Taking a few more sips of the tea, Bri stretched out slightly to place the cup on the counter. Before turning to leave, she stared hard into her friend's eyes and silently told her to be ready to make a move when she saw an opening. "Thanks for the drink," she purred. "Now big boy, let's me and you go to the back and have us some bad fun," she winked.

Cavin's face was still filled with the normal dazed, love-struck expression her powers called forth from her victims. "Yeah…Yeah," he repeated eagerly. Taking her hand, he turned on his heel and began to very quickly lead her away. She shot the man who'd hardly said anything a smoldering glance, letting him know she liked the look of him as well. He flashed a little smirk but didn't say a word as she passed him by.

Down the narrow hallway she followed Cavin, who went to the furthest door in the back and opened it. Bri stepped inside and he was half a second behind her. Before the door was completely shut, he was wrapping an arm around her and pulling her back against his chest. He lowered his lips down to the back of her neck, her shoulder, shoving off the right spaghetti strap to get to more of her skin.

Turning slightly, Bri saw that the door was closed. Reaching up, twisting a little more, she cupped his face in her hands. "Stop." A look of heartbroken confusion and horror flashed over his face, but he did what she told him to, his arms sliding heavily back down to his sides. She quickly reached past him to lock the door. Once she had, she returned her attention to him. "Alright, go sit on the edge of the bed and rock it back and forth, until I tell you to stop. That way they think we're actually getting it on."

He let out a pained whimper, but he did as she said. Sitting down at the foot of the bed, he began to rock back and forth, using his feet, legs, and strength in general to make it hit the headboard. He did it really hard a few times and she glowered, moving to sit down on the middle of the bed. "Not so hard starting out, you idiot! Do you honestly not know how to have good sex? If it's bad as your kissing skills, I pity any woman you've been with," she shook her head sadly. "I guess I'm going to have to teach you, which is just pathetic, honestly. Too bad you won't live to put my lessons into practice…Rock it slow and steady, gently, for about a minute. Count the seconds in your head. One thrust after every seven seconds, got that? Once a minute has gone by, you can speed it up a little; one thrust every five seconds, harder, for another minute. After that, take it back down to the first setting, build the orgasm up. Let that last for a minute and a half before you speed it up a little more. At the third setting, you're going to raise it up to a thrust per three seconds and bring them hard and fast for thirty seconds. Now, give me a good groan of pleasure if you understand."

Face twisted in desperate pleasure and longing, Cavin let out a long groan of pleasure, eyes fluttering close. Once he'd opened his eyes again, he looked nearly ready to cry, glaring at her. Bri simply leaned back against the door and crossed her arms over her chest. "Add an extra minute to account for foreplay and that is the perfect fast and impersonal five minute-long sex combination you can get, kid. Make sure you make those happy, pleased moans of pleasure. Make them believe you're really enjoying yourself, kid."

His eyes were beginning to fade, the anger dulling, as he rocked the bed according to her instructions. While he did, Bri timed moans herself, staring down at her fingernails in boredom. Hmm…I think I need to get a manicure soon.

Her eyes narrowed as Cavin reached the last stage. "Give a good last little cry when you end it." She waited until he was ten seconds away from his own 'release' before crying out herself. He gave a nice shout himself and she tossed him a quick, approving smile. Kicking up off the door, she walked over to him, glancing around. She'd gotten lucky with this room. There was a small half bathroom in it, with just a toilet and sink. But the was sink deep enough for her needs, so it was perfect.

Raising a hand, she pointed a finger towards the bathroom door. "Go," she ordered. His jaw clenched, trying to fight her control, but he wasn't strong enough. Then again, Bri had never met anyone who could completely resist her abilities. Given no choice, he rose to his feet and she followed him into the bathroom. Once there, she pointed to the sink. "Fill it with water."

The love-struck haze started to waver a little as his conscious mind must have realized what she was about to do. But he'd realized too late, as she was quickly giving her final order.

"Lean over the sink, brace your hands against it, stick your head in, and don't allow yourself to get up. You can't resist, you can't raise you head. You will drown yourself and keep your entire face submerged until you no longer breathe and die."

He let out a tiny gasped whimper before doing as she said.

