Had Wes actually been able to hear what Piper was thinking his response would have been simple. Too simple. She was worrying about nothing. She saw Karma as a threat. At least where Wes was concerned that wasn’t really a problem. Yeah, she was incredibly good looking. No, he couldn’t say no to her. It was impossible to resist Karma. But he’d never consciously hook up with her. Never. If he were ever to get involved with Karma, Wes never would have felt good enough. He would have been her lackey, her lap dog. Wes could never have been her friend or her boyfriend. His mind couldn’t have wrapped around the idea. Maybe that did make it sound like Piper wasn’t as good an option … which wasn’t true. Wes knew that he still wasn’t good enough for her … but at least she wasn’t walking around hypnotizing him all the time!! She actually fit with him … quite perfectly actually. His head settled atop her hair as she stood in his arms, quivering with anxiety.

A moment later she turned to look up at him. Her violet eyes were wide with fear. Wes furrowed his brows as she pled with him to let them leave. Was she really so scared of Evolette and Karma. He might not know Karma … but he knew Evee. It was impossible to look at her as a bully. She was Evee. His Evee. They had been close for years and years. She wouldn’t hurt anyone, least of all anyone involved with him. She knew better, anyway she wanted to see what happened as much as he did! Evee wasn’t a threat. Piper was worrying about nothing. And Karma? Surly someone that beautiful couldn’t be a real threat! While looking at Ev his glare vanished. He knew her better than that. He was just thrown off by the way that Piper was shaking with fear. It was hard not to feel like there was an actual threat.

“See? She said so herself. No biting … yet.” He grinned at Evee. OK, so she wasn’t the nicest girl in the world. They wouldn’t be friends if she was. However, she was being nice then … sort of. She knew that Piper was scared of her, and she still refused to let the intimidating façade die. She could be nice. She could be someone’s best friend. She wasn’t going to try and scare Piper, but she wasn’t going out of her way to be nice either. It was all he could ask for, and he knew it. “Please don’t worry Piper, I’ve known her forever. Evee isn’t as scary as she pretends to be.” He insisted, then glanced up at Evolette. OK, she was as scary as she pretended to be … but they didn’t have to talk about that. Lying was good in situations like this.

When another figure joined them Wes looked up. The male standing there looked first at him and Piper, with one fist balled up. Wes moved his arms so only one remained around Piper’s quivering form. He didn’t quite dare step completely away from her. He wasn’t sure she had the strength to stand on her own for much longer. In his movement, however, Wes freed one arm. He kept it relaxed at his side, and a friendly smile on his face.

“Hey, mate! You must be Emiliano. I’ve heard a lot about you.” He commented. He wasn’t there to fight. Right? They were all friends!