The car ride was quiet. Too quiet.

  Which, of course, meant Raizel lotting something.

  Fraein had been around long enough the warning signs—Raizel, lost in thought, eyes faintly narrowed, fingers zily drumming against his thigh.

  And that was ing.

  Because Raizel's pns?

  Never. Made. Sense.

  At least, not to anyone who wasn't Raizel.

  Fraein g him, suppressing a sigh. He'd known his master for a tury, and something was definitely off.

  The old Raizel had been different. Mysterious, aloof, tent with sipping tea and watg the world from a distance.

  This Raizel?

  Oh, this Raizel had opinions.

  And questions.

  And impulsive tendencies.

  And an arming fondness for sarcasm.

  Holy? Fraein wasn't sure whether to be impressed or deeply ed.

  Then, without warning—

  Raizel spoke.

  "Do you know about the biotech pharmaceutical pany Antigen?"

  Fraein blinked.

  …Well, that was random.

  His mind immediately went on high alert. If Raizel was asking, then that meant—oh no.

  He sighed, already brag himself. "Yes, I am aware," he answered cautiously.

  Raizel hummed. "Who's behind it? Humans?"

  Fraein frowned slightly. "ly."

  Raizel turned his gaze toward him, expet.

  Fraein exhaled. "They're… something else."

  "…Aliens?"

  "What? No."

  "Gover experiments?"

  "No."

  "…Were rats?"

  Fraein gave him a look. "Master, where do you even e up with—never mind. They're lys."

  Raizel leaned back, arms crossed, lips pursed. "Lys, huh?"

  He wasn't sure what he expected, but somehow, third-grade werewolf Big Pharma wasn't it.

  His fiapped against the armrest. "So, a bunch of rown ugly puppies are running a pharmaceutical pany?"

  Fraein pihe bridge of his nose. "It's more plicated than that."

  "Is it, though?" Raizel mused, gaze turning toward the window.

  Because now his brain was going rogue.

  ....

  Raizel exhaled, staring bnkly ahead.

  "Master…" Fraein began warily.

  "I o know more about Antigen," Raizel decred.

  Fraein rubbed his temples. Of course, you do.

  He didn't ask why. He knew better.

  Instead, he just nodded. "I'll look into it."

  Raizel hummed in satisfa before falling silent again, lost in thought.

  Fraein sighed internally.

  He wasn't sure why his master had taken an i in werewolf Big Pharma, but ohing was certain—

  This was going to be a headache.

  The rest of the drive ent in quiet ption.

  And Fraein?

  Fraein was already mentally preparing for whatever ing ahead.

  -----------

  The car ride bae had started out fun.

  Alice was teasing Jasper, Rosalie was rolling her eyes, at was beit—loud, unnecessarily petitive, and somehow managing to make everything sound like a wrestling promo.

  But then—

  Alice froze.

  And that was never a good sign.

  The pyful atmosphere gone faster that's patien a traffic jam.

  Jasper, ever the responsible gentleman (and the only oually ed about safety), immediately pulled the car to the side. His face was etched with , but holy, at this point, everyone was ed.

  Alice's eyes were distant, unfocused.

  Which meant ohing.

  Vision time.

  Rosalie at shared a gnce. Here we go again.

  Jasper, meanwhile, had goo full protective husband mode, ready to catch Alice if she so much as swayed an inch too far to the left.

  "Alice?" he asked gently.

  No response.

  Rosalie frowned. "Should we get the paper and pencil?"

  It was their standard 'Alice Is Seeing Some Ominous Doom Again' protocol.

  But before they could even hand her anything—

  Alice gasped and blinked rapidly, snapping out of it.

  Jasper instantly steadied her. "Hey, hey—it's okay. Breathe."

  Alice did breathe, but no use.

  Her visions were his scattered. his unclear.

  And definitely his terrifying.

  "I'm okay," she muttered, which was a bold-faced lie because she absolutely was not okay.

  Rosalie, who had zero patience fue, cryptisense, crossed her arms. "What did you see? Is there danger?"

  Alice hesitated.

  And that hesitation?

  Yeah, that made it so much worse.

  Jasper could feel the fear rolling off her. It made his own nerves spike, even though he didn't even know what she saw yet.

  Finally, Alice whispered, "A tall figure with red eyes… and a cross-shaped earring."

  Silence.

  A very, very loud silence.

  Rosalie's eyes narrowed. "Who is he?"

  Alice swallowed. "I don't know."

  Which, frankly, was horrifying.

  ------------

  Raizel was bored.

  And that was dangerous.

  A bored Raizel led to impulsive decisions, questionable logid, on ocinor war crimes. Yeah just kidding...

  Wandering aimlessly through the mansion, he had already exhausted his usual distras. Books? B. Tea? Overrated. Randomly floating objects around with telekinesis just to watch them crash? Momentarily amusing, but ultimately unfulfilling.

  And really, how the hell had real Raizel spent millennia like this?

  Raizel sighed, staring dramatically out the window as if waiting for inspiration to strike.

  It didn't.

  Instead, his mind circled back to an earlier thought—The Cullens.

  Yes.

  It was time.

  Time to mess with the sparkly vampires.

  Did he have a reason? No. Did he need one? Also no.

  Was it incredibly rude to just show up at their home, uninvited, without a valid reason for visiting?

  Probably.

  Did he care?

  Absolutely not.

  Personal space? Pfft. What even is that?

  Once upon a time, Jay had been human. He had uood cepts like boundaries and respect for privacy.

  That time had long passed.

  And besides, he wasn't even visiting a human. Teically, this was all fine.

  There was just one problem—he had no idea where they lived.

  Unless…

  Right ohe familiar hum of Fraein's car echoed.

  Perfect.

  Raizel straightened his coat, pausing briefly in front of a mirror.

  Bck attire, elegant presence, a healthy dose of ominous mystery? Check.

  Satisfied, he turned on his heel and desded the stairs, prepared to ask Fraein another favor of the day.

  It was time for Operation: Mess with the Sparkly Vampires.