Lux wrinkled her nose in disgust, shaking the last bit of sugar from the pack. "Meg, honestly. Your blood is like ninety-nine percent coffee at this point. Is there any sugar in that?"

"I don't need the sweetness," I hugged my reusable cup to my chest, raising a hand in good-bye to the barista. He waved us off as always; I liked him. He always remembered our orders and slipped Lux an extra chocolate when his manager wasn't looking.

Lux hurried to keep up with me. We had been called in early today to make sure everything was in tip-top shape for the final show. Even the confine of stone and glass was holding its breath. The streets were quiet, but I scented more Lycans than normal prowling around.

"I love the closing show," I sighed, sipping my coffee. I always got called into the back to help. Maybe it was my height, or my quiet step, but they always let me back there. The rooms of colourful clothing, makeup and anxious actors always made me feel settled. As if I was apart of a great working machine and I was useful.

"You'll come for drinks afterwards?" Lux asked.

"Of course." I had been working in the theatre for a while. Shows ran like clockwork – in this city of arts, the theatre was its life-blood. Lianly theatre was its official name, but I never used it. That sounded like some kind of disease.

John joined us when we reached the front doors, sporting dark circles under his eyes. Lux snorted, immediately questioning him on whether or not he had spent all night reading what he could about the Alpha Supreme.

Beyond the doors, the place was a hive of noise. The regular performers greeted us joyfully. Most of them were well known in the theatre circles with articles written about them en-masse and accolades to their name. Still, they knew better than to make enemies of the working staff.

"Afternoon lads!" Ailish flitted up to us, grinning widely. They had already begun applying the fake silver jewels to her exposed collarbones and they stood stark against her dark skin. "Are we ready for tonight!"

"We have no reason to be nervous," Lux shrugged it off. "Are you nervous?"

Ailish's eyes were shining and excited energy just blasted from her. "Am I nervous to sing in front of the most powerful Lycan in the country. Pssh, he's powerful but he can't sing like me. I know I'm good and no Lycan is going to tell me any different."

"You'll do brilliantly, Ailish." I reassured her, "The spotlight belongs on you."

Ailish's cheeks flushed. "Thanks Meg. Did you uhm, did you – uh, I like your jumper."

I picked at the edge of it, frowning. People usually got uneasy around me. "I got it in a thrift shop."

She eyed the patch-dyed jumper that swamped my shoulders. I usually changed into my uniform before the performers could see me.

The minute I had gotten money, I had gone straight into the store to buy the most colourful clothing I had. Everything I wore had a pattern, but I tried not to be too ostentatious outside my apartment.

Inside – well, it was feather scarfs, tutus and rainbow socks whenever I felt as if white walls were bearing down on me.

"Thanks, Ailish," I pulled on the ends of my jumper, uncomfortable with the attention. "Good luck tonight. Break a fang."

She laughed. "Well, I'm just glad that Mrs. Murphn brought in someone who can treat my hair the way it deserves. No offence to Kitty of course..."

"Your hair looked beautiful last night," John assured her.

Ailish beamed at us and moved on, spinning through the foyer of the theatre with nervous energy. More workers pilled in. The air was heavy with tension. The Alpha Supreme – they whispered about him between practices and revisions. That he was a saviour. That he was a brute.

Some believed that the old ways had been best. Some argued that it was wrong for a Lycan to mark a mate before they were ready. I had to agree with them then. I had changed into my uniform before Mrs. Murphn could catch me out of it and spent the afternoon scrubbing, hoovering and casting a final eye over the theatre.

I thought the place was beautiful and I took great pride in making it look perfect.

In the evening, the doors opened to the patrons. I was in the back of the theatre, helping tend to one final prop that had spontaneously decided that it wanted a night off when the Alpha Supreme arrived. His arrival swept through the patrons and workers like a whisper.

The hairs on the back of my neck and I gave up pretending that the prop was heavy to me, my nose rising to scent the air. The Omega stirred and I bit down on the urge to search out the disturbance, my nails digging into the wood. Control yourself s112.

"Ah feck," John grumbled, rushing to give me a hand. "I wanted to catch a look."

