Aiden froze mid-throw then straightened slowly. His mouth opened, closed, opened again. Then laughter exploded out of him, loud enough to draw stares from nearby tables. “Both of them? Oh, man.” He clutched his stomach, doubling over. “Good fucking luck with that. Two mates means twice the drama, twice the compromise, twice the—”
“I get it.” Liam’s wolf prowled restlessly, attention locked on the two humans across the room. “You don’t have to be a jackass about it.”
“No, I don’t think you do.” Aiden wiped tears from his eyes, still chuckling. “My cousin has two mates. Know what happened? They argue about dinner for three hours. Every. Single. Night. One wants Thai, one wants Italian, and my cousin just wants them both to shut up so he can eat.” He clapped Liam on the shoulder. “You’re gonna have your hands full, brother.”
Across the room, Hayden worked the crowd like he’d been born to it, leaning across tables to take orders, laughing at jokes, touching shoulders as he passed. Natural charisma radiated from him. Meanwhile, Teagan stayed near the service station, organizing napkins and straws with intense focus, only approaching tables when absolutely necessary.
Not scared though. Liam could see the difference. When Teagan did interact with customers, his voice stayed steady, his hands didn’t tremble. He just preferred the edges of things, the quiet spaces where he could observe without being observed.
It made Liam want to create a bubble around him, a safe zone where that gentle nature could exist without pressure. His wolf agreed, pushing closer to the surface with each passing second.
“Check out the drunk,” Aiden muttered. “Never understand why humans get that wasted. They’re only setting themselves up to be robbed or arrested.”
A guy in a Broncos jersey stumbled toward the service station, beer sloshing from his glass. Teagan stepped aside to let him pass, but the drunk's hand shot out, palm connecting with Teagan’s ass with a loud smack.
Red hazed Liam’s vision. His wolf snarled, canines threatening to lengthen.
Teagan jumped, spinning around with wide eyes. The drunk laughed, reaching out to grab Teagan’s wrist. “C’mere, pretty boy. Keep me company.”
Liam crossed the room in three strides. His hand clamped down on the drunk’s wrist, applying just enough pressure to make him release Teagan. “Hands. Off.”
“Who the fuck’re you?” The guy swayed, breath reeking of whiskey and beer. His free hand balled into a fist.
“Someone suggesting you piss off.” Liam kept his voice level despite the urge to put this asshole through the nearest wall. The guy could barely stand. There was no sport in destroying someone that wasted.
“Is there a problem here?” Hayden appeared beside them, black hair falling across his forehead as he looked between them. “Because if you’re hassling my friend, we’re gonna have a serious fucking issue.”
Friend. Not roommate this time. Liam filed that away.
“Your friend’s got a nice ass,” the drunk slurred, reaching again.
Hayden’s fist connected with the guy’s jaw before Liam could intervene. Not a wild swing either—proper form, weight behind it, knuckles aligned. The drunk crumpled.
“Shit.” Hayden shook out his hand, grimacing. “That hurt more than I expected.”
Liam frowned. “That your first time clocking a guy?”
It couldn’t be. Hayden’s swing had been too damn perfect.
“No, but it catches me off guard every time,” Hayden admitted, his knuckles already bruising.
Ash materialized from behind the bar, taking in the scene with one glance. He grabbed the semi-conscious drunk by the collar, hauling him toward the door. “Drunk or not, nobody harasses my fucking employees. Don’t come back.”
Silence spread through the tavern like ripples on water. Then someone started a slow clap, and normal noise resumed.
“Thanks,” Teagan said quietly, not quite meeting Liam’s gaze. Pink colored his cheeks, though whether from embarrassment or something else, Liam couldn’t tell. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Yeah, I did.” The words came out rougher than intended. ‘Though it was your friend who did all the heavy lifting.”
And his wolf was going apeshit over Hayden protecting their smaller mate. The two were about the same height, but Hayden had a slight build, whereas Teagan was slim. Fuck if Liam didn’t want to take Hayden to Ash’s office and screw the guy’s brains out.
Hayden rubbed his knuckles, studying Liam like his mate had read his filthy thoughts. “Still appreciate the backup.”
“Anytime.” Liam meant it. His wolf would tear apart anyone who touched either of them without permission. The possessive instinct ran deeper than thought, older than words. He accepted the ice pack Ash handed him then passed it to Hayden.
His mate placed it over his bruised knuckles, sliding a little closer to Teagan.
Music thumped through the floorboards. Someone called for another round. The normal rhythm of the bar resumed, but Liam couldn’t shake the electric awareness of standing between both his mates, their scents mixing in the air—Hayden’s cologne and soap, Teagan’s something softer, like vanilla and rain.
