Chapter 5: Breakfast Interrogation
The cold air hit Alice's skin the moment she stepped out of the dorm building, and she immediately regretted not grabbing a heavier jacket. She pulled the thin cardigan tighter around herself, but it did little against the bite of early autumn. Kai was already smirking at her, that insufferable knowing look, as he shrugged off his leather jacket and draped it over her shoulders without a word.
"Should've told me you get cold," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. The jacket was warm, impossibly warm, carrying his scent—smoke and cedar and something wild.
Alek observed the exchange with a tilt of his head, the ghost of a smile playing on his lips. "Let me get the door, little fish." He reached the café entrance before them, holding it open with an exaggerated flourish that made her laugh.
The warmth hit her all at once, a wall of caramelized sugar and fresh espresso that wrapped around her like a blanket. The café was busy for this hour, students clustered around tables with laptops and textbooks, the low hum of conversations mixing with the hiss of the steam wand. Alek guided them to a corner table near the window, where the morning light spilled across the worn wooden surface.
He pulled out a chair for her, and she sank into it with a grateful sigh, letting Kai's jacket fall from her shoulders into her lap. The warmth was already easing the stiffness from her muscles, but the ache between her legs was a delicious reminder of the night before.
"Are you going to keep staring at the menu or actually order?" Kai's voice was teasing, and she realized she hadn't even picked up the laminated card.
"Shut up. I'm deciding." She grabbed the menu and studied it with exaggerated focus, ignoring the way his amber eyes seemed to burn through her.
They ordered—oat milk latte for her, black coffee for Alek, and some kind of protein-heavy monstrosity for Kai that she was certain was more wolf than human. The food came quickly, and for a few blissful minutes, the only sounds were the clink of ceramic against saucer and the satisfying crunch of Kai demolishing his breakfast sandwich.
But she felt it coming. The shift in the air, the weight of unasked questions settling over the table like a storm cloud.
"So." Alek set his cup down with deliberate care. "This twin brother of yours."
Alice stabbed at her avocado toast, keeping her eyes on her plate. "I knew we weren't done with this."
"We said we wanted to know everything," Kai said, not unkindly. He'd finished his sandwich and was leaning back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. The posture made the muscles of his forearms strain against his sleeves, a display that felt less deliberate than instinctual. "You said fair exchange. So exchange."
She sighed, setting down her fork. The locket warmed against her chest, a steady pulse of heat that she'd grown used to over the past few weeks. She'd worn it constantly since she'd found it in the depths of her grandmother's attic, months ago, drawn to it by some inexplicable pull that she'd never been able to explain.
"His name is Hunter," she said. "Hunter Jones. And he's in the USC because our father made him join."
Kai's eyebrow arched. "Made him?"
"They gave him a choice. Enlist or be disowned." Her voice was flat, rehearsed, the words worn smooth from years of repetition. "Dad was USC when he was younger. He wanted a legacy. Hunter was supposed to be it."
Alek's eyes narrowed. "And you were not?"
"I was the disappointment." She offered a wry smile. "Marine biology instead of tactical operations. Couldn't even handle a gun without flinching."
Kai's expression shifted, something dangerous flickering in his amber eyes. "He made you—"
"He didn't make me anything." She cut him off with a gesture. "I chose my own path. Hunter paid for my tuition with his signing bonus, actually. Said Dad could go fuck himself, but that didn't mean I couldn't chase my dreams."
The silence that followed was heavy with unspoken thoughts. Alek was the first to break it, his voice measured and careful. "The USC. As far as I understand, it's similar to the human special forces—the SEALs, the SAS—but with supernaturals in the ranks."
Alice nodded, picking at the crust of her toast. "From what little he's told me, yeah. They recruit the best of the best, human and supernatural alike. Wraiths, shifted wolves, a few vamps in specialized units. They handle the threats that local packs and covens can't handle alone."
Kai exchanged a glance with Alek, and she caught the unspoken communication that passed between them. The same look they'd exchanged this morning, when the implications of her brother's position had settled between them like a weighted blanket.
"He's not open about his jobs," she continued, softer now. The toast was forgotten, her hands wrapped around her cooling latte, seeking comfort in the warmth. "He never talks about deployments or missions. The only one I know about is the Ifrit."
Alek's posture changed. She watched the subtle shift, the way his fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around his cup. "Ifrit. Fire djinn. Rare and dangerous. The kind of enemy that leaves villages as ash and memories."
"Yeah." She swallowed. "He fought one in the Middle East. The ifrit was attacking a pack village, burning everything in its path. Hunter was part of a joint USC-pack strike team sent to bring it down."
"How did you find out about it?" Kai's voice was quiet, probing.
