Eryne looked considerably more calm now than she had this morning—especially after this afternoon’s orgasm and finishing her first drink of the night at the Enchanted Cauldron. Rina, Wendy, and her were dancing together on the floor, and she looked less stressed than she had in days.
I was content to just nurse my drink at the bar as I watched her, letting out a small growl of warning when any men approached her group. Three beautiful women all dancing together in a bar? I wasn’t an idiot—but I wasn’t letting some fucker hit on my mate, either.
It helped when she reminded me that my cum was still dripping out of her when she walked in, wearing the sexiest fucking dress I’d ever seen. I wanted to wrap her up, to keep anyone else from seeing her like that, but I loved how happy she looked—effortlessly confident and gorgeous. Her hair was curled into waves, and she’d clipped a piece of hair back, showing off her broomstick earrings. The dress dipped low on her back, and she had a new pair of heeled boots on, ones that I couldn’twaitto take off her later.
Goddamn, I was the luckiest wolf alive to have her as my mate. This tiny witch who had no idea how much she’d already changed my world.
The song changed, and she came back over to the table, swaying her hips as she grabbed her beer, drinking it as she watched me. She stepped between my thighs, free hand running up my leg—and then she stopped. Froze, like she’d just seen a ghost.
“Eryne, baby,” I murmured, squeezing her thigh. “What’s wrong.”
“That’s him,” she said, letting out a little gasp as her hand found my wrist, tugging on the sleeve of my jacket. “B. That’s the man I saw earlier.” Following her line of vision, I saw who she was talking about and let out a low growl.
Eryne’s eyes widened as I stood from the chair. “Stay here,” I barked.
“But—” I didn’t listen to the rest of her sentence as I marched over to the blond man who was currently leaning against the bar, sipping on his glass of whiskey casually. Like he knew exactly what he was doing, the fucker.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, asshole?” I asked, pinning him against the wall in barely the blink of an eye. “You scared my girl.”
A fang popped out from his top lip as he snarled back at me. “Good to see you too, Lockwood.”
I growled again. “Don’t you fucking touch her,” I said, poking at his chest. “Don’t evenlookat her.”
She’s mine,my wolf growled.My mate.Mine.
He rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
I let him go, still baring my canine teeth at him in a warning.
“Barrett?” Eryne’s soft voice popped up behind me. “Who is this? How do you know him?”
I cleared my throat, shoving him back, not caring that everyone else in the bar was staring at us. “Eryne, this is my… partner, Ezra Darkmire.” Though that still wouldn’t stop me from tearing his throat out if he went near my mate.
“But he’s…” She trailed off, no doubt taking him in fully. “You’re not a wolf, are you?”
“Perceptive, little one,” Ezra said, in that perfect northeastern accent that he could never quite shake, even after all these years. “A shifter, I am not.” His red eyes were curious as he gazed between me and my mate.
Eryne swallowed, andfuck,I should have told her about him sooner. But I’d thought I would have more time. With his blond hair, blood red eyes, and pale skin, I couldn’t imagine what she thought of him.
“You’re early,” I said, keeping an arm around my mate to keep him away from her. I could see her studying him curiously, wondering what, exactly, my partner was.
“Am I?”
I glared at him. He picked underneath his nails before taking another sip of his drink.
“A vampire,” he said, turning to my mate. “That’s what I am.”
She turned to me, hurt on her face. “You brought a vampire to my town? I thought you told me they were dangerous, and I should stay away from them.”
Ezra chuckled. “Well, there’s certainly one reason he wants to keep you away from me.”
A deep rumble came from my chest, a warning.
My girl frowned, clearly needing more of an explanation.
“We’ve been partners for a long time,” I explained. “Other vampires aren’t like Ezra.”
He smirked, leaning in closer to both of us. “Or maybe that’s just what he wants you to believe.” Two fang s popped from his upper lip.
