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The server arrived with a tray of shots and Pan downed them one after the other with militant skill. My skin crawled. Pan hissed as he slammed the final one on the tray. The server picked up empty glasses with trembling fingers.

“Thanks,” Pan said as he peeled out of his chair. A panther ready to lunge for the kill. “Darling Fen, it seems strange that you wouldn’t know scent stealing is a crime.”

Fenella’s hand flew to her neck, and all the color drained from her face. Her lips pressed together like flattened worms. I was about to stop my brother again, but something in his face made me stop.

Determination and cold honesty. He wasn’t playing games this time.

“E-excuse me?” she squawked, her eyebrows jammed together, and she bundled her napkin into a tight wad and tossed it on the table.

Walden gripped the side of his chair, his knuckles white as he used everything in his arsenal to not explode. My brother clicked his tongue at Fenella’s display of outrage.

“You smell decadent, delicious, and infinitely desirable. But it’s not your scent. It clings to this pretty outfit only. You’ve also been sweating bullets this whole date. Guess what your neck smells like now? Aloe vera.”

“That’s a lie,” Fenella snapped.

Lloyd flinched as the legs of her chair screeched with her retreat. It drew the unwanted attention of diners around us. Pan leered at her, and her nose scrunched up. The mouthwatering scent Pan insisted wasn’t hers, wafted over, and I grasped the faintest crisp aloe underneath. My throat burned with an influx of acid.

“I think it would be best if we called it a night,” Walden said.

His nose twitched, and I knew he caught the same tendril I had.

The one that proved my mercurial brother right.

Pan’s lips ticked up as he leaned over the back of his chair. “If you think you’re going to get one over the Baylark Pack, you’re going to have to try harder, sweetheart.”

Fenella’s mouth gaped open. For a moment, I considered backtracking, apologizing on Pan’s behalf. Especially when Pan smirked at me over the table, knowing he was right.

“You’re going to lethimaccuse me of this?” Our date tried to claw back her cool facade.

The words were sharp and sliced through me. Walden went stiff, his eyes narrowed.

Him?

Pan laughed as he stood and reached over to wrap a finger around a chunk of her red hair. He let it slide like silk over the tattoos and black painted nails.

“I might be drunk, but I’m not an idiot. This isn’t the first time someone has tried to bluff their way into our pack, and it won’t be the last, I’m sure. My packmates like to see the good in people, but I’m a cynical bastard. So, scurry out of here with what little dignity you still have.”

Fenella swiped his hand away with a snarl. “Y-you are—.” Her lips pressed together, and she looked at Lloyd, the beta she’d ignored all night, as if he might step in on her behalf, but he stayed silent.

Pan wasn’t finished, though. “Oh, and you can tell whoever’s scent you stole she’s got a one-way ticket to the Pan express if she wants a wild ride.”

Fenella’s nostrils flared, but she bit her tongue and strode out of the restaurant. The surrounding tables chattered as she left, and my stomach sank.

Pan watched her leave, his eyes unnaturally bright.

“Pan that was—” I spread my fingers on the white tablecloth.

“A spectacle,” Walden muttered under his breath.

“You’re welcome.” He curved his arm under his waist in a mocking bow. As he lifted his arm it caught Lloyd’s wine glass, and it careened to the ground.

Walden’s jaw clenched, and I knew it took monumental effort for him to hold his tongue.

“That was an accident.” Pan kneeled to pick up the scattered shards of glass.

“Just leave it,” Walden bit out and he pulled out a stack of cash as a server rushed over with a dustpan and brush. “Forgive us for the mess. I’m sorry, but we can’t stay to finish our meal. If there are any issues with the bill, you have my number.”

The server ducked his head. There would be no issues. This might be Du Monde, but we wereBaylark Parkand there weren’t many places in Starhaven that wouldn’t make concessions for us. The power of having a legacy pack name.