Page 43 of Tempting Fate

“Flynn, he won’t—”

“I won’t cover for you on this. It’s the most important rule. I mean it.”

My temper flares, which is unfair—Flynn’s right, after all, but I can’t help but think that Dax would have stood by me regardless—and Flynn crosses his arms over his chest, silver shining around his irises.

My wolf growls, but I push him back down. Enough nonsense out of him tonight. Enough nonsense out of me.

“No, you’re right.” I say it through clenched teeth, but I say it all the same. “I’ll call Em in the morning.”

“Good.” Flynn sighs, dropping his arms. “I’m glad you’re all right, Patch.”

He heads off to bed, leaving me standing in the living room. I tip my head back to stare up at the ceiling.

Yeah, I might have really fucked up tonight.

I don’t know what hours Em works, so I don’t risk calling him until the next afternoon. Flynn leaves for work in a frosty silence. I know he won’t tell Alpha Axel straight off the bat, but I get the feeling I’m on a tight deadline—either I find out how Em reacted, how much he’s worked out, or Flynn will escalate things.

It’s easier to understand in the light of day. We’ve got a strict code of silence for a reason. Wolves might be strong. Vampires might be fast. Witches might have magic. That hardly matters with the way humans outnumber us. It would be nothing at all for them to wipe us out. Better not to give them an excuse to.

My thumb hovers over the button to call Em, but I hesitate. What am I supposed to say? I shouldn’t know about the wolf. I shouldn’t know he was out at all.

I’m so caught up in my own thoughts, spinning in mental circles, that I almost drop my phone when it rings. When Em’s name appears on the screen, my heart leaps into my throat.

Has he spoken to Jamie? Does he know?

Surely not. Jamie would tell me. Right?

“Hey.” I hope my voice is steady when I answer the call.

“Hey! Are you at work?”

“No, not right now.” I shuffle back on my bed until I can rest against the headboard. “What’s up? I didn’t expect to hear from you. I mean, not like this.”

Maybe he wants to ask me about the wolf he saw. Maybe he really did recognise me just the way I want him to. Unlikely, but still…

“Nothing! Nothing, I—” Em lets out a heavy sigh and I sit up straighter. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“In person?” Our next date isn’t until Monday, but I think I’ve made it obvious that I’m happy to meet him whenever. I’d have seen him every day if I didn’t think I’d be rushing him.

“I mean, yeah, probably, but I think I’m too much of a coward for that,” he says, and my heart sinks.

“Em? What’s going on?”

He sighs again. “Look, I… I did something stupid, okay? And before I tell you, it’s all my fault, I promise. I really didn’t think it was a big deal yesterday, but I had a strange night, and I’ve just woken up and—”

“Please, just tell me.” If he never wants to see me again, I need to know. I need to know now.

“Jamie and I kissed.”

Some part of my mind recognises that I should be angry. I should be jealous. At the same time, I know I have no claim on Em; at least, not in any way he can understand.

All I feel is relief. And not just that he’s not leaving, or that he doesn’t want to see me, or anything like that. Just… relief.

“Okay.”

“Are you…” Em hesitates. “I get it if you’re angry. I know we’ve only been on one date and we’ve not talked about what that means, but still, I shouldn’t have done it.”

“You kissed him?”