Enzo didn’t come backthat night.
Or the next.
Or the one after that.
I didn’t hear from him, either.
I went shopping for shoes the first day without him, and replaced my missing combat boots, sneakers, and sandals.
I met Nova for lunch the day after that, and we talked about everything except her stalker and the fact that we could both grow fur.
And Enzo.
We didn’t talk about him either.
We went to a bar together the next night. My entourage minus Fletcher flirted up a storm and made plans to meet up with the groupies they met after I was safely home. Nova and I just sipped fruity drinks and hung out, though.
Honestly?
It was fun.
I’d never had a friend I could actually be myself with before. I got along fine with the women in my old packs, but I never hung out with them.
Nova and I went to a different bar the night after that. We were weighing the pros and cons on a list of potential jobs I could get, when everyone in the bar suddenly went quiet. I only vaguely noticed it, and not in time to do anything about it.
“The nice thing about a gig at a smoothie place would be the quiet,” Nova said, tapping the paper. “You probably won’t need the money from a better job, and—” she cut herself off as her gaze focused on something over my shoulder.
And she paled.
Immediately.
My nostrils flared, and my wolf purred.
Shit.
Enzo took a seat beside me in the booth and slid over until his side was pressed against mine.
I tried not to react to his presence, but my wolf made me rumble. His wolf did the same.
“Go on,” he said.
I wasn’t sure whether he was talking to Nova, or everyone else in the bar.
The conversations around us resumed slowly.
Nova cleared her throat.
“Nova, this is the Alpha King, Enzo. Alpha, this is my friend, Nova,” I said, to bridge the sudden awkwardness.
And to warn him that he was already on thin ice with me.
He still wasn’t communicating, and calling him Alpha was the easiest way to let him know I wasn’t happy.
If he cost me my friend, I was going to be the one breaking bones. And they would behisbones.
He draped his arm over my shoulder, lowering his nose to my hair. His arm and chest were bare, since he was just as shirtless as usual.
When he took in my scent, he growled.