AN: Manda711; thank you! I appreciate you taking a minute to comment! I actually wrote this for the Reylo Monster Week challenge, but decided to post it like a month early. Haha. I've been having the best time writing this story, and I always appreciate feedback! Thank you again and happy reading!

As soon as the cameras stopped rolling, Amilyn tossed her heels on the pavement and grabbed warm slippers from the back of the van. "Jesus Christ, this is top tier misogyny. They wouldn't make Cassian wear peeptoe high heels in forty degree weather."

"Is that really what's important to you, right now?" Poe barked, holding Finn's hand as the police assisted them on a report.

She shot him a dark look and shook her curled hair. She was an investigative journalist, of course she wasn't going to sit on her ass and complain about cold feet and not find justice.

"Do I need to remind you, Dameron, that I was the chief of Police in the Alderaan district for 12 years. We had several run ins when you were younger, and you know about my moral compass."

Poe rolled his eyes and pecked Finn's worried face. "It doesn't matter so much to me what you did or what you're doing now. What matters to me is that girl, and this man right here and his well being."

Holdo let out a sigh as she stepped closer, wrapping herself deeper into her coat. "They're going to do everything they can to find Ms. Johnson, Mr. Dameron." She pulled him to the side, her voice low and methodic. "That doesn't mean that everything will be fine. There's a chance that she'll end up like the others, or she'll be a Lycan herself. I know that you don't want to hear either of those things, nor does loverboy over there, but that's the reality that you're looking at right now. And I'm deeply sorry for that possibility."

Poe searched her face, brushing a hand over his five o'clock shadow. His bleary eyes were sore as they rolled over Finn's frantic form as he pleaded with the officers to send his Bit home.

They seemed concerned enough to sit him in the back seat of the flashing SUV and give him a bottle of water; truthfully it did nothing but dampen his mood even more.

Finn dared to look at the sprawling claw marks and bloody smears on the pavement. They were lined with chalk and wired with blinding yellow tape. As he sipped on the water, he cleared his throat.

The tip Rey had given about her encounter had been anonymous. He found himself sick to his stomach with anxiousness and resolve to tell the truth and notify them that she may have been one of them.

He shook his head as his teeth nearly drew blood in his lip. "Excuse me, but I have more information to give." Finn was met by Poe's dark eyes and Holdo's stern expression as an officer paddled over from the Corolla.

Poe swallowed, " Is this about that?" He asked in earnest, finding only a nod in response. Finn was taken away to the other side of the squad vehicle and broke down.

"Was she the girl from two weeks ago?" Holdo asked, clicking her tongue as she thought aloud.

Poe closed his eyes. "Unfortunately." He checked the time on his phone and glowered at the hour. Even he knew better than to be out alone.

While the treacherous witching hour approached - the time where most of the sightings and reports of damage and acts came - Rey huddled beneath a tattered dog blanket she stole from someone's yard. She was apparently a thief now, too. It would look stellar on her long list of achievements.

Maybe it was making things worse by avoiding the inevitable and going home. But she didn't, and it was causing her to slowly reconsider the longer she spent outside in the elements.

The blanket absolutely reeked of the Saint Bernard that used it before her. It made her sick to her stomach. It was a pungent odor beyond what she was used to smelling, and it made it hard to not rub it all over her body to produce a slightly more tolerable scent.

The further she walked, the more scents she picked up. It made her head spin until she came close to Takodana Avenue. Ben's particular redolence was faint, but it caused her senses to heighten and tingle. Her saliva excretions overwhelmed her mouth.

It had taken little effort to swallow it down until she felt it watering more and more as she tracked his spoor. Instincts guided her blindly, leaving her human thoughts in the background of her consciousness. Rey had given up fighting this fact, and found herself rather daft in this effort.

His smell was hot, and warm as she slipped behind the builds to not be detected. The last thing she needed was someone finding her. She knew she needed medical care for her wound, but she made it this far without it and couldn't exactly explain what had happened to her when she wasn't sure herself.

You do know, Rey grimaced, zipping down a treelined street nearby. Her eyes caught sight of a small grey house and the array of smells seemed to evaporate as one, singular bouquet overtook her.

We've found him. Home. Home.

Rey internally screamed at the return of that damned voice. It was far more reserved than earlier, but it still irked her that she was there.

"That's not home, and you bloody know it. Stop being such a bossy twat. I don't know what you made me do earlier, and I'm still mad at you for it." Rey said aloud, not realizing she was technically having a conversation with herself.

