AN: I am ahead a few chapters now so I wanted to get this next one out to you guys! I am too excited for what is coming next to wait until Sunday xD All the angst and pain because we love it so much ;)

As always, I hope you enjoy this one!

Leaving Riza behind at that hotel was one of the hardest things Roy has ever done. In the past few weeks, that list kept getting topped and it was tiring.

With danger so close by and imminent to his home, Roy was torn. He wanted to stay behind with his pack. He wanted to protect them, especially when one was out for the count. On the other hand, there was a fear rooted deep within him, knowing that the Hunters would target his Aunt. He hadn't even thought about her. Roy had been selfish, his focus solely on finding Riza again. He never even thought about how they would come for his family. Guilt flooded him as he ran through the forest as a wolf. His heart clenched and the feeling pushed him forward, running faster.

Christmas simply rose one eyebrow as he burst into the quiet bar, looking rather windswept and out of breath.

Relief flooded through him once Roy saw his Aunt was all right.

"What has gotten you so worked up?" she asked.

"Nothing," her nephew replied with a casual shrug.

"Oh really?" she asked dryly. "Do you intend to almost knock every door off its hinges upon entering a room?"

Roy frowned, taking a seat at the bar across from Christmas. "I didn't use that much force."

Christmas shot him a very doubtful look, but said nothing more on the matter.

"I'll have a couple of friends staying over for a few days, if that is okay?"

"Of course it is okay. You are a grown man, Roy. You don't need to ask permission."

"I know," he replied. "I just wanted to be polite."

"Thanks," she replied. Her gruff voice would cause someone to think she wasn't being sincere. However, Roy knew his Aunt. He knew she appreciated being asked. It was her house after all.

"Do you want to finally tell me what is going on with you, Roy boy?"

His head snapped up, possibly sharper than it should of. Worriedly, he met her gaze, before shifting it away. "I don't know what you're –"

"Cut the crap," she interrupted, her voice low and sharp. "I bought your poor excuse before, after your meeting with that Kimblee, but there is more to this than that. You can tell me."

Shifting his gaze around the near empty bar, Roy noticed there were only a few patrons present. None were close enough to overhear their conversation, but in light of recent events Roy didn't want to risk explaining himself now.

"Not here," Roy replied finally. He had made his decision.

After his parents passed, Christmas was the only person he could trust. Roy knew it was inevitable she would find out about his secret. However, he hadn't expected it so soon. With everything that had happened, Roy hadn't mentally prepared himself for this conversation. However, if she was in danger, Christmas deserved to know.

"Okay," his Aunt replied, expression turning serious. She motioned to someone behind him, signalling them over to the bar. Without another word she turned and walked through to the room behind it. Roy followed her, gearing himself up to revealing his true self.

Roy wasn't sure how Christmas would react to him being a werewolf. He hadn't given it much thought. His aunt was an open minded person, perhaps it would translate across to the existence of mythical beings.

Once Roy entered, Christmas locked the door behind him. It was the main office of the resort, the one his Aunt worked from every day. She liked to spend time out in the bar because she found it a useful way of gathering information. She was a talented woman, someone who dealt in information as well as running a successful business. The resort was merely a front, her main dealings being in information.

"What's up with you?"

Roy took a deep breath and begun his tale, much to the surprise of his Aunt. This certainly wasn't what she had expected.

Rebecca groaned as she opened her eyes, the light piercing them painfully.

"Hey," a male voice greeted her, voice filled with relief. For some reason, Rebecca couldn't place who it belonged to. Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool.

Blinking slowly, she tried to open her eyes again. Her vision swam for a moment before focussing in on the foreign ceiling above her. Movement caught her eye, so she turned, coming face to face with pleased Jean Havoc.

Memories flooded her mind and everything came crashing back to her at once.

The Hunters.

The attack.

Changing into a wolf in front of him.

Rebecca felt her pulse quicken anxiously.

"How are you feeling?" he asked softly, a smile gracing his face. It made Rebecca's heart flutter. The concern on his face was plain as day. Dark circles lined his eyes, as if he had lost sleep, and he looked worried and tired.

"I'm all right," she replied nervously. Her throat was extremely dry and scratchy, causing her to cough after she spoke. Wordlessly, Jean handed her a glass of water.

"I'm glad. I got worried for a bit there," he chuckled, mostly to himself, as if that was an understatement.

"Where are we?" she asked. Rebecca had a multitude of questions floating around her head at that moment, but to save her throat, she would pick the shortest ones.

"A hotel. Just outside Boulder." In response to her confused frown, Jean continued. "Kain explained the Hunters would probably be onto you both now, so Riza decided it was time to leave the resort."

"Where is she?" Rebeca asked, her voice betraying the worry she felt for her friend.

"She is all right, she is in the room next door. I will go and get her."

"Jean?" Rebecca called out to him as he stood to leave her beside. "Thank you." The blonde smiled.

"Don't mention it."

Rebeca turned her gaze back to the ceiling as she begun to process what she knew.