Bri watched, no compassion in her face or eyes as Cavin killed himself, technically. She didn't touch anything in the bathroom, just like she hadn't touched anything in the bedroom. Unlike what would normally happen, Cavin didn't use his braced hands to each side of the sink to push himself up. Instead, fingers curling tightly around the porcelain, he used his hold to keep his head down, fighting against his body's survival instincts.

It took him five minutes for his grip to go slack. Moving forward cautiously, Bri wrapped her hand up in the edge of her tank top and used it to cover her fingers. Stretching them out, she felt for his pulse at his neck, making sure her fingerprints wouldn't be left. Leaving her fingers there for half a minute, just to be safe, she didn't feel a pulse at all.

"That's one down then," she sighed, stepping back. Shaking her head, she cracked her neck which was aching a little. "Now to kill the other two. But how to do it?" she murmured to herself, trying to think.

Coming up with an idea she hoped would actually work, Bri very quickly reached up to mess with her hair. Awkwardly leaning over Cavin's dead body, she checked herself out in the mirror. Her tight tank top helped with appearances, but she twisted it in a few spots to make it seem liked she'd just thrown it on carelessly after sex. She half jerked up the left side, as well as the back, as if she hadn't pulled it down all the way. Glancing down at her shorts, she lamented that they weren't booty shorts in that second…but they'd have to do. She couldn't do a whole lot with them, but she did jerk them down to ride a bit lower on her hips. Thinking about it after a second, she adjusted them and her thong so that the top of her thong was showing. Yep, now I look like a classless slut. Good going me, she snorted sarcastically. Shaking out her hair, running her fingers through it to scrunch it up some more and give it that full body, tussled look, she let out a long sigh.

Moving through the bathroom and bedroom, she stepped out into the hallway. Closing the door behind her, she let her movements become sultry and full of invitation. Out in the open living room, she saw the guy she'd tried to tempt glance at her in question. "He's going to be sleeping for awhile…I think I wore him out so bad I stopped his poor little heart for a few seconds," she smiled in confidence.

The man's dark gaze filled with a little more interest, but the older man's voice cut through. "Well, now that you've had your fun, you should be leaving…Kali, was it?"

Bri pushed her lip in a little pout, pushing her hip out and up slightly, hand on her hip. She used her motion to subtly push the top of her shorts down just a little more, purposefully showing off extra skin. She could feel the younger guy of the two's gaze stuck on the skin she was showing off. The man wasn't even trying to be subtle…"Aw, do I really have to leave so soon?" she pouted. "Why can't I stay and…have some fun with you both?"

Not even glancing her way, she could feelthe older man dismissing her with just his voice. "I only have eyes for my wife."

"…Nick, why not let her stay? That way I can get some of this energy out. You don't want me to bother you tonight, right?" The younger man murmured, licking his lips.

Nick turned his head slightly to glare at Darvey. Eyes narrowing in annoyance, he stared at his brother for a long moment. Why not let the slut have her fun? At least with Darvey and Cavin satisfied, they'll be a hell of lot less likely to try and mess with me just to get a rise out of me…"Fine," he growled. "But I'm very serious, Kali. I want you gone as soon as your business is finished. Is that clear?"

"Perfectly, boss man," Bri purred, fighting down the urge to flip off his back.

Darvey shot to his feet, a wide grin on his face. He moved around the chair and toward Bri, letting his hands rest on her hips. She smiled up at him, biting her bottom lip with her teeth, letting excited heat fill her eyes. He answered by lowering his head down to kiss her, backing her up into the hallway once more. Once there, he kicked open a room, one that was barren of any furniture, except for a few small, thin blankets here and there.

Door closed, he twisted Bri around sharply, until she was slammed against the wall right next to the door. "I bet Cavin failed to show you a good time, huh?" he asked as he ran his tongue over the skin of her throat.

She let out a sultry little laugh. "Oh, he started to figure it out by the end," she admitted. Grabbing hold of his head, she pressed her lips against his ear, kissing it just slightly. "Let me go, you piece of shit."

He blinked, stepping back and doing so. His dark eyes stared at her confusion. Shaking out her hair, she brushed at invisible lint along her shoulders, shirt, and shorts. "Geez, all you men pawing at me today is getting over-the-top ridiculous? Honestly, have none of you heard about taking a woman out for dinner and a movie before sticking your tongue down her throat? Sure, I may not look it in this outfit, but I do have some restraint and class, honey."

