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My gaze bounced between the two of them. Palpable friction ached against my skin, abrasive with the force of their locked stares. There was more to the pet name, a history that Walden didn’t wear easily.

“Leave before you say something you’ll regret in the morning,” Walden ordered, pointing at the door. Pan paused for a beat, chin jutted out in readiness to argue. “Now,pup. I won’t warn you again.”

Walden’s voice held a thread of alpha bark, and I leaned into Lloyd as the warning pressed on me. Something spread over Pan’s face and his fingers brushed the necklace on his neck. A mixture of shame and relief. For the first time, his acerbicexpression softened. He folded out of his chair and took a step backward.

Pup?I slid Lloyd a sidelong glance, but he poured himself a soda, studiously ignoring the war of wills that spilled out over the tablecloth.

“I apologize,” Pan offered; sincerity sobered his jagged edges.

Without waiting for a reply, he wandered upstairs. In his absence, Ajax exploded with a stream of further apologies. Two red spots flamed on his cheeks like stop signs. The hysterical laughter I had smothered earlier rose with vengeance. Walden wiped his hand down his face.

This was so on trend for me. Stuck in a place where I didn’t belong. My parents couldn’t fit me into their world, and the Hartlock name was too heavy to shoulder. My daydreams never lasted long enough before I was spat back into a world that didn’t know what to do with me. Now I was sitting at a table, hearing an alpha call another alpha pup.

“It’s fine,” I gasped, wiping tears from my eyes.

Lloyd passed me a tissue with a furrowed brow.

“Pan treats everything like a joke,” Lloyd explained, but I waved away his comments.

Ajax blew out a sharp breath, and a candle on the table flickered.

“I’m not bothered, trust me,” I assured.

Walden stared down at his salmon like it offended him. My omega instincts urged me to soothe the bristling alpha. Fingers itched to dig between his hunched shoulders. The need was so great that I interlocked my fingers.

He wasn’t mine to touch. Walden would have the most perfect omega one day. Not like me. Or perhaps he was already in love with someone else? A prickly alpha?

But the downturn of his lips bothered me more than I could understand. There was something tumultuous between him and Pan. It crackled through the room, even with Pan gone.

“Thank you for letting me borrow your jacket.” I rubbed my cheek along the collar.

Our intermingled scents thrilled the baser part of me. Walden tore his hollow gaze away from his plate and finally, he relaxed. I could feel it, rather than see it. Like the entire room sighed in relief.

“Anything you need.” He cleared his throat. “I’m at your disposal, Tully.”

He said my name with weight, with texture. Like it was something precious. I suppose it was, if combined with my other name.

“You must be exhausted. Don’t feel you need to rush off tomorrow,” Lloyd said.

The laughter threatened again. This time it was as hollow as Pan’s.

“Family? Friends?” Walden narrowed his eyes. “You have somewhere safe to go, don’t you?”

“Just as long as you don’t go back to living with Fenella.” Ajax collected the plates from the table.

Lloyd had told them about her throwing me out. I hurried to help, piling them up.

“Please, let me handle this,” he protested, easing the stack out of my hands.

Lloyd tugged me back into the plush seat.

“I-I have options,” I lied.

There was no one in this city who I could turn to, no-one I trusted. My closest connections were Thorn and Clay, but Thorn refused to help. That was the whole point of moving to Astaly. So I could shed the past and learn to exist with no need for anyoneelse. Walden turned in his seat, his thick eyebrows bunched together. He knew who I was, and his stare roved under my skin.

He let out a measured exhale.

“You said you didn’t want to go there, but just in case you changed your mind, I called the Omega Center. They’re at capacity for emergency accommodation, but a room should be free next week. It’s yours if you want it.” His tone commanded naturally.