You were free. You did what you wanted.

Rey looked repulsed by this, staring down at the damp ground as she trudged on bare feet over pine needles and rocks. The soles of her feet were tender and sore by the time she slipped onto the little wooden porch.

It smelled so like him outside that she nearly forgot how miserably noisme she and the blanket were. She hadn't even been able to knock on the door before it opened.

The disgusting blanket wrapped even tighter to her body as she glanced up at Ben's expression. His toothbrush peeked out of the corner of his mouth as he wasted no time pulling her inside.

"Go take a bath." He said plainly. He, himself, had obviously done so as his dark hair was slicked back and damp.

"I don't even get a well check?" Rey scowled, wriggling her toes against the boring beige carpet. "You're not even a little surprised I'm here are you?"

"No and no. We have a lot to talk about." Ben said, trying to brush his teeth as he guided her to the bathroom down the hall. He walked in before her rinsed his mouth while Rey inspected the wooden walls and inhaled all of the masculine odors wafting through the house.

God, she wanted to rub her face on the carpet if she could smell like - no. No. No. No.

It was riddled with him and she absolved to it, sinking into a trance like state for a moment before he snapped his fingers.

So good. Be a good girl.

"Hey! It's yours. Go. I'll bring you something to wear. You look like you're freezing."

Rey inhaled sharply, raising her eyes to meet his. That same flush kissing her cheeks as she nervously skirted away from him. He had turned on the shower and left a clean towel on the blue tiled counter.

She couldn't remember what he said when he shut the door, leaving her staring at her own reflection in the mirror. It was like looking into someone else's eyes, and seeing a different face; one with bruises and a bloodied mat of hair. Her hand quivered as it touched the knot that lined her forehead. She hissed at it as she finally broke down and cried.

Rey cried like she did when she was beaten on the streets by the shop owner in Jakku. She held her breath for a moment before finally stepping in the warm shower. It stung her wounds but she was finally free of that canine stench that warped her sense of smell.

Now, she smelled like the autumn should. Ben's soaps were mild enough not to overwhelm her, but they were clean and strong enough to remind her who they belonged to.

The blood in her hair took a while to work out, but when it was gone, she relaxed. It was like washing away another person; the same one from the mirror. And the towel was soft enough to cradle the lacerations on her face.

Ben knocked softly at the door, asking if she was decent. For a moment she stood with her fingers on the brassy knob before she turned it, sticking her hand out.

At least he's sort of courteous. She mused, taking the clothes.

When she shut the door, she held them for a moment and grinned to herself. He had put them in the dryer to warm them. They felt good on her body as she wriggled beneath the flannel. It was so large on her it fit like a dress and she rolled down his boxers to make them fit a little better.

Rey hated this. Under any other circumstance it would have been easy to care for him, but she didn't know him. Little bits here and there and this thing - whatever this thing was- wasn't exactly the best way to get to know someone.

When she made it down the hall, the smell of hot tea permeating in the kitchen and something sweet that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

It was obvious he lived alone due to the impeccable cleanliness. She took a seat on his boring looking black couch and curled up in a blanket. It was obvious he slept here. It was heavy with his scent as she did rub his blanket over her face before catching herself.

All of the blinds had been closed, she noticed. Ben popped his head out for a moment, mostly to catch a glimpse of her as she awkwardly moved about.

"So, I had a very interesting night. I could see that you did, too." Ben said as he sat a cup of tea on his polished oak coffee table.

He sat across from her in a well loved recliner, inspecting her wound. Kylo urged him to clean her wound. It wasn't clean enough for his tastes, yet Ben remained in control.

Rey sipped her tea, "I had an accident and then everything went to absolute shit. I ended up in a field about 5 miles from where I started and then I tracked you down. Because apparently I can do that, among other things -mind you." She paused feeling the voice itching to say something to her. "And thus stupid, nonsensical nagging I've been hearing is driving me absolutely mad!"

She breathed. "And, I'm fairly certain there's a shit show at home and on the news."

Ben propped his head in his hand. "It is an absolute shit show. The police came by to speak with me earlier in the evening, since someone reported that you were with me at the Cantina."

He rolled his dark eyes.

"Then my mother called. That was a treat."

Rey stiffened. Her heart rated accelerated. "Wh-what happened?"

"Nothing. I'm in politics. I'm good at snaking my way around things." He sighed, "The most important thing is for you to make your choice. You can either to home, or you can stay here. I know you don't know me, but I can't promise that you'll be safe here. I wouldn't outright lie to you."

