AN: Happy new year everybody! I hope 2018 is good to you and I wish you all the very best!

Enjoy the next chapter!

Roy woke slowly. His body ached and every time he took a breath the air scratched his entire airway. He coughed feebly, not having the energy to do it properly. His eyes ached. He opened them slowly, testing the pain they held. They were extremely dry and the movement caused a shooting pain to go into his skull. The room he was in was pitch black, for which he was grateful. Any light would have been too much for his poor eyes to handle.

Testing his other limbs slowly, Roy didn't feel any pain anywhere else. Pain only registered in his face an airway. He had opted to breathe in through his mouth rather than his nose. There was a constant feeling of needing to sneeze which left him extremely uncomfortable.

His eyelids drooped painfully. He let the fatigue overtake him, reasoning that if he was asleep, he wouldn't feel any discomfort or pain.

Roy awoke again and instantly noticed his pain had eased. His eyelids were still heavy but he could move them without experiencing intense pain. Breathing was easier but his throat was extremely dry. He needed a glass of water.

As his senses returned to him he overheard Riza and Rebecca having a conversation in the other room. Confused as to where he was, Roy looked around the room and noticed he was not in his own bed, like he had thought. Rebecca's next words drew him back to the conversation.

"Do you think he recognises you?" she asked. He heard a quiet thud and a sizzle. The smell reached him slowly. Something was being fried and it smelled delicious. Roy's stomach growled loudly.

"No way," Riza answered. "We haven't seen each other in over a decade."

"You still look the same as you did when you were a kid," Rebecca assured her.

"But you have seen me regularly. You wouldn't have noticed any changes."

Roy heard Rebecca make a pfft sound in disagreement. "That makes no difference. I can assure you that if you looked back on a picture of yourself from your childhood you would look identical."

"Anyway, if Roy did recognise me he would have done so by now."

Wait, what? Me?

"Are you all right with that?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

There was a silence that followed. Roy's curiosity spiked. What were they talking about? Why would I recognise Riza…?

His own train of thought trailed off slowly.

"Look, I don't know what to tell you Becca. I don't think he ever will. The man we met is too self-absorbed to remember someone like me."

Roy was about to react indignantly to her comment, but he stopped himself. That was probably the best way to describe his behaviour in the past few months. "I was just some kid who kept to themselves while their Father taught him," Riza continued. "The bastard did more for other's people's kids than for his own."

No way…

Roy slowly began to piece things together. The way Riza had paused when they had first spoke. Roy had thought the look she gave him was odd, but dismissed it as a reaction to his behaviour. Roy hadn't missed the way she seemed to be overly concerned about him. Nobody would be that concerned over a stranger. It would make sense if they had known each other previously. But where from…?

Ten years ago he had still been at school. The daughter of someone who taught him?

Realisation hit him in an instant.

Riza was Berthold Hawkeye's daughter. He recognised her face, finally.

Roy couldn't believe it. He hadn't heard that name in years. He hadn't thought about that family in years either. Everything before his parent's passing was a blur. That one event took priority in his mind, pushing every other memory away.

Thinking back, he did remember a small girl when he visited the Hawkeye household to receive extra science and maths lessons. She had short blonde hair and was very quiet, keeping to herself most of the time. Roy had tried to make friends with her, but she had never really taken to him. He supposed she was simply very shy. Given more time the pair might have become friends.

He remembered thinking how it was a shame the girl was left to look after herself while her Father taught him all evening. She must have been bored. Roy knew he would have been.

It was a large, empty house. A draft blew in from somewhere unknown and Roy shivered. Berthold had led him and his parents through to his study where he would be teaching Roy. A flash of blonde caught his eye and he stopped following the adults in front of him. A girl, probably a couple of years younger than him, stood at the end of the hallway, her face half hidden by the wall. She watched him carefully, unsure.

Roy smiled at her. "Hi, my name is Roy. What's your name?"

The girl was silent. Roy looked ahead where his parents were getting a tour of the study by the girl's father. He left them and approached the girl.

She shrunk back.

"Don't be afraid."

The girl huffed. "I'm not afraid," she replied indignantly.

"What's your name then?"

"Father said I shouldn't talk to strangers," she whispered.

As if on cue his parents called him over to them. Riza noticed the boy looked loath to go, but he obediently turned and walked towards them. He turned around and offered her another smile and waved.

"It was nice to meet you." The girl's mouth opened in surprise and she blushed. Roy thought she looked very pretty.

He hadn't gotten to know Riza as well as he had wished. Berthold always kept him busy with his studies. What he did know was she was someone he wanted to befriend. She always had a sad look, as if something was haunting her, and Roy had been determined to put a smile on her face. He just wished he had gotten the chance.

Pulling himself out of bed, he staggered over to the doorway. Pulling it open, the two women turned at the sound.

"You're Berthold Hawkeye's daughter?" he asked, his voice raspy. The pair jumped, too focussed on their conversation to hear his approach. Rebecca moved from her spot in front of the hob and poured him a glass of water.

"Thanks," he replied, accepting the water. The coolness of it soothed his sore throat. It still hurt like hell to swallow, but Roy had been so parched he was beyond caring.

Looking at Riza now Roy wondered how he could have possibly missed the connection. Sure, she had grown up and her appearance had changed slightly, but the woman in front of him was the same as the girl he had met when he was younger.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Riza frowned. "It's not exactly something I could drop into conversation. "Hi, I knew you ten years ago. Have you been up to much?" You didn't exactly give us the chance either." Riza left her spot by the breakfast bar to take the glass of water from him. She refilled it while Rebecca resumed cooking and offered him a small white tablet wordlessly.

