(ty for reading, your presence is much appreciated)

(EDITED)
(Note to readers: Some chapters ahead may not be fixed to be in line with the new edits)

If there's one thing in my life I'll never have, it's some peace and fucking quiet.

"Cobayo? Hey, hey, sleepyhead, hey there. Wake up. Rise and shine."

I blinked blearily, groaning. I cracked an eye wide open.

Diego smiled down at me, a foot from my face, and waved hello. "Good morning, beautiful," he said. "Sweet dreams?"

I screamed. Diego screamed. Someone else screamed and I continued screaming while looking to see who, spotting Meredith. But Meredith didn't live with us and therefore I kept screaming. Someone was next to her, not screaming, and was Rosalie. But Rosalie was a jackass so I kept screaming still.

"Why are we screaming?" Meredith screamed.

"When are you all not?" Rosalie sighed.

I launched myself out of bed too fast. I scrambled for balance only to send myself reeling off the sheets and slamming onto the ground. The impact shot the breath out of my lungs. I flailed, knocking my elbow right into the bed stand, and screamed again.

"Oh, my God, is he okay?" Meredith gasped.

"He's fragile! Get the doctor!" Diego screeched.

"I'm not getting anyone," Rosalie yelled.

The door slammed open.

"What. The. Fuck," Kane roared.

I sprung up, teetering with lighthead exhaustion and the lingering shock of being ambushed in the black dawn.

"We've...been...infiltrated," I gasped. I pointed mindlessly at the suspects. "Sick 'em."

Meredith made an "aw" sound at Kane. "Did you fluff your hair, King?" she asked, smiling. "It looks very cute."

"There's no sicking," I wheezed. "Why is there no sicking?"

"We're just doing what you told us to," Diego argued.

Rosalie held up a hand. "I said it was a bad idea."

Kane pushed his hair back, which was indeed a bit fluffed from his sleep. Shadows still clung beneath his eyes, and his T-shirt was lopsided from his hurried awakening, revealing the black tattoo curling around his throat. If looks could do the sicking for me.

"Are you all sharing one fucking functioning brain cell?" he hissed. "It's four in the morning. I said four as in PM."

"Well," Diego protested. "That wasn't clear."

"I told you it was PM," Rosalie murmured. "I can't believe I got dressed for this."

"Yes, thank Rosie, who knows everything."

"Thank Diego, who knows nothing."

"You all hungry? You want breakfast? I make a mean omelet."

"Michin nom," Kane muttered, rubbing his eyes. "I don't get paid enough."

Meredith glanced at me. "Is that a HELLO KITTY T-shirt?"

I looked down at my long sleeve, which was the kitty herself and her friends as sushi rolls. It didn't seem like the most pressing issue. "I'm not answering anything from a bunch of intruders," I said. "This is criminal charges in the making. Get me a gavel, we'll have the case right now. You look like you have a gavel on you. You got a gavel on you?"

"You're lucky you've got a pretty face and no one's counting on your brain," he muttered under his breath. "You three, go back to bed, for fuck's sake, no one's gonna be late to practice."

"I swore he meant four AM," Meredith murmured to herself. "He's made us get up earlier before."

Kane pushed my door open wider to point out of it. "Not for a fucking equipment check," he snarled.

Diego sighed. "Foiled again."

"Again?" I repeated.

"I'll come back for you, cobayo, don't worry."

"I'm worried. I'm severely worried. And I locked that door."

"Oh, hah, gotta love those flimsy, paper-clip-pickable locks."

"Those what."

Diego patted Kane's shoulder. "I'm gonna be late to practice. Gotta catch some shut-eye. Took us twenty minutes to get in here."

"Me, too," Meredith and Rosalie added.

We gaped after him. Kane pinched the space between his eyes. I pushed my hair from my face with a long sigh. Night-duping dawn echoed from outside, waned over my body in a sort of adrenaline-induced consciousness. It left me awake only by basic biology.

I brushed past Kane to the kitchen. He smelled faintly of cotton and soap, his body warm like he'd just taken a shower. The Monday classes must have knocked him out for him to resort to it. No wonder he looked more like a bloodsucker than a lycan.

He frowned after me. "What are you doing?"

"I'm awake now. Can't go back to sleep," I explained, feet padding softly on the hardwood. It had been ingrained into me from Mercy and my father. They had a "one strike you're out" type of teaching, which meant second chances were anywhere from endangered to entirely extinct. If you were told one thing once, you weren't to be told it again. "Might as well make breakfast."

"At four AM?"

I shrugged. "You guys got ramyun?"

"Ramyun for breakfast at four AM," he concluded gruffly. "You're kidding."

"Just hungry. Go back to sleep if you don't want any." I stood on my tiptoes to reach a bowl.

Kane took that as gracefully as expected. He headed for me and grabbed the bowl to place in my hands, to my chagrin. "Kenzo ate the last one on Sunday," he said. "You want some bokkeumbap?"

I hesitated. "Where do we get that?"

"You just make it. It's easy." He placed another bowl beside mine and went for the fridge.

I raised a brow. "I thought sleep was an athlete's duty," I said.

"I'm not gonna leave you unsupervised in this kitchen," he scoffed. "I'll wake up to a grease fire."