The Hunters had attempted an attack on her. The poison of the wolfs bane had taken effect and she had been out cold, that she was sure of. How much time had passed was still up in the air. Jean and Kain had both been present during the attack, the Hunters targeting Jean too because of his association with her. That didn't sit well with Rebecca at all, her stomach twisting in response to that thought. It made her slightly nauseous that they were trying to kill Jean now too, and it was all her fault.

Pushing down the wave of sadness and blinking away the tears, Rebecca moved onto the next point of business. If they were in Boulder, was everyone here? Her senses still felt off so she couldn't quite distinguish the connection to her pack. Jean had said Riza was here, so that surely meant Roy was too?

The door to her hotel room opened quickly.

Rebecca met Riza's worried gaze. Concern quickly turned to relief as she saw her friend was awake.

Without a word Riza strode over to the bed and hugged her friend.

Lifting her right arm, Rebecca circled it around Riza, holding her tight.

"I'm so glad you are okay," Riza whispered.

"Now you know how it feels," Rebecca joked, her voice thickening as the tears began to build.

Riza laughed in response, her own voice wavering. "I hope this isn't payback."

"Not at all," Rebecca grinned.

"Good. Don't do it again," Riza admonished light-heartedly.

"So," Rebecca ventured. "What's happened?"

Riza's happy expression wavered, turning to concern once more. Rebecca's stomach twisted at the look.

"Kain informed us the Hunters had a good idea of our location. They were planning to launch an attack soon. So I decided it was time to leave. Like we always agreed." The final statement didn't hold the confident tone it had previously carried. It held a sadness to it, almost regret. "If they knew our location I didn't want to care for you there and risk being caught. So Jean offered to drive us here. We've been here three days."

Rebecca's surprise was clear on her face at Riza's final comment. She hadn't expected that. Not after what he had witnessed when she had faced the Hunters. The fact he had stuck around gave Rebecca a sliver of hope.

"Who is we?" Rebecca asked.

"Jean, Kain, you, and I."

No Roy.

"Roy had been tracking someone," Riza explained, knowing Rebecca's next question. "It was someone he had dealt with in the past, but had only met him one time since changing. There was a faint scent of wolfs bane on him, so Roy followed him to determine if he was a threat. Turns out he is."

Rebecca felt the colour drain from her face. Her stomach dropped in dread.

"How so?" she whispered. Please say he is okay.

"Turns out the man, Kimblee, had met with the Hunters and given the man Roy's name. It was the same guy from the clearing. Kimblee was paid for his information and was offered more if they could find our names."

Shit.

"Exactly," Riza nodded grimly, knowing exactly what Rebecca's thought would be. "We're in trouble."

Rebecca took a deep breath. Thoughts whirled around her head as she processed the information, questions following soon after. They really were in trouble.

"Okay, so what's the plan?"

The brunette pushed herself up into a sitting position, leaning back against the pillows behind her. Riza helped, shifting the pillows so she would be comfortable.

"We go back."

Rebecca looked at the blonde sharply, noticing she didn't meet her gaze.

"If this Kimblee guy gets our names, and Maes' name, then they will try and kill them. They are not the smartest, but they will know at this point that Maes isn't human. He will be targeted by them too. It is our fault they have all been dragged into this. I won't leave them defenceless."

Rebecca nodded. "Right answer."

Riza was right, to an extent. It still irritated Rebecca somewhat that she blamed herself for her father's actions. The man knew what he was doing. He betrayed the trust of his daughter and used her and her friends for his own research purposes. It wasn't Riza's fault.

With their appearance, they had gotten into contact with Maes Hughes and brought him into their conflict with the Hunters. However, if they hadn't come to the resort, who knows what would have happened with Roy. The man could have run amok as a wolf, killing anyone. It was both a blessing and a curse they had arrived.

And Rebecca sure as hell wasn't going to let down those who had already helped them so much.

"Where is Roy now?" Rebecca asked.

"He is with his Aunt. If the Hunters know his name then they will target her too. So far there had been no suspicious individuals coming into the resort. He has patrolled the forest the past three nights and found nothing."

"That in itself can be concerning," Rebecca commented.

Riza nodded in agreement. "That's what I thought. They were present in the forest before, but now they are gone. There are faint traces of the wolfs bane, but nothing more. There is a trail, however he didn't want to follow it too far and leave the resort defenceless."

"It makes sense."

"I think they have pulled their forces to regroup and will plan to attack soon, which is why we need to get back soon."

Rebecca nodded. "Let's go then. What are we waiting for?"

Roy wearily returned to his home just as the birds began to sing in the forest. It was still early, around three or four in the morning. He heard movement through the forest, followed by three whistles in quick succession. Nodding, Roy turned and entered the large house, knowing Maes was watching him acknowledge the signal the vampire had taken over the patrol of the forest.

This had been the fourth night he had patrolled the forest and it was beginning to take its toll. He only slept for a few hours at a time during the day, the gravity of the situation weighing too heavily upon him.

