Mia sways on her feet, a whimper escaping her lips. The scent everyone else must have been detecting since we left the island becomes visible in its effects, her skin almost glowing with heat, perspiration soaking through her shirt, her pupils blown, and her breath coming in shallow gasps.
Todd says something I can’t hear over the ringing in my ears, but I read the hunger mixed with shock in his expression. Derek pulls Mia behind him, his stance protective.
Blood streams from my nose, hot and thick, dripping onto my shirt as the boat drifts at an angle toward the Pinecrest dock, engine idling, wheel unattended.
And I, scent-blind and bleeding, finally understand what everyone else knew all along.
Mia isn’t seasick or anxious.
She’s in Heat.
Cursing, I lunge for the wheel, leaving red fingerprints on the white fiberglass, as I wrestle the boat into position so we won’t crash into the approaching seawall.
Todd and James exchange a glance before they move in unison toward the bow.
“Wait!” The sound comes out thick and nasal. “We’re not docked yet!”
They ignore me. The moment the boat scrapes the pier, still feet from where we should tie up, they vault over the railing. Their boots hit the wooden planks with heavy thuds before they sprint toward the parking lot, backpacks bouncing on their shoulders.
The world tilts and spins as I cut the engine, momentum carrying us the final distance to the dock with a jarring bump.
“Stay with her,” Derek barks at someone I can’t see. “Don’t let anyone near her.”
I grab the mooring rope, muscle memory taking over where conscious thought fails me. Blood drips onto the deck at my feet, splattering in perfect circles. My nose throbs with each heartbeat, the pulsing pain making it hard to focus.
“You attacked her!” Derek’s accusation comes from behind me, vibrating with rage. “You saw she was in Heat, and you still put your hands on her!”
I whirl to face him, rope still in hand. “No! I was trying to keep her from falling?—”
“Liar!” His face contorts, teeth bared. “I saw you reaching for her! You couldn’t control yourself,could you? Were you in on it with those other two?”
My brain struggles to catch up. “No! I’m scent-blind! I didn’t know she was in Heat until you hit me.”
Disbelief crosses his face, followed by disgust. “Convenient excuse.”
On shore, people have begun to gather, drawn by the commotion and the unorthodox docking. A woman in a Pinecrest Harbor security jacket pushes through the onlookers, hand on her radio.
She takes in the blood on my face and shirt, the way Mia huddles on the far side of the boat, and Derek standing guard in front of her. “What’s going on here?”
“This Alpha tried to take advantage of an Omega in Heat.” Derek jabs a finger toward me. “On his own boat, where she couldn’t escape.”
“That’s not true!” I protest, desperation prickling under my skin.
The security officer’s hand moves to the taser at her belt. “Sir, I need you to step back and calm down.”
“Iamcalm,” I insist, even as more blood drips from my chin. “I’m the captain. I was trying to break up a fight between passengers.”
“He grabbed her!” The shout comes from thedock, where a man in a fishing vest steps forward, pointing at me. “I saw the whole thing. Had his hands all over her while she was trying to get away.”
My stomach drops. “No, you didn’t see?—”
“I saw it, too,” another bystander adds. “He was manhandling her. Poor thing was terrified.”
The security officer’s face hardens. “Sir, put down the rope and step away from the controls.”
I comply, movements slow and deliberate despite the panic building in my chest. “Please let me explain. There was a fight. I left the wheel to stop it, and when the boat rocked, I reached out to keep her from falling. That’s all.”
A second security officer boards, this one male with shoulders that strain his uniform. He approaches with caution, as if I might attack. “I’m going to need you to turn around and put your hands behind your back.”