My heart sank with cold dread as I realised what had happened to him. I took a step forward, only to be stopped by Spike. I took a deep breath and picked my next words carefully. "Diego, what happened to you?"

"What do you think happened to me?" He deadpanned, and shifted his head to brush a trickle of blood away with his shoulder. "I let the princess and the bitch escape from the fucking castle, you really thought I was going to get away with it?"

"You were the one who kidnapped our Luna, you shit," Adrian snarled, shifting closer to us in an almost protective manner. Every bit of his easy-going nature was gone, and in its place was the protective Beta who didn't take threats, any threat, lightly. "Twice."

My mind reeled from the revelation. All along, I had worried about how Bianca and I coped with the aftermath of our capture. I'd asked Jed to keep a lookout for Diego, of course, if only so I could thank him. But I hadn't imagined that Diego would be the one having to clean up the mess we'd left behind.

And pay for it, too.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, stricken by his words. "I didn't realise – "

"Luna, what're are you doing?" Brutus demanded. "That bastard tried to kill you and Alpha!"

There were murmurs if agreement at this, and I faltered. The atmosphere was thick with hostility and suspicion. But when I shot a glance at Jed, he didn't look surprised at all. He must've guessed that it was Diego all along.

If he really thought that Diego was a threat, wouldn't he have killed him by now? I suddenly recalled the time Jed had killed the three rogues that broke into our house. He was cold, cruel and callous. They didn't stand a sliver of a chance against him. But here was Diego, badly bruised but alive, and Jed didn't seem like he was going to tear his throat out.

I met Jed's gaze evenly, waiting for him to give me something, anything, that would help me to make a decision. But he didn't nod or shake his head; instead, all the signal I got from him was a tilt of one corner of his lips in a faint hint of an encouraging smile.

It was still a good enough indication, and I returned his gesture with a smile of my own, before turning to Adrian. "Let me talk to him."

There were immediate protests at this. "Luna," Giles said, "you can't be serious – "

"I'm not saying we let him go. I just want to talk to him, and I want to do this with as few people around as possible."

Adrian glanced at Jed, then sighed in resignation. "Fine. We're staying," He said, gesturing to Spike and Lance. "The rest of you clear out."

Amidst dissatisfied grumblings and disappointed looks, the crowd obediently cleared out. Giles, Brutus, Katya and several of the others stood a good distance away, immediately launching into a heated but hushed discussion that I had no doubt Jed could hear from here; while Lorraine headed back into the diner with several of her friends. In the midst of the lull that followed, I took the opportunity to backtrack a couple of steps until I was standing next to Jed again. He brushed the back of his hand gently against mine and when I met his gaze, it was impossible to miss the glimmer of pride in his eyes as he stared at me.

When everyone else had cleared out, I turned back around. "Diego." His head snapped up and he met my gaze squarely. I tried to put on a brave front, but the fact that he had caused the accident was frightening. "Why?" I asked bluntly. "I just...I can't understand this. Why would you risk your life to save me, only to try to kill me, and Jed, later on?"

He stared at me for a long moment before responding. "If it wasn't me, someone else would've done it."

"So – what? You're saying that you were the most ideal option for the task?"

"You made it out alive, didn't you? So did lovesick Romeo over there."

Adrian swore under his breath. "You fucking piece of – " He took a threatening step forward, but stopped when Jed held out a hand. Diego's question clearly wasn't lost on Jed, who shot me a quick nod.

I turned back to Diego. "You meant for that to happen?"

His lips twisted up in a sardonic smirk. "You really think I couldn't kill either of you if I wanted to?"

I couldn't help it this time – I flinched. Because the threat was real, he was right there, and I'd come so close to death so many times that it wasn't something worth joking about anymore. Jed seemed to notice, because a moment later, I felt him step closer to me, the warmth of his palm press against the small of my back and his thumb curving along the indent of my spine. It was a smooth, comforting touch; one that I instinctively leaned into.

"So do you?" I asked Diego, after taking a deep breath to calm myself. "Do you still want to kill me? And Jed?"