There was no part of me that desired to recall the two grease fires I'd started on my own in my previous unit from trying to fry a frozen chicken leg in too much canola oil, so I settled for a simple wave of my hand. "Where are the pots?"

King tapped his foot against the dishwasher.

"Pans?"

He tapped the dishwasher.

"Mugs."

Kane just looked at me. I frowned. "Don't you wash dishes in there?"

"Wash dishes," he repeated, like it was funny. "You wanna help or not? Grab the kimchi, it's in a jar to the back. And the rice, it's in a container already. Shouldn't be hard to find."

I figured my skills for arguing were diluted by the ungodly hour, so I settled for listening and grabbed the jar of kimchi from the cold. I set it on the counter by his already-busy hands.

Kane set the pot down, brushed his fingers over the countertop until he traced a dial, then flicked it awake. He set it on the stove. "If you're already awake," he said. "Then we can head to the Corvidae early."

"Is that what you had those three breaking my lock for?" I said.

"Coach ordered new wheels for your bikes, best we put them in before tonight."

I nearly choked on my air. "New what?" I said. "I can't afford new wheels."

"Figured. I've seen the same three HELLO KITTY shirts too many times to count," he muttered. Uncalled for. HELLO KITTY was for all levels of income. HELLO KITTY didn't discriminate, like someone. "And your sneakers look ready to pass out."

"I took a wrong turn on the way to the Versace vault," I drawled. "I ought to get new glasses."

"You don't wear glasses."

"They're crystal contacts. Made of crystal. And diamonds. Which have crystals in them. Which have more diamonds."

Kane huffed out something between a laugh and a scoff. He gestured somewhere to his left. "Grab the sesame oil."

"Yes, my lord," I said, and gave a bow.

Kane rolled his eyes. "Grab it, please."

"He knows that word after all," I murmured and headed for the cabinet below and snagged the bottle to hand to him. "Is it an Alpha thing to lack manners?"

"Is it a Beta thing to critique Alpha things?" He held out his hand. I placed it into his palm. "We can leave after this."

I hesitated. Mercy wanted to speak with me about something or other concerning something that would probably twist my head right off my neck. A sickening dread told me she had a new job with my name pasted on the face of it. That, and I owed the witches a visit.

Either way, Kane wouldn't be coming with.

"I can't," I said, "Not now, at least."

Kane frowned. "Why not?"

"I've gotta meet someone," I said. "I already arranged it. Should've told me you were gonna ambush me at four AM, I would've scheduled around it."

"Not what I said," he muttered. "And how long is it gonna take?"

"Too long. I'll be there at four."

He raised a brow. "I'll meet you wherever you are, we'll go together."

"I'll meet you there. I know how to get to the Corvidae on my own."

"Where are you going?"

"Why?" I asked too quickly.

Kane cocked his head at me. He narrowed his eyes. "Just wondering," he said carefully. "I figure it's close by. Is it close by?"

I pursed my lips. "Not entirely," I admitted. "It's across town."

"Across town," he repeated.

"I'll see you at four," I promised.

Kane didn't seem to accept that, but he didn't deny it either and continued stirring the rice around in the pot. He was stranger in the morning, the craze of leather and smoke and spotlights melting out of his frame to be replaced by blue fog and March dew. I rolled it between my teeth.

He scooped the rice into a bowl and pushed it towards me. "Eat."

"Yes, sir," I muttered. I took a spoonful of the rice. The warm spice melted. "Thanks. For breakfast. You didn't have to."

"Considering the fact you were about to eat instant ramyun, I probably did." He scooped some into his own bowl. He stood across from me to eat. "Do you know how to cook?"

"Not anymore than a typical starving student," I said. "My culinary skills stop at instant foods and pasta. Pasta's pushing it."

"You don't cook any Korean food?"

I shook my head. My only Korean food familiarity was in haphazard soondoobus or gukbaps and instant ramyuns. Maybe if I felt fancy, I'd even add spam. Food variety wasn't really much of a concern when you just needed to get to the next morning.

"Instant ramyun is probably as far as I'll get." I took another spoonful. "You cook?"

He shrugged. "My cousin taught me." He gestured at the bokkeumbap. "You could learn."

"Why? I've got you to make it for me."

To my surprise, he laughed. I contributed it to the early morning haze. He pushed himself upright and said, "Who are you going to see?"

I considered that, then shrugged. "Just some friendly faces."

_____________________

Before I was a fuck-forsaken dead man and an amateur with little to no regard for inevitable consequences, I was the most popular cashier at The Audrey while also being the worst of all three that worked there.

The Audrey was really just a glorified convenience store in the center of the town that sold anything from corn chips to wine coolers to Camels to balloons to birthday cakes, and everything in between. It was like an out-of-harmony symphony of counters, aisles, and discarded leftovers, all combined in a salad bowl of gray brick, neon block letters, and barred windows.

I'd worked for all of high school for some spending cash alongside street races, but I'd quit upon going to Avaldi. Having moved to Corvus so abruptly, I had lost any chance to talk to them in person. Besides, I was still a Stirling no matter where I went. And if anyone thought the absolute least of lycans and their frivolous rankings, it was going to be some witches.

"Echo Yun? Is that Echo Yun right there? Standing all frail and withered? Like a beaten mashed potato?"

