“Which he does,” I said, jaw tight. “You can feel it too, right? The way the air feels charged. Like something’s coming.”
Rafael glanced at me. “Yeah. I feel it.”
His gaze sharpened. “Reel in your grizzly, though. Nothing’s gonna happen to Sean. Not with us here,” he told me.
I nodded, but it wasn’t reassurance I needed. It was a guarantee. And no one could give me that.
A breeze picked up, carrying the smells of fresh fruit, sugar, and yeast. My stomach turned, not from nerves, but from instinct. My grizzly didn’t want pastries. He wanted blood.
Then I saw Sean and Leo weaving through the crowd, a cardboard tray balanced in Sean’s hands, full of iced coffees. I relaxed a little.
Leo was chattering about something, but I barely noticed. My eyes were on Sean. His eyes found me and softened, that small smile curling his lips like it always did when he spotted me.
He walked over and held out one of the drinks.
“Got you the vanilla one,” he said, and his voice was grounding.
“Thanks,” I said, wrapping my hand around the cool cup.
The emcee’s voice boomed behind us. “...and the winner of today’s competition will receive a ten-thousand-dollar cash prize, and the coveted Golden Whisk Trophy!”
Applause. Cheers. People shouting the names of their favorite bakeries.
“Participants, please come to the stage!”
We began heading toward our station. Cassian and Dorian moved ahead, organizing their utensils. Leo lingered just behind them, and Sean walked beside me.
I let him, but I trailed slightly behind the others, just so I could keep scanning. Orin was here. I could feel it in my bones.
The crowd parted for a second, and I spotted movement. Then bumped shoulders with someone. I turned, tense. It was Callum. The Wolf Alpha.
He raised a brow. “Easy there. You almost spilled that coffee on my new shirt.”
“Don’t test me today,” I said through gritted teeth.
Callum studied me for a moment. “Something’s off. What’s the matter?”
I didn’t want to say it. Didn’t want to share anything with him, of all people. But the words came out anyway.
“Someone’s after Sean,” I said. “And I think he’ll make his move today.”
Callum’s expression changed. The wolf behind his eyes snapped to alertness.
“Well,” he said slowly, “that explains your tense grizzly. I thought you were just having a bad day.”
His sympathy startled me. We weren’t enemies, but we weren’t exactly friends either.
“Have you ever dealt with something like this? A threat to your pack?” I asked.
Callum nodded once. “Yeah. A few months ago.”
“Did you play by the rules?” I asked.
He met my eyes. “We’re both lead alphas. It’s in our nature to protect our own. Just don’t take it too far.”
James’s voice interrupted us from across the stage. “Hey! You two done talking smack or are you just stalling ‘cause you’re scared?”
“Good luck,” Callum said quietly, before walking off.
