Aurora pov

I met Alex at a small coffee shop not far from the pack office. The place smelled faintly of roasted beans and warm syrup. When I walked in, he was already seated near the window, a plate of pancakes in front of him.

He looked up the moment I joined him. “I’m sorry if I interrupted your time with them,” he said, his tone careful, almost testing.

“It’s not a problem,” I replied, pulling the chair back and sitting across from him.

“Okay, if you say so. Do you want to ...