His smirk widened. "I guess you're just going to have to find out."

Adrian made another move to step forward, only to be stopped once again by Jed. But even Spike and Lance seemed to be tethering on the edge of their patience, and as I met Diego's gaze evenly, I knew that the cards had to be played right here. His gaze was always unsettling – not frightening, like the one I'd seen from Malthus Trevino. Just unsettling, like you couldn't decide whether he was an enemy or an ally, and maybe he was both, maybe he was in that grey area where his loyalties were always, always shifting. All at once, I was reminded of the time I asked him about loyalty.

I don't know the fucking meaning of that word, he'd said.

And it was true – he didn't seem to. So what could you do with someone like that?

I glanced back at Jed, only to find him already watching me. "Do you trust him?" I whispered.

Jed hesitated. He cast a swift glance around, then stepped closer to me. He lowered his head, so that his lips barely brushed the shell of my ear, sending the most pleasurable jolt down my spine.

"I will if you do," He replied quietly, his voice so low I didn't think it was meant for anyone else to hear but my ears alone.

I smiled faintly at him and turned back, only to realise that Adrian, Lance and Spike were all staring at us with matching expressions of shock on their faces. Clearly, they hadn't heard a word he said, but they were definitely surprised that he didn't mind speaking to me in their presence. The thought of that was amusing, to say the least, but I forced myself to return back to the matter at hand.

"Alright," I said to Diego. "You saved me once and I am in your debt, so now it's my time to repay you in full." I took a deep breath and turned to Adrian. "Release him, please."

The other three immediately launched into a volley of protests, but the affirming pressure of Jed's hand on my back was sufficient for me to stand my ground.

" – I'm still not saying we let him go," I continued quietly, holding up a hand to stop them. "But I want the ropes gone. Give him clothes, food, and a place to recuperate for a few days."

A tense, startled silence ensued at my words. Inwardly, I bit my lip and wondered if I'd done the right thing, but then Jed pressed his palm more firmly against the small of my back and I let out a silent sigh of relief, especially when I glanced back and saw the faint glimmer of warmth in his gaze, his eyes crinkling slightly at the corners as he stared at me.

Diego was the first one to break the silence, only an echo of a smirk playing on his lips now, but his eyes were guarded. "Not afraid I'll snap and kill you in your sleep?"

This time, it was Jed who stepped forward, a warning growl low in his throat. But I was undeterred and met Diego's gaze squarely. "If that happens, then it's just my misfortune that I had bet on the person who once saved my life."

He rolled his eyes at my reply, but I could've sworn I caught a glimpse of something else flicker across his face before it was gone entirely. And then it seemed like there was an off-switch because his expression had morphed into something entirely emotionless, coldness in his eyes and his lips pressed down in a tight line.

Jed nodded at Lance and Spike, and they went to loosen Diego's ropes. Giles and Brutus soon came over to help, looking surprised by the turn of events but knowing better than to argue. Jed watched the proceedings with a stoic face, but when I turned to head back to the diner, he caught me by the wrist. He held out his phone to me; the light from the screen glowing bright in the dark.

I let out a quiet laugh when I read his words and reached up, sliding my fingers around the crook of his elbow to wrap my hand around his arm. His muscles tensed beneath my touch and he seemed surprised to see that I was standing so close to him, but when he noticed the bright smile on my face, he relaxed and shifted closer to me.

"Well," I said, my smile widening as I looked up at him. "There's always a first time for everything."

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

The diner was oddly silent that morning, with a thick tension that was impossible to miss. There were less customers than usual, which wasn't a surprise because Jed had taken a fifth of the pack with him to check on Io's breach. But as I looked around, I soon realised what was causing the tension.

Or who was causing it.

