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I exhaled a chuckle. “Tell you what,” I said, leaning back. “If I survive two weeks in this haunted cabin, we’ll call it even. But if I get there and find all the pictures facing backward and the furniture floating, I want a new favor."

Jasper’s grin widened, flashing a hint of sharp canines. “Deal.”

Then, without warning, he stood and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. Because, apparently, being an alpha meant testing exactly how many ribs you could break before someone complained.

“This is for you too,” Jasper said, pressing another envelope, thicker than the first, into my hands.

Curious, I tore open the seal, only to shake my head at the sight of a wad of cash stuffed inside. There had to be at least a few hundred dollars in there. And for a demon who usually only carried enough change to buy a drink at a bar, that was a lot of money.

“Jasper, I can’t accept this,” I said, already trying to hand it back.

Jasper shrugged, utterly unbothered. “How are you gonna take someone on a date if you don’t have any money?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it.

He had a point.

Shit. If I hadn’t even considered the basic logistics of paying for a date, I was really not going to have much luck with this whole dating experiment.

I exhaled and tucked the envelope into my jacket. “Thanks, man. I really appreciate it.”

“Don’t worry about it, dude.” Jasper smirked. “But if you meet someone nice, I want in on a double date.”

I huffed a laugh, shaking my head. “You don’t even have a mate. Not unless your stepmom finally convinced you to marry Billy, that is.”

The moment Jasper opened his mouth, buzzing filled my ears. “—date Billy,” he finished with an easy grin. “Anyway, I’m off, man. Good luck.” With that, he offered me a too-hard slap on the back, flashing one last mischievous grin before turning on his heel and heading out of the bar.

I let out a slow breath, my eyes flicking to the neon-lit clock one last time as the second hand closed in on midnight.

I held my breath.

Three.

The shadows at my feet stirred, pooling around me.

Two.

The world tilted as I locked onto Bramble Cabin in my mind’s eye.

One.

Darkness swallowed me whole.

Chapter 3. Devlin

I let out a slow breath, my heart hammering in my chest.

Somewhere in the distance, a midnight bell tolled, low and hollow. The shadows fell away, dissolving back into the night, but I kept my eyes shut. Because for just a second—a tiny, sliver-thin second—there was still hope.

Hope that when I opened my eyes, I wouldn’t be standing here alone.

Hope that this would finally be the year my mate had summoned me.

I cracked an eye open.

And just like that, hope died its annual death.

Because standing in front of me wasn’t my beautiful mate, waiting with open arms, an apologetic smile, and an explanation. Standing in front of me was a haunted cabin, as promised.