"I didn't know!" Chris hissed.
"You were horny, irritable, starving, sweating, and sleep-deprived."
"That's also what happens when I have deadlines," Chris muttered.
Dax pinched the bridge of his nose. "My moon… you were in heat and treating it with soup."
Chris scowled defensively. "It worked! Eventually!"
"You were having incomplete heats alone," Dax said, leaning back slightly to look at him fully. "Do you understand how dangerous that is?"
Chris hesitated. "Okay, well, when you say it like that, it sounds bad."
"It was bad," Dax insisted, eyes sharp with that protective edge that always made Chris feel like he should look away or lean in, he never knew which. "Your system was trying to cycle, failing, then trying again. That's why this one hit you like a landslide."
And Dax continued like a father on a rant. "I don't know how you are this lucky, no alpha was in your immediate area to feel you."
Chris blinked at him, offended. "Excuse me, I wasn't broadcasting."
