Page 34

"Ekon," Nyx says, her tone clipped. "You're early."

"I need to talk to you," he says. "Both of you."

Eos raises an eyebrow. "About?"

Ekon glances at me, and I glare at him. He squeezes my hand once, then turns back to the twins. "Yue is my mate," he says.

The words hang in the air like a bomb, and I squeeze his hand. My eyes widen because apparently he was answering the tonight question and not the first one.

Nyx's expression doesn't change, but Eos's eyes widen. "Your mate?" she repeats.

"Yes."

"As in your fated mate?" Nyx asks, her voice sharp.

"Yes."

I try to yank my hand out of his grip, but the shit is tight. "Ekon—"

"It's true," he says, cutting me off. "Yue is my mate, and we're together now. I wanted you to know before anyone else did."

Nyx's gaze shifts to me, and I feel like I'm being dissected. "Is this true, Yue?"

My mouth opens, but no sound comes out. I want to scream at Ekon for doing this without warning me. I want to tell Nyx and Eos the truth; that this is fake and we're lying. But I can't speak. My mouth refuses to work, so instead, I nod.

Eos grins. "Well, shit. I didn't see that coming."

Nyx doesn't look convinced. "When did this happen?"

"Recently," Ekon says. "We've been... figuring things out."

"Figuring things out," Nyx repeats, her tone flat. "And you're sure about this? Both of you?"

"Yes," Ekon says.

I don't answer.

Nyx's eyes narrow. "Yue?"

I force myself to meet her gaze and then speak, "Yes. I'm sure."

For a long moment, Nyx just stares at me. Then she sighs and sets down her clipboard. "Fine," she says. "But if you two are mates, there are rules."

"Rules?" Ekon asks.

"Yes. Everything has rules," says Nyx. "No disrupting performances. I don't care if you're mates. If you distract the dancers or the guests, I'll fire you both out."

"Understood," Ekon says.

"No possessive behavior. This is a strip club, Ekon. Women are going to touch you. They're going to flirt with you. And you're going to let them, because that's your job. If Yue has a problem with that, she needs to deal with it outside of work hours."

My jaw tightens, but I nod.

"Public affection is fine, but keep it professional. If I catch you two fucking in the dressing room, you're both fired."

Eos snorts. "She's serious, by the way."

"I know," I mutter.