By the time Jennifer was done, it was well past ten.
She was starving.
There was a knock on her door.
"Ms. Jen! We're back!"
Jennifer glanced at the new chapters lined up neatly in her draft box.
Never to be published.
"Ms. Jen! Boss bought fried chicken!"
Okay. Compared to previous times the ALIVE boys knocked on her door, fried chicken was not bad news.
"Be right there!"
She opened the door—and was immediately assaulted by pure boy idol energy.
They were louder and rowdier than when the night wolves had fought in the lobby.
"Ms. Jen, can we eat in the lobby?"
"'Cause the servants will clean up, right?" Someone deployed weaponized puppy eyes. "If we eat in the lobby we won't have to clean up, right?"
"Ms. Jen, can you eat spicy stuff? We got jalapeño ranch dip!"
"How was your shoot today?" Jennifer found herself asking as she was swept toward the staircase with them.
"Boss said we did good!"
"Whoa, we were tired!"
"Liam had the most takes!"
"I did?"
"Your scene was hard!"
Jennifer barely had time to process before they spilled into the lobby.
Adrian and Sebastian were already there, speaking in low tones. Both wore dark suit jackets. When they turned at the boys' noisy entrance, they looked like a matched set—elegantly silhouetted beneath the glittering chandelier.
Behind them, servants in black and white uniforms plated fried chicken on the side counters like it was a state banquet.
What the heck was going on?
Jennifer usually spent Saturday nights alone with her webnovels, typing until dawn. Tonight, it seemed she was still with her webnovels—except instead of typing chaos, she was walking in it.
She should have declined the invitation.
But it was hard to say no to their collective charm.
Also, fried chicken.
She was very hungry.
Perhaps one or two wings and a quick excuse—
Adrian smiled. "Ms. Jen, I'm glad you could join us."
Jennifer forgot what she had been thinking.
Sebastian smiled as well. "Please enjoy the meal. Let the servants know if you require anything."
"Ooooh! Mr. Sebastian is the best!" the boys chorused.
"Thank you," Adrian said pleasantly.
Sebastian mirrored the smile. "Don't mention it."
They weren't even from the same webnovel, but together they made a compelling scene.
If she had written it, they would either be conspiring over the same woman—
—or in love with each other.
Oh.
She did not just think that.
"Sebastian and I were just discussing the recent news," Adrian said lightly as Sebastian guided her to the settee.
Jennifer nodded dumbly.
Because, you know. Adrian.
Also she wanted fried chicken, but due to present brain malfunction, she was unable to verbalize this basic human need.
Fortunately, the servants served her.
It was the first time Jennifer had eaten fried chicken with silverware.
Sebastian poured tea.
It was also the first time she'd eaten fried chicken with Earl Grey.
Everything smelled mouthwatering.
The boys had conveniently relocated to the other side of the lobby, where the food was arranged like a mini buffet. They had also talked the doorman on duty to join them.
Adrian was still speaking, voice like silk.
"I wonder if you saw it?"
"Huh? Pardon?" Jennifer internally kicked herself.
"The news."
"No?" she guessed. She usually avoided it. Especially since Shilem enjoyed appearing in it.
"Mr. Adrian has nothing to worry about," Sebastian said smoothly. "This building is well fortified. It is patrolled by Darkfall Pack warriors. The royal wizard has installed a Class 7 forcefield."
"Since you are from the palace, you should understand the seriousness of the situation," Adrian replied.
"Are you concerned for your boys' safety," Sebastian asked mildly, "or for the lady?"
Adrian paused.
Then shrugged. "I'm sure you're right. We are probably living in the most guarded building in this city."
"Naturally. His Highness and the young Alpha of Darkfall both reside here." Sebastian's tone was velvet. "You need not worry. I will take care of my queen."
Who's your queen?
"How reassuring," Adrian smiled like a liquid blade. "I'm glad my goddess is in such safe hands."
