stepped into the diner, all conversations abruptly ceased.

It wasn't his presence that took them by surprise; rather, it was the look of deathly calm on his face that made several of them scramble up from their seats, a courageous few stepping forward as they regarded him with worry. Spike, who was manning the counter during the morning shift, immediately straightened, while Lorraine came rushing out of the kitchen mere seconds later.

"Alpha?" Adrian was the only one who dared to speak up. He glanced my way and I bit my lip, trying my best to convey my most apologetic look. He frowned and looked back at Jed. "Is everything – " He stopped and nodded, then glanced at his other friend behind the counter. "Spike, find Lance and get him to bring Diego over. And the rest of you," he said to everyone else in the diner, "clear out."

Spike promptly headed for the exit, leaving a stunned silence behind him. But then Adrian gave a warning frown and everyone began to get up. Amidst worried murmurs and hushed whispers, they quickly exited through the side doors.

"We're really sorry about the inconvenience," I told them, nodding apologetically at the few who glanced my way. "But this is really important."

Adrian headed outside with everyone else. Even though Jed's expression didn't change, I didn't miss the blazing anger in his eyes. When he glanced at me, I half-expected him to maintain his fury from the moment I told him about Diego's ring.

But I was surprised when his expression softened just fractionally, and he held out a hand to me, only to think twice and retract it at the last second. "Are you alright?" He asked quietly, and the mere fact that he was still speaking in those low, soft tones I was so familiar with made me smile in relief.

"Yeah, of course," I assured him quickly and reached down to take his hand. His fingers were furled into a tight fist, his nails digging into his palm, and I brushed my fingertips across his knuckles until he was slowly unclenching his hand and looping his fingers through mine. "But can I stay in here?"

He frowned and started to step back, but I only tightened my grip on his hand.

"I know you want to keep me safe," I continued calmly. "And I'll be safe if I stand behind the counter and you keep him away from me. But this place is going to be very testosterone-charged very fast, and I'm not sure I want to see a casualty right here in this diner. So let me sit in and listen to what he has to say. I'm the one who decided to trust him in the first place and I want to know if I'm wrong."

Jed stared at me for a moment before he nodded. His expression warmed a little when I smiled, but then turned cold when we heard scuffling outside. I squeezed his hand and moved to sit by the counter. Adrian pushed the doors open, as Lance and Spike shoved an annoyed-looking Diego in.

"Alpha," Adrian said to Jed, "should we leave?" When Jed shook his head, he took his post by the main door, leaving Lance and Spike to guard the other exits.

Diego rolled his eyes at their theatrics before narrowing his eyes at Jed. "So what did I do now?" He drawled, sounding entirely bored as he folded his arms across his chest. But I didn't miss the way his stance was almost defensive, mirroring the others' almost perfectly.

Jed nodded at Adrian, who immediately stepped forward. "Alpha wants to know about that ring on your right hand," said Adrian. "How did you get it?"

It was almost imperceptible and if we weren't looking so closely, we might've missed the way Diego stilled. Just for a split second, before he shrugged. "Bought it from an old store," He said flatly, before arching his eyebrow sardonically at Jed. "Why? Want to borrow it for a grand, romantic proposal?"

Jed stiffened, his fingers digging into the tabletop in a clear sign of anger. But it was Adrian who moved forward, reaching out a threatening hand to latch around Diego's throat, only to have it swiftly blocked by Diego. It was such an instinctive, swift move that I barely caught it, and it seemed to take even Adrian by surprise because he soon found his hand pinned at an awkward, painful angle behind his back.

Jed was on his feet before Spike and Lance could even move, bracing himself in a way that was entirely defensive as he regarded a snarling Diego. I wouldn't even have known what was about to happen if Jed hadn't thrown a swift glance at me over his shoulder, jerking his head towards Diego, who was by now beginning to curl into himself in a way that was entirely familiar.

"Diego." My voice was sharp and everyone stilled. Jed still stood defensively in front of me, but Diego glanced up, fixing his obsidian eyes on me. I fought the urge to shiver, because it reminded me so much of those times he'd kidnapped me, and shook my head. "Don't shift."

