His attention was pulled away from the mirror when his phone vibrated in his front pocket. Isaac had said he would check up on Danny, making sure he hadn’t chickened out.
But it wasn’t from Isaac. The text was from his mom.
Lunch Saturday? Haven’t seen you in weeks. Laura will be there.
Danny inhaled deeply and blew his breath out slowly. She was complicated on good days. He didn’t want to go, but his sister would be there, and Danny wanted to spend time with Laura.
Noon? he texted back.
Perfect, she shot back with a smiling emoji.
“Get out of your headspace and go back to Ash.” Danny tucked away his phone and exited the bathroom.
Then froze. How long had he been in there?
The crowd had doubled since his bathroom retreat. And there was Ash, behind the bar now, not just mixing drinks but performing. A bottle spun end over end above his head then was caught in a fluid backward grip. Three shot glasses filled in perfect succession from a single pour. A beer mug slid down the polished wood, stopping precisely at a waiting hand.
Danny's mouth fell open when Ash threw his head back, laughing, eyes crinkling at the corners. His whole face was transformed by joy as his hands never missed a beat, never fumbled a single move.
Ash was beautiful like this, loose and laughing, surrounded by people who clearly adored him. Every movement spoke of someone utterly comfortable in their own skin, and Danny’s stomach twisted with want and that familiar ache of not belonging.
“Can I buy you a drink?”
The voice came from Danny’s left, smooth as aged whiskey but somehow wrong. Like hearing a familiar song played in the wrong key. Danny turned, finding a man with sandy hair and pale eyes that reminded him of winter mornings. Beautiful but cold.
“I’m good.”
“Come on now.” The way the man’s eyes tracked over him made Danny’s skin prickle. “One drink. I’m Glen, by the way.”
He moved closer, closing the distance Danny had tried to create. His fingers brushed Danny’s wrist. Just a touch, light as moth wings, but Danny’s skin crawled. “Come on. One drink. You’re too pretty to be standing here alone.”
Pretty. The word hit like ice water. Brad used to call him pretty, usually right before—
“He said he’s good.” Ash appeared at Danny’s elbow, and the air felt heavier somehow, like the moment before a thunderstorm when everything seemed charged with an invisible energy.
Taking another step back, Danny felt the solid wall of Ash’s chest against his back.
“Ash.” Glen’s smile tilted, one corner lifting higher than the other. “Always good to see you.”
“Out.” That one word carried raw authority distilled into a single command, making it clear the two didn’t like each other.
Danny watched Glen walk out of the bar, only able to take a breath once the door swung shut.
* * * *
As soon as Isaac strode into Frothy Pine, he froze. His nose twitched, overcome with an urge to haul ass out of there. So many predators in one location. His red panda was going nuts, begging him to run.
He’d started to leave, until he heard a booming voice proclaim to the entire room, “My mate!”
Slowly, Isaac turned, convinced that claim had been placed on him. He wasn’t ready to be a mate, at least not until his third martini. But the claim hadn’t been directed at him, thank god.
It was aimed at Danny.
That massive guy standing behind his bestie was letting the entire bar know Danny belonged to him.
Oh. Oh no. His best friend was clueless about the preternatural world. And after Brad, Danny was gonna flip when he discovered he now “belonged” to a behemoth. That he belonged to anyone, period. His cinnamon roll bestie wasn’t ready for a lifetime commitment.
Isaac knew what that felt like. Only his situation had been so much worse. Still would be if he was ever caught.