He let out a tiny whimper, his eyes wide in a daze as he tried to fight against the overwhelming rush of obsession he felt just staring at her. He needed to wake up, he needed to get out there and warn Nick…He needed to break this witch's hold on his mind and body!

"See, now you're just being difficult, trying to fight me like this," she tsked, shaking her head. "You may not make any noise." Half-crouching, she found the handle of her hidden thin blade from out of her boots. Grabbing hold of it, she shot the man a sad smile. "You see, if you weren't as awful as you are, you could have lived a longer life. But your first and last mistake was that you messed with my best friend. I've got no qualms against massacring you or your entire family over that, which is what I'm doing now. Cavin's not sleeping, he's dead," she told him.

A flash of fear and shock entered his eyes, but it didn't last very long, replaced by the happy little smile. Stepping closer, she took the knife and very quickly, deeply, cut open his neck from ear-to-ear. The blood came rushing out and Darvey couldn't even make a sound of terror and pain, as she'd ordered him not to.

Blinking, wiping at the blood on her face, she sighed. "Damn, now I've gone and ruined my fucking hair!" she muttered in outrage. Kicking out at Darvey's limp body that had fallen to the floor, she groaned. "Do you have idea how hard it is to get blood out of hair?" she demanded of him, even though she honestly knew he couldn't answer. Sighing, she wiped his blood off of the knife with his shirt, as well as what blood that had splattered on her face. If nothing else, she could get that off. Though her tank top was ruined and she was going to need one hell of a shower later.

Done getting as much of the blood as she could off, she let out a long exhale. "So…two done, one last bastard to kill," she tried to encourage herself. Even so, there was something about this Nick guy that just….bothered her, completely. Something that unsettled her and made her stomach feel nauseous.

Shaking her head, she left the room slowly, cautiously eyeing to see if Nick was still in his chair. He was, his attention still on the TV screen. To his left were the two boys, their eyes slowly widening in fear as they saw the flecks of blood staining her hair. Bri raised her finger up to her lips, looking them in the eyes, to let them know to stay quiet. Sucking in a deep breath, she started to move very quietly towards the back of Nick's chair.

Each step was the beat of her frantic heart. Her palms were beginning to sweat and she told herself to get a grip. It wasn't like she hadn't gone after bigger men than this guy before. It wasn't like she hadn't fought off more than three men before…But gods above; she'd never had four possible hostages to deal with before.

Gulping, Bri sternly told herself to stop being a pussy! She had a task to do and a score to settle with this bastard. From what Andre had told her in the car over the past four days with them hunting down, this guy was the ringleader…

She was two feet away from Nick…Two feet away from taking her blade and stabbing it into the side of his neck…

A tiny gasp came from Bri's left. Turning her head, she saw that the young girl who'd been in the kitchen with Willow had come around the corner, carrying another can of beer. The girl's eyes were wide, her hand holding the can shaking horribly…

It was all the warning Nick needed.

Before Bri could blink, the man was up on his feet, spinning in his chair to face her. His dark eyes narrowed as they took in the sight of the knife in her right hand and all the blood covering her. "Just who are you?" he growled.

Thinking fast, Bri moved the knife into a defensive position, shifting her stance.

Shit! I was so damn close to it too!

"I'm the person who's going to end your miserable existence, bastard," she taunted. "Stand there and don't try and fight me," she ordered firmly.

Nick's eyes glittered in confusion for half a second before they blew up into rage. "What's that suppose to be? Some sort of magic spell I have to listen to? Women, you're all the same. No, little girl, I'm going to come over there and strangle the life out of you," he told her calmly.

Bri's eyes went round in fear and confusion as he began to move around the armchair.

Wait! He can move?! That's impossible! My powers always work!

She started to lock up, her body started to try and back up, to give ground.

No! I can take this guy! she reassured herself. I have no reason to be afraid.

When he got within distance, she struck out lightning-quick with the blade. Instead of crying out in pain as a line of blood appeared at his stomach, he just chuckled darkly. "Oh, you're going to pay for that, little girl," he assured her. He reached out, going for her throat.

