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The server quickly brought the menus, leaving us to choose our meals.

“Shall I make some suggestions, or would you prefer to risk it?” His eyes gleamed with amusement, and I knew he was not only talking about the food.

Just as I opened my mouth to respond, a tall man with dark curls and brown eyes stopped beside our table, a petite blonde woman with a polished smile by his side.

The man was lean despite the muscles. His curls fell just above his shoulders, and his eyes were cold and calculating as they swept over Adrian and then landed on me.

A smirk curled his lips. “Well, well, well,” the man drawled, his gaze perusing my body up and down, making my skin crawl. “What we have here.”

Adrian immediately tensed, his eyes narrowed, sharp and alert, watching the man with barely contained irritation.

“Lorenzo.” He barks out, his hand gripping mine over the table.

“Nikolai,” Lorenzo said, his voice oozing with a confidence that matched Adrian’s. “I didn’t expect to see you here. And with such… interesting company.”

Lorenzo’s gaze flicked back to me, and I felt a chill run down my spine.

There was something predatory in the way he looked at me, as if he were assessing a potential prize.

It was when I sensed his ill intent towards me, the devious sentiment that darkened his heart.

He was the personification of the reason sirens still drown some humans and—for the first time—I wanted to give in to my very nature.

“I could say the same about you.” Adrian’s grip on my hand tightened further, but his expression remained impassive.

“Except it would entail care and I don’t give a shit about either of you.

” he said low without taking his eyes from the other man, his eyes were cold and void of any emotion, gone was the warm freckles of gold, now only remaining a burning fury beneath the ice.

Even when we first met, I never expected such a display of coldness from him.

I flickered my gaze between them and to the woman whose blue eyes bored into me, resentment raging in her glare, as if my presence alone was some kind of offense.

Her polished smile from moments ago had faded, replaced by something hard and calculating.

I held her gaze, refusing to back down even as her silent daggers seemed to pierce me.

I could handle my council and an entire court.

A petty glare was nothing compared to what I dealt with these past four years.

Ignoring them, I turned to Adrian, keeping my voice low and calm. “Would you like to leave? We can eat at home.”

Home. Although calculated, the word slipped out naturally.

I wanted to stake my claim and couldn’t resist the urge to prove to them that Adrian was mine.

Even though we met only days ago, and our relationship was cursed to fail, I didn’t give a damn.

I wasn’t about to let anyone or anything ruin this.

Our time was limited, precious, and mine to claim.

I would not allow interference. Not from them, fate or anyone.

Adrian’s gaze softened as he looked at me, a flicker of sorrow in his eyes. But before he could respond, a shrill and nasal voice rang gratingly against my ears with a whiny, high-pitched tone that made my stomach churn, and I grimaced in pain.

“And who are you?” she sneered, her tone laced with disdain. “His new plaything?”

Her words stung. Not because they were true—they weren’t—but because I had no claim to Adrian, and that left a burning ache in my heart. Still, I’d rather be cursed than let her see that.

Adrian’s jaw tightened, his gaze hardening as he faced her. The tension between them was palpable, a thick current beneath the civility. Whatever history lay among these three, it was heavy and unpleasant .

“None of your business, Sophia.” Adrian said, his tone leaving no room for argument. “And think twice before opening your filthy mouth and speaking about my woman like that.”

Gods, how I love his possessiveness.

I, in contrast, rose as graciously as I was taught from years of practice and stood right in front of Sophia, my gaze meeting hers, a burning glare with icy emerald eyes. My voice dropped to a cold, menacing, measured, and composed tone as I spoke.

“You should choose your words carefully,” I said, each word sharpened with warning. “I doubt you’d find the experience of being my enemy…pleasant.” I let the temperature drop just a few degrees, enough to turn the cool air downright chilly.

The sudden change settled over us like a veil, transforming the atmosphere into something sharper, more foreboding.

Sophia’s smirk faltered for a moment, and I could see her shiver slightly, though she tried to mask it with a glare.

She might not know my true nature, but the chill in the air and the intensity in my gaze were enough to rattle her.

Lorenzo seemed to appreciate my display, though, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth as he watched with keen interest. He leaned back, crossing his arms, as if settling in to enjoy the show.

His gaze lingered on me, intrigued, as though he found my defiance refreshing, perhaps even entertaining.

Something about them set off every warning bell in my mind.

The way they looked at me felt like more than simple hostility.

Adrian pulled me gently behind him, positioning himself between me and Lorenzo’s gaze. “Let’s go,” he said, his voice gruff and devoid of playfulness.

Whoever they were, they rattled Adrian enough to wipe away his smirk and destroy the playfulness we settled earlier and ruin my first date with my mate.