Who's your goddess?
What was happening?
Why was everyone behaving like they were inside a webnovel?
And why was she seated between two dangerously charismatic men speaking in veiled territorial metaphors?
The answer arrived when the front doors exploded open.
The chandelier trembled.
Cold night air rushed in.
And someone shouted—
"MOVE!"
Jennifer flinched so hard she nearly stabbed herself with her fork.
Angus staggered in, dragging Damien with him.
Seriously? She had specifically told them not to drink too much.
Then she smelled it.
Not alcohol.
Blood.
The ALIVE boys froze mid-bite.
For once, they were silent.
A drumstick dropped in slow motion.
It hit the marble with a tragic splat.
Damien was soaked in blood—from his hair down to his white T-shirt.
"Damien, what happened?" Jennifer gasped, rising.
The men beside her were already moving. The wolf warrior was quicker still. Already at Damien's other side—"Young Alpha, are you hurt?"
"Are you blind?" Angus scolded, "Look at him!"
But wolves usually healed quite quickly, Damien for one, didn't seem to lose any of his angst, "Shut up. It's none of your business."
"Who did it? I'll round up the others and we'll…"
"I told you it's none of your business!" Damien roared.
—but the effort nearly toppled him. Adrian caught him from one side. Sebastian stepped in smoothly.
"Allow me, Your Highness."
But now that they had moved away from the door, Jennifer saw behind them—
A third boy.
Unknown.
Quiet.
Pale.
Wide-eyed.
He just stood there hesitating.
Meanwhile, the band scrambled to clear the settee.
"I'm fine," Damien rasped.
He was not fine. He couldn't even sit up once laid down. A low, primal growl vibrated in his chest.
"Inform his Dad," Jennifer instructed the doorman. She was suddenly in teacher mode, "Someone call an ambulance too."
"No!" Damien snapped. "They were hunting me! This has nothing to do with my father!"
"Then the ambulance?" Sebastian asked dryly, phone already in hand.
Blood stained the settee. The floor. Adrian's sleeve. Angus's shirt.
"Angus too…" Jennifer worried.
"I'm alright," Angus said. "Just scratches."
"Understood. I will call the royal healer." Sebastian decided.
"NO!" Angus and Damien shouted at the same time.
"…Maybe for him," Angus amended, glancing at Damien's condition.
"I told you to mind your own business!" Damien growled. "This was my fight!"
"So you tricked me into waiting outside a public toilet for forty-five minutes?" Angus shot back with new ferocity.
The entire lobby blinked.
"Do you know," Angus demanded, "how public toilets smell?"
The band exchanged looks.
"…He's not wrong," Liam muttered.
"I didn't want anyone else hurt because of me," Damien growled. "Why do you think I left my pack?"
"You were in danger," Angus fired back. "And your solution was to leave your pack? What kind of king abandons his castle when his life is threatened? Are you an idiot?"
Damien looked pale—but the air around him tightened. "No. You're the idiot."
"You're the idiot."
"You."
"You."
Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Alright," he said smoothly. "Let us agree you are both idiots. Who is this boy?"
Silence shifted.
All eyes turned.
The third boy had come closer, but he looked like he was ready to run at any moment.
Hands clenched. Shoulders drawn in.
Trying to make himself smaller than he already was.
Angus shrugged. "Just a weak commoner I helped. His dorm mates were bullying him. I don't know why he followed us."
The band leaned in.
"Oof."
"Bro. He's standing right there."
The boy's ears went red.
Adrian studied him. "Name?"
"…Quintin…sir."
Jennifer dropped her fork. Why was she still holding it?
The clatter echoed through the lobby.
She stared at him.
"Did you say your name was Quintin?"
He flinched. "Yes, ma'am."
Oh no.
Oh no no no.
Behind him, the night shifted.
Very faintly.
Like something brushing against the edge of reality.
No.
Not this one.
Jennifer didn't publish this one.