Chapter 4

"This next song goes out to a brave lady who's just decided to start a brand new life."

The spotlight snapped onto me.

I threw up a hand to shield my eyes. Through my fingers, I saw the fox shifter onstage winking at me, his fluffy tail swaying lazily behind him.

The crowd erupted in friendly whistles and laughter.

I froze in my booth, ears burning.

I shouldn't have come tonight. The mark hadn't been removed, and the back of my neck still felt hot.

When the fox shifter texted me, my head had been a mess.

He was someone I'd connected with after posting online yesterday, asking which clan's territory was best to settle in.

A fox. Friendly. Maybe too friendly.

By the time I came to my senses, I was already sitting in a bar.

Halfway through his song, Alex jumped off the stage and walked straight toward me. The crowd went wilder.

He slid into the seat across from me, setting his guitar aside.

"I was starting to think you'd stand me up." He propped his chin on his hand and studied me. "Especially since you smell so strongly of snake that I picked it up two blocks away."

I touched the back of my neck on reflex.

"There was a complication." I kept it vague. "The divorce didn't go through."

"Got it." He nodded graciously. "So, does that mean it's my turn now?"

"Mind if I sit a little closer? Easier to talk."

Before I could answer, he was already up and settling in next to me.

"You're" I started, but I was struggling to keep up with this level of enthusiasm.

He leaned in. Two fluffy fox ears popped up on top of his head.

"Wanna touch?" The tips twitched invitingly. "Way softer than snake scales."

Who could say no to twitching fox ears?

By the time I caught myself, my fingers were already buried in the fur, rubbing like my life depended on it.

"Rough hands, babe." He said it like a complaint, but he ducked his head to make it easier for me. His bushy tail quietly curled around my waist. Warm, soft, impossibly fluffy.

"Alex," I tried to pull my hand back.

"Hmm?" He caught my wrist and pressed my palm gently back onto his ear. "Keep going. Serpents don't know how to treat a lady right. We foxes? We do."

For one fleeting moment, I felt guilty.

Two voices were screaming in my head at the same time.

One yelled that even if Victor lost his memory, the mark was still there, and what I was doing was no different from cheating.

The other shot right back that he'd said he'd never regret it, so why couldn't I start a new life?

"What are you thinking about?" Alex leaned even closer, his breath warm on my face. "About that snake?"

I snapped back. "No."

"Liar." He laughed softly, his tail tip drawing circles on my waist. "Your heart rate just spiked."

Suddenly, his tail puffed out to twice its size.

"Shit." He jerked upright. "Something's watching us."

A chill ripped through me. I looked where he was staring.

Victor stood in the shadows by the bar shelves. I had no idea when he'd arrived. All I saw was that his eyes were locked on my hand, the one that had been buried in Alex's ear.

He crossed the room in long, hard strides, pupils narrowing to vertical slits.

"Darling."

"Who is he?"