I don’t answer Steve. I can’t.
I see it happen before Bas even moves, before the woman at the table beside us screams. It’s like I know what he’ll do before he does it.
He launches into motion, moving so fast across the room that he’s on Steve in half a second. He pushes the table aside, grabs Steve by his shirt, and lifts him off his feet. “Take your goddamn hands off my mate.”
Steve’s head lolls on his neck and he tries to look at Bas. “Hey, man. W-what gives? She’s going home with me. Made shhhura that.” He jabs a finger into Bas’s chest and then pulls the finger back, wincing.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Bas shakes him and at this point, I decide it’s time for me to intervene.
I stand, folding my arms across my chest. “Bas, what is wrong with you? Put him down.”
Steve looks between me and Bas, confused. “D’you know thissguy?”
I ignore him. Bas is frozen except for his face, where a look of horror creeps across his scowl, turning it upside down. “I-I don’t think I can. Ver, did he hurt you? Is your arm alright?”
“My arm is fine, and no, he didn’t hurt me. He tried to spike my drink, but—”
“He what!?” Bas’s grip on Steve visibly tightens, and he jerks my unfortunate date completely off his feet with a growl. “Why the fuck is he still breathing?”
“Bas!” I take a step forward and then notice how green Steve’s face looks. I soften my tone. “Bas, put him down. You can yell at him as much as you want in a minute, but I really don’t think—”
He isn’t listening. He’s shaking Steve more violently than ever. “Tell me why I shouldn’t just rip you in half, you piece of shit?” Bas’s shirt makes an alarming ripping sound and his arm grows noticeably furrier.
“Bas!”
At that moment, Steve makes an awful retching noise. His face jerks forward, and he vomits down Bastien’s front, all over his shirt, narrowly missing his face.
Bas makes a similar sound of revulsion and drops Steve to the floor so fast Steve crumples to his knees, retching and vomiting again in a puddle on the floor.
By this point the bar manager has come over, his face red and angry, looking between Steve and Bas, who is leaning with his hands braced on his knees like he might be sick himself. “What the hell is going on here?”
Someone has to stay calm. “He—” I point at Steve “—spiked my drink, but I switched with him so whatever he tried to give me, he drank it. You should probably call 911. I have no excuse for this one,” I point at Bas, “but I’ll take him with me if you like, and he won’t cause any more trouble.”
This cuts the wind out of his sails a little, and he pauses in the act of lifting his finger. After a moment he sighs. “Fuck. Look at this mess. Who’s going to pay for this?”
I point at Steve again. “Well I would say the criminal who tried to spike a girl in your bar, unless your bartender was in on it too?” I lift a brow.
“Ah, right. Of course. We’ll definitely press charges and he’ll be banned.”
I shrug. “Do what you like with him. I’m leaving.” I hook my arm through Bastien’s. “Come on.”
He groans but straightens and follows me as I tug him toward the door. His face is looking distinctly green. The other people in the bar watch with curiosity as I shepherd him into the dark parking lot.
“Sorry, Vera.”
I laugh. “I’d tell you off for acting like a Neanderthal, but I think you’ve already been served your punishment.”
Bas groans again. “I’m a sympathetic hurler. Always have been.”
I shake my head. “Come on, take off that shirt. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
“It’s fine. I’ll go. I shouldn’t have come, I just…” He pauses and then he turns to meet my eyes. “Vera, I couldn’t help it. I thoughtI could take it, knowing you were going out with other guys, but I can’t.”
I hadn’t allowed myself to think about the reason why Bas would drive all the way upstate to storm in here and spoil my date, but now my heart thunders in my throat and my body is alive with prickles of hot sensation. “You can’t?”
He scrubs a hand over his face. “I can’t. I’ve been missing you like hell. This whole time. But tonight something just broke in me. Ver, it’s not just the mate claim. The bond. And yes, there’s a bond, for me anyway, even if you don’t feel it.” He stops and shakes his head like he’s trying to clear it. “But it’s not just that. It’s you, Ver. You’re perfect for me, and I couldn’t see it all these years. Maybe I didn’t want to see it because of how much that scares me. I mean, what if I messed it up? What if I hurt you? What if you were too small and I—”
“Well we already found out that’s a load of garbage.”