Ducking, Bri kicked out at his legs, trying to get him to loose his balance. At the same time, she cut at his left leg as well, slicing right above the knee. It was deep, but it was something.

From above, she heard a low grunt, followed by another sneering laugh. "Not very good at this, are you?" His left leg stayed firmly in place and he lifted his right foot up, readying it. Faster than Bri would have expected him to be able to move, his foot was coming forward and connecting with her arm.

Crying out in pain, the knife went flying out of her hand. She fought off the instinctive reaction to cradle her arm. Instead, she spun, striking out with her elbow and uninjured hand, palm open, fingers curled in tight at the top.

That actually did some damage, as he was pushed back and he almost stumbled. But he was quicker to recover than Bri would have preferred. All the while, a taunting sneer, a mad light in his eyes, a darkness of the mind filled his face. He dropped to his knees, until the two of them were eye-level and Bri got a full look at his face.

"You know…" he mused thoughtfully, reaching out and grabbing hold of her throat. "It's such a pity you have to die. You're quite the beautiful woman. But I can't allow one like you to live, especially after you destroyed my family. You're ruined all the efforts I've put into ensuring that the Way would continue on strongly…"

As he spoke, his hands were squeezing tighter and tighter. Bri gasped, trying to kick out and make him loosen his hold…But he stopped her by moving closer, forcing her onto her back on the living room floor, and straddling her stomach. Sitting on her like that, she could feel her death approaching much quicker. Her diaphragm being crushed under his weight forced more of the air she'd had built up out of her nose painfully.

He chuckled, licking his lips. "I love the sight of a woman's face when she's knows she's going to die," he groaned in delight.

Weakly now, Bri reached up to claw at his arms and hand. She knew it was futile, but she couldn't help but fight for her life.

Oh gods…Andre was right. I'm so stupid…

"You'll never kill another person every again, Nick!"

The voice was weak, but even so, it was filled with a vehement passion. Bri blinked, trying to focus past the blackening of her vision as Nick's hands quickly brought an end to her life. Behind Nick, she could make out the silhouette of someone…

Nick's eyes bugged out in pain, his hold loosening. "…W-wha…M-Melody? B-baby…what are yo-?"

Willow brought down the knife once again, harder, stabbing it into the back of his upper right shoulder. He hissed in pain, trying to twist his body to reach for her.

A sudden burst of adrenaline gave Bri the strength to move. Reaching out, she wrapped her legs around his body, her arms gripping hold of his upper arms. "I don't think so, bastard," she growled wearily. "You won't get to face your maker, but I'm sure the bitch will be glad to see you in Hell."

Struggling to fight off the weakness of the metal at her neck and arms, Willow brought the large kitchen knife down again, this time in his lower side. "I'm…going…make sure…No more!" she panted, stabbing him harder and faster.

Her rage lent her both the strength to keep raising the knife and the will to bring it back down. "I…am not…Melody!" she hissed, going for his upper back this time.

"…W-Willow…he's dead," Bri whispered, unwrapping her legs from around the corpse.

The door burst open, four men coming inside. The four men came to an abrupt stop, blinking as they took in the sight. Bri was flat on her back, a large man on top of her. Behind them was Willow, hands wrapped tightly around a butcher knife. She was shouting, the knife slick and covered in blood. The man's back was also covered in a multitude of knife wounds and Bri's face, clothes, and hair were also slick and matted with blood.

Felix very subtly raised a hand to cover his mouth and nose. He made it seem like he was just in shock, but in reality, the smell of so much blood and fear was nearly overwhelming to his sensitive nose. To his left, Bren moved a few inches closer, reaching out to place a hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"I am not your wife!" Willow shouted, her voice a little stronger now. She heard Bri's words, but they didn't completely register. She heard the noise of the new people, but they didn't register either. She was too far gone in her rage. Each sentence was another stab in his back. Each sentence was proof that her words were the truth in her mind.

"I'm not your little girl! I'm not your woman! I never loved you, Nick, and I never will! I've wanted to do this ever since you raped me as a little girl, you fucking bastard!" she shrieked. "How does it feel now, you monster?! How does it feel to know you're helpless and you'll never be able to hurt me again?!"

