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“For Lukas?” I pressed because he was involved now, too. He’d killed two men—not that I was going to tell Evan. Not unless he let on that he already knew.

“Maybe,” Evan said. “His dad looks for any excuse to end his hockey career. Getting called in for a police interview would probably rattle the old wolf.”

That didn’t tell me much about what Evan knew, but it gave me an “in” to learn more about Lukas’s father. Something about that old berserker had caused Lukas to come home in a drunken stupor.

“Rattle him because the old wolf wants Lukas to take over as alpha?”

“Yeah.”

“Lukas doesn’t seem very optimistic about that future,” I prodded.

“At least there’s a trade-off,” Evan said. “He’ll have more money than God. Live in luxury.”

“I don’t think Lukas sees it as a fair trade.”

“Well,” Evan said, “we’ve all got shit to deal with.”

Hmmm. Cryptic as always. After what he put me through, I deserved better than that. “Back to your shit, Evan, and what happened last night. If you needed money…”

The words came instinctively and without thought, which was why I let them trail off. Evan was the professional athlete, not me. He made bank, and it wasn’t like I had anything whatsoever to offer him. Until I got my first paycheck, I couldn’t even afford my own apartment.

He chuckled softly, but not in a patronizing way, more in the sweet, grateful way that was just like my big brother. “Thanks. But you can keep your money. I’ve talked to the guy. It’s all good.”

I shook my head. There was no way Evan talked to the guy. The guy who grabbed me wasn’t talking to anyone anymore. And besides that…“That guy, Evan. The man who grabbed me?”

I heard my brother swallow hard before he asked, “Yeah?”

“He said, ‘A deal’s a deal,’ but you hadn’t been getting their message.”

“Tiny,” he said wearily. “I’m?—”

“ They , Evan. Plural. It’s not just one guy you need to deal with. You’re in trouble with more than one person, and I don’t think he was just referring to his driver.”

“I’m not in trouble with anyone,” he assured me. “I’ve taken care of everything.”

“But you’re still not going to tell me what it’s about? I’ve never known you to have money troubles.”

There was a long stretch of silence, then Evan said, “If I told you, it would be harder to keep you out of it. Just trust that I have everything under control.”

I wasn’t so sure about that, but I didn’t have anything more to say that could sustain the argument. And did I really want to?

“Okay,” I said, glancing at Lukas. He was still sound asleep.

“Okay?” Evan asked, sounding relieved.

“Yeah, Evan. Okay.” My stomach twisted with uncertainty. It was a foreign feeling, being at odds with my brother, but I had to trust that, even if he wasn’t being honest, he’d do anything to keep me from harm.

“Love you, Tiny.”

“Love you too, Ev.”

We hung up, and I returned to my seat by the windows. Despite everything, I still needed to get two posts out today and pitch a feature article to Big Sport Magazine .

After the action shots I’d posted of Lukas—which had gone even more viral than the cooking photo—I needed to give the world yet another new angle on the team’s famous forward.

I contemplated setting Lukas up with some non-profit work, as long as it wasn’t too performative. People could see right through that, and he must have a cause he was genuinely passionate about, other than rescuing me from the clutches of evil.

I glanced over my shoulder at him. He was still sound asleep, his lips softly parted.

I might not have gotten much information out of my brother, but Lukas had revealed enough for me to get a glimpse into this mysterious future that always seemed to put him in a foul mood.

For one, while I was sure Lukas’s father had other heirs who could step up to take his place, when it came to strength and physical beauty, it was hard to imagine a more obvious choice than Lukas.

Second, the berserker clans—wolves, bears, and boars—had a long history of short fuses and violent territorial wars.

Blood lines and blood connections had gone far to bring about the relative peace they now enjoyed.

I could understand why Lukas’s father would want to continue to build and bolster those bonds.

If the way to go about doing that was to arrange a mating bond between his son and another alpha’s daughter—something Lukas charmingly referred to as “whoring him out”—it was a story as old as time.

Selfishly—knowing my time with him was limited—I wished the other night had gone differently. It was likely the one and only time Lukas and I would share a bed. I should have seized the opportunity. My lack of initiative was exactly the kind of thing Daniel had found lacking .

Lukas groaned and rolled over, shoving his face into the back of the couch, and turning his mighty fine ass in my direction. Damn . His body was insanely hot. Every last inch of it.

With no small amount of effort, I dragged my attention back to my work.

Two hours later, Lukas sniffed loudly, rubbed a hand over his face, and turned away from the back of the couch. His eyebrows drew together when he saw me, and he frowned in obvious confusion. Or maybe he was reacting to the bruises on my face.

Regardless, I smiled. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

“What am I doing here?” His voice came out deeper and scratchier than normal.

“Sleeping off the effects of having consumed an entire brewery.”

“Shit.” He pushed himself up to a seated position and wrapped his hand around his forehead. “How long was I asleep?”

I got up to find him some aspirin. “A few hours.”

“Sorry. Oh, shit. Am I late for practice?”

I got a glass from the cupboard and filled it nearly to the brim with water. “No need to be sorry. And, no, you’re not late.”