He hesitated but, after a few seconds, reluctantly loosened his grip. Adrian wrenched away from him and was about to retaliate when a sharp glance from Jed made him falter and back away, but not before casting one last furious glare at Diego. Jed sat back down, bracing an arm on the table once again in his old position. And when he glanced at me this time instead of Adrian, I knew immediately knew what he wanted me to do.

"Diego," I started calmly, fixing my attention on the man who was standing rigidly in front of us. The darkness in his eyes had faded since then, far swifter than the obsidian in Jed's could fade, and he waited expectantly for me to continue. After another quick, encouraging glance from Jed, I steeled myself and finally asked the million-dollar question. "What is your name?"

Diego looked at me strangely. "What the hell are you – "

Jed started to rise from his seat, but I placed a hand on his arm to stop him. "What is your name?" I repeated calmly.

"My name is Diego – "

"What is your real name?"

He froze. The tension in the diner was almost palpable by now, and the other three who weren't in the know had matching looks of confusion on their faces, even as they braced themselves for any possible, unexpected attack. Diego averted his eyes from me, only to reluctantly meet my gaze again mere seconds later, and after what seemed like a plethora of internal strife, he finally let out a heavy exhale and clenched his jaw.

"Dimitri Volkov."

The silence that followed was a deadly calm. Jed and I was already suspecting this, from the moment I pointed out that the ring Malthus wore in the photographs was of the exact same cutting and shape as the one Diego, or Dimitri, had. A flat silver band with two green lines running around the middle.

Simple, unassuming, deadly.

But to hear his confession was another thing altogether and I found my mind spinning with the realisation that the person I trusted had been one of the monsters all along. Jed stood, the jarring sound of his chair scrapping against the hardwood floor making me wince involuntarily, and nodded at Adrian.

"Explain yourself," Adrian said shortly. He still looked marginally lost with the turn of events, but covered it up swiftly with that usual gleam in his eye that I knew he meant nothing but business. "Why do you need an alias?"

"I'm not explaining anything to the rest of you," Dimitri returned smoothly, his voice entirely devoid of emotion. But then he paused, before glancing over to where Jed and I were standing. "Only to them."

Jed and I exchanged a wordless glance. I could see the caution in his eyes, but the flicker of curiosity on his face was also impossible to miss. He wanted to know the truth as much as I did, and I had no doubt that he could protect me if things went wrong. So I offered him a faint smile and nodded.

Determinedly, Jed eased back and glanced over at Adrian, who stiffened. "But Alpha – " He started, only to let out a resigned sigh and signal to Lance and Spike. "We're leaving."

Lance's eyebrows shot up. "What – "

"Now."

Reluctantly, Lance and Spike trailed Adrian out of the diner, casting suspicious glances over their shoulders at Dimitri, who was still standing in a perfectly calm way that betrayed nothing. Were it not for the way he subconsciously had his thumb pressed over the ring on his index finger to hide it from our view, I would never have guessed that there was anything amiss with him.

"Alright," I said, when the others had finally disappeared out of view. Meeting Dimitri's gaze squarely, I took a deep breath and continued, "Do you want to tell us what you do?"

"Don't you already know that?"

"If we did, we wouldn't have to ask you," I returned evenly. Jed had stayed motionless throughout, but the sharp glint in his eye told me that he was watching Dimitri's body language with perfect precision. He didn't miss anything. "We know you're part of a syndicate. But what do you do?"

One corner of Dimitri's lips twitched up in a sardonic smirk. "You should know. You've had first-hand experience of it. Twice – "

Another warning growl from Jed didn't faze him at all, but when he realised that I was simply waiting for him to elaborate, the smirk slowly faded from his face.

"I'm a hired assassin," He said simply. "Contract killer, hitman, whatever you call it. In your case, I was hired by Malthus Trevino as a bounty hunter to bring you back in one piece." His lips quirked up in a wry smirk when he saw the way Jed and I both froze. "You thought I couldn't figure out the link?"

I shrugged, trying to keep a calm composure. "Bianca knew him as Mattheus Norvil."