I was making a beeline for him before anyone could even stop me, and stood by the booth, placing a palm flat on the tabletop. There were vague protests from the other customers but I blocked them all out and focused on the man seated there. He was chewing pensively on a slice of buttered toast, twisting the ring on his index finger in a distracted manner and looking almost uncomfortable in a small booth like this with his long legs stretched out in front of him. He seemed to detect my presence at once, but he didn't react, save for the way his fingers tightened imperceptibly around his cup as he brought it to his lips.

"Diego," I greeted him with a bright smile. "What're you doing here? I mean, in this diner," I added, when he arched an eyebrow at me. "I thought you were going to be at Lance's. Jed told me he offered you a guestroom, but I'm glad to see you here. How're you feeling? Are you – "

"Fucking hell," He swore sharply, dropping his toast and dragging a hand through his hair. It didn't escape my notice that while he'd pushed his hair out of his eyes, he'd left some locks of his hair alone in a way that kept the left side of his face still partially shielded. "Do you usually speak this much just to fill up the silences on lover-boy's end?"

"Sometimes." I shrugged and sat down on the bench opposite him, my smile widening when he stared at me like I'd just sprung three heads.

Everyone else was watching us with wide-eyes and mystified looks on their faces, but it was just a fractional shift from the way they'd been regarding him earlier – with glares of hostility and disgust, and I couldn't help but feel a strange wave of protectiveness when I realised that the latter emotion was probably because of Diego's scarred face. It was the same kind of protectiveness I knew I'd feel if anyone accused Jed of the crimes his brother did, or if they dredged up Jed's past and flung it back in his face.

"No, seriously," I continued. I didn't know Diego well, but I could tell that he wasn't the kind of person who wanted to be around people. "Who brought you in here?"

"Actually, Lance did." A familiar voice made me turn. Spike offered me a sheepish smile. "He had to head out with Alpha and he left the rogue in here so that we could keep an eye on him. Sorry, Luna."

"No, don't apologise. It's fine," I assured Spike quickly and stood up. The other customers were still sending odd glances our way, but I ignored them and turned to Diego. "When you're done with breakfast, come look for me in the kitchen."

He glanced up sharply. "What?"

"Did I stutter?" My smile widened when he narrowed his eyes at me and I pointed to the back of the diner. "Kitchen. Later."

I strode off before he could respond, and grabbed Spike by his sleeve to pull him to the counter. Lorraine was already there and she frowned at me. "What're you doing, Luna?"

"He's not all bad," I said simply. "I need an assistant in the kitchen. Pay him what you would a normal kitchen assistant, dock it out of my pay if necessary and I'll tell Jed when he gets back. He won't mind, I'm sure." Throwing a backward glance over my shoulder, I watched Diego stare out of the window for a moment before turning back to them. "I owe him."

"You repaid your life debt or whatever by granting him full pardon," Lorraine said. "That's more than enough."

"No. He didn't just help me escape Prometheus. He saved me from a world of hurt, torture and degradation when he got me out. I owe him," I repeated, dragging out the syllables of the words slowly to get my point across. "Anyone who has a problem with this can take it up with Jed, who knows just how much I owe him."

"No, it's fine," Spike assured me, wrapping an arm around Lorraine's shoulders to hold her back when she made to argue again. He gave me a faint smile, a light of understanding in his eyes. "We get it. Just – be careful."

I shot him a grateful smile and headed into the kitchen. As the door swung shut behind me, I could still hear Lorraine arguing with Spike. Something about how Diego couldn't be trusted because he was from Prometheus.

The door shut with a solid click and I finally let out a quiet breath, bracing my hands on the sink as I considered the matter. So Diego was a rogue from Prometheus. But, then again, Jed was a Trevino and his father and brother were sexual deviants who raped and killed women. Ever since I was introduced to this world of lycans, I was fast realising that there was no black or white. You fixed a moral compass, only to have its needle shift every time you pointed it at a different person.

"What the hell do you want?"

I glanced up at Diego's voice. He strode into the kitchen with a bored expression on his face, but I noticed the way his eyes scanned the kitchen, locating the two exits immediately. If I hadn't spent so much time with Jed that I knew how he acted in unfamiliar places, I wouldn't have noticed Diego's behaviour at all. I didn't miss the way he threw a cursory glance at the knives before his eyes snapped back to me.