Her eyes narrowed as she looked around the house. She felt safe enough, but the panic overwhelmed her once more. Her mind fell into the wrong place. "You're going to try to kill me again, aren't you?"

She shot to her feet and made a run for the front door. Ben quickly followed her, covering more ground with his long gait. As she opened the door, he slammed it shut. His arm held it closed above her head as his eyes drifted down to her worrisome expression.

He panted, catching his breath. "No. That isn't what I meant." Black wavy tendrils hung like a curtain about his face.

Rey did her best to stay still, not allowing her eyes to fall further than his eyes. "I'm in trouble."

He nodded, "Yes. Yes, you are."

The sound of his voice radiated through her causing her muscles to tighten. She licked her lips absently, which he noticed. Up close, he could see the patterns of her freckles as they stood in the door way's warm light.

She smelled intoxicating and looked so helpless in clothes far too big for her. Rey was in over her head, and he hated that he would be no good to her.

"If you leave, you're going to blackout again. When that happens, your instincts will kick in and you will have to control it. You have to overcome it. You need a teacher." Ben rasped, slowly lowering his arm.

"Am I..." Rey paused, not wanting to admit to herself than she had been wrong, or that she was in denial of what she was. Or what she would become, how she would even begin to explain what she was to the people she loved.

"Go on. Say it."

Tears creased in the corners of her eyes. Her old life was gone. That life had been taken for granted and she felt sick at the notion that it had been terrible until now.

"Am I a werewolf?" She asked in an incredibly small voice.

Ben gave her a little breathing room and stepped back, much to his dismay. "I'm afraid you're heading there. You may not ever do it again, but you'll never be just human."

Rey rubbed her sore, tired eyes with the back of her hand. Processing this took a lot more effort than she was capable of, and it translated into insatiable vexation.

"How can you sleep at night knowing that you did this to me?" Rey strangled, pushing him against his chest.

"I didn't." His hands slicked through his hair as he tore his vision from her. "Did you do whatever in hell you did when you were in the blackout? Or did it?"

Rey chewed at her lip, ringing her hands together. "I-I don't know. You said you had control of it. Of course I'll blame you."

Ben scoffed at this, "Sometimes, you can still lose control when you're hosting. It doesn't exactly work like you think it does. It isn't some dead genetic trait you can medicate. You're infected by a parasite. That's where Skywalker and I disagree."

He appeared more surly than before, slighted with a dangerous glare that made her wilt.

"Go to sleep. You can take the spare room, my room, the sofa. It doesn't matter. I have to figure out how to prevent them from finding you until you have control. If the others get to you, then you'll be in for a ride you don't want to be on." Ben continued, heading back towards the living room to sit in his chair.

Listen. Submit. Submit.

Rey closed her eyes and felt that voice rumbling inside of her. She wasn't a submissive person, and she refused to believe that she would ever be.

"As exhausted as I am, I don't think I could even think of sleeping." She said.

Ben rolled his eyes and glowered slightly. His sour seriousness made her smirk to herself. He was boyish in that way, but overtly masculine in all others despite his awkwardness. A trait she, herself, found endearing.

"How long can I stay here undetected?" She blurted, shuffling to the backside of the sofa.

"Not long. My mother has a house in Dantooine. You could stay there." His expression read of deep displeasure at the mention of his overbearing mother.

"Does she-?"

"Of course, she knows." His wide fingers gestured as he yawned.

Rey's own yawn followed. Her arms outstretched and tense as she stretched. Ben watched her through his lashes.

He bit the inside of his jaw, hiding the seating urge to pull her into him. Her fragrance was stout and feminine in his nose. Every bit of him suppressed Kylo.

Go to Kira. I want. I want the omega, Kylo chimed. Ben internally struggled against his growls of protest when human fingers gripped the arms of his leather recliner. It was like grounding a live wire as soon as Rey resigned to the guest bedroom. Sleep would keep her mind from racing back to Finn and her friends and their worry, so long as she could curb her own.

Part of him thanked the Maker for giving him that tiny bit of luck that she had actually heeded his advice. It was easier than he originally thought to get her compliance.

His head fell into cupped hands, "This is fucking something, isn't it, Kylo?" He whispered almost inaudibly.

I found her. She is what we need. Cannot kill.

Ben smirked against his palms, wishing to erase the entire episode. He rocked quietly in his chair as though it would ease the anxiety building in his veins.