"Take a look on the way out." I advised, still rattled.

Sulking, John said "The rumours better do him justice."

"Rumours rarely do."

Rachel and Lux found us soon and the former's cheeks were flushed. "Oh, he's here!"

Even Lux seemed flustered. Disturbed. Absently, I wondered how off-putting this Lycan had to be to rattle everyone so much. Handing me a peppermint, she said, "I didn't expect him to look like that."

"Like what?" John asked. "I know he rarely lets his photo be taken. Maybe he's paranoid that people will track him down."

Rachel snorted. "No. He tore down an entire ruling family and his face looks like it. Probably under his clothes too."

"That's you put off him then," John tutted.

"No." Rachel flushed as Mrs. Murphn came rushing past in a rapid fire of orders. "He's far too rich for me to care about his face."

"Lordie, Rachel, if you were a pool everyone would break their necks diving in." I said, disgusted.

"You four!" Mrs. Murphn rounded on us. "Get back to work! The show is starting at any minute and we can't have any mistakes!"

"Yes, Mrs. Murphn." We chorused.

Back to work it was.

The show went off without a hitch and in the shadows, I clapped along with the crowd. The rush of cheering and applause was exhilarating and even I couldn't help but smile as the cast bowed on stage. Feet clapped on the ground and voices pitched with appreciated.

Ailish, with her silver dusted cheeks, bowed to them. The heat of the overhead lights must have been uncomfortable, but she looked like she adored being there. Her eyes were bright with delight and she beamed widely into the crowd. They loved her. Adored her.

As they should.

I was bias when it came to music – I loved everything but I had always stopped when Ailish sang with a voice that filled the space it was in and swelled inside chest cavities, stuttering thoughts and actions.

It was moments like these that made the last couple of months' worth it. The cold nights. Scavenging for food. Taming the beast that would take her meat from any beating heart. Slowly building up my nest-egg of money.

It was all worth it - just to hear a woman, sing out to an adoring crowd, knowing that in some small way, I helped to create some part of it.

Across the stage, back behind the safety of the curtains, Lux grinned at me. We did it. All of us. It felt silly to be so proud of something like this, but I could only compare it to what I had been doing this time last year. White walls. The Mad-Maze. Death and blood and lightening.

High, hidden in the shadows where his assigned booth sat, the Alpha Supreme clapped. If I focused, I could hear it but there was too much jarring noise around me. Before he could stand into the light, the four of us slipped back to the foyer as flowers rained down on the stage.

We set the heavy doors open. John clucked his tongue, peering out into the rain. "Rain in summer. What a tragedy."

The doors of the theatre opened and the patrons began spilling out, wrapped in expensive coats and weighed down by glittering jewels. I didn't care for any of it. I was just excited for a few drinks with everyone after this and my bed.

Hopefully I would dream of good things tonight.

"The Supreme Alpha and his entourage are to leave last. They want to thank all the workers!" Rachel snuck up behind John as the final few patrons left the foyer. "I hope I don't get tongue-tied."

A woman swept past, uttering a castaway good-night. The foyer was empty. Behind the great concession stand, the workers were contemplating whether to beginning cleaning away all the purchasable treats. Would this supreme Alpha consider it an offence to try and clean up before he had even left?

Because no one wanted to offend the Lycan who toppled a monarchy.

I perked as I heard two voices echoing. Two beating hearts. Beyond that, the fainter sounds of more approaching. Nervousness skittered down my spine. I may have been the Omega, but I had been human once too.

Overhead, the lights of the chandelier cast twinkling stars onto the floor. Unease continued to course through me, knotting my throat tight. Fight. Fight. Instinct told me to fight my way out. Lux emerged from a side hallway, running a hand over her hair. She worried her lower lip.

A young man and woman rounded the corner into the foyer, both laughing.

It took me a second to recognise them.

No longer dressed in the Ravi's white, Darren and Sunny looked completely different. Both were dressed in fine threads and expensive shoes. Sunny wore diamond earrings that glittered under the light and her dress was the same, made of reflective glass that caught my eye like I was no more than a magpie.

Darren's attention shot to mine and he slowed, frowning in disbelief. "You!"

