“We know,” Destiny said, waving at him coyly.
“How? Oh, right, you were at the show.” Color me scattered.
“And he was the one who hooked us up with these sweet reservations.” Zoe beamed in his direction. “Can you believe it? You can’t buy your way in here. But Armand made it happen.”
“How?” I looked at Armand and then back at the girls. “What’s going on?”
“Now you know my surprise,” he said. “That’s why I wanted you to ride in my car. Your friends were waiting for you inside.”
“How did you make this happen?” Damnit, he’d actually figured out a way to impress me. Inviting my friends was a sweet gesture, which I definitely didn’t expect.
“We were out at the bar one night and we met these gorgeous wolves. Bought all our drinks all night. Made us feel like queens. Made us breakfast in the morning.” Zoe waggled her brows.
“Ten out of ten, would recommend.” Destiny’s cheeks were as red as her jumpsuit.
“Turns out, they told us all about how their alpha went on the show and got picked by you! So of course, we told them that you’re our girl, and we wanted to do something to surprise you. I was gonna ask Bibi if I could be a contestant, but now it looks like I’m on a steady diet of wolf dick. Won’t be needing the show. I can’t wait for you to meet Bade.” Zoe beamed. “Let’s crack open that champagne, shall we?”
Armand took my hand and led me toward the private room in the back of the restaurant. I looked at Bibi and mouthed ‘this is bad.’
Because I had a feeling if I didn’t do what Armand wanted, he had the perfect instruments to get his way. My two best friends. On one hand, Zoe and Destiny would have no problem sharing all the juicy details about their new beasts. Getting information out of them would be a piece of cake. I’d still have to be careful to make sure I didn’t reveal too much of my hand.
I could do this. I’d have to put all my fangirl super-sleuthing skills to work.
But now that they were probably regulars in his wolves’ beds, there would be no convincing them to walk away. And if what Armand said about Leif was true, and he’d kill any human with a shifter mate, we could be in way over our heads.
thirteen
Bibi
I didn’t often interfere with date planning more than to make sure whatever the couple had in mind didn’t fall under the hashtagdatefromhell. But if I didn’t step in and do something about this train wreck, it would soon need its own hashtag.
“Did you only reserve one table for that private room?” I asked Marissa quietly. Not that any of the affected parties were paying attention to me. Hannah was totally wrapped up in her friends, which I had to say, was a genius move on Armand’s part. The wolf was one step ahead of me, and I had to change up the dance if we wanted to have a prayer of making this night successful.
“I didn’t specify. Didn’t realize I’d need to.”
“If there’s more than one, get it out of there now.”
“On it.” Marissa headed to the hostess station to make things happen.
I plastered a smile on my face worthy of the stage and placed a hand on Armand and Hannah’s shoulders. “I love this reunion for all of us, but it would be a shame if Hannah and Armand didn’t have some alone time to get to know each other. Don’t forget the rules are a little different this episode. Hannah has a big decision to make after just one date.”
Hannah looked at me, lips parted and brow furrowed.
“If you’d asked me at the theater what I thought you should do, I was team Lars all the way.” Zoe sidled up to her wolf. I wasn’t sure if he was Bade or Cardell. Hugo had made a file on these wolves, but there was so much information to digest, names hadn’t been the most important thing to remember. I was more concerned with what they wanted, why they wanted it now, and if they had anything to do with that note that I’d received from Calista.
She was close, and she needed me.
“By the end of the night, there will be no question.” Armand rumbled.
Hannah swallowed hard and followed the maître d’ into the private room. I blew Zoe and Destiny air kisses. I loved how supportive they were of Hannah, but I doubted that they had the big picture in mind. They were shifter hungry, and they needed attention. Neither of those were bad things, but they didn’t always lead to the best decisions. And Hannah was desperate for guidance. Terrified of screwing things up. Her friends loved her, but right now, they might not be the best influence.
Starting immediately, I’d take her even more tightly under my wing to give her the confidence she dreamed of.
There was a single table in the middle of the dimly lit room. Armand pulled out a purple velvet chair for Hannah to sit in. She was beaming as he pushed it closer to the table. In the warm light of the candles, she was simply stunning.
I took my seat behind the monitors at the makeshift video village. The restaurant workers would get a juicy tip for helping Bjorn set up the equipment so quickly.
And this wolf was way too smooth for someone who’d spent at least the last ten thousand years dead. Which made me wonder about the timing of their transformation. Wendy had discovered the Hudaknocker a few months ago at a build site for a new housing community. The placement had always struck us as odd. The chances that a bulldozer had pushed up the artifact was low.
