A/N: R&R!!

River decided best to keep herself quiet while Gabriel drove through the city to stop at a familiar area. They had taken her back to where she first met Rafe; the usually crowded lounge. Rafe kept a firm hold on River's upper arm as Gabriel unlocked the door and permitted the two to enter. Rafe had no been so kind to River as they strolled down the same extended hall and down the stairs. He had chosen to sit her on a couch while he and his father stood.

"Comfortable, my little flower?" Rafe strode over to the bar to serve himself a drink while his father grabbed a chair, twisted it and sat down.

River tried not to look at Gabriel but found it nearly impossible not to as he was too near for comfort. His dark eyes studied her in a much more better light than the post office. She was certainly unusual than his son's preferred choice of women. No tourist learned the likes of Loup-garoux; so finding out that the girl mentioned something about Loup-garoux made him wonder what she knew.

"Now," Rafe brought his own chair to settle next to his father's. They both stared at River. "Darling, Lily. Tell us what you know of Loup-garoux. You've come all this way to find them and it would be heartbreaking to let you leave without knowing."

Gabriel sneered momentarily. "That would be the last."

River arched a brow. She understood that Loup-garoux needed to keep their presence low if they were to live without trouble. River could sympathize with that. She admitted defeat by slumping on the couch.

"You may not believe me but I come from a family that have much curiosity about nature's dark secrets. We've stumbled across reports of Loup-garoux in America but there was hardly any evidence to study. We are hunters if you'd like to have a better term. My family lives to broaden their knowledge of out-of-the-shadow things. My mother traced Loup-garoux legends here in Romania, it was said that this is the original homeland where they reigned for generations." River spoke confidently. "As a mission, I volunteered to travel to Romania to prove that the legends were not false. If they were to be false then people of the elder age were silly to create a story that others believe wholeheartedly happened back then. I'm certain that true Loup-garoux, if ever in these parts, are rare because people fear too easily. For all my family knows, there is a fraction left. You might say that we carry a sympathy for them."

"And, you honestly believed that Loup-garoux exists?" Gabriel questioned. River nodded. "Then, you have traveled all the way to Romania for nothing." He needed to make her believe that they didn't exist. He wanted to see for himself if she'd react passionately about their existence and her opinion.

"Then you deny your own existence." River's voice went low just then. She stared down at her hands."

"What makes you think we are Loup-garoux?"

"Studying. Both of you behave as though you rule the city, the world if ever. You," River pointed to Rafe. "--took it upon yourself to rename me, claim your territory with a proud voice and order me about. True, I seemed foolish to do what I was told. Everyone, or those that I saw behaved the same way, and what gave the idea away was the fact that only the chosen enter this lounge. Everyone's behavior gave the hint of something not normal; your movements, your voices, everything. My family is very observing. But, I'm sure what you are thinking is will I say anything about my discovery. What for?" Her eyes traveled from Rafe to Gabriel then back. "Everyone has their right to keep their second life in secret."

Rafe swallowed the last bit of his drink.

Gabriel rose from his chair to the replace back at the table.

"You are very clever to spill every last detail. You seemed to have been quite prepared to explain your reason for visiting Bucharest. But, we can't let you go so easily."

"Why not?"

"We can't trust anyone too easily. You see, hunters have many faces. . Beauty is just a mask. You are to stay here for how long?"

River crossed her arms. "I asked my family if I could stay for another week longer if I couldn't manage to use the few days arranged. They wanted me to study Loup-garoux, learn their ways if it was possible."

"And you lived where?"

"I lived at the Orange Crest Apartments temporarily."

"What room?"

River knew where this was headed. "Three Twenty-five."

Gabriel paced back and forth. He kept quiet for a minute while Rafe kept his eyes on River. He hid his smile behind his folded arms.

"So, were you aware that someone was murdered in your apartment?"

"I heard about it when I came back. I had gone to a neighboring city to see if I could find any remnant of the Loup-garoux tales, everything led back here."

Gabriel cleaned his fingers. He held back his smile altogether. "Why aren't you worried about people looking through your things?"

"Should I be worried about them finding my clothes?" River said smartly. "I have nothing to hide."

"Except the fact there was no sign of forced entry other than the landlady entering by the way of her keys. You see, my son and I thoroughly looked over your apartment. There were things we found that are very questionable."

"Such as?"

Rafe rose to his feet. "The way your landlady was discovered; mangled and possibly eaten. That left us to believe that while you were gone, an escaped zoo animal crept into your room on the second floor and waited for someone helpless to enter. When the news broke out, the Loup-garoux started to fear whether or not hunters were going to come after us to finish us off."

"And, what my son has told me, it is a mere coincidence that you happen to arrive when the chaos did."

River stared at them. Her eyes closed to slits as they accused her of murdering the woman simply because she lived in the set apartment building. She gently brushed her tongue along her lips then smiled. "That is a brilliant assumption. You gentlemen seem to have everything planned out but as I told you, I wasn't at my apartment. I left in the early afternoon after having coffee with your son. I took whatever money and caught the train. I was only to be gone a half a day and came home when they announced her death. I wept then knew everyone would look in my direction because I lived there."

Rafe came over to her, towering threateningly. River stared up at him with an empty gaze. She had nothing to really hide from them. "You are still lying because last night, there was another attack. What a strange coincidence that the postal worker that held you a gunpoint was found dead in the same manner as Dolores Rosin, and the customers, I can't honestly say they were given a chance."

River listened to him, incredulously. "For your information my friend, I never went back. I stayed sleeping outside."

"In a zoo?"

"You've been following me."

"I can't help but follow you."

River laughed softly. "And, I'm sure you are going to question why I was sleeping there? I had no where else to go."

Rafe was the only one speaking to her. Gabriel had gone off to drink alone by the bar. He could hear their conversation loud and clear.

"You could have taken it upon yourself to come back over here. That way, we could eliminate you as a suspect. You see, the hunters have begun to rally to hunt this animal down. We decided to take our own chance in hunting this thing down."

River climbed to her feet, smoothed her shirt and then smiled. "Then I wish you gentlemen good luck in finding whatever this is. Hopefully, your secret will remain safe. I, in fact, would hope for the better."

When she started to leave, Rafe grabbed her by the arm.

"You are definitely something worth keeping nearby."