Aiden's entire being was starting to get hazy, the air around him alternating between heating up and freezing back again. His jaw tightened as he inadvertently learned, at least partly, some of the secrets Willow had been keeping so closely hidden.

"It bet it feels good!" Willow began to sob, the knife's force lessening as the adrenaline spike her rage had given her began to quickly wear off. "Damn you, my name never was Melody…My name is Willow, Nick. I have…I have nothing from you…e-except…"

"Mom!" Marcus finally got enough of a grip on his self to rush forward from the couch.

Malik was a few seconds behind him, the two nearly in sync. Over the past few days, Marcus had explained in secret what he'd learned through his visions of the past. Added to Willow's explanation after the three of them had woken up in that bare room together, Malik couldn't deny it.

Somehow, he was going to have to accept that this broken woman was his birth mother, as well as Marcus'. Somehow, he was going to have to accept that everything he thought he knew about his parents had been a lie.

But, even worse in this moment, was the terror that Willow might die before he got a chance to try and know her. Marcus echoed his thoughts as well, the two in sync with their terror over the woman who'd fought off the Devil Himself in order to try and keep them safe. "H-hey," he breathed out, scared. "M-Mom…don't…you can't…" he swallowed tightly, fear flaming in his belly.

Letting out a low breath of shock as all the thoughts of everyone in the room were being broadcasted loudly into his own mind, Andre reached up to grip the side of his head. "Holy fuck…"

The twins reached Willow's side as she started to crumple to the ground. She was so pale…Gods, she looked like she was two seconds away from death.

Still by the front door, Aiden let out a shaky breath. He could feel the link between himself and Willow growing weaker. With it, he could feel his own life beginning to dim out along with hers. "…Shit!" he breathed.

Bren lowered his hand from Felix, glancing up at the younger man's dark blue eyes. "Look after your brother, please," he instructed. In his right hand, he was carrying an emergency care kit. Starting forward, he moved to Willow's side. Behind him, Andre quickly shut the front door, blocking anyone's view from outside of the events taking place here.

Felix slowly stepped closer to Aiden, reaching out to pat his brother's shoulder. He hated it, honestly, but even he knew it was greatly needed. Aiden's entire face was pale with terror and pain, along with some remains of rage. He hadn't bothered to put on contacts when they'd jumped through the Gate and his turquoise eyes were almost swirling with all the emotions he was feeling. "Don't worry, Big Bro. Willow's a strong lady. She'll be just fine," Felix mumbled.

Glancing over to his left, he took in the only man he wasn't familiar with. Black, tall, handsome, with short-cropped hair…Wait, was that Andrew?!

"I didn't catch your name," he muttered darkly, eyes narrowing in disbelief and confusion. "Why are you here?"

Andre glanced up, eyes clashing with Felix's. His eyes went round in shock, mouth opening in a mixture of horror and confusion. "How can you…?"

Felix's eyes began to harden in suspicion, black starting to lick at the edges of the dark blue. "How can I what?" he ground out tightly.

"…I'm Bri's ex-fiancé," Andre quickly dropped the subject. "Andrew was my long-lost twin brother."

The black hadn't quite left Felix's eyes, but at least there wasn't quite as much anymore of it. "Bri's fiancé?" he repeated in shock. "…The hell are you here for then? Trying to make it a think once again?"

Andre shot him a glare but remained silent. Aiden didn't even hear their words, his gaze latched onto Willow and unable to move away.

Bri struggled to get Nick's dead, bloody, and horrible corpse off her. Bren quickly, almost distractedly, helped her. The giant knelt down beside Willow, dropped a metal case on the ground, and reached out. With little effort, he shoved the dead man's body to the side.

Bri let out a few gasping breaths, tossing the other men by the door a shaky smile. "See, Andre? I told you I'd make you eat your words."

"…I'll make sure to do so, later," Andre promised around a worried frown. "I'll stand by my words earlier and say you were still being stupid."

Bri smiled faintly, nodding. "You know what, I think you're right…But us girls handled this all by ourselves. We didn't need any men to help us," she said firmly.

Felix's eyes darkened to black completely and he started to open his mouth, an odd light in his eyes. Andre reached out, very quickly, and grabbed hold of the other man's arm.

