Playing hooky hadn't played out so well for Hazel, Warren and Layla. The school day hadn't even ended, when the teenager's phones began to ring excessively.

Warren was the first to say 'shit' when he saw his mom's contact icon.

Next to him, Layla went a little pale when she saw her dad's picture pop up on her screen. "Should I answer?" She asked nervously, automatically breaking into sweat.

Hazel chewed her lips as she considered answering her own dad's phone call. Quinn looked over her shoulder and said, "Yikes. I think you should let it ring."

"I don't think that's an option." Hazel shot back, as she swallowed and pressed the answer button, taking a breath before pressing the phone against her ear. "Hey Dad, what's up?"

Chris Halliwell didn't waste any time and asked, "Hazel, are you skipping?"

"I stayed home today, didn't feel like socializing." The young Witch said the lie smoothly, her face slightly cringing as she lied to her dad. "I'm sorry, I should've called."

"Don't lie to me, I talked with your mom; I know Quinn's in town."

Hazel looked at her brother and mouthed, 'I'm screwed'.

Warren walked to the living room to answer his mom. "Hey, Mom."

"Warren Alvaro Peace, what the fuck?"

Warren had to visibly cringe at the volume at his mother's voice on the other line, "I'm hiding from Suzy, Mom. Calm down."

"Do not tell me to calm down, Warren Peace, and don't you lie to me." His mother scolded him.

"Mom, everything is fine. I just needed to breathe."

"Ay, mi'jo, break up with that girl. She's nice, and all, but she's scary."

Warren chuckled, and joked, "You're scary." He was trying not to think about Suzy, until much, much later.

"Careful, child, you're still in trouble for skipping. Education is more important than anything. Weed isn't going to get you anywhere no matter how much anger you have in you."

It took a lot out of Warren not to throw his phone against the nearest wall. Girls weren't going to be their downfall, it was always weed or his anger. If she only knew that all that pot he was smoking was the only thing that helped him not to burn everything to the ground…

"Are you listening to me?"

Warren snapped back to Hazel's living room when he saw her move to the kitchen, her mouth moving fast, "I'm going to catch something to eat, I'll be home later."

"You're groun-" Beep. Great.

"Dad, Mom doesn't have to babysit me. I rather have her convince Gran to-" Hazel's eyes widened when Warren walked into the empty kitchen. "Can I call you later?"

The pyrokinetic wasn't stupid, he didn't need super hearing to know how her pulse quickened as soon as she spotted him. But, is it because of the strange pull they have towards each other, or could it be something else?

Apparently, her dad wasn't going to hang up any time soon because Hazel's face became a bit pained. After a few minutes, she finally said, "Got cha, Pops." And, she hung up. "I was really looking forward to having this place to myself, but my dad wants my mom to keep an eye on me." The young Warg couldn't suppress the cliche eye roll. "Everything good on your end?" She addressed Warren finally, before turning towards the fridge and digging out two beers from the back making Warren raise his eyebrows at her.

"You okay?" He wasn't sure on how to read her, he never had a girl offer him a beer before so early in the morning, or ever, really. Looks aside, Warren tended to avoid high school parties, he wasn't one for 'getting hammered'. He was always the 'sober friend', alongside always getting stoned in social gatherings.

"I asked you first." Hazel grinned at Warren as he accepted the bottle of beer.

"Guys?" Layla called from the archway, her face a shade paler. "My dad called, and I'm sort of grounded. He wants me back home." The note of disappointment in her voice was obvious, she really wanted to keep asking Hazel and Quinn about their nature. It wasn't everyday that your new friend turned out to be part of one of the most powerful witches in history, and a 'werewolf'... or being part of a long line of demi-Gods? The more time Layla spend with her new friend, the more she felt she was being drawn to magic.

Hazel read her easily, the spark of curiosity couldn't be missed from the mutants large brown eyes. Throwing her a reassuring smile, Hazel said, "I'll stop by later, it's my fault we all skipped."

"You kids," Came Quinn's voice as he went into the kitchen, popping behind Layla and waving his hands casually in the air. "I'll talk with your parents, and your principal. I'll just say that I wanted to instruct my sister's new friends more of our… beastly nature." Feeling quite proud of himself for his 'subtleness', he continued. "This, of course, is better to do it in a comfortable space, where all parties feel comfortable, because we all know that the supernatural is a rather touchy subject in the Hero World."

Layla and Warren looked at each other awkwardly, Layla decided to be the sacrificial sheep to explain one of the downsides of their community, "I don't think some of our parents will understand that part…" The redhead kept wringing her hands as everybody waited for the rest of the explanation. "I'm just going to say it, and don't take it the wrong way, but, in the Hero Community there's a lot of skepticism for Magic and it gets pretty ugly. There's a lot of looking down on Magic, and everything that entails it…?" She felt so awkward that the sentence ended in a more of a question. "Not to mention how many casualties tend to cross that divide, more from your side than ours." The apologetic expression was more than enough for Quinn to understand how black and white certain things were in the Hero World, too.

