Page 98 of Twice Bitten

Silence fell between us for a while before Alric broke. “We don’t have to be enemies, Alex.”

“I’m not your enemy.” I sipped my coffee.

Alric pushed the blueberry roll toward me. “Eat. Your heart rate increases every time you look at it.”

I let out a breath. “Ass.”

His soft laugh made my stomach tighten. “Your necklace is gone. Is that why you shifted?”

I glanced at him. “Is Leo your source of all things Alex?”

He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “You like him, yes?”

“I like him well enough, I suppose. He’s not a friend, but I don’t hate him.”

“Good friendships have started with less.”

I frowned. “I don’t see us starring in a buddy comedy any time soon. Especially since he’s your little spy.”

Alric wrapped his hands around the mug and sighed. “If Silas hadn’t come, I would have.”

“Yeah? Maybe I would have eaten your face off.”

“Or maybe I would have eaten yours.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

“You are the worst,” I muttered.

He flashed a grin. “I’m not the prickly one.” Alric flicked a finger at me. “Now tell me why you wanted me to come. Not that I’m not enjoying our verbal duel. It’s not often when someone deigns to ignore my position and speak to me like I’m a misbehaving underling.”

“Maybe if you didn’t act like one,” I grumbled.

Alric laughed, the sound deep and masculine. My fingers tightened around my mug. Even for a blond, he was a beautiful man. Maddening, but gorgeous.

“I know Beckett isn’t suffering from a genetic defect.”

Alric went still as a grave during winter. “Do you?” His eyes took on a bright glow. “And how, pray tell, did you come across this information?”

“My spies are not as obvious as Leo,” I said. There was no way I’d tell him about Silas’s affliction. “Why would you lie?”

He began sipping his coffee again and watched me for a moment. “We are strangers, aren’t we? A chance meeting in a chaotic moment threw us into each other’s paths. Silas and I made a terrible choice. Neither of us expected to see you again. And yet, here we are. Sharing breakfast together, lying to each other with almost every breath we take. The real question is, how do we earn each other’s trust enough to tell each other the truth?”

I hated how logical and reasonable he sounded.

“Alright. Let’s play this your way. Why did you leave me in the alley?”

Alric’s eyes narrowed. “A truth for a truth.”

“One pass allowed.”

“Fair. I’ll start. We left you there because we are old and brutal. We could not afford to be blamed for a witch’s death, not if we wanted to continue trying to reach a tentative peace between our people. If word got out that we harmed a witch or left her to die, it could spark a conflict between all supernaturals.” He waited for me to say something, but his words did not surprise me. I was nothing to them. The thought hurt more than it should.

“Who is your father?” he asked suddenly.

I blinked in surprise. “Umm. I have no idea. Mom never told me.”

Alric studied me for a long moment before letting out a soft snort. “Shit. You’re telling the truth.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” The recent information that had surfaced during the meeting with Mom’s old coven buddies had made me question everything, and I still needed to look through the books Cat had given me. The ritual Tiegan had sent me was still down in the basement, but I hadn’t had time to find someone to assist me with it. Minus the strange magic I’d used when Beckett had attacked me, and the small amount of knowledge I now had about my dad, there were still more questions than answers. There was no reason to lie to Alric because I wanted the answers more than he did.