Page 37 of Secrets & Stoners

Emiliano:Worth it.

Alessandro:We will be there soon to wrap things up and help out.

I sighed, knowing there was no use telling them we had it handled. Sometimes, being an alpha meant knowing when to pick your battles. The twins were not the battle to pick.

“When will they be there?” Maximo asked, his voice filled with good humor.

“Ten minutes,” I told him with a grin.

* * *

Maximo

All of myhumor faded as Hazel walked out of the bathroom, her expression determined. She came right up to the bar and snagged a cup with water. She sniffed it, immediately raising my hackles.

“What’s wrong?”

“She just had a heat, Maximo,” she admitted. “This isn’t right. It didn’t feel natural if you get what I mean.”

Those words hit me, and low growls echoed from both me and Loki, who was only a few feet away. Hazel pushed it closer to us with a pointed look before rushing off. She was sober now, and angry, but I couldn’t blame her.

“Someone drugged her drink inmybar?” Loki hissed. His eyes swiveled to mine because we both knew damn well that wasn’t any of our products. None of our shit would send an omega into a full-blown heat in hours, which left one of two options. Or three, rather. Someone was selling bad drugs in our territory, a customer had brought them in, or this was related to the missing crates of drugs.

“Wait,” Sutton breathed out as he met my eyes. There was a fury bubbling under the surface that I felt through my entire damn body. Sutton was the more laid back of the two of us, but the moment someone fucked with one of our own, he was more vindictive than even I could dream of being. “What was the missing shipment, exactly?”

“Ecstasy,” I answered in a low voice so no one else would hear. “Not something that would cause this.”

“No, but…” Sutton shook his head. “I’ll talk to you about it later. Just in case the person who drugged the water is still here.”

I nodded sharply in acknowledgement.

“Hey,” Loki called out to one of his guys. He held out the cup Hazel had given us. “Get this to someone who can test what’s in it, then get the results to me and Maximo.”

“On it, boss,” the beta reassured him as he put a hand over the top of the cup and rushed out. I had no clue who he had on speed dial that could figure that out, but I was grateful regardless.

“I’ll put my own guys on it too,” I promised him. Not that they weren’t already looking for the bastards who’d taken my drugs. Our most recent sale had gone off without a hitch, but everything else was going to shit. I had to get a handle on my territory, fast.

My excitementfor the date was dampened after last night. I’d kept my cool while my poor friend went into heat, but all of us could tell it wasn’t normal. The way she’d gotten sick was the first sign, but the zombie she was after it hit a bit too close to home. She’d become a perfectly compliant omega in heat. Even with the suppressants, she still seemed to be in a daze.

“Hey, don’t let this get to you. I’m fine,” Sienna promised. She blinked several times to focus on me. I’d thought she was sleeping it off while I gazed out the window at the city, but apparently not. I wasn’t good with hiding my worries around my best friends.

“No, you aren’t.” I sighed. “I told the guys about it last night though, so it shouldn’t happen again. You sure you don’t want me to take you to the doctor?”

“God no,” she groaned. “I’m already feeling more myself again. Another dose of suppressants, and I’ll be me again.” Her eyes widened before she looked at me accusingly. “Wait, what about your heat?”

“I’ve got five willing men to get me through it,” I reassured her. “And I took half the pack, so I should be okay for a few more days.”

“You’re going on that date with some of them today,” she reminded me—like I could forget. The package had arrived an hour ago, but it was still sitting on my bed unopened.

“I’m going to cancel,” I argued. “You need me more.”

“No, I need you to go. I’ll be fine here, binging some trash tv,” she countered. “If you stay home, I’ll be upset. This isn’t their fault or yours. Don’t punish yourself, and they don’t deserve that either.”

I groaned. “Oof, you had to go for the heart, didn’t you?” Because she was right. It wasn’t fair to them to cancel if she didn’t need me here.

“I’m hanging with her tonight anyway. They gave me the night off,” Eliza smugly announced as she walked into the room. “No dodging those men. After last night, I’ll admit that I like them. Also, you should pack a bag for your heat. Not that you’ll need much clothes during, but after wouldn’t hurt.”

“Yes, Mom.” I rolled my eyes. “I’ll do that now, so it’s out of the way. You sure you don’t need me?”