My lips quirked up in amusement. "Look for exits, look for weapons," I mused, sidling over to the counter to pull out a chopping board and two knives. "You know, contrary to popular belief, you and Jed aren't all that different."

"Don't refer to us in the same sentence," he said shortly, as he braced his arms on the counter opposite me. "What do you want?"

"You wanted to be here," I started, meeting his gaze squarely. "Didn't you?" When he narrowed his eyes at me again, I smiled and continued, "One of Jed's hypotheses. He told me that you gave Titan a really good chase last night but led them away from Prometheus ground instead of towards. And it wasn't until he got out of the car and joined in the chase when you finally let up."

Diego's lips lifted in a fleeting smirk. "Any other fascinating hypotheses he offered?"

I shrugged and reached beneath the counter to pull out the ingredients that Lorraine had already prepared for me earlier. "Well, he does believe that the compass and the note you left me weren't the only two things you did that night," I continued mildly, not looking at Diego as I set the trays of vegetables on the counter. "There was a decoy sent to Titan that night, which led the pack right to a forest where Prometheus was gathered at, which meant that the Prometheus grounds were left completely unguarded."

Diego was silent for a moment or two. "Must've been one hell of a coincidence," was all he said at last.

"Oh, it is." I agreed as I set a bowl of tomatoes between us. "Or one hell of a twisted plan. Turning two packs against each other so that Bianca and I could escape. That was pretty clever of you."

He met my gaze with a blank stare. "What do you want?"

"I need an assistant in the kitchen," I admitted honestly. It wasn't entirely untrue – lunch and dinner rushes were the worst and if it weren't for Spike, Lance or Adrian who occasionally stepped in to help, I didn't think I could handle them at all. Reaching for the knife, I spun it and held the handle out to Diego. "If I let you use this, are you going to stab me in the back with it later?"

His gaze sharpened. "If you're so afraid, don't turn your back towards me."

"I'm not afraid." Raising the handle of the knife to him, I paused and waited. "Truce?"

The minutes seemed to drag on endlessly as he regarded me; first with suspicion, then a wavering wariness and, finally, he let out a resigned sigh and reached across the counter to take the knife from me. He spun it with a proficiency that I knew at once that he was no stranger to that weapon, and slid a finger along the edge to test its sharpness before looking up at me. "What do you need me to do?"

I smiled and nudged the bowl of tomatoes closer to him. "I need these sliced."

"Fine." He dragged the chopping board in front of him and picked up a tomato, setting it down and tilting the knife at the perfect angle.

"Don't forget to wash your hands, Diego."

He let out an aggravated sigh and chucked the knife back on the counter. "Forget Prometheus," He tossed over his shoulder sardonically. "Because apparently, Titan's greatest fucking threat is food-poisoning."

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

"What's all this?"

I looked up in surprise when Jed entered the room and set down a large cardboard box. The library was cluttered with boxes and I picked my way across the room to get to him. He held out a hand to steady me as I sidestepped a high pile of books, then handed me his phone.

"Alright," I readily agreed, feeling curiosity surge through me as I settled down next to Jed.

Picking up the book that he'd set aside, I flipped to the page where the notes were and realised that Jed had done some extra markings on the book. His mother's notes were in faint pencil, his were in red ink to differentiate from the black font. Leaning my back against him, a gesture that he seemed particularly fond of because he shifted closer to me, I read his notes while he sorted through the first box.

"Every name you listed is in this book," I remarked at last. Jed's notes, while haphazard, was detailed. "Xaphan, Tamiel and Raum are confirmed members of the syndicate. Xaphan is a ghost—few have heard of him, much less know about him. Tamiel is..." My eyes widened, and my fingers instinctively went to the necklace that Jed had given me. "You know Tamiel?"

Jed paused. After a few seconds, he held out his phone to me. , he'd typed, waiting patiently until I'd finished reading before keying in another message swiftly.