A/N: Another chap for you guys!

Enjoy,

- Swan's Catastrophe

My face held many questions when both males glanced at me. They looked at each other again, this time, my father nodded once.

"Come sit over here next to me, Cali," my father instructed. "I think it's time I told your mother and you something about Blaine."

I cast my father one serious look of 'what the heck is going on?' using my facial expression. My eyes flew directly to Blaine, whose face resembled the exact opposite of my confusion. He looked at my father as if he'd received some sort of permission, and without a word took a few steps back. I glanced between the two, before finally going to sit beside my father, casting accusing looks in Blaine's direction the entire time. My father sighed, wrapping an arm around my mother as he leaned back. I stared at him, waiting for what was coming next.

"When I first heard that there was something going on in Hex Hollow, I knew it would only be a matter of time before the covens here requested your presence." He glanced at my mother. "I began to get worried, no one knew what was really going on here, only that there had been several demon attacks- and the Crowley's had given up their position of power. I became suspicious, and wanted to keep you safe, so I hired Blaine, who doubles as a body guard in his spare time, to watch out for you." There was a hint of a smile on my father's face, but I forced myself to feel nothing but numbness. Blaine was hired to protect me? To, talk to me? To, comfort me?

I knew that heart-soaring moment from a few weeks ago at that party, when vampire-hottie Blaine Pierce walked up to me out of the crowd, was completely fake.

I turned my head slowly to stare at Blaine, but he had successfully managed to avert his gaze the second I turned towards him.

'Cause that didn't scream guilty, at all.

I turned back to my father, a deep frown settling over my features.

"Well, I can tell you first hand, that you made an excellent investment," I said icily. "I'm going to bed; it's been a long day."

My mother reached for me as I turned, but I recoiled from her and rushed from the room. Not surprisingly, Blaine followed after me.

"Cali-"

"Save it," I said, my hair whipping from side to side as I shook my head. I turned again, but was immediately stopped by a firm hand on my shoulder. Blaine turned me to face him, his eyes searching mine.

"Just let me explain, will you?"

I gave a small half-snort before beckoning him towards my bedroom. Before the door had even closed, I was already firing off my first question.

"So, basically, the only reason you approached me before we came to Hex Hollow was because my dad asked you too?" I said, unable to keep the accusing tone from my voice.

Blaine smirked, averting his eyes. "I'll admit, you were a lot more alluring than the other Alder's… I dare say that you're beautiful, yet again." He glanced up just to see the red spray of hair across my face, hiding my emotions. "I've meant everything I've said up to this point. I'll leave it at that."

I raised an eyebrow "Alright, so, you've meant everything you said up until the 'I'll admit, you were a lot more alluring than the other Alder's' part?"

The hint of a smile made its way onto Blaine's face and he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer.

"Nope. I meant that too," he said, lips inches away. I smiled, unable to stay mad at the vampire for long. I mean, c'mon, he was a hunk.

"You should go," I said, smile still on my face. Blaine raised an eyebrow, leaning closer.

"Not until I get a goodnight kiss," he leaned forward, and I blocked his lips with my hand.

"I don't think so, buddy. You don't get a reward for lying to me. Now, go. Maybe I'll change my mind tomorrow."

Blaine rolled his eyes as he backed towards the window. "Yeah, yeah," he sighed. "Now that you know I'm protecting you, you can sleep well, little witch."

I stuck my tongue out at him before he disappeared out the window. I still didn't understand why the boy was so opposed about using a door. Freaking. Weird. Vampire. I stood in the center of my room, unable to decide on what I was going to do now. I wasn't in the mood to do homework, but I was in the mood for some pasta. That's it! When in doubt, veg out. I stepped back out into the hallway, and ran into none other than Lucifer, the ferret from hell. Fiona trailed not far behind him. She was humming a dark tune to herself which was cut short the moment she laid eyes on me.

Surprised to see that I was still alive and well, I bet.

Her eyes narrowed into thin slits and she approached me with the grace of a ballet dancer…or a lethal assassin.

"You," she said scathingly. "What are you doing here? I thought that even if you survived what happened, you'd at least have the brains to stay away. It seems I overestimated you, Callista Adler."

"Not by a long shot," I growled, crossing my arms over my chest. "It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but you will pay for what you did."

Fiona cackled coldly. "Am I supposed to be afraid of your little threats?" she teased, taking a threatening step closer. "I hope you do try something Cali. That will be an excellent excuse for why I had to kill you- self defense."

I narrowed my eyes and stood my ground. I wouldn't let her intimidate me anymore.

"Last I checked, I was the better witch, and you're the one who has problems with attacking defenseless people. We'll just see whose side the Mothers take," I hissed in a low voice.

Fiona shook her head sadly and took a step away from me.