I raised my arm as the glass door swung closed behind me. "Hey, Li."

Li headed the shop, even well into her hundreds, alongside her sister, Tri, with their mutual friend from, as they stated, "one too many years ago", Jeremy. The three were a dynamic trio of wicked little witches that seemed to remain indecisive over who was crazier in what category, ranging from gossip to shotgunning to majong to poking fun at me.

Li ran over to me, wiping her hands on her apron, hair pinned up in a wild, spiky updo that gravity held up no fight against. She had tiny flowers donning her arms and neck, worn with time and constant use, her fingers tipped with white as she reached for my arm. She was the only person I knew that I could ever look down at, seeing as I held an entire inch on her stout frame.

"Ya, eodi isseosseo? I have all these gummy bears with your name on it," she said, pointing at the rack of gummy bears and worms to prove her point. She glared. "Have you gone to Silver Stop?"

"Give me some credit, Li," I said, waving that off. "A lycan in a Silver Stop, that's just cruel."

"All these jokes." She tapped a finger on my arm just to give it a zap and I yelped. "It's been years, young man."

"It's been a month," I argued. "You look intact. I see you've gotten some roses." I tapped her wrist.

She scowled. She circled around to the counter. Li flicked her wrist up at the register and it popped open to display her cash. "Yes, all the stress you've caused me! You're not careful, I'm gonna start getting vines. Sagaji pagaji..."

I placed three bags of gummy bears on the counter, shuffling through my hoodie pocket before withdrawing a twenty. "I meant to drop by but I kind of got hauled out of here against my will, you know? I'd never leave you three lonely."

"And yet you did! Children. Always saying things they don't know anything about. You know, in 1922–"

"Is that Echo? Echo echo? Yodel, yodel, there's an echo in the house!"

Jeremy stuck his head out from the back through the curtain of colored beads. It cascaded over his cobalt blue hair, a mess of curls covering green eyes and descending far enough to brush the fluffy neck of his obnoxiously furry jacket. He pushed his way through and shoved Li aside, reaching out to take my hands in his.

"Why, as I live and breathe," he gasped. "You look terrible!"

I grinned. "Hey, thanks, man." I jutted my chin up at his coat and glared. "What's with the animal skins?"

"Animal skins!" he cried, falling back against the counter. Li raised a brow, unimpressed at the display. "I'm a gentle soul, Echo, don't you know that? Faux only, you can settle your vegan tirade."

"Not vegan."

"Even better! At least you haven't gone completely to the dark side." He wiggled his fingers at me for emphasis, the electricity pricking at my skin. He settled his head on his hands, daisies snaking up dark skin to breach his cheekbones and throat. Jeremy was fifty years younger than Li and Tri, but one would've thought it was a hundred at his spryness. "So, now that you're trapped here—" Jeremy grabbed me by the collar of my HELLO KITTY hoodie. His nose bumped mine. "—how dare you abandon us, you cold-hearted child?"

"'Abandon' is a strong word, let me tell you," I said. "Your hair looks bluer today."

Jeremy preened. "Doesn't it—wait. Don't distract me with your flirting."

"How is that flirting—"

"You've found another store, haven't you?" he gasped. "Is it the one that sells Swedish gummies? We can change, Echo."

"Get a grip," Li hauled him off from me. "You're not buying him any Swedish gummies. You spent it all on that stupid coat!"

Jeremy hugged his coat to himself. "I'd do it again, too."

I cleared my throat. "I moved into on-campus housing," I explained. "I had to move in quickly, so that's why I've been gone. I was gonna drop by and say bye, but things just got busy, so." I pushed the twenty to them. "Spare me?"

Li and Jeremy exchanged glances. Li reached to snag it from me and hummed. "I'll consider it."

"Now, don't be ridiculous," Jeremy snagged it from her. "Poor thing, struggling through that terrible university! It's on the house."

"It's one of the top universities in the nation, struggle with what? Give me that."

"Oh, let me spoil him."

"You've spoiled enough. You know, in 1941–"

"Oy, here we go."

Tri appeared from the back, and frowned at them. "What in the hell are you two blabbering—Echo?"

Tri looked nothing like her sister, her hair blonde where Li's was black and her face soft where Li's was quite sharp. She had the fewest of flower markings, likely from her more docile nature, and had an affinity for all things linen or pink, or better, linen and pink. She wore a dress of it now, completed with a fuschia cloth wrapping her sandy waves in a high bun.

She rushed for me. "Oh, my goodness!" She shoved Li and Jeremy out of the way, to their protest. Tri grabbed my face. "You look the exact same and yet also awful. Oh, my baby. My poor thing!"

"What is he, nine?" Li snapped. "Although you do look terrible. Meongdun. You should eat. Jeremy, stop fiddling with that stupid coat, go make him something. Looks like a bean sprout."

"Don't tell me neither of you congratulated him," Tri snapped.

They hesitated, then leaned in with smiles wide.

"Ah, uliui neugdae! Jalhaesseo, jalhaesseo!" Li hit my arm like striking a baseball and I crumpled.

Jeremy shoved her. "He's fragile."

"I'm good," I wheezed.

"You broke him!" Tri snapped.