Quinn just laughed, and looked at Hazel, "So, it goes both ways?"

His baby sister looked at him as if he were stupid as she answered, "It's not like they can ignore the stuff they can't explain, Q. Of course, all of that stuff sets them off."

Quinn rolled his eyes, and offered his arm to a nervous Layla, "Shall I walk you home, m'lady?" And, for the sake of Quinn being Quinn, he threw in a 100-watt smile.

"She's got a boyfriend, Quinn. Leave the poor girl alone." Hazel walked over to Warren, raging a stunned silence in her wake, and curled her pinky around his while rolling her eyes at her older brother. It was a miracle they hadn't gotten stuck, "Plus, she's younger than you by a hundred years. That's beyond illegal, you perv." The last statement caused a stunned silence in her wake.

That made Quinn laugh loudly, and made Layla blush uncontrollably as her eyes stayed as wide as saucers. "You can't keep a secret, can't you?"

"You're not hitting on my friends, Quinn."

"Jesus, H." Layla muttered while making her way to the front door. "We can just say we were helping Hazel with a situation, my dad will understand she's a new mutant, and why I went M.I.A. If we go all magical on him, he'll flip out." Huffing out a breath, she hugged Warren, and then, Hazel. "I'll text you guys later." Layla disappeared into the kitchen to gather her things, waving her goodbye one more time before heading out the door with Quinn.

And, then, there were two.

"Do you have to go home, too?" Hazel asked, quietly, looking up at Warren from under her lashes. Asking that made her feel stupid; she could feel the blood rushing up to her cheeks.

Warren smiled down at the blonde, cupping his free hand over her cheek. "I'm already grounded, so I don't see the problem of hanging out with the coolest chick in class."

Hazel threw her head back, and laughed as she tugged Warren towards the back door, "We can get to that picnic going, what do you think?"

Warren smiled at her, and followed, an idea popping in his head, "Hey, maybe I can teach you some control techniques."

Hazel looked back at him, her eyebrows raised in question, "'Control techniques'? That sounds kind of kinky."

Warren laughed, "It's not like that, 'you perv'," He pitched his voice higher trying to sound like her, only for Hazel to punch him on the arm, her laugh filling the back hallway. Laughing himself, he reached down and kissed her softly on her plump lips before continuing. "It's something pyros do to help them control their flames, you know, making a little switch that you can set when you get too upset or breathing exercises to help them calm down their adrenaline ."

Right before crossing the threshold Hazel stopped in her tracks, "We can do that?" If that was possible, she didn't have to ever worry about burning buildings on fire as long as the switch was off.

Warren smiled down at her, and reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's easier to some than others, but I think you're pretty ahead than most of us, it's going to be a bit tricky; since it might be different with the mutation side." Tugging her hand, he led her outside, the light of the day blinding him momentarily. Even though he couldn't see anything for a few seconds the reassurance of Hazel's small hand in his made him feel calmer than he had been in years.

Opening them up again, he was a bit taken aback by Hazel's backyard. Instead of gating out the forest from behind her house, it welcomed it; a stone road led the way to the trees, another one, bigger this time shadded a picnic table with the almost untouched snacks. There were a lot of bird feeders, a few bird baths, and lots, lots of flowers. It was almost magical with how everything was with nature, something man made was there to bring comfort to any kind of little animals.

"This is very nice." It was, Warren felt the sunlight hit his skin in comfort.

"I like being outside." Hazel breathed in the fresh air, "And, my dad likes to spoil me, so he makes everything comfortable." She gently tugged Warren toward the picnic table with the rest of the food. "So, this whole 'switch', how does it work?"

Warren laughed as he reached for an apple, sitting across next to Hazel, "You really don't be around the bush. When you turn, are you a full wolf or are you half human, half wolf? Or is it the other way around?"

Hazel leaned on the table to look at Warren's face better, a playful smile perking her lips, "I asked first, smartass."

Warren wiped the apple juice running down his chin, grinning, "It's all about practice, and patience. But, it's not always that the Source is Anger, but it's always the reason a pyro loses control. Taming your anger is a big thing when dealing with fire" Suddenly, Warren Peace got quiet and serious.

The young witch didn't have to be an Empath like some of her cousins, but she could sense something had made Warren somber up. "You don't have to answer, we're just starting to get to know each other." Still, she urged with a gentle, "But, did something happen?"

Usually, Warren would just become a wall, sharing his traumas wasn't his favorite thing. He had never really opened up to his closests friends. Surprisingly, he wanted to tell Hazel, he wanted to probe, and learn about the dark stuff he always tried to maintain locked away. "How much do you know about villains?"