“Thank God. How did I even get in here?”

I grabbed the bottle of aspirin from the junk drawer and brought it and the water to Lukas. “You really don’t remember?”

“No.” He opened the bottle of aspirin, shook out four, and drank them down .

“You came home drunk and practically passed out in the hall.”

Again with the confused look, as if he were scouring his memory bank, then he nodded slowly and touched his cheek. He pulled his fingers away and looked at them. “That explains that. I thought I felt a rug burn.”

“I talked to Evan. He called me.”

“Good.” Lukas’s voice was flat. “Did he apologize?”

“Yes. I’m not sure what he did to get himself into trouble, or to get out of it so quickly, but he says everything’s under control.”

Lukas glanced at me, then back at his water glass. “Do you believe him?”

“I don’t think my brother would ever intentionally put me in harm’s way.”

“I don’t either,” Lukas said. “But there’s definitely something sketchy going on. And I think all three of them are in on it.”

“All three of them?” I asked.

“All three of our human players,” Lukas explained. “Your brother, Tuttle, and Petey.”

“Humans are a ‘them’ to you?” I put my hands on my hips.

He gave me a flat look, as if to express that he didn’t mean it in a bad way.

“Well,” I said, putting aside my indignation, “as Evan puts it…we’ve all got our shit to deal with.”

“True,” he agreed, and though I watched his face carefully, expecting to see some acknowledgment of the shit that was currently on his own plate, his expression remained cool, hard, and flat. Like a sheet of ice.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked .

He turned only his head to face to me. “Talk about what?”

“What you were trying to block out by getting blotto. Was it personal stuff, or the fact that you…um…” A shiver ran over my shoulders.

“That I what?” he pressed, sounding annoyed.

I wetted my lips and whispered, “Killed those guys.”

He stared at me. Then his eyebrows pinched. He cocked his head to the side. “Elli…”

“I know you’ve got a protective streak. I know it’s instinctual. Primal . That you couldn’t not do it. But it’s honestly got me worried, if not a little freaked, and?—”

“Elli.” He stood up.

I held my hands up. Not to keep him at bay, just to make sure I could finish what I needed to say. “If something like that were to happen again?—”

“Elli.” He came closer.

“Not that it will,” I added quickly, “but if it did, I really hope you won’t feel the need to go to that?—”

“Elli.”

“—extreme. What?”

He wrapped his arms around me. “I didn’t kill them.”

I leaned backward, over the solid brace of his arms. “What?”

“I didn’t kill them. I would have liked to, but they’re both alive.”

“But…”

He chuckled softly, but not like he found anything truly funny. “I’m thinking if an injured shoulder puts me in danger of getting kicked out of the Savage League, murder wouldn’t just tip the scales. It would dismantle them.”

“But…there was blood.” The image of Lukas’s blood-streaked neck and face was still very fresh in my min d

His eyes flashed, giving me a glimpse of the wolf. “Payback wasn’t taking them out of this world, Elli. Payback was making them suffer for their crimes. Once they’re recovered, they’ll think twice before getting anywhere near you.”

“Lukas, you were all over those guys.” I knew what I experienced, and it was hard to shake my understanding of the events. “I couldn’t see in the dark, but I could hear it. And Rafe refused to stop you.”

Lukas shrugged.

“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”

“I don’t know what you want me to say. I left them bleeding, but alive.”

“ Really? ”

“Yes, really. And like I said, you have nothing to worry about.”

I released such a big breath it felt as though I’d actually shrunk in size. “Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“Come on, Elli. Do you really think I’d give my father more reason to end my season early?”

His father . There was the opening I’d been hoping for. “Lukas?—”

“Will you be at practice today?”

“No, I’ve got writing to do. But…about your dad…”

“Cool,” he said, clearly avoiding the subject. “I’ll find someone to guard your door.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean, ‘why?’”

“Evan says he’s got things under control, and you just said I have nothing to worry about.”

He pressed his lips together.

“How about I call one of my friends to come over?”

“Do that,” he ordered. “At least until I get back. ”

“You know…” I said, switching gears. “There’s no practice tomorrow. Maybe it would be good for us to go out and do something fun.”

“Elli,” he said in a tone that sounded vaguely patronizing. “We’re not going out.”

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Heat surged into my face. “I just thought I should get some photos of you doing something to support the community.”

The corners of his mouth tightened. “Fine. But it can’t just be the two of us.”

“Why not?” I asked, bracing for more impact.

“Because your brother wants to avoid broken hearts.”

Hmph , I thought. My brother was about seven years too late.

“Are hearts going to be broken?” I crossed my arms, trying to look unimpressed, even though my pulse raced.

“Probably.”

“Mine?” I gave him a look that I hoped would say, Good luck with that .

Lukas didn’t respond to my question or sarcastic expression.

“Or yours?” I pressed, amazed that—one—the thought had even occurred to me, and—two—I had the balls to ask it.

Lukas’s eyes widened, but he didn’t respond to that either other than to say, “See you later, Elli. Thanks for the aspirin and…getting me out of the hallway.” Then he walked out my door.