Page 31 of Secrets & Sake

It’s the start of something much worse.

I can’t wait to get out of here. When the bosses rise, I’m climbing out of the tub and grabbing my towel. When I step out into the changing room, my heart lurches when I meet Hiro’s gaze. I almost forgot he was there.

“What happened?” Hiro asks.

“The bosses came to a decision.” I rake my hands through my wet hair as I shower.

“So, there’ll be peace?”

A bitter laugh escapes me. “I guess we’ll see. Takada’s never been good about letting things go.” Especially not where I’m concerned. “Show any pictures you took to Namikawa so he can approve them.” One side of my mouth lifts. “Get any good angles of me?”

Hiro laughs, the sound soft and fluttery. “I think so. I’ll have to check.”

“Not bad today. You survived a room full of yakuza. Didn’t know you had it in you.”

A grin brightens his face. “Hey, I’ve got you wrapped around my finger so far, don’t I?”

I flick some water into his stupidly handsome face. “Watch it. “

“Maybe this will be my calling. Just call me the Yakuza Whisperer.”

“The fuck I will.” I splash him with some more water.

Sputtering, he flings some soap at me.

People are staring. My neck warms. I glare at them until they get the good sense to mind their own business—all except Takada. He sweeps his gaze from me to Hiro as he cinches his towel around his waist. When he glares holes in Hiro’s back, I move without thinking, obscuring Hiro from his line of sight by standing between him and Takada.

Across the room, we stare each other down.

My lip curls away from my teeth.

Mine, the wolf within snarls.

With a sneer, Takada shakes his head. He turns his back on me and walks away.

I don’t look away until I know he’s gone.

Outside the bathhouse, I see Takada, and my smile falls off my face. “Go wait in the car,” I tell Hiro. He looks worried, but he makes for my vehicle. Eyes fixed ahead, I walk past Takada. He lunges and grabs my arm in a vise-like grip. A snarl tears from my throat as he yanks me until we’re inches apart. Takada’s nostrils flare. “I thought you smelled… different.”

“Let go.” My voice is thick with fury and disgust.

Takada ignores me and squeezes harder, cutting off the blood flow in my arm. “Almost like… a human.”

My claws pop out, fangs sharpening. “Don’t make me say it again!”

Takada smiles, but there’s a nasty curl to it. I’ve seen it before. I know his tells well enough. He’s jealous. “Your own kind isn’t good enough for you now, Noboru? You’ve got to stick your dick in a human?”

“It stopped being your business who I fucked years ago,” I spit in his face, then rip my arm free. Takada’s claws tear through my suit jacket and bite into the skin.

A vein pulses in Takada’s forehead. “Come and join my pack. I can protect you from Namikawa.”

“Get fucked. I don’t need a damn thing from you.”

“I get it, you know. For a human, he’s pretty.” Takada bares his fangs in a predatory leer.

Fur ripples over my arms, and my fangs lengthen to points. “Stay the fuck away from him.”

Takada smiles. “You really think he won’t run for the hills when he figures out what you are?”

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