Beta Complex

Chapter 79: Tipsy Talk

With the alcohol working in his system, the tightness in Ethan’s shoulders eases. His body buzzes with a comforting warmth as he laughs at Leo’s mockery about some political man who is often seen as a joke.

"Well hello there." A shadow falls over them, cutting off their conversation.

Ethan and Leo look up at the same time to find a large man standing beside their table. He’s tall and broad. Ethan can’t tell if his hair is red or brown due to the low lighting in the bar, but it’s styled up with a thick amount of gel, the scent of it mixing with the smell of booze and cologne wafting off of him. His eyes look a little glazed with a buzz, and he smirks between them.

"A beta and an omega?" He cocks an eyebrow between them, his smile growing and showing off a crooked row of teeth. "Are you two together or just friends?" He cocks a thin eyebrow at them, his leering gaze shifting between them. "I mean, it doesn’t matter, honestly, not when it comes to a threesome?" He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

Ethan cringes, his back pressing further into the plush seating behind him, and he glances at Leo. He hoped they would have avoided running into people like this one. Especially in a nice bar like this one. The two of them haven’t been there for an hour, and this is happening.

"You’re cute," Ethan says to Leo, before pouring himself another shot and taking it. The burn down his throat isn’t nearly as uncomfortable as it is with this man. "Don’t get me wrong. But I don’t think I’d ever want to see you naked." he says to his friend.

Leo snorts, his shoulders shaking as he tries to hide his laughter. He doesn’t seem to be the least bit offended by his friend.

"You don’t have to focus on him, that’s why I’m here." The man puffs his chest out, making his presence known in an obnoxious way. Ethan sniffs, reaching up to rub his nose, but cringes when a sudden foul scent appears. It’s not the scent of booze, or gel that had originally come off of him, but a strange stagnant water that has been out in the sun too long.

Ethan’s face sours as his nose wrinkles at the strange odor.

Leo laughs, his eyes clenched shut. This shouldn’t be as funny as it is, really, but he’s so confident in himself that it’s odd. Maybe he has too much liquid courage in his veins.

"No, no," Leo clears his throat, trying to appear serious as he turns to glance up at the man who still looks over him. He blinks his blue eyes, him mouth straight as he tries to keep a straight face. It quickly fails when it crumbles into something unpleasant. "Holy cow, you’re pheromones smell like hot garbage." He even goes so far as to reach up and plug his nose.

Ethan curls his lips over his teeth to stop his amusement. Insulting others is not funny, but let’s be honest. The guy is drunk and coming off as an asshole.

"Hey! My pher-" the man goes to explain himself but is cut off.

Ethan’s eyebrows raise, "He’s an alpha?" He jabs his thumb towards the man. Then he turns back to look him up and down. Ethan will admit that he’s large, larger than himself, at least. He thinks back to Max, who is also a bit large. Then he frowns, "He’s a bit small for an alpha, isn’t he?" He turns back to Leo.

The omega snorts, quickly glancing at the man beside their table who frowns, "No, no. He’s average." He tilts his head, his blue eyes squinting as he takes him in from head to toe. "I think?"

Ethan furrows his brows, "Average? But Zan-"

"Zander is a dominant alpha." His friend interrupts. "So he has to be bigger than regular alphas." Leo waves his hand dismissively.

"Oooh," Ethan nods his head like he understands. With the alcohol in his system he doesn’t really.

"Hey. I’m still here." The man growls out, his hand smacking against the table and causing the glass to shake. Ethan releases a sigh of relief when they don’t shatter to the floor.

He blinks up at him, and then leans forward to Leo, "Does his pheromones really smell like hot garbage?" Even the smell that’s not his pheromones doesn’t smell too good. Yikes.

Leo bursts into laughter, "Yeah, like someone’s cooking up rotten-" before he can finish, a large hand twists into his collar and lifts the omega up and out of his seat. His beer bottle tips, spilling a bit of drink onto the wooden table.

Leo’s laughter immediately quiets, and Ethan jumps up, his movements a little wobbly as he puts his hands on the surface of the table to steady himself. The world tilts, but he forces himself to focus on the semi-hulking body that holds his friend.

"Say that to my face, you fucking slut." The alpha growls out, his breath fanning out across Leo’s face. The omega immediately cringes back, but with the hold on his shirt, he doesn’t get very far.

Leo blink, as if trying to clear his own vision, and then whispers, "You’re pheromones smell like fucking shit."

"Ah, crap." Ethan mutters. The alpha raises his fist but before he can punch Leo in the face, Ethan shoves him back. However the mans grip on Leo’s shirt doesn’t waver. If anything it tightens even more. "You’re gonna get me killed."

The man may not be a dominant alpha like Zander is, but he’s still an alpha, one who’s still bigger than Ethan. Needing to think quickly, the beta grabs the first thing he can think of, the whiskey bottle. He lifts it but before he can bring it down on the alpha’s thick and hard head, a large hand wraps around his wrist, halting his momentum.