Four
Fraze woke up hating the world and hating himself and hating his damn head that wouldn’t stop pounding.
Groaning, he rolled over carefully and reached for his phone to find out what time it was.
His hand made contact with the bare surface of his nightstand. No phone.
“Shit,” he said, standing up. He had to work at the Channings’ house later on, adding fresh gravel to the borders of their flower beds. He loved the physical labor of landscaping, but this was going to suck today. He didn’t usually drink to excess. The last time he could remember doing that was in high school. Usually he was the responsible one.
Look where that got him.
Faint humming reached his ears, and he stopped in place. Had he brought a woman home after all? He sniffed the air. Nah, it was just Viviana.
“V?” he called, padding into the kitchen.
“Dude,” she said, waving her hand in front of him. “Put some pants on.”
“Nothing you haven’t seen before,” he said. “You cooking for me?”
“Only if you put on pants.”
Shrugging, he went back into his bedroom, found a pair of sweats, and pulled them on. As shifters, they were naked before and after changes into their lions, so they’d been seeing each other naked for years. But Viviana didn’t usually hang out with everyone else, so she was a little more modest.
He came back into the kitchen. “Anything I can help with?”
“Nope, I just finished.” With a flourish, Viviana turned around and passed him a plate. He took it to the rickety little card table he used for a dining table and sat down. Viviana fixed herself a plate and came to sit across from him.
“Are you gonna get in trouble, being here?” he asked.
“Maybe.”
“Shit, I’m sorry, V. I should’ve called Dristan. I just—he was already home with Laura and I felt—”
“Pathetic, I know.” Viviana smirked. “You mentioned it a few hundred times as we drove back here from Hart’s.”
“I did?” Fraze groaned. “I babbled, didn’t I?”
“That you did,” Viviana said.
“What else did I say?”
“Oh, lots of stuff about being pathetic. Lonely. Listen, Fraze. I love you like a brother. And I know you. I know you have the biggest heart of anyone I’ve met, and I know you’re gonna find someone. You’ll find a woman who loves you, and she’s not going to be like whatever sorry excuse for a girlfriend you had before. What did you say her name was?”
“I didn’t.” Fraze gritted his teeth.
“Yes, you did.” She gave him a winning smile. “Bella or something like that. Anyway, Bella was a dick if she said that stuff about you after sex. I’m sure you were a monster in the very best of ways.”
Fraze slid his plate away and banged his forehead on the table. “You were not supposed to be privy to any of that information.”
Viviana just laughed. “Then maybe you should stop at the third cosmo next time and call it a night before you get so wasted you’re ready to spill state secrets.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He straightened up and picked at his eggs. “Any new drama in the pride?”
She gave a dark laugh. “Always. Right now, Ben and Doug are in deep shit with the alpha.”
Fraze thought it was interesting how Viviana spoke about her mom. To Marlana’s face, Viviana called her Mother or Mom, but when talking about her to Fraze it was always the alpha or Marlana.
“What’d they do?” he asked.
“They were idiots. They let it slip at Hart’s that Nina was in Idaho—that’s how the vampires knew to find her over there. Now they’re on the alpha’s shit list.”
“No surprise there,” Fraze said. “Sorry, I shouldn’t talk about your boyfriend that way—”
“Nope, that’s over.” Viviana’s voice was soft, sad, and carried regret.
Fraze had to tread carefully. “Did Ben end it, or you?”
“He called me an ice princess.”
“You’re anything but that, V. You’ve got a warm heart, too. Good riddance—I’m glad you kicked him to the curb.”
“Yeah,” Viviana said. “I’ve gotta run. But finish your eggs, and soak up some more of that alcohol.”
“I thought we were supposed to have good metabolism,” Fraze complained. He felt like hell, even after eating half the eggs on his plate.
Viviana laughed. “We do. But when you insist on drinking that much alcohol, well, you’re gonna feel it no matter what.”
“Have you seen my phone?” he asked, getting up to walk her to the door.
“No, I haven’t.”
He’d probably left it at Hart’s, so he’d go there later and pick it up. In the meantime, he had some gravel to spread.
Viviana pecked him on the cheek. “Everything’s going to be great, trust me. You’ll find someone.”
He hugged her. “You will, too. Dumping Ben was the first step.”
She nodded and stepped out the door, and Fraze knew that whoever she dated next would be infinitely better than dickface Ben Channing.