It was almost pathetic how badly he wanted to crawl into that bed and ravage her. Though, in the human world it was so sorely frowned upon to be promiscuous. Truth be told, Ben was always very particular and his wants came as an afterthought until Kylo came along.

He wondered if Rey felt the same. Surely, the intense, heady musk she emitted was proof enough, but he was uncertain if Rey was being guided by parasitism.

Only time would tell.

Taking advantage of her naivety to this peculiar condition would be a poor and disgusting way to introduce her to her new life. It would sully his hands more than his politics and he felt ill even thinking of her being anything more than a pupil, or a newfound companion to curb his own personal loneliness.

A tart taste swelled in his mouth. He had already made an ass out of himself for asking to kiss her. A sigh erupted from his throat as he recoiled in embarassment.

She didn't know that he tore through the gated Canto Bight community before consuming stray cats. She didn't know that Kylo pissed on someone carport like a dog, or that he killed - Rey didn't need to know what he had done.

Ben began to pace. His fingers ran around the collar of his sweatshirt. He would be forced to call his mother. Kylo was just as afraid of Ben's mother as he was.

It was definitely one way to keep the beast at bay. The other was the sheer mention of the campaign or politics in general. It wasn't even something Ben was privy to. He more or less went through the motions to mask certain parts of his heritage; one being the erasure of his lineage to Han Solo.

It wasn't Ben's fault his father was a smooth talking embezzler. It may have been his fault that Han got caught, but that was neither here nor there.

This was just another PR nightmare that Leia would have to clean up, and he reached in his pocket for his phone. It was almost 5 A.M.

Knowing Leia, she probably hadn't slept.

He pressed his thumb on the contact and mentally prepared him as she picked up on the first ring.

"It's about damn time, Benjamin." She said groggily, "Did you do this?"

His hand rubbed the back of his neck. "No, we didn't hurt the girl."

Leia breathed an audible sigh of relief. "Every broadcast has her picture plastered all over the screen. The man she lives with is utter shambles. Do you know where she is?"

Kylo barked in the back of his mind, lie. Lie. Lie. However, Ben's silence gave enough of an answer that his mother already knew.

"You have got to be kidding me." He could almost see her hand swathe across her wrinkled face. "Is she shifting?"

"I think she has once. This is my fault. I feel responsible for this. I swear I didn't mark her, or exchange-" Ben paused cringing at the words coming out of his mouth.

Leia already knew what he meant. There was a stout awkwardness that bristled in her voice. "Well then. None of that surprises me, Ben. You will either be shot on sight or arrested and once you're arrested, you can say hello to your father in the Detention Level."

Every fucking time.

She wasn't about to guilt trip him over this. Again, he would scream to the rooftops and howl it to the moon that he was not the responsible for the actions of others.

"I didn't call you back to be persecuted. You have to stop being so angry with me. We will get nowhere."

"Quit acting like this is a witch hunt. I'm just trying to protect you and that little girl, Rey. I'm going to contact your Uncle."

No. No. No. Absolutely fucking not.

"I know that you and Luke aren't on speaking terms, but Ben, please let me help her. It's something and she'll be safe there." Leia's voice unwound and seemed more pleading than irate.

"Would she really be safe there, mom?" Ben sighed, flashing a self deprecating smile in disbelief.

Leia relented, "Safer than she is with you, Benny."

He grunted in displeasure at this.

"And, if you had known her for more than five minutes, I might feel differently. Look how long it took you to be responsible. She's 22 years old, you're in your thirties. You've had years to learn some sort of restraint."

"Only because Grandfather Ana-"

"Do not bring up your grandfather, so help me God, Benjamin Ren Solo." She snapped.

"Fucking fine." He brooded. "I'll talk to her when she wakes up."

Leia became less tense, and the sound of a Virginia Slim menthol 100 hissed through the speaker. "You're a good boy, Ben. Tell Kylo I need him to be a good boy, too."

"For Christ's sake, mom."

"One more thing," she said, lowering her tone. "Was she the one? Is Rey the omega?"

"Mom." Ben kicked at the end table leg as he looked down the hall.

"I'm just saying it would be nice for you to have an actual relationship." She smirked into the phone, making light of the situation.

"Just please stop." He begged. "You know they'll kill her if they find her."

"Then send her to Luke." She snapped, hanging up the phone with a firm grip on her phone. It left Ben brushing a hand over his face.

He remembered what it was like for him. And he certainly did not want the same near torturous experience for her. Though, as he crept down the hall, inhaling her scent from outside the guest room, he knew there was no other option.