Malik’s POVI didn’t hear what was said on the other side, but the look in her eyes was enough to tell me something was wrong. She got back up, a faraway expression on her face. She reached to take my cup from me, but I moved away from her grasp.

"Are you fine?" I asked, leaning in. She looked like she needed a seat, but at the same time, needed the whole day off.

Her nod came mechanically, like every other thing about her. Every inch of her being had been sharpened into process and order, almost like she had buried who she really was inside.

“I have to check on the croissant in the kitchen,” she mumbled, racing away from view. Sighing, I pulled away from the counter and returned to my table at one end of the café.

I was grateful the minute I took my seat, because Morwena crossed the sidewalk and pulled the door open. Her hair caught in the wind before the door closed in behind her, and her eyes landed on me.

A smile lifted her features as she waved, navigating the tables until she reached me. I had never been able to place her scent, no matter how hard I tried. It was easy for me to decipher people out, but with Morwenna, it was practically impossible.

She looked and felt human, but something deep down told me she wasn’t. I tried to ignore it. I’d been doing that for the last three years.

"Hey, babe," she chirped, plopping into the seat in front of me and crossing one leg above the other. "How has your day been?"

"You mean aside from hearing that my cousin has been made Alpha of his pack? I'm doing great."

She scooted over to the edge of her seat, her fingers grazing mine. “Malik, you have to understand your mother. She must have good reasons for not wanting you to go back there. And it's great here, still.”

“I don’t even remember what it feels like,” I murmured, a sigh escaping my lips. I didn’t know what it was that my mother tried protecting me so hard from. She walked out of the pack for years now, comfortable with residing in a place that doesn’t feel like home.

We had to learn to adapt to their ways, and I guessed I was great at fitting in already. But it still felt different. I found myself wondering how Dorian was doing and asking myself if things would have turned out a tad differently if I'd grown up with him.

"This is home, too," Morwenna whispered. “You’ve got your mother with you. As long as you two are together, you are home. Home resides with anyone you love.”

I knew when she returned to the room. The air changed, as if a core heat had overtaken every surface. She had ancient blood in her. I knew it right from the second I set my eyes on her. But the problem was that I doubted she knew that.

She moved unassumingly, her head hanging low and her hands limp, as if she was used to being treated like she didn’t matter. She pulled at her shirt, and I angled my head, taking in a purple bruise she was desperately trying to cover.

And for some reason, when my girlfriend talked about home, I looked at her. She had her nametag on now. Eve.

Morwenna caught my gaze. “Malik, don’t tell me…”

“It’s not what you think,” I cut her off. “I just met her, Morwenna. Why do you always do this?”

She scoffed. “Why won’t I, when you always look at them like they need saving?”

“I do not.” I tried to keep my voice low, even though I was tired of having this conversation a million times. “I have never cheated on you, Morwenna.”

“Oh!” A mischievous glint shone in her eyes. “Let’s put it to the test then.”

Panic washed through me as she waved Eve over. I tried to tell her not to come, but Eve didn’t even look my way, pointedly avoiding me. When she got closer to our table, Morwenna got the complimentary glass of water.

She headed in her direction, intentionally bumping into her, a calculating smirk on her lips.

The tray Eve was holding clattered onto the floor, and the water dripped onto her uniform. Morwenna tipped the scale even further, letting the glass drop from her hands too and shattering into a million shards.

Eve yelped sharply, jumping away from the glass.

“Oh my God!” Morwenna gasped in mock horror. “I didn’t mean to do that. Shit! I should have looked where I was going. I’m so sorry. I can ask my man to dry off your clothes at his home. Do you mind?”

My girlfriend wanted to know how I would respond to the situation. It was not the first time she had done something like this. Yet, for the first time, I couldn't say no. Eve looked at me, her vulnerability laid bare.

My chair scraped the ground as I got up, and Morwenna’s features hardened slightly. Mr. Rochester must have heard the commotion because he rushed over suddenly, his huge gait filling the space. And without waiting for an explanation, his hands landed on Eve’s face.

“I didn’t do anything!” Eve screamed, an angry welt on her face forming. Tears stung the corners of her eyes, like she had been holding them at bay for a while.

It was the second time he was hitting her in a few hours, and I found that it was more than I could handle. I tried to drown the groan threatening to slip from my lips, but Morwenna noticed.

She always did.

"I was right," she murmured, before returning to the table, grabbing her purse, and walking out. I should go after her, yet I didn't move an inch.

Not when Mr. Rochester wasn’t done with Eve.

My eyes took in his actions as his hands moved to his belt. “You think I am going to let you break things around here and then scream at me?”

His belt hung mid-air, but he never got to bringing it down on her skin. Because suddenly, the color of her eyes had changed to a golden brown, and her crouch was slowly forming.

When the growl slipped out of her lips and Mr. Rochester’s eyes widened in surprise, I knew it was time to step in.