He was going to smack his brain if it didn’t shut up.
Ash sniffed the air, his eyes glinting the moment he caught Isaac’s red panda scent. His smirked fully blossomed. “Pot calling the kettle?”
“What’re you two talking about?” Danny glanced between them. “Have you guys met before?” He turned toward Isaac. “You didn’t mention anything yesterday about knowing Ash.”
“Who said I knew him?” Isaac huffed, his defensiveness not helping matters. He needed to get out of there. Between a room full of predators, his clueless best friend, and the big bear wanting Isaac to do manual labor, his brain cells were glitching.
Taking a look around the room, Isaac wondered if there was anyone worth taking home to help with his excess energy problem then decided a wolf was the worst possible choice.
Danny narrowed his eyes. “What aren’t you telling me, Isaac?”
If it had been anyone else but Danny, Isaac would’ve used sass and attitude to deflect. But he didn’t have it in him to talk that way to Danny. “There’s a lot I’m not telling you, princess. Can you be a little more specific?”
“How do you know Ash?” Danny repeated with an irritated tone.
“That big guy?” Isaac jerked his head toward Ash. “Never saw him before. What is that amazing smell? Is that onion rings. Oh, did you just hear my stomach growl? I’m starving! Toodles.”
“Your stomach did not growl,” Danny argued.
“Can’t hear you over the loud grumbling. Peace out, bitches.” Isaac raced toward the counter, hoping like hell Danny didn’t follow. He would have to go into hiding if Ash didn’t spill the tea soon. Isaac didn’t want the responsibility of introducing Danny to the preternatural world.
No thanks. He refused to break the human’s brain.
That was Ash’s job.
* * * *
Danny knew that escape. Isaac was lying his ass off. But why? Wanting answers, he started to follow his best friend but pivoted and glared up at Ash.
“I hope you had your fun. Sorry I found out before you got to first base.” Danny spun around and rushed toward the door, uncaring how many people he bumped into. The collisions barely registered. Danny was too busy fighting to hold himself together until he at least made it outside.
Ash and Isaac clearly knew each other, and from the way Isaac had acted, intimately.
How could he have been such an idiot? Hadn’t he learned his lesson from Brad? It shouldn’t even feel this devastating, not when he’d just met Ash yesterday, yet it hurt like a son of a bitch.
As soon as he spilled outside, Danny wiped at his eyes then headed for the parking lot.
“Danny!”
No. Please…no. He didn’t want Ash following him. The guy would give him some bullshit story, thinking Danny naïve enough to believe it. How many times had Brad done the same thing?
“Danny, wait.”
“Fuck off!” Danny snarled when he whirled around to face the bastard. “I don’t want to hear whatever lame excuse you think I’ll swallow.”
He hated the fact he cried whenever his emotions ran too high. It wasn’t something he could help and had been mocked relentlessly for, even when he was younger.
What the fuck is wrong with you? Why do you always have to cry whenever we argue? Grow up, Danny.
Clenching his jaw, Danny glanced away, praying the trembling subsided before Ash noticed.
“I have no idea what’s going on, honey bear.” Ash frowned. “Would you mind telling me why you stormed out and why you’re so hostile toward me?”
Danny scoffed. Playing dumb was worse, in his opinion. At least if Ash had tried to give him an excuse, he would’ve been admitting to what he’d done.
“You had me completely fooled,” Danny sneered. “You actually had me believing last night was real, that we had some kind of connection.” His laugh lacked humor. “Fuck, I’m an idiot.”
A few people walked past, but Danny ignored their curious stares as they headed inside the tavern. He didn’t even bother brushing aside the stray hairs in his face from the gentle breeze.
