❝You and I are nothing but wild beasts wearing human skins.❞

☀︎

[A/N: Another loooong chapter; enjoy!]

MIA STIFLED A LAUGH. "So, you two, huh? When did this happen?" Anna asked, while guiding a spoonful of cheesy pasta into her mouth. She waved her spoon in front of Jeremy and Noah's blushing faces and wiggled her eyebrows.

"Okay, please, Ann, can you stop that?" Jeremy pointed at her eyebrows. "It's giving me the creeps."

"What?" Anna lightly touched her eyebrows. She didn't really have the time to prime herself. It mostly never crossed her mind unless it was for a mission. "They aren't that scary, okay," she huffed.

Harry entered the store room, crossed her end of the table and pulled up a crate opposite Anna. He sat at the head, flanking Mark and Mia on his right and left. He pushed his foot up one of the legs of the table, his hands resting lazily by his side.

"One rule. I had one rule, guys." Harry sighed dramatically and reached out to grab the bowl of pasta in the centre of the table. He dished out a small amount on a plate and raised a perfect eyebrow at Noah, waiting for an answer.

"You had a shitload of rules, Harry," Noah said, his voice gently fading away. "Maybe you can bend one?"

Harry exhaled loudly, his eyes wandering everywhere else but at the people in front of him. He knew it was unfair to set such a rule but it was in their best interests. Getting attached and falling for someone is a weakness. And if that made him broken and dumb, he was willing to take it.

"Noah, I can bend rules. They weren't even supposed to be there. But you know why I had to do it. I cannot afford emotions between us. It makes us weak in our line of work." Harry glared at everyone in front of him. "You all should know that."

Noah scrutinised his entangled hands, palms sweaty and the lines creased. He heaved a long sigh and said, treading very lightly, "Harry, I get it. I've been in this business since I was a kid. It wasn't the life I chose for myself but it is my reality now.

I've always been on the move. I've always had company wherever I went. But here, with all of you, I felt like I belonged. I'm not saying I already love Jeremy but I'd like to see where this goes." Noah let go of his own palm and held Jeremy's shaking hand instead.

"I cannot tell you what to do, Harry. Neither can I tell you why what you think is absolutely wrong. But I can tell you this. Love does not make us weak. If anything, it makes us stronger than ourselves. And I think you should know that." Noah gently squeezed Jeremy's hand and a collective 'aww' from Mia, Mark, and Anna sounded over the table.

Harry leaned further back in his chair, his golden eyes sharp and calculating. Mia reached out to Harry, catching hold of his shoulder. "Let them be. It doesn't involve you or our work. The moment they fuck up, I'll give them an earful of my choicest words. But for now, Harry, love is love. Period."

Jeremy smiled broadly, his dark face suddenly lighting up as if it were lit with a thousand lanterns. His dark blue eyes caught Mia's rosewood ones and silently thanked her for the back up. Mia smiled back at him, a tenderness in her face.

Anna coughed quietly, bringing the attention back to the present. "That's why the extra attention to his subway?"

Noah grinned, as did Jeremy who blushed a fierce red. "Precisely." The whole crew burst out laughing, including Harry.

"Fine. But one wrong step and I'll have your head," Harry said, the cat-like gleam in his eyes back again. "I swear, you guys are like the Magnus and Alec of the group."

At that, Anna's head shot up, her spoon of pasta clattering on her plate. "What?" Harry asked, throwing his head back slightly for effect.

"You-you have read The Shadowhunters?" Anna's eyes bore astonishment and wonder and Harry couldn't help but crack a small smile at her excited face.

"I am not so out of the loop, am I, Mark?" Harry cocked an eyebrow at Mark who nodded his head.

"If you call binge watching the series last night just because you were bored, "not out of the loop", then you are absolutely correct." Mia snorted and Jeremy spit out his water, coughing horribly.

Anna shook her head at Harry and decided to let it go. "I knew there was something wrong with you suddenly quoting a creation of art."

"Go easy on him, Anna. Maybe he just wanted to appear smarter for you," Mia slyly interjected, leaving Anna flustered and pink.

"Woah, shit just took a turn. Harry, one rule, you had one rule," Jeremy mimicked him, pushing his huge, round glasses further up his nose.

At that, the whole table broke into conversation. Jabs at Harry, remarks at Anna, the training fiasco, the new Alec and Magnus, and the upcoming heist were all thrown into the mix. In between all the laughs and chuckles, Harry found himself catching Anna's eyes one too many times.