Fight. Fight. Kill.

He would blow my cover. I would have to run. I would have to fight...

My mind was an explosion of panic and fury and it took me a moment to wrestle the urge to slink into the night and hide amongst the rain and rats. My fingers curled tight into my palms and I took a long, calming breath.

"Hello Darren." I said quietly. "Hello Sunny."

Sunny blinked at me and we all stood facing each other. I was keenly aware of the attention that settled on us. Rachel was open-mouthed, looking between the twins and I rapidly. Lux had stilled, frowning in confusion.

How did the homeless girl know these Lycans?

I could have laughed at the reversal of fortunes. In the Mad-Maze, I had ruled supreme. I knew how to survive there, but the real world...that was a mess that I was trying to unknot. Resolving issues without violence was hard.

"I did wonder if we would meet again?" Darren queried, his voice soft and warm.

I couldn't put a bite in my tone. Whatever I felt about Lycans, it was because of Darren and Sunny that I even escaped the Mad-Maze. "I suppose we were put in each other's path for a reason."

Sunny was smiling, a hand cupped to her mouth. I didn't know why she was so happy – I had loathed her presence in the Mad-Maze and had let her know that.

"It's good to see you," Sunny gushed. "I never got to say thank you for ..."

"For what?" For not ripping out her throat. I did the bare minimum for them.

"Oh, there you are." Mrs Murphn rounded the corner. Tonight, she wore all black and her grey peppered hair was scraped back into a tight bun. She smiled sagely at the two Lycans, but I knew that if she spotted anything out of place, we would hear about it. "I see you've met more of the crew."

"This is John Levingston. Rachel McMorrow. Meg Blue. Lux Armstine." Mrs. Murphn eyed us, clearly wondering if we were bothering these two guests.

Sunny ignored her, flashing a red-painted smile at me. "I didn't figure you for a Meg."

"Short for Megan," I explained lamely, keenly aware of my shabby shoes and the colourful hair-ties keeping my short, dark hair pulled away from my face.

Energy charged along my skin, my whole body humming. Beyond them, echoing down the hall, came the sound of Ailish's laughter. Under that, the low tones of a male.

I was moving slowly across the foyer, trying to get closer to the staff-only door. Lux trailed after me, eyeing Darren and Sunny critically. "It's nice to meet some of Meg's old friends. Forgive my rudeness, but we do need to be getting back to work."

"No," Rachel shook her head. "We have time. Why don't you join us all for drinks after and we can all catch up with Meg's friends."

I nearly snorted. Shallow.

"They're old friends that were just leaving." I eyed the both of them. "Now."

"We can't leave without Young." Sunny smiled beautifully at me. "It would be a grave offence to leave without the Alpha when we took his car."

I inched another step towards the staff door. Tension crackled down my spine and my gut clenched. It was like I was tensing for a fight, without knowing where the enemy even was.

Ailish strolled into the foyer, clutching a bouquet of flowers. She was laughing, her eyes bright with delight. Her energy was magnetic and even Darren glanced away from me to watch her.

Lux took hold of my wrist. "Are you alright?"

Then, the air grew heavy. Charged.

The wildness under my skin rose, threatened by an unseen soul. The air was treacle and I heard the heartbeats around the room quicken, fear saturating the air. Mrs. Murphn inched forward. "Supreme Alpha. It was an honour to have you here this evening."

"The honour is all mine, Mrs. Murphn. Thank you for receiving me and my friends here tonight on such short notice." That voice. Deep and wild – a Lycan barely contained under the surface of his skin. Of course, this would be the Supreme Alpha.

Someone who might be stronger than me. Faster.

I had to see the threat. My lab-given instinct demanded it.

So, I turned, plastering a respectfully droll smile on my face. I was a mere speck to the side and I appraised the towering male, finding him instantly.

The Supreme Alpha was a towering male of dark hair and tanned skin. He was barely contained in his grey suit, looking vaguely uncomfortable with the attire.

Across the left side of his face, he bore the scars of a dominance fight. Even his ear hadn't escaped it and was ragged compared to the other.

