laughter.

“I like the idea,” Atticus says.

“You do?” I give him a skeptical look but accept the new drink the bartender pushes toward me.

“Yeah. Zach would be good for her and I… I want her happy. Honestly, I want her for myself, but I don’t deserve her. Much like you, Ryder.”

I arch a brow. “You know my name.”

“I overheard that, too. That night when I almost decked you.”

“You and what army?” I mutter. “I was the one who almost flattened your face.”

“Guys. Enough,” Zach sighs. “You’re both big alphas. We got the message.”

Atticus chuckles and lifts his glass. “Partners in crime, then? Zach, will you look after our girl?”

“You are both nuts,” Zach says. “Why would you take yourselves out of the race if you both want her? Your chances are better than mine.”

“You can want someone so much, you realize you’d ruin them,” Atticus says, echoing Ryder’s words from earlier. “And then you realize you’d do anything to ensure their happiness.”

“Assuming Coco wants to be with me,” Zach whispers.

“That depends on you,” I say. “How hard you try to convince her. How much you mean it.”

“Hell, I mean it,” Zach says and sounds sincere.

“That’s good enough for me.”