Hazel shrugged, "I don't know them by names, but we're aware of them. We take notes about those who might pose a bigger problem, but honestly, I don't pay much attention."

Warren couldn't help but smile at how nonchalant Hazel answered him, but quickly sombered up when he decided to just get it over with, "My dad is a villain, and my mom's a hero. I got my power's from my dad's side, and for a very long time he tried to mold me to be his successor. He really wanted me to look down at everything, and everyone. Especially those who weren't 'pure'." The word was spat out, and it didn't take much longer for his fist to clench and his brow to frown.

Hazel really tried to stay quiet, but she couldn't help but comment, "He sounds like Voldemort." She wasn't expecting him to laugh, but when Warren let out a snort she felt reassured to reach out for his clenched fist. "If it makes you too angry, we can go slow."

His brow stayed frowned, and with an exhaling breath he held onto the warmth of her hand. Gently, he tugged her hand towards him and pressed the back of it against his forehead. After a few seconds, he pulled slightly back to press his lips next. He just blurted out. "My dad went on a rampage against those who supported non-mutants and mutants having children, and when he found out about the Magical world… Something really snapped, nobody understands what happened, but he really wanted to end Magic."

It was Hazel's turn to frown at Warren, but she never pulled her hand back. Then, something popped in her head, a name; 'Baron Battle'. She couldn't help but feel her blood run cold before saying, "He set a Coven on fire, but they were just Mortal Witches…" She remembered the news, she had been seven but it had burned itself into her brain. Nobody could make sense of the pyro attacking Mortal Wiccans… The papers never covered that part, but it had spread around the Magical Community like wildfire… no pun intended.

But, Baron Battle made enemies with the wrong beings, and Hazel Halliwell had Imprinted on his son…

This kind of shit could only happen to a Halliwell woman.

"After that, he had kidnapped me for two years… those two years really fucked me up, really fucked my mom up, and it made people think that whatever 'brainwashing' might've happened might show up later and make me like… him." He had to stop for a minute, it took a little effort telling Hazel this, he NEVER talked about this except for Layla and Will. Either way, it felt a lot more easy talking with the youngest Halliwell.

Hazel had stayed quiet, knowing he needed to get this stuff out. But, she couldn't help but wonder: how often did he let himself talk about this? Trauma stuck for a lifetime, sometimes a couple. She leaned her head against his shoulder as she played with the tips of his fingers, while she just let him talk.

"I've been trying just to prove everyone wrong, but, I don't even want to. Just hate being watched and scrutinized my whole life because everyone thinks I'm a ticking time bomb."

The young Witch couldn't help but smile, two polar opposites with the same problems. "It's so weird. It's the same for me."

That got a small chuckle from Warren, "I feel like my trauma doesn't reach your ankles, Halliwell."

Hazel gave him an incredulous smile, "Excuse me, Mister Kidnapped, I think you're winning in who's more messed up from the two."

Warren couldn't help the huge grin on his face, that was the first time he was casually talking about his dad, and how he messed him up. Suzy always tried not to make him talk about it, running away from his past was the best choice. But, there with Hazel, it felt like he was signing in relief for the first time ever. "Now, what's up with the Little Bad Wolf?"

Hazel's playful smile, softened to a fond one, "That's what my Grandma used to call me."

Warren laughed, "Oh, really?

The blonde Witch looked down at her hands, and began twiddling her thumbs, pieces of her childhood coming into mind, " I used to be a lot of trouble over the summers when I stayed with my grandparents and the Pack back in Norway."

Warren had to raise an eyebrow, "Pack?"

Hazel nodded, "Like we mentioned before, we're Royal Wargs, well, Quinn is. I'm not Full Mooned."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm only half Warg."

"So, Half-Mooned." Warren joked, but he noticed that one of the corners of Hazel's mouth turned down a bit.

"There's no such thing as Half with Wargs, you either are or you're not. My grandmother tried very hard to make me feel included in the Pack, but a lot of people made sure that I knew I would never be welcomed." The conversation was turning somber a lot quicker than Hazel would've liked. "I'm just this weird Hybrid no one's really willing to accept. To most, I'm the Runt."

Warren saw how her demeanor was changing a bit too quick than he would've thought. So, it was his turn to listen, and he just wanted her to feel comfortable; wrapping an arm around her petite frame, he pressed her side against his, making sure she was warm and comfortable.

Hazel looked up from her hands, making eye contact with Warren who gave her an encouraging smile. "I've never really belonged, my mom's side of the family have- are trying to make me fully part of the Pack but when my Mormor died, Farmor just tried a lot harder, in his way."

A small silence settled between them, Warren could see that Hazel was starting to be miles away from their little picnic table in Washington. So, ever so softly Warren asked. "Mormor?"