With just that touch, Andre learned more about the man then he'd ever wanted to. He knew…Gods…

He knew everything.

It took him half a second to process all the information he'd learn and to decide to stay quiet and pretend he knew nothing…

The mess that was Felix Frost was none of his business and he knew he shouldn't allow himself to get caught up in it. Not with a man who was as broken as this…No, he'd keep silent and make sure that the all the secrets Felix wished to keep weren't revealed from his mouth.

"Felix, you need to back down, right now," he whispered to the other man. "Take in a few deep breaths and calm down." Andre swallowed, sensing the memories swirling around in Felix's mind still, as well as the man's thoughts. He winced, his head hurting with the force of Felix's mental voice. "Seriously, I understand how you feel right now. But do you really want…Think about what you're doing right now." He quickly corrected himself, but still…

Thank the gods Aiden's too far gone in his own terror over Willowto notice what's going on with Felix.

Sensing that this Andre guy knew more than was good for him, Felix's lips lifted into a silent snarl. "It's not so very nice to meet you, Andre."

"…Yeah, I feel the same," Andre muttered right back. "Now, will you calm down so that I can let go of you?"

"…Fine," Felix growled. "Don't think were friends from this though. I'd snap you in half with little effort for trying to hold me back…" he warned.

"Yes…I'm very aware of what you can do when you're mad, Felix," Andre agreed. The thought of his wife and daughter suddenly popped into his mind as he lowered his hand from Felix's arms. Gods, just get me out of here and I'll be just fine. Please, just…let me see my family again.

"You shouldn't know that though," Felix mused, eyes suddenly turning completely black as they narrowed. "…How do you know that?"

Bren reached out and tried to get a read on Willow's pulse through the metal around her. But just touching it was making him feel sick. Shuddering, he glanced around. Eyes landing on Felix, seeing the young man's black eyes, he cursed internally. Couldn't he leave the fool alone for five minutes?

"Felix!" he snapped. "Get your ass over here! I need Superman right now…Aiden's a little preoccupied, so you'll have to do. Andre, please ensure that Aiden stays in place and mostly calm."

Andre blinked, reading Bren's mind. How does he know-?

Prophecy's quite the little trouble maker, Bren laughed tiredly internally. So, going off what she told me about you, I knew who you were. I also know what you can do…Let me tell you, kindly, Andre Yale. If you ever reveal any of the information you've learned today through your abilities to anyone without either my or Felix's consent, I will make sure to hunt you down and destroy you.

Andre swallowed, nodding his head tightly. "I see that you are a very…v-very loyal servant of the Frost household," he said aloud vaguely.

Yes, I am. That's all I'm going to say to you. You better pray you're good at keeping secrets.

"Oh, I find I'm pretty talented at such pastimes," Andre answered tightly.

Good.

Felix knelt down, glancing at the boys. "Who the hell are you two?" he grumped.

"Malik and Marcus Welson," Malik answered quickly, automatically. "W-Willow is…" he swallowed.

"Mom, you can't die, do you hear me?" Marcus reached out to take her left hand tightly, terrified. "I just found you and…"

"…Isn't this just a perfect mess?" Felix observed tiredly, eyes still black. Lifting his gaze to Bren's, he glared. "You do realize what this means, right? Now you've given me more work I will have to deal with. How can you be so cruel, Bren? I thought we were friends…" he sighed.

"Drama Queen tryouts can wait until later," Bren insisted. "Just…get this awful stuff off Willow before it kills her."

"Well, we can't have that, can we? It would be really bad if my big sis-in-law were to die before she even found out that she's my sis..." He chuckled, eyes returning to their dark blue in a flash. With no effort at all, he reached out and crushed the metal, bending it easily in his grip. With just a little pressure, the metal snapped completely and broke in his hands.

The twin's eyes both went round it horror. "Holy…" they both breathed out in the same moment.

Felix chuckled. "How do you like that, M&M twins?" he asked smugly.

Malik frowned, blinking up at the man. "What…? M&M?" he repeated.

"Yeah, cause of Malik and Marcus. You two are twins, right? So, there you go, M&M." Felix explained himself as he quickly took care of Willow's left wrist band. He was a little more careful with the one around her neck though, slowing down the amount of strength he used in order to make sure he didn't splinter the metal into her neck.

