The End of Days.
Kane was pissed if he signed his own hate-letter as The End of Days. The media referred to him like that often, but Emma had seen him get furious when Dustin called him that once.
This sucked. Their little couple plot had worked, but way too well. Marriage? Claiming marks? Living together? That was not at all what they'd bargained for.
This wasn't a crew invite after all.
Smart and savvy dragon that he was, Dark Kane was calling their bluff.
Chapter Five
When a knock sounded on the door, Emma struggled into her green silk spaghetti-strap shirt as fast as she could. She threw open the door. A tiny twang of disappointment settled in her gut that it was Winter and not Dustin.
"Geez, don't look so happy to see me," said the black-haired woman with the laughing, smoky eyes.
"Sorry," Emma said, adjusting her left hearing aid.
"You ready?"
"I think so. Is this okay to wear tonight? With that jacket?" She pointed to the coat draped on the bed.
"Hell yeah, you look hot." Winter was good about enunciating in case Emma couldn't catch all her words. She always had been. The panther shifter was sensitive in ways the boys sometimes weren't.
"Are you mad at me?" Winter asked.
"What? Of course not."
"Yeah, but it's been radio silence since Logan and I got our invites into the crew. Even when I text you, you don't respond most of the time."
Now she felt like a real crap friend. Emma hugged Winter's shoulders and rested her chin on one. "I didn't know how to feel. You and Logan felt separate from the rest of the D-Team."
"But now it doesn't have to be like that. You're going to be part of the crew too."
So that's why Winter had asked her to go out for drinks. Rowan must've spilled the beans. "It's not so simple. There are … conditions."
"Like what?"
Emma laid back on the bed and heaved a sigh. The ceiling fan swung around in lazy circles above her, slow enough she could track the movement and not get dizzy. "Dustin and I can only be crew if we are a couple."
Winter laughed really loud and settled on the bed beside her. "You and Dustin?"
"It's a long story. Everything just got so messed up, and Dustin is my friend, maybe more, I don't know, but not that much. Not enough to commit to for a place in the crew. I tried to talk to him about it, but he's freaking out, won't even talk to me, and I don't know what to do."
"I'm sorry, I'm still kind of reeling over the fact you are having boy problems with Dustin."
Emma rocked up and muttered, "I need a drink." She shrugged into her jacket and checked her skinny jeans and heals one last time. She'd worn her hair down and curled tonight and had done her make-up. Why? Hell if she knew. Dustin had dropped her off at her room and disappeared for the entire day. She'd texted him once to no reply. It stung, and she made a mental note to reply whenever Winter texted, no matter what.
"Emma, are you okay?" Winter asked. Her delicate eyebrows were drawn down with concern, and a sudden urge washed over Emma to smooth them out. Winter shouldn't be worrying. She was newly mated, newly claimed by Logan, newly inducted into the Blackwing Crew. She should be riding a high, not upset over the stupid situation Emma and Dustin had created for themselves.
"I'm fine. I'll be even better after a shot of tequila."
"Thata girl," Winter said, grinning. She led the way outside, but when Emma laid eyes on Dustin, she skidded to a stop so fast she nearly rolled an ankle.
His hair hung in his face as he stared down at the ground, but at her sharp inhalation of breath, he jerked his gaze to hers. He was standing against his car, hands in the pockets of his dark jeans, a navy V-neck sweater clinging tightly to the curves of his muscular chest and arms. And there was that fake smile back on his lips. "Daaaaamn ladies, lookin' downright fuckable tonight."
"You're the worst at compliments," Logan said from the open window of his truck. "Say that to Winter again, I dare you."
Beast climbed into the back seat of Logan's truck and muttered, "I hate all of you. Let's go."
Dustin's empty smile stretched wider. "You heard the Beast. Let's do this." He gave Logan the finger and climbed behind the wheel of his car.
Emma hesitated. Was Dustin still freaking out? Was she supposed to ride in the back of Logan's truck with Beast, or in Dustin's car?
Dustin dragged wolf bright eyes to her and nodded his head toward his passenger seat. Okay then. She offered Winter a little wave and made her way to Dustin's car. When she was buckled, he pulled out of the parking lot behind Logan's truck, but took a right where Logan had taken a left.
"I thought we were going to the bar."
"Let them go to the bar first and have a few drinks before we get there. Then they won't care about swindling every detail from us about what happened today."
Okay, that was actually really clever. "You aren't as dumb as you look."
"Thank you. What are you hungry for?" he asked conversationally.
"I'll eat when we go to Drat's."
"Your stomach growled, and for some stupid reason all I can think about right now is feeding you like a freaking mommy bird with a helpless freaking baby."
Emma scrunched up her nose. "No thanks to all of that."
"You shouldn't drink on an empty stomach."
"Okay, Mom."
"This is a gross conversation. We made out today. A lot. Just pick a place to eat so we can talk and get all of this out of the way."
She sighed and watched the neon lights of the main drag drift by. "I don't know, Dustin. I'm so over fast rood right now. I think I've gained six pounds since we moved out here because motel living means hamburgers at least once a day. I don't feel like fast food."
"You don't like fast food?"
"Not right now. I've been eating it for weeks. It's too much grease."
"Well, grease gives it flavor."
"I don't have your werewolf metabolism or iron stomach. My pants are fitting too tight."
"A, I like your pants fitting too tight, and two, you have clearly gained all the weight in your tits. Win, win. Are you really trying to watch your figure?"
"Kind of. I don't want to buy a whole new wardrobe."
Dustin growled and pulled into a gas station parking lot. The inside was clearly closed, but he parked in the darkest corner of the lot where the streetlight was burned out. "Tonight is my last night here."
"What?"
"I packed all my shit already, but this is for the best. Trust me."
"Trust you?"
"Yeah."
"I trusted you earlier today with your stupid plan to bring Kane Gray Dog, and I trusted you when you said they were only recruiting couples. And then you left me to reel on my own instead of talking to me about what happened. And so you know, I was planning on leaving, too. Not tomorrow, but soon. The heat is too much for me, too. I'm not a relationship kind of girl."
"Lie. You just lied. I could hear it."
"Where will you go? Back to the Valdoro Pack?"
Dustin huffed a laugh and stared out his window. "I can't join the crew, and I can't go back to my pack."
"So … where?"
"I don't know yet. I'll figure it out when I get there."
"Why so soon? Kane's terms didn't give a timeline."
"Because I can't be your boyfriend or mate or husband or whatever we're supposed to be."
"I know that. You would be the worst boyfriend."
Dustin arced his gaze to her and scoffed, but she was ready with a smile. The corners of his lips lifted and he played along. "Literally, the worst boyfriend."
"I think I heard you snore last night."
"Yeah, probably, since I was dying and all, you judgy judgerton. And you had really cold feet when I spooned you."
"Wait. You spooned me?"
"Fuck yeah, you were naked."
"Dammit, Dustin, I was naked because you took my clothes off!"
"See? This angers you for reasons I still don't understand. The literal worst boyfriend."
Emma snorted and laughed. "I mean, you're a werewolf. Do you even pair up?"
"Hell no, not if we can help it."
"And I'm destined to be a vamp someday. I'm in it for the eternal life."
"I can give you an excellent experience with my penis, but I cannot grant you eternal life."
"You drink whisky, I drink tequila..."
"Oh, we have nothing in common."
Emma shrugged and pitched her voice higher. "So we made out a little … "