"You just won't stop." Fiona snickered. "No one can say that you don't know how to antagonize people Cali, but I'm bored of this conversation. Just stay away from me, and keep my name out of any conversations you have about tonight, and we won't have another problem."

My eyes flickered to the corner where I saw a flash of light disappear down the hall.

"Jack, wait!" I called, and a few seconds later Jack appeared, looking a lot better than he had before. The shirtless part could've had something to do with it.

"Yeah?" He grunted, glancing between me and Fiona. Fiona's eyes were practically bulging from their sockets as she stared back at him.

"How much of that did you hear?" she demanded. Ignoring her, I turned to him.

"I was just going downstairs to make some pasta, do you want some?" I asked. Jack stared at me as if I'd just suggested he swim naked in Lake Dread. After a few seconds, he glared at me.

"No," he snapped. The sharpness of his tone startled me. "Why would I want to hang out with someone who almost got me killed?"

Not what I was expecting. "Excuse me?" I gasped, "You almost killed me, but I know it wasn't your fault, so what's the problem?"

"My problem, is you letting your little bloodsucker friend set fire to the manor and have his demon hordes destroy the city. Whose side are you on, anyway?"

For a long time I just stared at Jack dumbfounded, before bursting into laughter. "You think Blaine is the one doing all of this?"

"I saw him with my own eyes," Jack growled. I shook my head.

"No, the person who's doing all of this is standing right behind you," I argued. Fiona charged towards me, her icy eyes going white.

"Why, you little-" Jack stuck out his arm to hold Fiona back as he cast me a disgusted look.

"I can't believe you'd throw a fellow witch under the bus to protect a disgusting parasite," Jack spat.

"Says the witch-eating-werewolf who turns on the people that brought him in," I seethed. Jack smiled viciously, his head snapping back and forth in an angry shake.

"You're unbelievable."

And just like that, he left with Fiona.

I'm pretty sure a fly could have flown into my open mouth, which was unhinged with shock, and I wouldn't have noticed. Honestly though, what the hell just happened? How could Jack have seen Blaine do anything, if he was with me the entire time- trying to eat me! And proposing Blaine would do anything like that was preposterous- I just learned that he was my family's protector. Last I checked, protecting didn't involve setting the house on fire.

God, this place was full of crazies.

I stomped into the kitchen, fuming, and then saw Twix sitting on the counter, her lean legs spread out in front of her languidly, as she munched on a granola bar.

"Wanna talk about it?" she asked, without even glancing up.

"Nope," I replied curtly.

"Wanna make me something to eat?" she tried again. I turned to my best friend with a smile; she just stared at me over her granola bar and raised an eyebrow.

"Why not," I sighed. A pleased smirk broke out on Twix's face and she reclined even further along the counter.

"Good," she said lightly "And you can tell me what happened while we eat."

I snickered bitterly to myself and brought stressed blue eyes to her dark ones. "Why not," I repeated, only this time it sounded more like a 'thank you.'

Somewhere during the time I was cooking pasta, I sent Crispin to summon Josie downstairs. If I was going to talk, I was only going to do it once, and with the security no one unwanted was listening around corners of hallways.

By the time I'd told both my friends about everything from Fiona trying to kill me to the conversation right before I walked to the kitchen, minus my romantic banter with Blaine, Twix and Josie had both beaten me over the head for going into the forest without backup and then comforted me when hearing about my near-death experience. Their jaws dropped when I told them about Jack and Fiona.

"I can't believe Jack said that to you, though," Josie said, feeling a little hurt because of the crush she had on the were-boy.

"I can't believe that he actually sides with her," Twix added. "As soon as we catch Fiona in the act, everyone will have no problems being on our side, Mothers included."

We all nodded in agreement.

We planned that tomorrow would start the more elaborate work to expose Fiona. The three of us decided our goals, which were to keep an eye on her and never let her wander off by herself without two of us to follow, and to make sure she didn't possess anybody with lesser demons in the Manor, especially Jack. Maybe that was why he'd sided with her, I thought- he'd been under control.

"Time to quit," Twix finally announced with a long stretch. Josie and I followed her up the stairs until we came to a parting point. "See you guys in the morning."

I waved to them both before returning to my room. Inside, it was really brisk because Blaine left the window ajar from when he'd exited earlier. I couldn't help but smile when thinking of him. Blaine: Cali's vampire love interest and protector. I sighed and went to close the window, the very same window I'd jumped out of when the Manor was on fire, when it hit me.

I realized that my family's protector had been absent, starting from an hour before the attack on the house up until my rescue in the woods only hours ago.

Where had he been during the attack and clean up the following day? Definitely not doing his job, because I had terrifying memories of a certain werewolf and the Old Wood to prove that.

Jack's words echoed in my mind as my doubt arose,

"your little bloodsucker friend set fire to the Manor … his demon hordes destroy the city."