Finally, he got up from his crate, amidst all the fun and laughter and made his way towards Anna. "Want to catch some air?" Harry asked, pointing his head in the direction of the door. "We could talk-?" He trailed away.

Despite her brain screaming at her to stay in, where her senses worked perfectly fine, Anna found herself nodding. Before she could stop the words, she blurted out, "Sure."

Mark hollered disturbingly which left Mia in splits and the other guys chuckling. Making a face at Mark, they walked out of the room together, maintaining a glaring amount of space between them. Although Anna despised it, she had no choice but to do what's right and stayed comfortably away from Harry.

The minute they stepped out of the room, Anna felt calmer without the jabs being thrown at them. It made her feelings seem valid and true when all she had ever wanted was a future with someone like her. Someone who would understand her. Someone like Zach, if she dare say so.

Harry slipped his hand into Anna's freezing palm and pulled her ahead. She ran a little to keep with his long strides. As they passed the iron doors of the warehouse, leading to the garden, Harry turned away and led her into the surveillance room.

Anna frowned. This wasn't the door that led to the back. Harry pulled Anna further towards a bare wall and all Anna thought of at the moment was how they were going to barge into it. And probably die while they were at it.

"Harry, you are a Roberts, not a Potter. What the hell-?" Anna winced as Harry picked up speed and pushed against the heavy and dry wall. Surprisingly, the wall swung inside and they fell in, the wall revolving back to its original position.

"What the absolute fuck?" Anna gawked at the room in front of her. A lavish red carpet laid out in front of her, all over the place. A fire burnt in the mahogany fireplace in the far corner. All the walls around her were lined with books, old and new. Cozy armchairs dotted about the whole area, with small tables in front of them.

A long study desk rested on her right and over it was strapped the kind of technology back at the headquarters. Computers, monitors, modems, trackers, phones, and drives lay on the surface, all of them blinking and blue. This corner of the room was a far cry from the one which spread out in front of her and Anna could only stare, confused beyond hope.

"Who else knows about this?" Anna asked, her brows furrowing further together.

"Just Mark. And us."

"What is all this?" Anna asked again, her throat going dry. If he had access to more technology than the screens and console she had seen in the other room, he was more dangerous than she could imagine.

One of the computers glared a harsh blue and on focusing her eyes, Anna saw the government logo on it. With that, he could track her, anywhere she went.

Hell, if he could hack into the government's database, he would get a hold of her records in a matter of seconds and there would be no one to help her. And, of course, Zach and Tia would be in grave danger too. If he knew about her, he would know about them. She wasn't going to have them killed, much less for her sake.

But as astounding as it may sound, Harry betrayed no such emotion. Instead he nudged Anna along to the computer and gestured that she sit down. Gulping back a frightened sigh, Anna did as she was told to do. She sat down gingerly, waiting for him to say something.

Harry ran a hand through his perfectly tousled hair and exhaled deeply. "You are not going to like this, Anna," he said, something edgy in his tone. "Switch the tab. You'll see."

Anna switched the tabs swiftly and found herself staring at a surveillance picture of a man who looked just like Harry. The same angled jaw, the pointed nose, the high cheekbones. Only his face slanted a bit from heaviness or tiredness, she didn't know. It looked as if she were face to face with an older Harry.

The man was walking in the picture. His head was raised, a large trench coat hiding his whole frame from view. Anyone who wouldn't glance a second time, would never suspect anything. He blended in perfectly with the rich Ostraria crowd.

But his steel grey eyes. They gave him away. She knew this man. She'd seen him before. She just couldn't remember where.

She sucked in a breath. "Is this-?"

"Yes. This is my father." Harry growled a little, the anger rolling off of him. His eyes had turned into thin slits and his breathing was heavy. The sudden change in his overtly comfortable mood warranted no further explanation from Anna.

"Wasn't he supposed to be-?"

"Dead."

"Then how-" Anna looked at Harry, exasperated. This was all too much information for her.

It all fits in, Anna thought, the realization slowly dawning upon her. In the short time Anna had known him, Harry had never once taken kindly to breaking his rules. "This is why you went so easy on Jeremy and Noah, didn't you?"

Harry kept staring at his father's picture. "Yes and no. They are no threat to the job anyway. I trust them enough to know that they will not jeopardize our work. But right now, we've got bigger fish to fry."

━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━