"…Felix, right?" Malik asked as he watched the man work tensely. "Guess whose new name is Feline?" he chuckled tightly.

"I am not a cat," Felix muttered as he pulled off the choker.

"…No, I think it fits," Bren observed. "You're certainly ornery enough, just like one."

"Mom!" Marcus breathed in relief as he threw his arms around Willow.

Malik blinked, remembering. He'd partly being trying to forget, but…

Reaching out, he wrapped his arms around her as well, half-hugging his twin in the process. "You're safe now," he told her firmly.

"Um…boys, I sort of need to check Willow," Bren cleared his throat.

"Eh, she's fine," Felix whispered into the older man's ear. "She's weak, but her heart rate's pretty steady. Her blood pressure is a little low, but that's to be expected. She just needs lots of rest, some good food, and fluids. She's got a few bruises, but no broken bones," he continued. "Bri, on the other hand, needs your attention.

Bren raised a brow but nodded his head. "…Alright then," he murmured as he moved to Bri's side.

For her part, she was staring at the two teenagers, eyes wide. "Wait…Willow's got twin boys? H-how are they so old…? What's going on here?" she mumbled in tired confusion.

Bren patted her arm. "Don't you worry, everything will be fine now. The cavalry has arrived, though it seems we were a little late for the party."

Willow groaned in pain, growing a little more aware of the world around her. She'd half-passed out earlier, too tired to keep remaining awake. "Boys? W-where's Bri? B-Bella, sweetie?"

Felix blinked, raising his head as he finally caught sight of the other person's scent he'd been getting traces off all throughout the living room. From around the far corner of the living room, a young girl's head was peeking out, her hazel eyes wide in terror. "Hello there," he greeted her gently.

Bella stared into the man's black eyes for a few seconds. Slowly, she moved a little closer from around the corner. "H-hi," she whispered.

"You're name is Bella?" he asked softly. "It's such a pretty name," he smiled.

"…Bella, sweetie, this is Felix. He's a friend of mine…its okay to come a little closer, if you'd like. I promise, none of these men will harm you," Willow murmured softly.

Hesitantly, Bella started to. Her hands were shaking behind her back. "I-I'm s-s-s-sorry," she choked. "I didn't mean to…I made Nick find out," she reached up to wipe at her eyes as tears began to fall.

"Its fine, sweetie," Willow breathed out, holding the boys closer to her unconsciously.

"Girlie…" Bri sucked in a deep breath, eyeing Willow. "I just want you to know right now," she continued as Willow turned her head to look at her friend. "I don't know when or to who you're going to get married to…But whenever it is, this is my wedding present to you," Bri insisted firmly.

Felix and Bren both tensed slightly, but Willow just laughed shakily, unaware. "Bri, it's the best wedding present anyone could ever give me."

"…I will also be sending you a bill for my hair salon. It's going to take me ages to get this blood out," Bri sighed in sorrow. "I just got it done last week too," she muttered.

"Bri…thank you," Willow whispered, staring into her friend's eyes as she clutched her boys close. "Thank you for coming to save me."

Bri smiled brightly. "Think nothing of it, girl. This is what we do for our best friends."

"This is what we do for our sisters," Willow agreed, her expression hardening. "If you ever need anything all you have to do is say the word," she promised tightly.

Bri shrugged. "Willow, this is an average Wednesday for me. Kicking ass and taking names is just what I do," she reached up to flip her hair over her shoulder with her free hand as Bren inspected her other.

"Bad-ass Bitch Bri," Felix smirked. "Damn, that's hot!"

Bri narrowed her eyes, glaring at him. "Shut your mouth, slut."

His grin grew more, but he remained silent, dark blue eyes dancing.

Willow let out a long sigh as Bella knelt on the floor close to her. All the kid were crowding toward the mother-figure in the room, seeking comfort and reassurance that everything was going to be okay. Blinking, Willow slowly lifted her gaze up. She caught sight of Aiden's tall form close to the entrance, his turquoise eyes latched onto her. Every few seconds, his eyes would start to shift out towards an odd purple color, but his jaw kept flexing in an attempt to remain in control.