Dimitri rolled his eyes. "Everyone knows him as Mattheus Norvil. But when you told me about that room in headquarters, I realised that his modus operandi was far too similar to the way Claudius Trevino used to work. On a larger scale, mostly, but – "

"Wait," I stopped him, catching the faintly alarmed gaze that Jed sent my way. "You knew about what Claudius Trevino did?"

"You mean kidnapping and raping women in an abandoned shed?" Dimitri deadpanned, arching an eyebrow at us. "Oh, yes. He was wonderfully enthusiastic about his conquests. Every member in the syndicate probably knew about his dysfunctional dick from all that sex."

Jed had become tenser the more Dimitri spoke, and by the end of it, it was impossible for him not to react. His fingers were clenched as his nails dug into his palm, and every inch of him radiated anger, frustration, but most of all – fear. I couldn't miss it. And Dimitri, of course, caught on just as quickly because a faint flicker of understanding was beginning to dawn on him, his eyes widening just imperceptibly as he glanced at Jed.

But when he opened his mouth to toss another caustic remark Jed's way, I quickly cut in. "So why didn't you do anything about it?" I asked, throwing him a pointed look and shaking my head with the slightest movement.

After a narrowed-eyed gaze at Jed, Dimitri wisely kept his jab to himself and answered my question instead. "Who the fuck do you think I am?" He asked flatly. "I'm a hired assassin, not some fucking do-gooder. I couldn't give a shit about what any of them do, so long as I'm getting paid for each kill."

"That's what you say now," I mused, subconsciously reaching across the counter so that I could intertwine my fingers through Jed's. His grip was tighter than usual, but he was calm once more and was watching our exchange with sharp eyes. I smiled at him briefly before turning back to Dimitri. "But see – you saved me. And Bianca."

"Yes, and I got punished with a hot silver blade that they used to carve fanciful things into my face so that it would scar for good. Wasn't fucking worth it."

I felt my chest clench as guilt stab me once again and looked at him. "So why did you help me in the first place?"

Dimitri fell silent at my question, and he remained silent for a long moment. But then he eventually glanced up and his dark eyes just seemed a shade lighter this time when he finally spoke, his voice unexpectedly quiet. "Because no one's ever trusted me to be good before."

For a few seconds, none of us reacted. But then Jed reached into the pocket of his jeans swiftly and drew out his cell, typing in a quick message before sliding his phone across the counter to me.

A tiny smile flitted across my face when I read the message, and I set the phone back down. "Well, Dimitri, looks like today's your lucky day," I said lightly. "Because there's one more person around here who trusts you to be good."

He caught on quickly and, for a moment, he faltered, a vague hesitation flickering across his face that marred his normally hardened expression. But it was over in the blink of an eye, and then he was rolling his eyes at Jed. "Great," He deadpanned, striding towards the side door that led to the kitchen. "Why don't we all just hold hands around the fucking campfire and bask in each other's goodness?"

"Where're you going?" I asked curiously, as Jed narrowed his eyes at him, but good-naturedly let that ribbing slide.

"To the kitchen to slice those fucking tomatoes. Where else would I go?" Dimitri shot us an exasperated look. "Call the diners back in, it's time for another round of food-poisoning."

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Instead of standing by the counter, I found Jed seated at the dining table the next morning, a pile of documents spread out in front of him, but organised perfectly with small post-its taped to the sides and thorough annotations. I almost smiled at the sight of that. I adored making messes in the kitchen, but he was incessantly neat – from his work to the way he kept the pack so organised, and even to the way he made the coffee in the morning with perfect precision and slow, measured steps.

"Morning," I greeted cheerfully, offering him a bright smile when he glanced my way. "Found something interesting?"

He began to nod, only to still abruptly when he caught a glimpse of the shirt I was wearing. I'd nicked it from the dryer earlier when I was looking for a clean blouse to wear. I'd located that blouse easily, but when sorting through the clothes, some part of me simply couldn't resist. Wearing Jed's clothes was one thing and I honestly didn't think he would mind, but getting to see his reaction?

