He nearly tears the paper in his hands when Eva mentions Alpha. The grin that had appeared after her horrible joke vanished from sight and Topher tried to casually lean back, but instead of casual he looked as though he was expecting Alpha to suddenly pop out from behind the woman.

"You, um, with... I want to ask why, but I don't want to know. Ever." He bit his lip and tried hard not to think of the deranged man. "Alpha?" He didn't succeed. "I mean, okay, maybe he has a look, but they all have a look only less with the murder and more with the 'I try to be my best.'" He didn't want to think Eva would stoop so low. She was Eva. All poise and good breeding and any moment she would stop with the hard 'R's. She was his Adele, and Adele would never sleep with an Active, especially if that Active was Alpha.