Now, the smile turned sad, "My maternal grandmother. 'Farmor' means grandfather in Nordic." The smile dropped, as Hazel bit her lip she made her decision; the faster he knew, would it be better? "I have to tell you some-" She stopped talking when her ears picked up the noise of the doorbell. Warren turned in his seat, hearing it, too.

"Are you expecting anybody?" Warren asked, his brow frowned when he turned back to face her.

Hazel was mirroring Warren's confused expression, "Quinn barges in, I don't know who that could be."

Both teens began to make their way to the front of the house. Something at the bottom of Hazel's stomach started feeling uneasy. Crevan began to stir for the first time in the day, Warren's presence keeping the Wolf calm, but now, both girls were pacing.

'I don't like this.'

And, just when Hazel was about to see through the peephole a voice spoke through the door, "Come out, Hazel, or I'll huff and I'll puff."

Hazel couldn't help but freeze. How did he find her?

Warren saw her reaction, he reached out a hand towards her shoulder in concern, and, almost making her jump out of her skin.

Hazel was quick to put a finger up to her mouth, signaling him to be quiet.

The petite blonde was visibly razzled, so he did the only thing that came to mind: he was going to handle it. Pushing Hazel out of site and behind the door, Warren swung it open to find a very good looking guy on the other side. Warren was tall, but this guy was an inch taller. His dark brown hair fell down to his piercing blue eyes. But, it was his stance that set Warren off, it was as if the dude was trying to show dominance. That was enough reason to keep him on his toes, but there was something else that was setting alarms off. So, in his most casually threatening voice he asked, "Can I help you?"

The unknown guy didn't seem to be taken aback by Warren's presence, but the pyro could see a little of doubt in his stance after he spoke. "Hey there, I'm looking for Hazel Halliwell."

When the stranger asked for Hazel, his blue eyes trailed to the side, right where Hazel was against the wall, as if he could see her. Warren gave his most nonchalant grin as he leaned against the doorframe trying to make himself bigger than the guy across from him. "Nah man, don't know anybody by that name. Guess you have the wrong address, bummer." And, as soon as Warren began to close the door, the guy had the nerve to stop him by slamming his hand against it.

"Could you tell her that her fiance is looking for her? Her grandfather is awfully worried." And, with one more glance at the spot where Hazel was still hiding before walking out of the front porch and into a tinted van, riding off down the street without another word.

As soon as the word 'fiance' left the strangers mouth, something in Warren just turned cold, and for the first time in a very long time jealousy was making him all hot. Which made closing the door more like slamming it next to Hazel who went unfazed by the noise.

"Fiance?" He spat out the word with venom, here he was pouring himself to a girl he barely knew only to find she was going to get married to another guy. This had to be a joke. "Please, tell me he's joking."

Hazel didn't know how to explain things now, too many questions were running through her head. How did they find out where she was? Why was Sirius here? Crevan wouldn't stop pacing, the same questions were being shot back and forth.

"Hazel?" Warren was now cupping her face in between his large hands, making her look more petite and delicate than she was. "Please, tell me he was joking?" But, why did he feel like he was breaking. He had just met her, he didn't like feeling this way. Why did it feel like he's heart was being broken for a second time? And, all because he couldn't be with her.

Her big green eyes were scared, they were as big as saucers, and between his hands she seemed to be shaking. Finally, Hazel made eye contact, holding his hands to her face with her trembling ones. "When my Mormor died, Farmor wanted to honor her by working everything in his power to make me part of the Pack. His latest idea is getting me married to another Pack with the Alpha's son. I don't want to, and he wants to make me." Hazel began to cry, and she was pretty sure that it was ugly crying. "I don't know what to do, or where I belong but I don't want to get married."

Warren's eyes softened, and instinctively reached down to kiss her. He could still feel her shaking under his lips. When he finally broke away from her, he really meant what he was about to say. "We'll figure something out, okay?"

Hazel clung to Warren like a lifeline as she cried everything she had pent up for the past months.

It only lasted a couple of minutes when they were almost knocked down by the front door barging open, followed by a very excited Quinn, "Kids! You better put your clothes on! Or Mom will chew your asses, quite literally!"

Hazel uncurled herself from Warren, her face teary and snotty. "Mom?" The word came out shaky, and underneath it all hopeful.

Quinn stepped to the side to let a tall, blonde woman stride into the house. Her vibrant green eyes easily falling onto her youngest child. Her motherly instinct began to take over, and walked over towards the hugging couple. She literally shoved Warren away from Hazel, and basically took his place in engulfing her little girl in her arms. Putting her cheek against the top of Hazel's head, the striking woman stared straight at Warren, a calculating smile on lips very similar to Hazel's. "Hi, you must be Warren, I'm Astrid, nice to meet you."