⋆ Chapter 53

*Rafael.*

I stared at the closed door for a good minute after he left, holding my coffee like it might give me answers. It didn’t. It just went cold.

Who the hell was Rafael? Well, okay—I *knew* who he said he was. Xavier’s future beta. But what did that even mean in the grand scheme of my very human life?

Why was he here?

What could *he* possibly want with *me*?

“I was just hoping we could talk,” he’d said after introducing himself. I told him I didn’t have time for breakfast—that I was running late for work, which was *technically* a lie. I could’ve squeezed in toast. But I panicked.

My heart had been doing somersaults in my chest and I didn’t even know why.

Rafael just nodded like he expected that. “Then I’ll come back later,” he said. “We’ll talk over dinner.”

Dinner? With him? Like it was that simple.

“I’ll send you the address of where to meet me,” he added, already turning away.

“Wait—do you even have my number?”

He smiled over his shoulder. “Yes. Xavier gave it to me.”

And then he left me standing there, barefoot in oversized sleep shorts, mentally spiraling.

The entire subway ride to work, my brain was a blender stuck on high. I couldn’t decide how I felt about Rafael showing up. Confused? Definitely. A tiny bit weirded out that he knew Xavier? Also yes. I mean, Xavier and I had been together for two years until he left, but I never met his future beta.

But mostly, I just wanted to know what he *wanted*.

Was I in trouble?

Did this have something to do with Cillian?

Or worse—did Xavier knew about the deal I made with my vampire CEO?

By the time I got to the office, my anxiety was doing pirouettes in my stomach. I tried to act normal, but I was a complete disaster. I forgot my passcode twice, dumped an entire file on the floor, and called a senior associate by the wrong name three times.

At one point, I opened a blank Word doc and just stared at it for fifteen straight minutes.

Georgia or Ralph probably thought I was either hungover or possessed.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about tonight. About Rafael.

He hadn’t texted yet, which made me even more paranoid. What kind of person says *I’ll send you the address* and then just… leaves you hanging? Who even does that?

Still, I couldn’t deny it. I was counting down the hours. I wanted answers. And if Rafael had them, I was all in.

Whatever tonight was going to be… I’d be there.

Even if my stomach was a rollercoaster and my brain was screaming *what the hell is going on* the entire time.

The rest of the day dragged. I tried to be productive. I really did. But my brain had already clocked out and gone into detective mode, obsessively turning over every little detail about Rafael like I was trying to solve a crime I wasn’t even sure happened.

Soren, naturally, didn’t help.

By eleven-thirty, he’d already stopped by my desk *three* times.

First, to ask if the printer toner was still broken. (It wasn’t.)

Then, to double-check the time of a meeting we both got calendar invites for. (Seriously.)

And then to ask if I’d seen his pen. (He was holding it.)

Georgia, whose patience for nonsense hovered somewhere between "nope" and "hell no," was ready to snap.

“Why does he keep showing up at your desk?” she hissed under her breath as we walked to the lunchroom. “You’re not the Office Depot.”

I tried to shrug it off. “Maybe he’s just bored?”

Georgia rolled her eyes. “No one is *that* bored.”

We found Ralph already at the table, happily digging into his poke bowl like it was the greatest joy of his life. When Georgia filled him in on Soren’s repeated visits, he grinned like a cat who’d just found a saucer of gossip.

“I would never complain if a hot guy like that hovered around my desk,” Ralph said, chewing thoughtfully. “Honestly, if he brought a dumb question with him, I’d probably frame it.”

Georgia narrowed her eyes. “He’s not *that* hot.”

“Please. The man is a six-foot-four slice of blond bread and everyone in the office knows it,” Ralph said. Then he pointed his fork at me. “And you. Don’t act like you don’t notice. There is no way Soren’s not crushing on you.”

I blinked at him. “What?”

“Come on,” Ralph said. “You both don’t know men like I do. They make up excuses to talk to people they like. Flirty nonsense. Asking about pens. Pretending they care about toner. That man is obviously making up reasons to talk to you.”

“Georgia,” I groaned. “If you make it sound like he’s still in high school and keep saying that, people might think I’m getting involved with a teenager! He’s a friend from way back in high school.”

“Sorry, sorry,” she said, unrepentant. “Well, seriously though, when are we going to meet Keith?”

I blinked at her. “Who?”

Georgia looked at me like I had just fallen out of my chair. “Keith. Your friend from way back in high school? Are you okay, Tilly?”

Oh. Right. *Keith*.

I forced a laugh and waved it off. “Right! Keith. Yeah. He’s just… he’s been really busy lately.”

“Uh-huh.” Georgia narrowed her eyes a little, not buying it. “Well, he better not be imaginary. You’ve been acting weird today.”

“Weird how?”

Georgia tilted her head. “Just off. Like your body’s here but your brain’s still stuck somewhere else. Like you’re thinking too hard about something—or someone.”

Ralph raised an eyebrow. “Is Keith the reason you checked your phone like ten times during lunch?”

“I didn’t—" I started, then cut myself off. “I’m just waiting for something. It’s not a big deal.”

Ralph and Georgia exchanged a look. The look. The one where they silently agreed I was definitely hiding something.

Ralph smirked. “Well, I don’t *prefer* vampires, but I guess I can give Keith a chance. Until then, I’m still Team Xavier.”

“Seriously?” I said, groaning.

“Don’t act so surprised,” he said. “Xavier has history. And drama. And muscles. The man practically walked out of a werewolf romance novel.”

“I thought you hated romance novels,” Georgia said.

“I hate bad ones,” Ralph replied. “Xavier would be in a good one. You know it.”

I was about to say something when my phone buzzed on the table. A new text. No contact name.

\[1 NEW MESSAGE\]

*\[Address dropped here\]*

And then a second one.

See you at 5:30.

My heart did that weird *thud-thud-THUD* thing, like it was trying to knock itself out of my ribcage.

“What is it?” Ralph asked, eyeing me.

I locked my screen quickly and shoved the phone back in my bag. “Nothing,” I lied, and smiled way too hard. “Just… a text.”

“A text from?” Georgia said, already suspicious.

“Trish. Yeah. My sister,” I said. “Why are you guys looking at me like that.”

I wasn’t ready to tell them. Not until I figured out who Rafael really was—and why Xavier’s future beta wanted to talk to me.

One thing was certain though: I was going to that address.

And I was absolutely not ready for whatever I was walking into.