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Blaire looked at him. “Well, even coed dorms aren’t shared. Men and women don’t share dorm rooms or bathrooms. Actually, while they might be in the same building, some universities don’t even allow them to share the same floor.”

Riley gaped at her. “That’s weird. I mean, if you’re not a pair, sure… but it’s not like we have to be separate. I’m sure we could request to room with a friend.”

Blaire laughed. “Well, it’s not like humans have this weird magical marking and a fated mates sort of thing. That sort of thing is weird to us. And if you can just put in a request like that, your rules are definitely looser than ours. Human parents and administration tend to frown on that sort of thing. They think we’ll be in each other’s pants the moment they leave us alone together.”

Kai cleared his throat.

Mera asked with a serious expression, “There’s nothing wrong with that, but don’t you humans have any self-control?”

Blaire stared at her. “You’re serious?”

“Of course.”

Blaire laughed again, and the sound warmed Lukas’s heart.

“We have self-control, sure. Some less than others, but generally human parents—especially in the South—frown upon premarital sex.”

“What a strange culture…” Kai mused.

The gang chatted amongst themselves until the bells above the front door on the other end of the diner jingled, and Blaire glanced up.

Aiden looked concerned. “Blaire? Hey, Blaire.”

She didn’t respond but moved closer to Lukas, catching him off-guard until he picked up on her racing heart and the fear radiating off her. It made his stomach turn. Her face had lost all color.

“Blaire…” Lukas whispered as he placed a hand on top of her trembling hands on the table, but he still didn’t get a response. She didn’t even pull away from him. He followed her gaze to the newcomer in the diner.

Riley waved a hand in front of Blaire’s face. “Hey, Blaire… you’re scaring me.” When Blaire didn’t respond to her concern, Riley looked over at Mera and Kai. “What’s wrong with her?”

“I don’t know,” Mera said softly.

“She’s shak—” Kai’s words were cut off by a low growl coming from Lukas.

Everyone stopped and followed Lukas’s line of sight to the entrance of the diner, where a man in a suit, who looked not much older than they did, stood watching them with a grin on his face.

“Caleb!” Charlotte called as she rushed over to him. “What are you doing here this time of evening? Aren’t you usually at work?” Caleb turned his attention to her, and Lukas couldn’t hear what he said.

Riley turned back to look at Blaire. “Oh gods, is that Caleb the stepbrother?”

Aiden whipped his head back around to look at Riley and then Blaire.

Blaire burrowed closer to Lukas and buried her face in his hair. He wrapped his arms around her shaking body to comfort her. She took a deep breath, smelling him again like she had after her nightmare. Grounding herself.

Holding her tightly, Lukas whispered against the top of Blaire’s head so only she could hear, “I’ve got you… you’re safe. I won’t let him hurt you.”

She relaxed further into his body at his words, which soothed his heart.

Riley jerked in her seat and pushed up. “Move,” she barked.

Aiden shook his head and gave Riley a reprimanding look. “Sit down. You can’t cause a scene here.”

“I just want to talk to him.”

Her face twisted into an angry sneer Lukas had never seen on her before. He didn’t blame her. If it weren’t for the overwhelming need to comfort Blaire, he’d have already dragged the piece of trash out the door and disposed of him.

Lukas returned his attention to the stepbrother at the same moment Caleb finished talking to Charlotte and looked back at the group again, glaring when his eyes landed on Blaire in Lukas’s arms. He headed their way and Aiden abruptly stood, ready to intercept him, but before Caleb could even take a few steps, his cell phone rang, and he answered it.

“Wilcox, here. Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there shortly.”