"He's delicate, too much stress on such a small thing." Jeremy held me to his side, burying half my face in his white coat. "You have to be gentle. Come, Echo, I'll carry you on my back."

Li scoffed. She leaned over the counter with a frown. "You could have told us you joined that Class I cult."

I righted myself. "It was fast," I explained. "Better late than never?"

"You're killing me," Li sighed, then gave me a small grin. "Climbing up the ranks, I knew you could do it. All those nights of sending kids crying on the streets. Ah! I'm always right in the end, aren't I?" She nudged Tri at that, who looked reluctant to agree. "Didn't I say Echo's too good to be sitting behind counters all day?"

"Our Echo, all grown up, racing with the big boys," Jeremy cooed. "I'm gonna cry. I'm gonna do it. Here I go."

Tri frowned at me. "What's so good about them anyway? Those Class I kids are all pish-posh and callywack."

"Callywack," I mouthed to Jeremy.

"Now, Tri, it's a good opportunity for Echo," Jeremy said.

Witches had no ranking in their world, and were either independent or in covens of no more than five members, isolated from any governmental control—the mighty rogues of the creature world. Lycans' obsessive ranking was petty in their eyes, much like watching puppies play-fight like big dogs.

Li nodded in agreement, planting her fist on the glass counter. "There are plenty of opportunities that don't involve throwing him in with such a brutal lot. Those elitists are all attacking him now as we speak, as if they could ever race for their damn life. If I ever see one of those Class I bastards in person, I'd just like to take my foot and shove it up—"

"Excuse me."

The ring of the front door yanked all our heads to the voice behind us.

Kane stood in the aisle, clad in a plain jean jacket and plain-er cotton pants, the only sign of life available in the thick-soled, forest green high-tops on his feet. The bandage over his brow lifted as he gave a shockingly polite smile. I figured the polluted air had me hallucinating.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said, "but I'm looking for an Echo Yun?"

The witches gaped. I closed my eyes. You've got to be kidding me.

"Geuge nuguya?" Li hissed.

I slipped behind Jeremy. "Sick 'em," I whispered.

Kane's shoes made no sound along the linoleum. "Ah, joesonghabnida." He bowed. "Geuleul bosyeossnayo?"

They gaped further. Jeremy cleared his throat. He raised his chin at Kane.

"And who is asking, exactly?" he said.

Li and Tri scurried around the counter, shoving Jeremey aside to stand between me and Kane.

"Yes, who is asking?" Li said in sharp Korean. "State your name and your explanation. You can't just barge in here without a proper reason, we've got a business to run!"

"Unless you're looking for a job," Tri added hurriedly. "Because if so, how tall are you? Just for functional reasons."

"And are you single?" Jeremy said.

"Don't be weak," Li hissed.

"Oh, but that face."

"Oy vey," I murmured to myself.

"I'm not looking for a job, thank you," Kane said. "I just needed to talk to him. I'm sorry for the trouble, I didn't mean to disturb you." Who was this kid?

The three looked between each other, then, like a clean half-moon turn, melted into pleased grins.

Tri reached out to grasp his hand. "Oh, what a polite young man for our Echo!" she said. "And so handsome!"

"You seem well-educated," Li said, then leaned in. "Are you? We only give our Echo over to the well-educated. He's too smart for his own good, you know."

"How tall are you?"

"Oh, goodness." Jeremy grasped his other hand. "Echo is getting married and didn't tell us?"

I could keep quiet no longer. I took my defeat and shoved Jeremy aside. "You people are going fucking senile."

"Senile? Did he just say senile? You don't deserve such a nice young man!" Jeremy grabbed Kane's arm, to Kane's stunned surprise. "I'll take him off your hands."

"He was never on my hands," I snapped.

Kane frowned at me. "Were you there the whole time?"

I hesitated. "No."

"Yes," the witches chorused.

"Bastards," I muttered. "Weak for a pretty face."

They nodded. Kane raised a brow at me, then gave an award-winning smile to the witches. "Do...you have any breakfast bars?"

"I'll get it!" they yelled, and went sprinting for the aisles, shoving past each other to get to the shelf on the other side.

Once they were out of earshot, Kane turned and said, "Married?"

"They came up with that all on their own," I said, raising my hands. Then, I froze, and did a double take on him. "Wait, what are you doing here?"

Of all the probable places for a Class I Drachmann Alpha to be, a convenience store in the middle of the Splinter was probably the lowest on the list. One like Kane, it wouldn't even make the list. But the worse question lied not in whether he belonged there, but how he'd known to come there to find me. Let alone take a ride all the way across the city to do so.

"Coach said your file came in," he explained. "Said this was your old address. Nia said you were here." He looked around at the dripping ceilings riddled with pipes and vines, the aisles full of mismatched foods and illegally-imported snacks. "What...is here, out of curiosity?"

Nowhere he should be. As much as I owed the witches an explanation, I'd also agreed to meet Mercy over fine-tuning my stay with Corvus. Her phrasing didn't entail a very civil discussion. Baluyot hadn't spoken to the media about me, but that wasn't foolproof. The bottom line: Kane couldn't be here.

"I used to work here," I said. "What are you doing here?"

He took that rather indifferently. "Are any of them Audrey?"