The Lycan who toppled a monarchy. Even without his Alpha title, he was a threat. A legend contained by a human skin.

He wasn't handsome in the classical sense, but the brutality of his face – the raw power seeping from him made me still. I had found a certain beauty in violence and during my days on the run, the wildness and brutality of nature had been my comfort.

Then, I caught sight of his eyes and I knew.

Those eyes.

This Lycan was no stranger to me.

Those eyes were the same. No matter how his face had changed, those eyes had remained the same. Whiskey-brown. The same eyes that had chased my dreams in Doc-Mai's hell. I had forgotten the faces of my family and friends and even my sanity, but I had never forgotten those eyes.

He surveyed the silent foyer filled with people struggling to bear his presence. I didn't feel that. Instead it was something worse. A soothing balm smoothed across my tense shoulder and a lick of heat down my spine.

I inched a step back and his head snapped towards the movement.

Eight years.

Eight years and I felt trapped under the weight of his scorching gaze. As if I wasn't an engineered beast, but just a human woman again.

He reeled back, the thunder in his brow vanishing into shock. His breathing caught, hitching in his broad chest. Time slowed to terrible, heart-thumping seconds. The scent of him - woods, water and summer seemed to dominate my senses. I sensed no one, but him.

"You?" He breathed softly.

The foyer was silent again. The old bite-mark on my neck burned and I was reaching towards it, fingers skimming the healed bite.

The Alpha's hands trembled at his sides. No – not any Alpha. The Supreme Alpha.

The awkward strange man from the alleyway all those years ago was this. A beast ravaged by success. A beast that waited to tear out of its cage of flesh and humanity.

"Nova..." He spoke with a voice of smoke, low and rough. "My Nova."

Darren and Sunny startled. John, who stood by the doors, sucked in a sharp breath.

"Her name is Meg," Rachel stepped forward, eyes shining. But how could she even move? The air was heavy, the tension so thick that I felt as if I was stuck in honey. "Meg Blue. Not Nova."

"No," the Supreme Alpha watched me as if I was the only thing in the room. "No. I know this face. I know those eyes. And even I didn't, a Lycan never forgets the smell of their..." He stopped, tracking my expression. "Well, you know."

"Nova Blue Linden." Darren breathed. "The Nova Blue Linden."

"As if there are a handful of people with that name." I cut in, my voice thick with tension. "But whatever this is – I am not interested. I am leaving now."

He stepped forward, desperation splicing his expression. "You can't leave. Not after all this time."

"You have no say in what I can and cannot do," My voice turned ice-cold, but I knew he could smell my fear. Sick and pungent. All the Lycans could. "You are just a stranger to me."

"Meg!" Rachel was fluttering around, aghast at what was happening. "This is the Supreme Alpha."

I inched back a step, a snarl building in my throat. My panic roused the beast and I felt my leashed control beginning to un-ravel. "Remind me when I'm supposed to give a shit about that."

The dark snarl that came from him was enough to make my mouth go dry. The snarl lifting his lips made his face dark and terrible. The marks of the success across his face only deepened. Here I was, a beast designed to kill Lycans and under the gaze of him, I was shaken.

The watching eyes only made it worse. Their confusion was laughable. Soon they would figure it out.

John already knew – I could see it in the way he stared at me. Wide-eyed. Horrified. As if I wasn't the person, he had grown to know over the last couple of months. As if all my nuances and personality had been wiped away to just a title. His moon-bound.

"I –" the massive Alpha was strangely soft in his voice and manner. "I thought you were dead. All this time."

"Well, keep thinking that." I glanced towards the rain outside. My control was held together by peppermint and a desperation to survive.

Ailish, in all her beauty and grandeur stood forgotten with her bouquet of flowers hanging slack by her side.

Lordie. I had always hated when people stared. "I need to go."

The Supreme Alpha inched a step further, a hand stretching towards me. "Can we talk?"

"No." I looked back at him sharply as if my gaze was drawn to him, like a compass pointing north.

"Nova..." He said my name with reverence. As if it was some damned prayer.

My throat tightened and I spoke to him with venomous loathing. "Don't call me that. I never told you my name."