Alice knocked once.
She didn't know why.
She could've let herself in, stood outside, watched from the trees like she always did. But something about the weight of the moment made her hand move before her mind caught up.
The door opened.
Kane stood there, shirtless, body glistening faintly with sweat. His hair was damp. He looked like he'd just finished punishing the world in whatever brutal way he trained.
Alice's golden eyes dragged across his chest before she could stop them.
"You came," Kane said, voice low.
"You're not surprised."
"I'm not."
She hesitated at the door, uncertain for the first time in a long time.
"You going to invite me in?"
Kane didn't move. "Do I need to?"
Alice tilted her head. "Are you always this cryptic?"
"I'm not trying to be."
"Could've fooled me," she muttered, stepping inside anyway.
The air inside was warm, almost too warm for her kind. It smelled like pine, sweat, iron and him.
Kane shut the door behind her. No lock. No words. Just the click of wood and quiet.
"You followed me," she said, glancing over her shoulder.
"I didn't," Kane replied. "You came on your own."
"You knew I would."
"I felt it."
Alice turned slowly, arms crossing over her chest. "You keep saying things like that 'feeling it.' You haven't explained anything."
"Because you already know," Kane said.
"No," she said. "I really don't."
Kane studied her. "You've been around long enough to know when something's real. Even if it doesn't make sense."
"You think this is real?" she asked. "You don't even know me."
Kane stepped forward close enough for her to feel the heat from his skin.
"But I feel like I should," he said. "And you do too."
Alice's jaw clenched.
"You're arrogant," she said.
"You're drawn to it."
She scoffed. "You're not like anyone I've met."
"Neither are you."
"You're not afraid of me."
"No," Kane said. "I never was."
"You should be."
He leaned in, his voice quieter now. "You're not dangerous to me."
"You don't know what I can do."
Kane smirked. "You don't know what I can do."
That silenced her.
Just for a moment.
"I'm not here to flirt," Alice said, stepping back. "I came because I need answers."
"Then ask better questions," Kane said.
She narrowed her eyes. "What are you?"
Kane's expression didn't shift. "Someone with a purpose."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you'll get."
"You think you can just dodge everything with charm?"
"I don't dodge," Kane said. "I pick what matters."
"And I don't?"
"You came back."
She bit her lip. "That doesn't mean anything."
"It means everything."
They stood in silence for a long moment. Alice's fingers flexed at her side. Kane watched the movement, his eyes sharp.
"You're angry," he said.
"I'm confused."
"You don't like not knowing."
"No," she admitted.
"I like that about you."
Alice rolled her eyes. "Of course you do."
"You try to act cold," Kane said, stepping forward again, his tone softer now. "But you feel everything. You always have."
"Stop talking like you know me."
"But I do."
"You don't."
He didn't reply.
Instead, he reached out and slowly, deliberately, brushed a single strand of her hair behind her ear.
Alice didn't move.
Didn't flinch.
Didn't breathe.
Kane's voice dropped to a whisper. "That feeling in your chest? That pull? I feel it too. I've felt it since the second I saw you."
Alice swallowed hard. "That doesn't make it real."
"It makes it everything."
She looked up at him really looked. Her golden eyes searched his for something solid, something explainable.
All she found was hunger.
Controlled. Contained. But unmistakable.
"I don't understand you," she whispered.
"You don't need to. You only need to feel."
"That's dangerous."
Kane smiled. "So are you."
For a long moment, they stood like that close, suspended in tension neither of them could name.
Then Alice stepped back.
"I need to go."
Kane nodded once. "You will."
"I'll come back when I have answers," she said.
"You'll come back because you want to."
Alice opened the door without another word.
But before she stepped out, she glanced over her shoulder. "You're not what I expected."
Kane's eyes met hers.
"Neither are you."
She left.
But Kane didn't move.
He could still smell her in the air.
Still feel the heat of her presence lingering.
They were bound. Fated. Chosen. Not by choice, not by past by something deeper.
And when the time came, she wouldn't run.
None of them would.