"Li was good friends with Audrey Hepburn," I explained. I returned to the counter for my gummy bears/breakfast.

Kane raised a brow, but didn't ask. He gestured at the gummies. "Is that your breakfast?"

"Your judgment is searing."

He snatched the bears from my grasp. "Please eat something substantial," he snapped.

"I see. You just came under guise of a talk but it's really just unsolicited counseling," I said, and reached to take the bears back. "These are mine. Get your own."

He lifted them above my head. The jackass. "Yeah, I don't think so," he said. "No wonder your body heals so slowly. Are you a Beta or a human?"

An Omega, but details. One crisis at a time. "A hungry lycan. They're made with real fruit, if that satiates you. You haven't answered my question."

Kane withheld the gummy bears while the witches practically trampled each other with armfuls of breakfast bars, barreling towards us. Jeremy was the first to skid in front of Kane. His grin was suggestive.

"An athlete like yourself has to eat a lot," he whispered. "Maintain all that muscle."

"More like gain muscle. You're all too skinny!" Li shoved him aside. "Ja, yeogi. These are better, get big and strong!"

I pinched the space between my eyes. "I'm not coming back here," I said.

"But what about the bachelor party?" Tri asked.

"No one is getting married," I snapped. "For Christ's sake, he's from school. He's Corvus's captain."

They all paused, then slumped. Li shook her head.

"I told you it was too good to be true," she said to Tri.

"For now," she sang, and handed Kane a bar. "A school friend, huh? I know that story."

Kane looked entirely uncomfortable by now. He took the bar with a bow of his head. "Er, thank you?" He tugged at the collar of his black shirt. "What story?"

Tri wagged her finger. "Tsk, tsk, too young to see! All that pollywaggle comes back for you!"

"Pollywaggle," I mouthed to Kane.

They wiggled their fingers in a sparkly goodbye, and disappeared behind the beads, breakfast bars and all. The relief was short-lived when I realized Kane there was no one left in the space now but Kane and I. And I highly doubted he came all the way across town just to monitor my blood sugar.

I ran my fingers through my rainbowed hair and gave a heavy sigh. Dawn was in full swing now, but we got no sunlight to show for it other than its faded reflection cascading in dim blue and cerulean rays onto the cold concrete. Kane stood in it like it was natural to him. I glared into the side of his face.

"You look like you wanna punch me," he said.

"How'd you...?"

"I can feel my skin burning is what," he snapped. He placed a stack of bills on the counter that was several too many to account for his single breakfast bar, but he didn't let me comment before spinning on his heel and heading for the door. "Come on."

"You really took an hour trip down here just to steal my breakfast and have a chat?" I said, hurrying after him.

He hesitated. "You came alone," he said. "First rule."

I blinked. The door closed behind us, leaving us in the chill of the Splinter's bathypelagic shadows. It had rained at some point, leaving everything at the pit still damp and pungent with the smell of wet concrete. A mix of citygoers passed us by, left and right, speeding in ragged suits or bumbling along with dragging groceries. Kane, in a clean jacket and shiny sneakers, a net worth in the stratosphere, looked sorely out of place in it.

I shoved my hands in my pockets, felt the heat of the brand on my hip. Even with Kane at my side, whether he knew it or not, I was alone.

"You and your rule," I muttered. "Technically, you came alone, too."

He tilted his head. "You live here? The Splinter."

"Yeah, why?"

"It's more than an hour from campus," he said.

I shrugged. "Cheaper than the dorms. And it's only an hour by train." I paused. "Wait, did you take the train?"

"How else would I get there?"

"Dunno. Thought you'd have a white-gloved chauffeur Francis on call."

"I don't even know a Francis," he murmured. "I take the train most of the time."

"You don't drive?"

He paused, then shook his head. He reached into his pocket. "I know you didn't want me to come find you, but Coach insisted. She's nervous about you being on your own considering what happened with Baluyot." He procured a box of Lucky Strikes and a lighter, a sticker of a dancing black crow on the front. "I have half a mind to agree with her." He offered me the box.

I raised a brow. "You smoke."

"Sparingly. You want one or not?"

I took a stick. He lit his own and tossed me the lighter. "We need you to stay in sight."

I let the flame lick the cigarette's end and inhaled. When I spoke, tendrils of gray curled out between my teeth. "Why?"

"Because you decided to get smart with the guy when no one is supposed to even know you exist yet," he said. He blew a cloud out into the frosty air. "If someone takes it wrong, you could get into trouble, with the board or someone else. It could get you hurt, we're just trying to prevent issues before they happen."

His tone wasn't any kinder than it usually was, but the words were sympathetic enough to startle me. I considered that for several moments over, then blurted, "What for?"

He frowned. "What for?" he repeated.

"Why be so vigilant," I explained. "You can't stand me."

"On occasion," he corrected. "When you stop running your mouth like you've got a day to live, you're pretty tolerable."

I didn't know how many more surprises I could take in the hour. I shrugged. "What's with all the effort?"

Kane narrowed his eyes, like he didn't understand my question. After a moment, he said, "The Rebels match," he said.

"I got an earful from Coach, trust me."

"That was racing." I stared. "I promised you you'd get to race soon. But we can't do that if too many issues pop up before you even get on the track. If you really want the chance, then we have to lie low for now."