Oh, yes, this was definitely going to be worth testing the waters for.

So I simply blinked in faux-confusion when he narrowed his eyes at me. "What? I just threw this on because it's comfortable and I hope you don't mind sharing." I murmured innocently when he continued to stare at me, his hot gaze running over me in a way that made my skin flush with tingles of awareness. Biting back a smile, I turned to the fridge and pulled out several eggs, along with a block of ham, saying in a voice that was so casual it sounded like I was ordering coffee at the diner – "Or maybe I just like having your scent on my skin."

The low growl that escaped his lips was impossible to miss; and I'd just set the eggs and ham aside on the stretch of counter by the sink when I felt him step up behind me. He caged me in swiftly, bracing his hands on the counter on both sides of me as he lowered his head. I caught a faint whiff of citrus and mint and another scent that was entirely him before he was lowering his lips to my ear. Instinctively, I shivered, especially when I felt his lips brush the shell of my ear, his hot breath on my skin sending my fingers digging into the counter as I fought to maintain my composure.

"You are driving me insane," He mumbled heatedly, and I bit my lip to reign in an involuntary whimper at the husky sound of his voice.

He inched his hands closer to mine, so that his fingers had slid between mine as they gripped the counter, the slick warmth of his palms against the back of my hands comforting and dizzying to the touch all at once. And when he stepped even closer to me, leaning in deliberately so that I could feel the hard length of him pressed against me, I felt my eyes flutter shut as I instinctively pushed back against him in the perfect friction, smiling when I heard a ragged exhale leave his lips.

"Likewise," I returned breathlessly, vaguely wondering how I managed to even come up with a response at a time like this, but he was letting out a throaty laugh at my words and reached a hand up. With an infinite amount of gentleness, he tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear, and his eyes were dark but the expression in them soft when lowered his head so that he could kiss me.

His lips brushed mine in perfect familiarity, but the new angle was thrilling because it felt like he was surrounding me, entrapping me within, with him. I didn't hesitate to kiss him back, opening my mouth to let my tongue slide against his until I could taste him – fading mint and fresh coffee and everything else that was purely him. He made a deep, hungry sound low in his throat and angled his head to deepen the kiss. He kissed me in a way that was half-exploring, the way he seemed to mentally catalogue my responses to each of his actions – the way I tightened both hands on the counter when he nipped at my lower lip and leaning back just so I could feel him, all of him, pressed up against me; but he also seemed to be recalling what he already knew – how, when he nipped at my bottom lip, it wrenched a soft whimper from me that drew a muffled groan from him, and how, regardless of how much I teased him, I instinctively liked that he was in perfect control of our kisses, the way I felt absolutely plaint under his touch and the way he seemed to fill every one of my senses, every inch of my mind until he was all I knew.

I could've gone on kissing him forever, letting him mark me, turn me even, were it not for the sudden knock on the front door. Jed froze, so absorbed in the kiss that, for once, his acute hearing failed him. The both of us fought to catch our breaths for a second or two, but then a quick glance over at the dining table made us realise that we really had to ground ourselves back in reality.

Jed swiftly gathered the documents in a neat pile and I went over to help him, but he simply shoved two papers in my direction for me to read. I scanned it quickly, knowing that we only had a limited amount of time now, and felt my breath catch when I saw that Jed had crossed out a name on the list of suspects that he'd compiled.

"What – " I glanced up at him in confusion, but he pressed a quick finger to his lips and gestured to the other paper.

I was even more confused by the next, until I read the header and realised that it was a birth certificate. And everything fell into place the moment I caught a glimpse of the name scribbled in a neat font somewhere near the top.

And there it was. Never in a hundred years would we have seen the connection between Claudius and the ghost criminal Orcus that Jed had only heard of but never seen. But the truth of the matter had been with Jed the whole time; he just had to dig through his past to figure it out.

And realise that he'd already slayed one of the monsters from the very beginning.

I was almost about to blurt out my astonishment when a warning glance from Jed made me subside quickly. Handing back the papers to him, I waited for him to take it before pushing myself up on the tips of my toes so that I could press my lips to his.