Alice stared at Cain, her heart and head at war. She wanted to believe he cared for her beyond her blood, that he could change. But how could she trust him after everything he’d done?
Cain seemed to read her turmoil. Halting an arm’s length away, he said gently, “You owe me no forgiveness. I know I must earn back your faith.” He lifted a hand as if to touch her face but let it drop without making contact. “All I ask is that you leave the door open to the possibility. A chance for me to prove myself. The man you knew in that dreamlike state, that’s who I want to be, and that’s who you make me.”
Alice saw the sincerity in his eyes, and it again caused her to waver, her emotions seesawing. She glanced away, struggling within herself.
Cain waited with uncharacteristic patience as she waged this inner battle. When she finally met his gaze, his expression held only that nameless, vulnerable thing she’d glimpsed earlier.
“I can’t promise anything,” she said at last. “Except that I’ll try to hear you out, try to understand. I’m pissed. Don’t get that wrong for a second. But I can’t lie to myself or you and say there’s nothing between us.”
Cain’s shoulders slumped in relief. “That’s all I ask.” Tentatively, he reached for her hand. When she allowed it, he brought it to his lips in a fervent kiss. “Thank you,” he murmured against her skin. Straightening, he grazed her knuckles once more before releasing her hand.
Alice flexed her tingling fingers, off-balance. She knew this changed nothing, not yet. But the sensation of his lips, so reverent, called to something inside of her—that foreign thing she couldn’t put her finger on.
Over the next few days, Cain was the picture of restraint, keeping a careful distance. Alice watched him, searching for glimpses of the man he claimed she brought out in him.
She caught it in fleeting, unguarded moments—his lips curving at some private thought, a look of wonder passing over his face as he gazed out at the sunset. He seemed lighter somehow, the perpetual tension in his frame eased.
He was also unfailingly patient and non-pressuring with her, as if he could sense her lingering wariness. Like the predator he was, Cain was playing a subtle game of pursuit designed to slowly win her trust.
And despite her misgivings, Alice’s reservations steadily melted away. There was just something about him that called to a deep, primal part of her spirit. An affinity she couldn’t deny. So she found herself, almost against her will, softening toward him. She sought out his company, reminiscing over shared moments, real and imagined. The bond between them was complex and flawed, but undeniably real. Or at least it felt that way.
One evening, they sat talking quietly together as twilight deepened to dusk. Alice grinned, a mischievous light entering her eyes. “Did I ever tell you about the time I nearly blew up my high school chem lab?”
Cain raised a brow, amusement tugging at his lips. “Now this I have to hear.”
“Well, it was the beginning of junior year. I already had a reputation for being a bit of a mad scientist.” Alice laughed self-consciously. “I got a little too enthusiastic about my experiments sometimes.”
She absently played with a strand of her hair as she conjured the memory. “On this particular day, we were supposed to be making esters. Pretty basic stuff, combining alcohols and acids.”
Her eyes took on a faraway look, seeing the past unfold again. “I finished the lab steps quickly, so I decided to get creative. The chemicals were just sitting there, waiting to be combined in new ways.” Alice shook her head ruefully. “In hindsight,notmy brightest idea. I started mixing things together somewhat … haphazardly. Just to see what would happen.”
She mimed pouring from beakers, her movements precise even in pantomime. “I was so focused on my tinkering that I didn’t notice the smell at first. Sharp, kind of rotten.” Alice wrinkled her nose at the memory. “By the time the fumes registered, they were pretty strong. Acrid enough to sting my eyes and make it hard to breathe.”
Cain watched her intently. “What did you do?”
“Panicked, mostly.” Alice gave a self-conscious laugh. “I realized I’d created some toxic gas but wasn’t sure how to stop it. So I just started grabbing beakers and dumping them in the sink.”
“Of course, the combination of whatever I’d made with water created more fumes. They started hissing up from the drain.” She threw her hands up. “At that point, I started yelling for help.” Alice shook her head, grinning. “Poor Mr. James had to evacuate the whole lab, call the hazmat team, and everything. It was a mess.” She smiled ruefully at Cain. “The fire department showed up ready for disaster. I think that was the moment my reputation as the Mad Hatter was cemented. My classmates teased me that there was no way I was ‘Alice,’ as the Wonderland story goes, but I definitely fit the image for the other character.”
Cain chuckled, his grey eyes warm. “Only you could turn a basic high school lab into a hazmat situation.” He tugged playfully at her hair. “But knowing you, I’m sure you learned something from it.”
“Oh, absolutely.” Alice nodded. “I learned not to mix unknown chemicals without proper safety precautions.”
They shared a laugh, the sound wrapping around Alice like a warm blanket. She treasured these easy moments together, even if she still felt like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Cain chuckled. “You certainly leave an impression wherever you go.”
The tender tone in his voice sent a familiar warmth curling through her. On impulse, Alice caught his hand, weaving their fingers together.
Cain went still, and his eyes dropped to their joined hands. Slowly, he curled his fingers, returning the intimate grasp.
When he lifted his gaze back to hers, the look they shared was weighted with ceremony. Alice knew, on some bone-deep level, that they had crossed an invisible threshold tonight. Toward what, she couldn’t say. But the axis between them had subtly shifted.
Cain reached up to tuck back a lock of her hair, and then trailed his fingers lightly down her cheek. “May I kiss you, Alice?”
Her pulse quickened, and she nodded mutely. Cain cupped her face with exquisite tenderness. Still, he hesitated, holding her gaze questioningly until she whispered, “Yes.”
Only then did he close the final distance between them. When their lips met, Alice’s senses came alive in a way she’d never known. That otherness inside of her awoke like a sleeping dragon.