Kane was Corvus's captain. After the Poppy incident, I doubted they were keen on risking another attack sliding under their noses. They'd be stupid not to go with as many racers as they could. Not setting up his team for that trophy would be stupid, which meant keeping us intact for long enough to get to those Championships. Any other exchange for their protection, they'd be losing more than gaining.

"I'm just asking for an agreement," he said. "Stay quiet for a few weeks. Don't cause anyone too much trouble. And if you're gonna say something, please say it with one of us around you." He gave me a significant look at the last part, then held out his hand.

I stared down at it. The less tension between me and Kane, the less reason he'd ever have for suspicions, and likely, the less I'd have to reveal altogether. His open hand looked like yet another sparkling chance, and one that I wouldn't get again.

So I grasped it tight, and shook it once. "Deal," I said.

Kane took a last puff of his cigarette, then blew it out into the cool shadows. He dropped it onto the concrete and ground it out under his heel. "Come on. Let's go."

"Can't. I still have to meet someone." As much as Kane trumped Mercy in being the lesser evil, one would pull a smart remark, and one would snap my neck, ergo, my decision was made. "Hey, you trekked all the way here. I told you four. As in, PM."

"You're not funny. I'll wait for you."

"You should go. People probably hate you more than me down here," I admitted. When he just stood still, I gave a heavy sigh. "If you're so insistent we stick together, then you can wait at The Audrey. I'll meet you there after."

It was a Saturday so Kane had no classes to go back for, which might've been the only reason he grunted out an "Okay" before heading back the way we came. When I headed opposite of him, he said, "How long you think you'll need?"

Considering Mercy, I wouldn't get out of there fast enough.

"Give me an hour," I said as I headed away. "And don't eat my gummy bears!" I called.

I heard him mutter a, "Wouldn't dream of it," as I turned the blind corner and disappeared down the avenue.

D was propped against the wall of a fish market where most of the sirens flocked to for smokeouts and luncheons, blending in as best he could with a cigarette smoked to mid-life and a patchwork puffer vest. With it, he carried a warning, and as always with Mercy, a deadly promise.

The world was too blue for this.

I rolled up beside him and held my hand out for the cigarette, trading out the Lucky Strike for a Camel. He passed it into my fingers. D watched me quietly. I gave a long sigh, and took a miserable drag.

"Ghostie, Ghostie, Ghostie!" Mercy appeared as if summoned from the tobacco, strolling up from the doors of the fish market at our left. Her shirt sparkled with rows on rows of black diamonds, matching the ones studding her heels. "My star. Hey, you hungry?" She tapped JJ's shoulder, who grunted out a huff and opened the plastic bag he carried. "I've got brunch."

The smell alone was enough to tell me what the contents were but I was still foolish enough to take a glance. A bloody, silver-scaled fish stared back at me, sliced clean open from gills to tail, pink guts dripping, oil and wine beading around its gaping mouth and red-rimmed eye.

My stomach recoiled and I flinched so hard my shoulder slammed into the brick behind me. A gag pulled the back of my throat onto my tongue. I spun away from it, holding the cigarette towards my face in some desperate attempt to mask the smell. I dropped the cigarette.

"What's wrong, Ghost?" Another Bengal, Leia, one of the sirens posing in front of the market, wrapped her arm around my neck, yanking me into her. She was too slippery, too scaled, teeth like a barracuda and eyes bulging, to not remind of the fish in the plastic. I squeezed my eyes shut. "That's such a rude reaction to someone who thought of you."

Mercy clicked her tongue. "Athletes need their protein."

"Fuck you," I hissed.

JJ grabbed me by my collar and shoved me around the corner, where a slit of an alley was open and shadowed the adjoining building. I stumbled, falling against the concrete wall. The scent of the fish followed from his hand. Beads of blood appeared in my mind. Dripping from the fish. From human hands. From my mother's mouth.

"That's so unkind," Mercy snarled. "Where did you learn those manners?"

"From you," I coughed. "You fairy snake freak."

Her hand wrapped around my throat, smashing my head up against the wall. Nails closed around my throat, tight, tighter. I opened my eyes as I gasped for breath. Mercy's black and blue gaze greeted me like a nightmare.

"Got the stomach to ignore me but not a damn fish?" she snapped. "I'm in my right mind to be offended."

"I'm here now, aren't I?"

"And with quite the entourage." She squeezed my throat tighter. "Isolationism is your strong suit. Care to tell me what your platinum club's captain is doing in a shithole like this? Must be quite the coincidence."

I was stupid to think they wouldn't have seen Kane. Spotting a lycan like him in the Splinter was aking to picking a diamond out from a pile of coal.

"Far from campus," I wheezed, clinging onto her wrist in some futile attempt to loosen her grip. "He doesn't want us going far alone."

"Aw," she cooed. "Warms me right in the gut. Hot as a hotcake!"

I glowered. I dug my nails into her hand. "Why'd you ask for me?" I snapped. "Just fucking say it."

Mercy sneered at the pinprick of my nails.

"I think going back to racing has made you violent." Mercy dropped me to the ground.

She turned around and took the fish out from the bag, claws wrapped around its head. My skin crawled something fierce, and every inch of my insides blazed with the effort not to dash as far away as possible from the sight.

