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Calli looks between me and Jack with a confused expression.

“Kai?” Cade asks flatly.

“Yeah! This is Calli’s boyfriend. The guy I told you about on Halloween.”

Cade shoots me a look that would kill weaker men, but I’m no man, and he doesn’t scare me.

I ease down the stairs, extending my hand to him. “Pleasure to meet you, Cade; I’ve heard a lot about you from Calli.”

He turns toward her. “Is that so?” His fists clench at his sides.

Calli shrinks. “Well, yeah, so he’s the guy I met at the convenience store, he’s been helping with my magic—”

Cade whips his head and lunges at me, catching me off guard, shoving me to the wall. He speaks slow, with venom in his tone. “Who the fuck are you?”

I grab his hands, prying them off me slowly; he resists and I have to avoid breaking them. He looks up at me and backs away. “I’m the guy that’s been helping your sister, in more ways than one.” I smirk.

His fist swings past my head, punching a hole into the wall. “Get the fuck out of my house.”

Calli steps into the middle. “Cade, back off! Fucking brute.” She looks back and forth at us. “He’s a witch, like me.”

Cade takes a step back, his brows pulling together.

This is so fun.

“You think it’s a coincidence, Calli? That it’s normal to meet a witch at the convenience store?” Cade now asks calmly.

“Can I please talk to you, in private?” Calli says to Cade, gesturing to the library.

“I want him out of my fucking house,” he instructs Jack.

“Okay! Okay.” Jack grabs my forearm and pulls me toward the front door. “I’ll take him onto the porch while you guys talk it out.”

Cade looks at me, rolling his eyes, and follows Calli into the library as Jack escorts me outside.

Jack shuts the front door and leans back onto it. “Aren’t you lucky I can vouch for you.”

“Shut the fuck up,” I say, annoyance tingeing my voice.

“Oh, what’s wrong, Kai?” Alok as Jack saunters over, swinging his arm around my shoulder. “We’re a team now. Whether you like it or not, you and her are stuck with me.”

I roll my eyes, shooting him a disgusted look. He is too unpredictable, and I hate that he is putting everything at risk. A part of me wants to tell Calli, but Alok is dangerous. His cruelty with humans in the past puts me in a tight spot. There is no choice with this. I can’t say anything. The best I can do is grin and bear the situation.

“It’ll be like the good old days before the war; we’re gonna get to the bottom of this creepy little human cult and tear it apart.” His face lights up with excitement.

He looks genuine, but I can’t fall for it. My kind are manipulative by nature, and despite Alok always being like a brother to me, he has no respect for human life. Not that I have much more, but these humans are different, my human is different.

“Just lie low. They know Jack well, regardless of having issues,” I reply in a monotone.

“No worries, I have access to him in here”—he taps his head—“which means I know how he feels about your girl; I’m surprised you let him live.”

“I’ve thought about it, so don’t piss me off,” I say, flashing a toothy grin.

He laughs, patting my back, opening the front door and sneaking over near the entrance to the library. “Wanna listen in on them?” he whispers.

I look at him, thinking for a moment, then nod.

CHAPTER 3 CADE