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“I can help teach.” Pan set his jaw.

“What?” I gasped.

I couldn’t imagine Pan choosing to come to The Barracks for anything except partying.

“Gods know, I wasted more brain cells in The Barracks than I should have. I can’t do much, but I know piano.”

“Well, thank you.” Clay lifted his shoulder, a smidge of embarrassment creased his brow. “What do you say to Mr. Mythos, Puck?”

“You’re welcome.” Puck slid off the bench and took an exaggerated bow.

Clay let out a frustrated growl and chased after him, hollering at Puck to return and thank Pan properly.

I laughed long and hard until my belly hurt. Pan stared at me as I wiped tears from my eyes. He stacked the music sheets on the piano.

“You were good with him.”

“He’s a little shit. Reminds me of myself.” Pan shrugged, crossing his leg over his ankle.

His bubblegum scent was sugary sweet, and I took a deep breath despite myself. I’d never met an alpha who had such a honeyed scent. They were normally rugged, intense, and made my knees tremble.

“Did you mean it? Will you teach here?” Part of me was worried Pan had said it flippantly, without realizing what he was offering.

If he didn’t come back, it would hurt Puck and the other kids.

“I’ll do anything I can to make sure he keeps his love of piano.” He said it like a man who knew the absence of joy.

Maybe he did. Pan didn’t play anymore and going from piano prodigy to nothing didn’t make sense. Pan picked at his black nail polish, taking off chunks.

I waved at the piano. “Is that the reason you don’t play? Because you don’t enjoy it.”

Pan let out a gusting sigh, shifting a dust cloud in the corner. He was so difficult to look away from in this tired room. The prettiest thing here, and the most dangerous. Heat churned under my skin just being in his presence.

“Piano was the only thing I shared with my dad before he passed away. I gained his obsession. It was my place. My fingers fit on the keys and I made something beautiful, without really trying. I didn’t stop playing because I didn’t love it.”

So why?

I wanted to ask, but the conversation was done. Pan had bared more of himself than he was comfortable, and as his fingers scratched at his angel tattoo, I pointed it out.

“That’s new, isn’t it?”

Pan looked at me through slits. Heat burrowed in through my sternum, all the way down. Until my bones tingled with promises.

“My angel, yes. She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” The words caressed between my thighs and Pan captured my fingers. He traced each one with a featherlight touch. My breath became too hot to hold.

“Is it…?”

Pan crushed my fingers and drew me closer until his nose nudged against my throat.

“For you? Who else? My salvation, my light. I put you on my shoulder so you can whisper sweetness in my ear all day long.”

I let out a wordless puff. Our scents tangled like a storm, and I swayed into Pan’s chest. It was heaving and for a moment we traded breaths. My heart pounded so hard I was dizzy. I might have fallen into Pan, so deep in his thrall I was, except that my phone pinged and I tore away. Pan let me go with a reluctant curse.

“Tully.” Pan said my name like an apology.

I fumbled my phone out of my pocket and ice crashed over me. It wasn’t a message, but a notification. One mention of my namein the news. My screen lit up as more notifications flooded in. Each one sliced like a paper cut.

“What is it?” Pan said as he pried the phone from my hands. “Fuck. Don’t look at it, angel.”