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“Did it ever occur to you to tell me about this?” Rogue asked, clearly comprehending Lukas’s unspoken confession. “You were at our house all the time for three years.”

Lukas gave him a sardonic look. Never in a million years would he have told his best friend that he had it bad for his little sister. His underaged little sister. Who was he kidding?

“Fine,” Rogue said. “Whatever. But you haven’t seen her since she was eighteen.”

This was true—at least, he hadn’t seen her in person. He had, however, kept tabs. Not stalking, but he’d paid attention if her name ever came up among mutual friends. And he followed her on all the socials. Going so far as to check for daily updates.

Shit . Maybe he was a stalker .

“Tiny said you told her about being a rising alpha,” Rogue said, and there was a question in his eyes.

“I told her I was my father’s successor.”

Lukas’s phone vibrated in his pants pocket again, and he pressed his hand over the device in order to decline the call.

“She also asked me if you might have cancer.”

“What?” Lukas asked, though the thought occurred to him that she wasn’t far off. “Why?”

“Something about your time running out.”

Lukas looked down at the floor. Bad choice of words. “I didn’t get into all the sordid details.”

“At least something’s making sense now,” Rogue said.

Lukas’s head jerked up. “I don’t want her to know. Not ever.”

Rogue scoffed. “Well, I’m not gonna be the one to tell her you’re a stud on more than just the ice.”

“Fuck off.” Lukas shoved him. Hard. There was nothing funny about this.

“Come on,” Rogue said, quickly regaining his balance. “You’ll have all the pussy you want.”

Lukas flinched. Was that what Rogue thought of him? Heat burned behind his eyes, and his wolf pressed against the inside of his skin, wanting to run.

“Will it really be so bad?” Rogue asked.

“Yeah, it’s really gonna be that bad.” Lukas’s phone vibrated for the third time, and this time, he pulled it out of his pocket to see who was being so persistent. “Fuck. It’s my dad.”

“Maybe his nose was itching,” Rogue suggested. “He knew we were talking about him.”

“I don’t doubt it. Feels like the old wolf has eyes on me all the time. ”

He answered the call. “Now’s not a good time, Dad.”

Gray Bakken’s gravelly voice scratched against Lukas’s eardrum when he said, “You never got back to me about coming home.”

Lukas kept his eyes glued to Rogue as he responded. “I never said I was coming home.”

“You said you’d come check out what the designers did with your den.”

“No, you said that.” Lukas shook his head wearily. “Dad, I’m at a club. It’s loud. I can barely hear you.”

“Sounds like you’re hearing me just fine.”

“It’s still not a good time,” Lukas said, his gaze still on Rogue, who was frowning with his arms crossed.

“You got a week,” his dad said. “And you don’t have to stay long. You can be in and out.” He paused for a second, then added, “It’ll be good practice for later.”

Lukas stomach turned at the sexual innuendo. He clicked off his phone and shoved it into his pocket. “My fucking father.”

“I hear that,” Rogue said. “And it requires a drink. Want to go back to the booth or—” He unfolded his arms and tipped his head toward the bar. “—to the source?”

“Who were you talking to before?” Lukas asked, recalling the conversation he’d witnessed between Rogue, Tuttle, Petey, and the two strangers.

Rogue frowned. “When?”

“When I first got here. You were talking to two guys at the bar.”

Rogue glanced over his shoulder toward the spot, as if the scene were still unfolding.

“Bjorn thought they were fans,” Lukas added, confused why Rogue would need to have his memory jogged.

“Oh, yeah.” Rogue said, drawing the words out as if that prompt was exactly what he’d needed. “A couple of fans. I didn’t get their names.”

“It looked like a serious conversation.”

Rogue gave him a shrug. “It wasn’t. Ready to get back to the guys?”

Lukas blinked. Was that it? Was their confrontation over Elliette actually over?

Well, if Rogue was willing to call even a temporary truce, Lukas was happy to welcome it.

However, he’d have preferred to go after Elliette than get back to the guys. He needed to apologize for being an idiot. Again . It would be his third apology in less than twenty-four hours.

But when he scanned the crowd for her, or at least for her friend’s silver sequins, it seemed as though the women had completely disappeared. Maybe they’d gone to a new bar to debrief his colossal misstep. He wouldn’t blame her for that.

Rogue dug his fingertips into Lukas’s shoulder and turned him toward the ramp that led up to the VIP section.

As they drew near, Bjorn pumped his arms in the air, yelling, “Hey, hey! We thought you ditched us.”

“Maybe I should have,” Lukas said, teasingly.

“No worries, old man,” Rogue said, responding to Bjorn. “We would’ve been here sooner, but first I had to pull Lukas off my sister.”

Lukas jerked, twisting to look at Rogue. What the hell? He hadn’t expected him to spread that news wide.

“What do you mean?” Rafe asked, his eyebrows raised in eager curiosity.

“Kidding!” Rogue said, laughing. He plopped down on the seat beside Bjorn .

Everyone looked around the table at each other, their expressions more confused than convinced.

“Totally kidding,” Rogue said.

While the others shuffled in to make more room, Rogue shot Lukas a dark look that said he’d been dead serious before: Elli was no joking matter, and Lukas wasn’t as forgiven as he’d thought.