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“Speaking of positions,” Reef says, and I realize I missed part of the conversation, “in Dusk Protocol, there’s this whole mechanic where the Sentinel has to declare his role in the Ember District before the bartender will even let him through the door. It’s literally how they establish the dynamic. And I’m just saying⁠—”

He turns the screen to show them. “Lev totally did that when he⁠—”

“I’m done,” Ash announces, closing his laptop with a snap. “There’s only so much Dusk Protocol I can take.”

“We’re done—“ Lev starts, but Reef cuts him off.

“I’m just saying, from a statistical standpoint⁠—”

“You got him talking, now you can suffer with the consequences on your own,” Ash says and climbs out of their booth to go join Angel and Petra across the lounge.

Lev turns to me. “Why don’t you sit⁠—”

“Sorry, trouble.” I lean down to kiss the top of his head, his soft waves smelling of the shampoo we use. “Ghost needs me at the bar.”

His shoulders slump. “Oh, okay.”

I don’t want to leave. I’m captivated watching Lev like this, his brow furrowed in concentration as Reef continues his monologue about Dusk Protocol, even while switching back to Pulse Riot on his tablet.

My mate has the patience of a saint. That, or his determination simply won’t yield.

Both qualities attract me.

I lean down one more time to run my nose along his ear. “I love you, trouble.”

His head whips around, his mouth open in shock. “What?”

I kiss him on the nose and saunter off. Now, Reef won’t be the only one distracted tonight.

I know he’s wrestled with the words for weeks, his logic always getting in the way. Maybe hearing them first will finally give him the push he needs.

As I join Ghost at the bar, my mood shifts at the worry in his eyes. “What happened?”

Ghost glances once toward Lev before lowering his voice. “Another message came in.”

A cold knot forms in my stomach.

Behind me, Reef is still talking at a volume that half the lounge can hear while Lev tries to steer him back toward their social calendar, and the normalcy of it becomes suddenly fragile.

“Anonymous?” I whisper.

“Yes.” Ghost motions to the door to the back rooms. “Rowan wants you in the security office. Ash is already there. You should bring Lev, too.”

I turn to look back at Lev, who’s just thrown his head back to laugh at something Reef said, and my heart squeezes at his joy.

Mine.

The possessive thought curls through me as I weave through the scattered tables toward my mate.

When I stop beside him, his head lifts with a smile before it slips away. “What’s wrong?”

I cup the back of his neck in a calming gesture. “Rowan needs to see us.”

Reef taps away at his screen. “That sentence literally never leads to good things.”

“Hey,” I say, “why don’t you go find Kain?”

At the mention of the Alpha’s name, Reef shoves his tablet into the big pocket of his hoodie and climbs over the back of the booth, arrowing straight to Kain with the unerring accuracy of someone who’s been tracking his location all along.