Staring up at him, something in Willow began to crack, just a little. Tears spilled past her eyes, though she didn't make a sound. Her heart silently called out to him.

Unable and unwilling to fight the call, Aiden stepped forward.

He was fighting to remain sane…

Gods, seeing how pale Willow was…

Hearing the things she'd screamed as she killed that man…

Aiden had no idea what to think in right now.

But he did know that she needed comfort, and, amazingly, she was seeking it from him. Sure, she had no idea what she was doing…but she was still doing it.

Lowering to his knees, he pulled her into his arms, cradling her against him. The two boys and Bella all had to quickly release Willow, staring at the two with wide eyes. In a single instant, her tears came forth and she began to sob against his chest. Aiden held her close, feeling her residue terror, worry, and sorrow.

"Everything's fine, love," he murmured into her curls. "Everything's fine now that I've found you…"

Felix leaned back, rocking on his haunches, trying to put space between himself and the couple. Rising to his feet, he glanced down at the kids. Waving his hand in a motion to let them know to follow him, he led the way to the couch. The kids all followed, though they seemed a bit uncertain. Andre moved to join them, smiling in reassurance at the kids.

Bri felt her face fill with a small blush. Seeing Aiden's face, feeling the emotions he was broadcasting so loudly that she didn't even have to have her magic senses activated…

"Things can only get better from here," Bren whispered softly, so that only Bri could here. "I'm glad you're safe as well…" He let out a long breath, smiling softly at her as he began to bandage up her wrist. It wasn't too badly injured, but he was playing it safe…just to be sure.

Bri glanced over at him, studying his face. "You know…you're a little crazy, but so is the rest of this bunch of characters," she murmured. "Even so…you're a really sweet guy, Bren," she smiled at him.

He nodded his head. "Yep. I have to be a little crazy in order to survive with the Frosts," he observed. "Otherwise, I'd have just left a long time ago…But, their problems and all, this family means more to me than I'd like to admit, even to myself. So, here I am…Do you think I should count you as among them?" he asked softly.

Bri let out a snort of laughter. "What? Oh, no, not at all. I'm a Hymn and I plan to be for the rest of my life."

"I was meaning more as Willow's sister," he explained.

Lips lifting into a shaky smile, Bri shook her head. "Even still, I'm not associated with this crazy bunch. If I could, I'd keep my distance…But these Frosts seem really good at just popping out of the woodwork whenever I'd least like it to happen," she sighed.

Bren smirked, a goofy light in his eyes. "That they do," he agreed in amusement. "That they do."

O O O

Christine stared at the charred and smoking remains of what was once her home. She fought down the panic that was trying to surface, unable to believe it…

They'd been so lucky…So very, very lucky. Viki, Mother, and she had all been going out for a nice little walk in the spring-time afternoon. But when they were about three blocks away, they'd caught sight of a large black cloud of smoke billowing up to the sky. Christine had rushed ahead to their house, not daring to believe it…

Now it was ten minutes later…The house had finally stopped burning. It was just smoking, nothing more than a burnt husk of what it use to be. Reaching out, Christine wrapped her arms around her mother.

"S-sweetie," Charity Venta whispered through numb lips. "What is…? How is…?" The elder woman was shaky, unable to process the sight before her.

Viki burst out into tears beside them. "This is horrible!"

Trying to fight off her horror, Christine shook her head. "I…W-we need to…"

Suddenly her phone began to ring. Blinking, startled, she dropped one hand from around her mother and reached down into her purse to get her phone. She didn't recognize the number, but she answered it anyway, her mind still a little numb. "H-hello?" she breathed out shakily in fear.

"Did you like the present I left you, whore?" A voice…Christine couldn't recognize it in this moment…She was much too far gone in her shock.

"W-who is this?" she demanded in terror. "Did you…are you the one who destroyed my home?!"

"So slow, love," the voice hissed in a sneering chuckle. "You know, we know things about you…About all of you…How does it feel to know you're the mistress, huh? You really are just a whore, yeah? Going to lie on your back and let the Lord of Winter fuck you over and over…Then, poof, there's a baby. But what do you think happens when the baby's born, yeah, whore? I'm going to eat it, that's what!"

Before she could react, horror filling her, the line clicked.