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“Come on, don’t bullshit a bullshitter. Your mom called you today, didn’t she?”

“Yeah. During breakfast. How’d you know?”

“You get a very specific annoyed look on your face when she calls,” Cassidy said.

I took another sip of my wine. “It’s just not fair, you know? I haven’t even told her about the kidnapping.”

“I’d honestly be shocked if you had.”

“It’s like… When I talk to someone like that”—I nodded toward Tammy, who was engrossed in doing inventory at the other end of the bar—“I can’t help but think, what if my mother was like that?

What if she was someone who actually cared about what happened to me, and my feelings, and was interested in my life? It seems like such a low bar, but…”

“But she only cares about herself.” Cassidy squeezed my arm. “I know. It’s really not fair.”

“It’s like she trained me to be all closed-off, keep my feelings to myself. Every time I tried to connect with her, she always pushed me away.”

“If you never share how you feel, you can never be hurt, right?”

“I guess that’s the logic when you’re a kid,” I said. This was making my head hurt. “If I don’t care about this person, it won’t hurt when they leave.”

“Uh-huh.” Cassidy raised her eyebrows. “And is that logic showing up in any other parts of your life?”

“Objection, Your Honor,” I teased. “Leading the witness.”

“Seriously, though,” Cassidy said. “What about you and Ace? You’re not running from him, are you?”

I rubbed my neck without thinking, then realized I was massaging the spot where my neck and shoulder joined.

The exact spot where a claiming bite would go.

Was I running from him? I was scared of the bond, of giving myself over to him so completely.

I was terrified he might betray me and hurt me, even though he never really had.

I had thought the worst of him so many times, and yet he was still at my side, ready to do anything to keep me and our son safe.

The idea of a bond was scary, but was it scarier than being alone?

“Just think about it,” Cassidy said. She took a pointed sip of her wine. “That’s all.”

Soon, the clubhouse began to fill with clan members and humans.

Hawk showed up to pick up Zoey and offered to take Dylan home, too.

Dylan, thrilled at the idea of dinner and playtime with his baby cousin, was more than happy to agree.

Hawk squeezed my shoulder before he left.

“Relax a little,” he said. “You deserve it.”

“Thanks, Hawk. Really.”

Soon afterward, Steph finally arrived. It’d only been a few hours since lunch, but I’d missed him in that short time.

He’d cleaned up after work and looked devastatingly handsome in his plain white T-shirt and leather jacket.

He approached the bar and pulled me into a kiss, smiling into it when the clan members whooped and wolf-whistled their approval. “Hey, gorgeous.”

“Hi.” I smiled up at him. “How was work?”

“Spent the whole time missing you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be corny.”

“I’m serious.”

“Ace, you want a drink?” Tammy called over the noise. The bar was already getting a little crowded, but she was managing it like a pro.

“Seltzer for me. Thanks, Tammy.”

“Not indulging tonight?” I asked.

“No. I’m not giving Sean a chance to catch me off-guard.”

I pulled him into a hug and pressed my cheek to his chest, just for a moment, so I could hear the steady beat of his heart. “Thanks,” I murmured. After my encounter with my mother, I was grateful for the reassurance that Steph could have a night with the clan without any of the booze.

“Dude.” Cassidy knocked her foot against mine. “Are you seeing this? It’s like something from a horror movie.”

“What?” I pulled away from Steph a little and laced my fingers through his.

Cassidy gestured over toward the pool tables.

I looked over and immediately snorted. Striker was standing by the pool tables, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn’t even pretending to play the game.

He didn’t have a pool cue next to him or anything.

Other clan members were playing around him, laughing, leaning over the table, making shots, and drinking their beers.

Striker was just lurking there, staring across the bar right at Cassidy.

“He’s so normal when he talks to me, but then whenever I’m in a group, he gets all creepy,” she said. “What the fuck is going on?”

Striker blinked hard, like he was coming out of a fugue state, then uncrossed his arms and turned his attention to the pool table.

“Oh, shit. Do you think he heard me?” Cassidy asked.

I laughed. “Girl, almost definitely.”

“Ugh! Freaking dragons!”

“You get used to it,” I said.

The clubhouse door opened, and one of the younger clan members walked in with his arm wrapped around a woman’s waist. She looked strangely familiar, like I’d seen that frizzy blonde hair somewhere before.

The woman hauled her date up to the bar and shoved herself between me and Cassidy under the guise of waving down Tammy.

“Jeez,” I said as I scooted my stool to the side, “Excuse you.”

“Oh, sorry.” She flashed me the fakest smile I’d ever seen. “I thought this party was for Lakeview locals.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “And you’re a local?”

“Uh-huh. You probably know my sister. Tori?”

“Andi,” Steph growled in warning.

I glanced over my shoulder and shook my head minutely. Whoever this girl was, I could handle it. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

“Right,” Andi said with that same fake smile still in place. “Probably not, since me and my sister have been a little busy tending to our best friend, whose life you ruined.”

“Oh, she’s the life-ruiner?” Cassidy asked in a raised voice. “You know, I’m a real out-of-towner, and if you want to see how we do it in Atlanta, I’d be happy to take you outside?—”

“Cass,” I said sharply.

“Just attack dogs all over, huh?” Andi smirked.

I finished off my wine, then turned to face Andi.

“I’m only going to say this once, so you better listen closely.

This dragon is mine. Always has been. Even when I wasn’t here in Lakeview, we were still connected.

Blakely was never more than a hookup. I think we all know that.

She never had a claim on him, never even had a real relationship with him.

So if you really do consider yourself Blakely’s friend, I suggest you tell her to move on and build herself a real life she can be proud of, instead of wasting your time trying to harass me. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

Andi took a step back from the bar. She looked for the man whose arm she had come on, but he was nowhere to be seen. Smart kid. He’d probably seen exactly where this was going and distanced himself from her.

“W-whatever,” Andi stammered. “These parties suck ass, anyway.” She stormed out of the clubhouse and slammed the door behind her.

Behind me, Steph exhaled. He grabbed me by the waist and spun me around, his eyes burning gold. “That what you did to Blakely?”

I looped my arms around his neck. “I was a little meaner to her, actually.”

“I like this side of you,” Steph said in such a low tone it was almost a growl. Despite the busy bar around us, my world narrowed to his gaze locked to mine. “Possessive little thing.”

“Not any worse than you are with me.” I said. My face felt hot under the intensity of that look. Well. Not just my face.

“You think?” Steph teased. He grabbed my thighs and hauled me up like I weighed nothing at all. I squealed in shock and wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me up the stairs, to even more wolf-whistles and hoots from the clan.

“You two have fun,” Cassidy shouted from the bar. “Use protection!”

I laughed and hid my face in Steph’s neck. I was a little embarrassed, sure, but any shyness was outweighed by how good it felt to be in Steph’s arms. How good it felt to be taken care of. Claimed, in a way, in front of everyone.

I could really get used to this.