"What's this?" Roy asked.

"It will help with the pain," she replied simply.

"I remember now," Roy stated. He was lost in his memories as he thought back to his childhood. Berthold had been a strict tutor, but he had helped him pass in his failing subjects so he was grateful. "Berthold helped me a lot. He was a good man."

Riza snorted derisively.

"What?" Roy asked, frowning.

"If you say so."

"What do you mean?"

The pair shared a look, infuriating him.

"I never get a straight answer from you two," he stated in frustration. Although it was difficult to talk, he made the frustration clear.

"It's up to you, Riz," Rebecca shrugged.

"What is? What are you not telling me?" Roy didn't like how often he was being kept out of things recently.

"He's the reason we are werewolves," Riza answered simply. Her voice was almost casual, but the look in her eyes told him that Berthold better never cross her path again. Not if he wanted to live.

"What… What do you mean? How?" Roy stuttered.

Riza sighed, motioning him to come join her at the breakfast bar. He took a seat eagerly, desperate to find about his new form.

"He injected the three of us with a serum to cause us to change. He used his students as experiments. Used his own daughter –" Riza cut herself off, unable to continue the sentence. Swallowing hard, the blonde took a moment to compose herself. Fuck. This was going to be a difficult conversation.

Roy sat in stunned silence.

"He did it over time, placing it in our meals." Roy noticed her tone had changed. It was mechanical. Riza had completely removed herself from the conversation. She was stating facts. Facts, which even Roy had a hard time facing. He couldn't imagine how Riza would have felt when she first found out. "That what Rebecca and I have determined. I have no idea why, I can't bear to face the bastard to find out." Roy's stomach twisted in disgust.

He had trusted that man. His parents had trusted him. His gaze flicked to Rebecca who had continued her cooking. Her shoulders were tense and head was dipped as Riza spoke.

He felt used. He felt violated. Most of all, Roy felt angry.

Riza laughed, unamused, drawing Roy's attention back to her. "I'm pathetic. I didn't even realise it was happening. He did it right under my fucking nose, and I was too stupid to realise. I should have. I should have known something was wrong and stopped him."

The hate in her words was clear as day, but they also held regret. Surely she didn't really believe that? There was no way she could have known…

Riza's gaze stayed on her clenched hands. She didn't want to see the look of disgust on Roy's face, or the pity in Rebecca's.

"I know this isn't enough," Riza began again, filling the silence. Her voice was soft now. If Roy's brain hadn't been so slow in trying to process her words he would have noticed the unshed tears in the blonde woman's eyes. "But I am truly sorry." Her breath hitched. "I am partly responsible for turning your life upside down. You almost died yesterday because of me." Riza paused, swallowing hard. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "You have no idea how sorry I am. I understand if you want to walk away and leave this life behind. If I were you, I would run away screaming. No one wants to associate themselves with a monster."

Roy's brain kicked itself back into gear briefly before stuttering again. Riza's detrimental words were the cause. Finally, he met her gaze and his chest clenched at the sorrow he saw there. It made him want to find Berthold and rip out his throat. She didn't deserve this. She had nothing to do with this mess. Riza was victim. Berthold should be the one apologising to him. Not Riza.

His anger began to build as he fully comprehended what Berthold had done. More intense than ever before. It was as if the wolf within him was angry as well. All he could think about was how the man he had trusted had betrayed him. Betrayal blended with the anger, making him want to go and find Berthold himself.

He could feel negative emotions building, including aggression. He needed to get out before he lashed out and regretted it

"Roy?" A voice called to him through the fog of anger. "Roy!" The shout jolted him out of the haze. Barely. Looking up, Riza and Rebecca were standing defensively before him. Riza was no longer sitting next to him, but had placed the breakfast bar between them. Both looked alarmed.

"Roy," Riza's voice was low. "I need you to calm down."

The command soothed the violent wolf within him. Anger slowly dissipated and he found himself thinking more clearly. Satisfied, Riza moved to his side while Rebecca left the room.

"What happened?" he asked, almost afraid. Now the haze of anger had disappeared, Roy felt fearful. For a moment he had lost control. Looking back, it was terrifying.

Rize gently lifted his hand from the counter top. She picked at his palm gently. Confused, he looked down. The sight of blood shocked him.

"You lost control for a moment. The wolf almost took over." Her voice was gentle as she worked removing the glass from his skin. Rebecca handed him a bandage and couple of wipes.

"What happens then?" Riza heard the fear in his voice.

"You would have changed inside the house. We wouldn't have been able to reach you and get you to calm down. I don't want to know or think about what could happen if you had gotten out the house."

That scared him. Roy would happily admit that. Suddenly, the excitement he had felt when he first found out about this new power seemed incredibly naïve and foolish. This was not something that could be played with.

"I'll need to stick with you two then." He had made his decision. Rebecca and Riza were the only two who could possibly help him if he lost control again. He would need them to put a stop to his actions if he got too out of hand again.

Riza's hands paused in their work.

"So you will be sticking with us then?" Rebecca asked as she dished up their dinner. The smell returned to Roy, making his stomach rumble loudly.

Roy nodded. "I clearly need to learn how to control this. It would be stupid of me to think I could manage this by myself." He paused, considering his next words. "I'll need you two to stop me if I get too out of hand again. If that happens again, and I intend to hurt someone, you two will need to put an end to it. By any means necessary." The last part he stressed, looking at each of them in the eye.

They nodded. "Hopefully it doesn't come to that, but we promise."

Relief flooded him. At least he wasn't alone in this. He knew he would be able to count on them to do the job if need be.