Alpha reached for Levi’s neck. Levi ducked, barely avoiding the grab. “Whoa, whoa. Aren’t we old friends? What’s the attack for, huh?”

No answer. Alpha turned, reaching for Levi again.

“You never were one for talking, huh? Okay, I’ll say it for you. ‘Old friends don’t wiggle up the sewage pipes, they come in the front door,’” Levi said, rolling through Alpha’s legs and out into his living room.

Alpha spun on the spot and reached after him. Levi swayed back again, but even as he did, his brows furrowed. Something’s wrong.

He danced out into the center of the living room, as Alpha fired off blow after blow at him. “Whoa, big guy! You don’t want to destroy the furniture, do you?”

Still no reply. Levi hopped over the leather sofa. “Hello, anyone home?”

Alpha strode through the sofa in pursuit. Wood shattered, and leather tore. Stuffing and springs flew across the room. Levi dodged the mess, barely avoiding it. “Whoa! Hey. Say something, Alpha. This is real quiet, even for you.”

“Gordon!”

Alpha jolted to a halt. His glazed eyes cleared. He turned.

Clutching a plush bathrobe around her, Rainer Drift stood in the hallway. Her face was pale, her hands tense. Her eyes flicked from Levi to Alpha. “Gordon. What’s going on?”

“I…” Alpha looked at her for a long moment, lost. He turned back to Levi. “Beta? What are you doing here?”

Levi giggled. He looked between Rainer Drift and Alpha. “What do you mean, Beta? It’s been years since anyone called me that. Even you haven’t called me that in ages.”

Alpha’s brows furrowed faintly. “Do the researchers need us? That cute one you like…Maury. Is she calling?”

“Is this a joke? This has to be a joke.” Levi giggled again, scared out of his wits. He backed away, toward the wall. It can’t be. I don’t believe it. No.

After all this time. All these years. Everything that had happened. This was Alpha? This? What he’d feared, what he’d run from, what he’d been escaping this whole time… was this?

“What’s going on, Alpha?” Rainer Drift asked, just as nervous as Levi.

A massive paw reached out for Levi. Instinctively, Levi flinched away, but Alpha gave him a friendly pat on the back. “An old friend came to visit! Rachel, meet Beta. Or do you prefer Levi now?”

“Levi, call me Levi,” Levi said, nodding. He looked at Rainer. “Ra…Rachel?”

“Did you think Rainer was my real name? No one actually names their kid Rainer. It’s my stage name,” she said, as if it were obvious.

“Oh,” Levi said. He nodded, his world off-kilter, everything a little loose and funny. Another giggle bubbled up. “Why not? Yeah. Sure.”

“Good to see you after so long, Levi. Take a seat,” Alpha said. He turned to the couch and frowned. “What happened?”

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“You did that,” Rachel said, with a slightly exhausted tone.

Levi giggled again. His back hit the wall, and he jolted, jumping away.

Alpha turned away, heading toward their kitchen. “Does anyone want coffee?”

“It’s the middle of the night, Gordon,” Rachel said patiently.

“Oh.” Alpha paused, lost for a moment, then shrugged. “Beer? Soda?”

“We’re good,” Levi said. He ran his hands down his face and took a deep, slow breath. Turning to Rachel, he stared at her, searching her face for a hint. A clue. Anything. “How long as this been going on?”

Rachel shrugged. “I’ve only been dating him for a year. It started before then.”

“What is it? Dementia?” Levi asked. He walked toward the couch, resting a hand on the broken back.

In the kitchen, Alpha hummed to himself, pouring a few glasses of soda.

“Something…something like that. The uh, the doctor I brought in—”

“No doctors!” Alpha roared from the kitchen. The glass in his hand shattered.

“I was talking about me, sweetie,” Rachel replied evenly, but she pulled the robe a little tighter around her.

“Oh.” Alpha looked at the fragments of cup. His eyes lit up, letting off beams that incinerated the soda and shattered glass together. He reached for another cup, as if nothing had happened.

She glanced at him, then continued. “The do…they think it’s…um, some kind of…intereference. The Gate particles in him…at first, it wasn’t too bad, but with every skill he absorbs, more and more of them build up in his body. In his brain, too. And they think it’s…the effect is…” She shrugged.

Levi bit his lip. He nodded. His heart thudded, a thousand emotions flowing inside him all at once. Abruptly, he coughed out a laugh. His mouth worked, but for once, words failed him. He didn’t know what to say. Another laugh. He put his hands over his face. “I…”

“What about you? Who are you? Blasterman,” Rachel accused him.

“Oh, right.” He looked up, all emotions gone for the moment. “I’m—I’m an old friend, I guess. If he’s Alpha, and I’m Beta, you can figure out the rest.”

“You’re Beta, then? You’re really Beta?” Rachel asked.

Levi nodded. “I really prefer Levi. Really really.”

“Then what was the deal with lying to me?”

“Er, I, uh, I’ve been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and um, pathological lying, but that second one is bullshit. I lie when I want to, not because I need to.” He paused. “What do you mean, ‘what was the deal?’ Isn’t it obvious?”

She squinted at him. “No? Alpha’s been looking for you. He talks about you all the time. Wonders where you went. Asks me where you are.”

Levi squinted back. “He doesn’t remember?”

“Remember what?”

Levi glanced at the kitchen. Alpha still puttered away, filling up glasses with soda. He was already at six, and still going. He crossed to Rachel. She flinched back, but he showed her his hands. He leaned in. “We had a… ‘falling out’ is the gentle term. He found out I had something he wanted. I fought for my life. He gouged out both my eyes and dropped me off a building. Cut off my best friend’s leg while he was at it.”

Rachel paled. She drew back. “You’re serious?”

“Very serious. I don’t know if you’re aware, but a lot of people have died to his hands. Hundreds, if not thousands. He—”

“I…I know, but…” She looked at the kitchen. Levi followed her gaze. Alpha emptied the two-liter bottle into a tenth cup, glanced at the empty bottle, and opened the fridge for another one. “I know, but that’s not the man I met.” Rachel lifted her chin. “Gordon, honey. That’s enough for everyone.”

Alpha startled, about to twist the cap off the second bottle. He looked at all the cups around him, then chuckled. “I poured enough for a crowd, huh? Oh well. We won’t run out.”

He picked up two cups and walked them to the table. The other eight cups floated after him, carried by some form of telekinesis or another.

Rachel grimaced at his back. Her eyes flicked to Levi. “Every time he uses a skill, it gets worse. The d…they told him to stop using skills, but…you saw how well he took that.”

Levi flicked his eyes over at Alpha. He snorted under his breath. “Yeah. He’s, uh. Never been the kinda guy to bend, when he could break you instead.”

Alpha set all the cups out on the table and plopped down on the couch. He patted the seat beside him. “Come on! Let’s catch up. What’s been going on with you, Beta? No, Levi?”

Levi turned. He locked eyes on Alpha, and all those tamped-down emotions came whirling back at full force. His throat choked. The urge to laugh bubbled up, but at the same time, his eyes burned.

Instead of doing either, he walked over and sat beside Alpha. “Gordon, is it? Why don’t we catch up?”