Page 23 of Filthy Fae

“And she’ll use whatever alliances she has in place to wipe out all of us without this curse killing her,” I said, feeling sicker by the second.

“Taking over Heartland by a fucking loophole.” Darrel’s fists clenched. Smoke curled up from the pan behind him.

“The chocolate-chip pancake,” I cried as I leapt to my feet, making my chair topple over.

All three of the guys spun, startled.

“Scarlet, he has a stack of probably twelve there,” Aaron said, but I was already moving.

“The shit may be hitting the fan in life, but that is no reason to ruin breakfast.”

Darrel yanked the pan off the burner, turning me back to the table. “I’ll take care of this,” he said. “You just eat.”

Across the table, my phone lit up with a text, reminding me that I’d set it to silent. I checked through my messages, seeing the tenant directly below Zeezee and Zane’s apartment was reporting a leak from their roof.

Well, shit.

Are you home? I texted Zeezee.

Still at work. She sent back almost immediately.

You’re working at a strip club at seven in the morning?

She didn’t respond.

Zeezee, I’m going into your apartment. Come home now. We need to talk. That’s an order from your alpha.

She didn’t respond.

I dropped my forehead onto the table. “Shit on a stick. She has finally driven me to it. I’m going to kill her.”

A moment after I said the words, my heart sank as I remembered that I might truly have to execute my little sister. Tears pricked at my eyes, and I blinked them away. No. That wasn’t going to happen. There had to be another explanation.

“I thought your landlord was letting you take today off?” Darrel asked as he held a big stack of chocolate pancakes over the table.

“There’s a leak coming from Zeezee and Zane’s apartment. I might as well fix it. If I’m in there, I have an excuse to comb it for evidence of his innocence.”

“Trying to rot out all of our teeth in one meal?” Aaron asked as he leaned in to examine the food. There was an odd tone in his voice, as if he was forcing a jovial note. Darrel started forking pancakes onto plates, setting three in front of me, himself, and Mack.

Darrel growled, and fur rippled across his skin. “I didn’t realize I was making breakfast for anyone besides Scarlet.”

Damn it.

Why did I always have two crises going on at once? Darrel was moments away from losing the reins on his wolf.

“Darrel?” I forced an upbeat note to my tone as well, standing from my chair. I threw a thumb toward the door. “Let’s take a walk.”

Darrel rounded the table in two steps and grabbed Mack, dragging him up from his chair. Darrel’s eyes flashed golden, and black claws extended from his fingertips. “If you have a way to stop your mother, then why the fuck haven’t you already done it?”

Mack wrenched himself free of Darrel’s grip, shredding the front of his shirt. “That’s the last resort only if investigating fails. I’m willing to put everything I have behind proving Zane is innocent, and I hate the guy. I think I’ve made it clear whose side I’m on.”

“Hey,” I barked, jumping up and shoving myself between the two men. I extended my arms, pushing a palm against each of their chests. “Darrel, you need to calm down.” My wolf rose to the surface, giving me a growly, resonant tone. “Mack is just trying to help us. Come on guys, do we really have to deal with this before I’ve eaten my pancakes?”

“Never come between a woman and her food,” Aaron said, snagging my cup and taking a sip of my coffee.

I glared. “Put my cup down and slide it across the table, slowly, Aaron Knight.”

He held up both hands. “Just making sure it hadn’t gone cold. But Mack, buddy, maybe you should go for a couple of hours.” He stood and patted Mack on the shoulder. “It’s a little bit of a bad time. I’ll call you as soon as we’re heading off on our investigation.”