"Every part of a fish is futile for its survival." She sank her nails into its body and shucked away red flesh, the chunks falling at our feet. I covered my face with my hands as I struggled to breathe past the pungent scent of metal, the air full of bloodlust and innards. "Save for the fins. After all, how well can a fish survive—" She ripped off its tail and fins with a crisp crackle. They dropped harmlessly on the concrete. "—if it can't swim away?"

I squeezed my eyes shut. "Stop," I hissed.

"Don't get sick on me now, Ghost. I thought this was your forte." She dropped the carcass and reached out to pull my chin up with bloody fingers. The slick sensation threatened to make me keel over completely. "You're gonna need a stronger stomach for when you meet your father."

I shoved her back. My body shuddered and shook with the effort to stand.

"What are you plotting?" I snarled.

"You should keep in touch with your relatives! Be a good son," she cackled. "Your father's not doing so well. Arguably, worse for wear. A few gears are about to turn, kid. Even Drachmann power is not permanent. Everything must shift eventually." Her sneer was brutal. "Your little captain would know all about it. It's his family."

I stared for a long moment. "His family," I repeated. "What's his family got to do with mine?"

"Oh, you don't know," she drawled. "He doesn't know! Ghostie. I'm almost disappointed."

"Know what?"

"Your captain's no nobody," she said. "Don't tell me you've never heard of Janchi."

I gaped. "Janchi?" I repeated.

Janchi Group was a tech empire and a Drachmann legend. It created everything from the Atlas phones to smartwatches to military-grade tanks. The company held strong ties to South Korea, and was an unabashed competitor against my father's own empire.

Kane's file on Ghostsearch had neglected names or brands for an unknown reason, leaving such space redacted, meaning there was either something keeping him from being connected, or something that made him want to stay disconnected. Either way, Janchi was entirely out of the question. It was like doing business down the hall from my father.

"You're kidding," I breathed. "You're lying."

"Don't get your pretty head in a twist over it," she placated. "He's been ex-communicated, so to speak. I wouldn't fret. I'd care more about what they're plotting than him."

"Plotting. What are you saying? Why did you let me join Corvus if you knew Kane was there?" I pressed.

"Kane," she repeated, humming. "I don't care much for dogs playing on the track. Harmless. Let's talk about Janchi."

I scrambled to my feet, grabbing her wrist. "What are you planning, Mercy?"

She twisted and grabbed me by my chin. She yanked my face to hers.

"Listen carefully, Ghost," she hissed. "Because you, whether you like it or not, will be affected by what happens next. Your father's ailing, poor thing, can't even hold himself up. It's too perfect of an opening and too weak of a barrier for someone not to take advantage of it. Who do you think is just salivating to do it?"

I shook my head as much as I could in her grip. "Janchi is too public to do business with a fae."

"But Wang isn't," she giggled.

"Wang?"

"Wang Association."A sandbag for a Coke. Who cares what it looks like, when all you need to do is trick a sensor?"

I gaped. "A Trojan horse isn't gonna trick my father. You'd have to uproot dozens of associations. He'd find you before you did, there's no way you can make an agreement under Janchi without him knowing."

If Janchi was in association with the Bengals, that meant they were also involved in Mercy's plan to cut my father's legs out from under him. Mercy wasn't just trying to dethrone my father. She was trying to replace his crown altogether, with Janchi next in line.

"It's not under Janchi," she corrected. "It's under Wang."

The pieces clicked too quick. "You're burning everything below it down."

"Janchi has been trying to usurp your father for years now, but they've been stuck in the public eye and too many mutual contracts to move more than a few inches. When loose ends must be cut, and when flares must be lit—"

"You're counting he goes after Wang."

Mercy grinned. "Your father is his own downfall. He's boxed himself in too much to trace Wang back any further than where he's stopped, and he can't very well shift more power to his son when he's so far in the public face." I grimaced at that jab. "Greed. Won't you wolves ever learn?"

I grabbed her collar. I said, "How long?"

She hummed. "Not very. Things move fast underground. Faster now, since you've taken it upon yourself to swim in the big kids' pool." Mercy leaned close. "Corvus is headed for the Diamonds. You don't want to have to face your brother, in the midst of his downfall?"

"You can't bet on me winning Red," I said. "I haven't even raced."

"Perhaps your captain can help with that."

"You can't bet on me to help you," I tried.

Her laugh that met me, was merciless. "Come on, come on, Little Ghost!" she sang. "Don't you know good things come to those who wait?" She kicked the fish corpse at me, face aghast at its unsightly, disembodied state. "We're going to need you some time next week. You understand, don't you?"

I own you.

Stirling. Drachman. Beta. Omega. It didn't matter what I was, by blood or by name.

Death stood at both doors, with a smile.

___________________

We arrived in the Corvidae at around five PM.

Kane swiped his card to let the gate pop open. We entered inside, a guard waving us hello as he headed to clock out. In the half-hearted light, the Corvidae was dead empty and silent, a sleeping beast. It was haunting to be in the belly of it.

We headed for the bikes, which were all hooked up to their respective chargers. Kane paused at the brand new Drachmann bike, where my old one sat next to it. "We'll change the tires on it in the pit."

