You talked to Vi?

Elodie

Yeah

Me

Thank you!

What can I tell her about heat?

Elodie

Only the stuff August told you guys

Me

You know I can’t lie to her

Elodie

It’s not entirely untrue

Heat is basically a potential mate bond

Jasper put a plate down in front of me, and my head jerked upward.

My eyes met his.

He looked… beastly.

Not entirely, but borderline.

“Are you okay?” I asked him.

“Fine.” He gritted the word out.

Definitely not lost to his instincts yet.

“Don’t lie to me.” The words slipped out before I could rethink them.

I cut into my pancakes, which were already bathing in the butter and syrup he’d covered them with. They had chocolate chips in them that time—yum.

He sat down across from me with his own plate and worked his jaw a few times.

I took a bite of my food, hoping it would ease my pain or lower my temperature. It didn’t, but it did taste good.

Maybe he’d tell me the truth, and maybe he wouldn’t. I really had no control over it.

“Who are you texting?” He finally ground out. “Are you dating someone? Is it another guy?”

I blinked at him once.

Then again.

And a third time.

Finally, I said, “If I was dating someone, I wouldn’t have gone to the wedding alone. Third-wheeling with Vi and Eli is miserable.”