"He almost died." She looked down at her latte, at the foam art that was slowly dissolving. "The ifrit had a werewolf pup cornered. A kid, maybe eight years old. Hunter threw himself between them. Took the brunt of a fire blast that should've killed him instantly. Managed to get the pup to safety before collapsing. They didn't think he'd make it through the surgery."
The words hung in the air, heavy with implications she didn't bother to unpack. She'd spent years learning to talk about Hunter's job without falling apart. Today was no exception.
"He survived," she said. "Obviously. But that's how he ended up with the scars that cover his chest and most of his back. Fire doesn't heal clean, even with the best medical care the USC can provide."
Kai was very still. She could see the calculation behind his eyes, the way he was processing the weight of what she'd just shared. Beside him, Alek had gone equally motionless, his centuries-old composure cracking just slightly.
"Three days," she said, and the words came out steadier than she felt. "He's coming to my aquarium presentation on Friday."
"He's coming here?" Kai's voice was sharp.
"He wanted to be there for my first public talk. He's been pushing for months for a chance to see me present." She shrugged, the gesture forced. "I couldn't really say no, especially not after he went to the trouble of requesting leave."
Alek leaned forward, his eyes searching her face. "And you want us there."
"I want you there." She met his gaze, then Kai's, letting them see the trust she'd placed in them. "And I want you to meet him. He's nice, just seems cold. He's really not, just kinda fucked after the shit he's had to do."
Something in her chest tightened as she said it. Hunter had been her protector for as long as she could remember, even when he wasn't around. Even when the silence between them stretched for months at a time.
"When you met him," she said, slowly, choosing her words with care, "try not to stare at his scars. He won't be mad. It's just that he's so used to people seeing his scars and his job and just not seeing him anymore."
The silence that followed was different from the ones before. It was softer, less charged. She watched Kai's expression soften, watched Alek's eyes darken with something that might have been understanding.
Kai reached across the table and took her hand, his thumb brushing across her knuckles. "We'll be there, baby. Front row. Whatever you need."
Alek's hand found her other one, his cool fingers interlacing with hers. "You protect your family. That's a rare and precious quality. We would be honored to meet him."
Alice looked at them—a wolf and a vampire, enemies of race, bound together by something she still didn't fully understand. And she felt the tightness in her chest ease, just a fraction.
"Don't make it weird," she said, and her voice cracked on the word.
Kai's grin was quick and bright. "Weird? Never."
Alek's smile was slower, more measured. "I make no promises."
And despite the weight of revelations and the anticipation of what was to come, Alice found herself laughing. The sound was surprised out of her, a genuine burst of humor that turned heads at nearby tables. She covered her mouth, but the laughter kept coming, and soon Kai was chuckling too, and even Alek's careful composure cracked into something warm.
"You're both insufferable," she managed, wiping at her eyes. "I'm going to have to warn him about you."
"Please do," Alek said. "We like to make good impressions."
Kai snorted. "You literally seduced a wolf's mate in his own territory. Your idea of a good impression is warped."
"Excuse me, she was not your mate at the time." Alek's tone was appallingly reasonable. "And I was under the impression that an alliance was beneficial to both parties."
"Aleksandr, you literally bent me over your bookshop counter—"
Alice slapped a hand over Kai's mouth, her face flushing crimson. "Okay! That's enough. We're in public."
Kai's muffled laughter vibrated against her palm. Alek watched them with an expression of aristocratic amusement that made her want to smack him too.
"Let's get out of here," she said, dropping her hand back to her lap. "I need to work on my presentation notes, and I can't focus with you two around."
"I'm wounded." Kai clutched his chest dramatically. "Deeply wounded."
"You'll survive."
She stood, gathering her things, and they followed like a pair of shadows. Outside, the morning had warmed slightly, the sun climbing higher in a sky that was still soft with the last traces of dawn. Alek fell into step beside her, his shoulder brushing hers, while Kai walked on her other side.
For a moment, walking between them like this, she felt the strange, impossible shape of her life settling into place around her. A dorm room with two supernatural boyfriends—or whatever they were—and a locket that seemed to hum with ancient magic. A brother on the front lines of a war she'd never fully understand. A presentation in three days that could define her career.
"Hey." Kai's voice was soft, pulling her from her thoughts. "It's going to be good. You're going to be good."
She looked at him, then at Alek, and felt something warm and steady settle beneath her ribs.
"Yeah," she said. "I think I am."
The locket pulsed against her chest, warm and alive, as if it too believed in her.
And ahead, three days stretched out like a promise—three days until she'd see Hunter again, until the two worlds she'd kept separate would finally collide.
She had no idea what would happen when they did.
But for the first time, she wasn't afraid to find out.