Tiziano grinned at me before staring back at the phone with hate-filled eyes and saying with mock sweetness, “Well,Lucy, it was a displeasure to e-meet you.”
This time, Lucien didn’t laugh. He let out a growl…and not the playful, flirty kind. This one had teeth in it, andthatwas new. Lucien had taken ten times worse and just laughed it off. So, why now?
Was it theLucynickname?
Tiziano narrowed his eyes. Something in Lucien’s snarl had struck a weird chord with him.
“Wait. Who exactly did you say you were,Lucien?”
The drama barometer in the room spiked, his suspicion increased—which was just when the Comets’ captain chose to make his entrance, in all his glory.
Red hair damp and skin dewy, a few stray droplets clinging to his jaw, Lachlan was ready for the photoshoot he would never want to take.
“Hi, favorite twin,” I said with a grin, ignoring Tiziano as he was now full-on glaring at my phone like he was trying to cast a curse through it.
“Hi, sis.” Lachlan bent to kiss my cheek with a loudmwah. Nodding at Tiziano with his chin, who was still growling at my phone, he asked, “What’s up with him?”
The phone that had been quiet for too long, considering who was on the line.
“He and Lucien aren’t besties,” I explained as Lachlan raised a brow and peeked at my phone.
“Hello, Lucien!” Lachlan boomed, startling me. “Ah, tell your loser quarterback that I’ll be at the next game, so he can start writing a good medical excuse letter! He’s gonna need one.”
Lachlan didn’t wait for a reply. He swiped a cappuccino, as many croissants as he could grab in his big hand, and strutted off to the couch to sit next to Amaia. She had somehow materialized unnoticed and was fully locked into her laptop. Thankfully, Lachlan had also managed to drag Tiziano with him.
My neighbors started showing up, so I slipped my earbuds back in.
“Sorry about that, Rudy. That was my brother,” I explained as I laid out a second army of croissants, ready to be baked.
“Who’s your brother?” He’d gone from sassmaster to frostbite in under a second.
Until now, we hadn’t talked about our families—especially from my end, since I didn’t want him to know I was the Alpha’s daughter. I could lie to him now and keep up the ruse, but as a wereball fan himself, there was no way he wouldn’t somewhat recognize my brother’s voice. But maybe he wouldn’t be scared off like I originally assumed?
“Um, Lachlan. Lachlan MacKenzie.”
“TheHighlander?” He muttered it like he’d just discovered I was related to Voldemort. “That’s yourbrother?”
“Is there a problem with that?”
He didn’t answer, but in the background, I heard low, masculine voices—muffled, fast-paced. He was probably at his apartment.
“Ivy, listen, I?—”
A loud bang made me whip my head around. Zeus had just knocked over our aloe vera. The shuffle of shoes followed, echoing through the corridor. Lachlan’s roommates were filing in.
“Have to go, Rudy! It’s neighbors and roommates’ breakfast day!”
I felt as light as a feather, and my heart was flying on top of it.
Until I remembered I had a date that night.
But my vagina deserved some attention.
And so did I.
Sillas picked me up at home like the gentleman I knew he was, punctual and respectful, waiting for me outside the door. The boy ignored Makena’s whistles from the window and Tiziano with his bullhorn, which he used to shout various pieces of (unwanted) advice.
As if we didn’t have werewolf ears and couldn’t already hear it perfectly without that terrible device, which would come to a horrid end when I returned home.