I finally managed, "Thank you."

"Thank Coach, when you see her. Come on." He headed through the tunnel. "Never anything good without paperwork."

We weaved through the girls' lockers to Coach's office, whose light was on and was, surprisingly, unlocked. I frowned.

"Is Coach here?" I asked.

"Ramos probably is," he said. "She comes here some days to catch up on Coach's files and set everything up for us for practice later." He headed for the back cabinets, pulling one open to reveal a bevy of snacks, water, and manila folders, before reaching for the topmost shelf to withdraw one of three paper envelopes. It settled on the desk before me. The flap read YUN in black marker.

"You've gotta sign off on the bike and the gear for filing reasons," he said. "Then it's yours, on or off the track."

"Mine?" I repeated.

"That's what I said," he replied.

I pressed my palm against the name. The bodies, the jobs, Janchi, my father, my brother, I could still have racing. I could still have Corvus. Just to pretend for a little while.

I said, "Thank you." I brushed my finger over the name. "Really. Thank you."

Kane stared for a moment, then said, "Stop saying that. It's a file. Thank Coach."

I took a pen and filled in the respective info, grateful that there was nothing more prying than a signature or a printed name. I put down November 24th for my birthdate, and hoped Kane couldn't read that far.

I pushed the files to him when I was done. "Are we gonna race?"

"We just finished practice," he said. "Get some rest."

"Shouldn't I use the bike before tonight? Break in the wheels." I grabbed the helmet.

"Yeah, that's not how that works." Kane caught my arm. "I've got class, and I know you haven't written the homework for history. You can wait a few hours for tonight." He tapped his ring against my forehead. "You've let this thing slack in that class enough. How are you getting straight As in chem and calc but nearly failing general history?"

"Wait 'til you see me in philosophy," I muttered. "Are you gonna finally race me?"

"When wolves fly." He turned around. "Let's change the tires."

I sighed, trailing after him. He placed the folder back into its respective place. "Aren't you the one that says morning exercise helps you focus? Isn't that why all of you gym your life away at the crack of dawn?"

"You should probably start coming with." He gave me a once-over. "I'm surprised you don't fly off that bike most days."

"That's discrimination against the vertically disadvantaged. Just because you look like someone put you through a taffy puller one too many times doesn't mean you get to look down on the rest of us." He opened his mouth and a jutted a finger at his face. "Pun unintended."

"Pun not found," he drawled, but his eyes were playful. "Not my fault you're the size of a fire hydrant."

"You look like the Washington Monument with hair."

"These seems like compliments."

"A compliment to you when fish fly."

"Fish do fly," he said, face smug.

"Nature betrays me on a scheduled basis," I scoffed, and shook my head up at him. "You look like a fish."

He cracked a slight, knowing grin. "You look like a kitten."

"Take that back or so help me Mary Mother of Jesus—"

"Ahem."

We froze. I turned my head to the door.

Ramos stood in the entrance, a stack of files and her bag of medical supplies in her hands. She peered at us from behind them, brow raised, not accusatory, but curious.

"Kane, Echo," she acknowledged with a nod, the curls around her eyes flying this way and that. "Do I want to know what you're doing in here?"

I pointed my finger at Kane. "I was snatched. Outta my wits."

"What wits?" he muttered, and I jerked my head to him.

"Aren't you two supposed to be studying or doing something regretful?" she said. Ramos set files and supplies down on Coach's desk. "Running amuck in the city like regular college students?"

"Logistics," I replied. "According to this one."

Ramos lit up at that, grinning wide. "His favorite."

"Tell me about it," I muttered.

Kane flashed her a smile and ignored me. "Sorry to barge in," he said. "We weren't gonna stay."

I was far from eager to stick around Ramos for longer than necessary so I took that in stride. "We've gotta rest up, growing bones and such."

"Keep telling yourself that," Kane said.

"Who let the brachiosaurus talk?"

"Spell 'brachiosaurus'."

"Trick question. Dinosaurs couldn't write."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Ramos laughed to herself, eyes light. "It's nice you two are getting along better."

"Sleep deprivation," I said. "Makes even the most unbearable nagging tolerable."

"Hey," Kane snapped.

"See? Can't hear a thing." I tapped my ear, spinning around to walk for the exit.

Ramos grinned. "Well, whatever helps you two out," she said and headed for the other side of the office. "I'll see you both tomorrow. Corvus should be elated, what with the Rebels' win, no?"

"Something like that," Kane said.

Ramos waved us goodbye. As we walked out, I glanced at Kane and said, "B-R-A-K-E-E—"

"Spare me," he groaned, putting a hand in front of my face. "You're gonna make me lose any hope I had for your brain."

"You had hope?"

"Not anymore."

I snorted. I dared to say, in Korean, "Is being snappy your default?"

"Is being annoying yours?" he returned. "You're a prodigy."

"You're a grand master. Does that come with the position?"

Kane shrugged. "Check the pamphlet." He gestured for the bike. "Bring it over. I'll help you."

I said, "All right."

I felt the ease of some kind of peace melt over me in fresh, sun-soaked spring. 

(ty for readin, both ends of this chapter are very contrasting, I have to say. nonetheless, thank you for ur time, and the star forever appreciates your presence)