Maes encouraged him to sleep, but could never do so for longer than a couple of hours. The vampire took over as protection as Roy slept. The pair had yet to discuss Roy discovering Maes' true identity, however, after the initial shock had worn off, the pair had returned to the dynamic they previously shared. Roy made a note to ask him as soon as their Hunter problem was dealt with.

The raven haired man simply looked forward to the day his pack returned.

Being apart from them was a struggle, and was partly the reason for his lack of sleep. Every minute of the last four days he had felt an incredible urge to return to Boulder, to be with his pack. They called to his inner wolf, urging him to leave the resort.

But he could never do that to his Aunt.

The woman accepted the news of Roy's new identity surprisingly well. Christmas acted as if the fact that supernatural being exited wasn't a big deal. It lead Roy to believe she was already in the know, or had her suspicions.

"Does that explain why you were being a piece of shit for the last couple of months then?"

Roy frowned at her word use, but she wasn't wrong.

"Yes, it does. The wolf was there and wanted free. I just wasn't aware of it. The whole thing plays with your hormones so an increase in testosterone led to an increase in aggression."

Christmas snorted derisively. "That is putting it lightly."

Roy's jaw clenched, but he remained silent. He had accepted he had been at fault. But he still didn't like that chapter in his life. He didn't need Christmas to rub it in his face.

He also left out the part he had been turned into one by Riza's father. Christmas didn't question how this had happened. That was strange for her, but Roy surmised it was probably due to the shock of his revelation. He wasn't looking forward to that conversation.

"You look like hell," Christmas remarked from somewhere in the dark living room. The sudden noise startled Roy. Glancing around, he finally noticed the soft glow from a lamp in the far corner of the large room. It was angled behind him when he entered through the door, which was why he missed it. Roy was sure though, that even if it had been in front of him, he would have still missed the sight. He was too wrapped up in his thoughts.

"No wonder. I sure feel like it."

"Get some sleep then."

Roy snorted. "I wish I could. Tell that to my brain. Damn thing won't let me get any peace."

"Look," Christmas began, shifting in the armchair to face him. She closed her book and rested it beside her. "You need to relax. You need to sleep. Maes will take over this patrol you are doing. He will let you know if anything happens."

Roy rubbed his tired face with his hands. He knew Maes would do an excellent job. His family was also on the line here too, and Roy knew him. He wouldn't let anything happen to them.

However, the werewolf felt as though he should still be out there, tracking the Hunters down and finishing this once and for all. Logically, he was no match against them. Their numbers were much larger than the werewolves'. Roy knew he wouldn't win against them alone. It didn't mean he was happy about this. He needed action, not sitting around waiting for the Hunters to come to them.

"Go and get some sleep," Christmas ordered, raising herself out of the chair. "I don't want to hear from you for at least another eight hours, do you understand?"

Roy frowned. "I'm not a child –"

"Eight hours. Do you understand?" she asked again, her gaze hard.

The pair regarded each other for a moment. It appeared Christmas was not willing to back down. Not that Roy expected her to anyway.

Sighing, resigned to his fate, Roy nodded in acceptance.

"Fine." Yawning, he wandered through to his rooms. Collapsing on the bed, he expected sleep to evade him, but it greeted him like an old friend.

An impatient Riza shifted in the back seat of Jean's jeep as they returned to the Mustang resort. They had been delayed by another day due to Rebecca passing out again. Riza didn't want to move her in case she experienced another seizure. That wouldn't be fun to deal with in the back seat of a car. However, she woke up the next morning feeling better than the previous day.

Riza thought it odd, however she didn't know enough about werewolves and wolfs bane to make a judgement on what was a strange reaction and what wasn't.

Another thing to add to her already long and frustrating list.

Riza glanced at Jean as he drove. She was surprised at how he had relatively kept his cool over the past few days. From what Kain had told her, Rebecca had transformed into a wolf and the man had barely batted an eye at it. The pair hadn't discussed it or even broached the subject, and Riza wasn't going to be the one to bring it up.

Plus, they had already had enough to deal with the past few days.

Jean was clearly worried about Rebecca. While the brunette was unconscious he had offered to keep a watch over her almost all day. He was clearly taken with her, which made Riza's heart ache for her friend. Jean wouldn't want a life like this, on the run from people trying to kill them. Riza knew Rebecca wouldn't want to submit him to it either. Sooner or later, they would part ways. The more Riza thought about it, the more she realised she would miss him. Over the past few days she had gotten to know him and found him to be very easy to talk to.

Her relationship with Kain had improved also. The first night, Jean offered to stay with Rebecca overnight, however Riza politely declined. She didn't tell the pair it was because she still felt uneasy around Kain.

Just before Roy left, the four of them had sat down and straightened everything out. Kain explained his side of the story, and Jean told them everything that had happened before Rebecca passed out. Both Riza and Roy had kept quiet about werewolves. Jean never asked, and didn't even bring it up that Rebecca had changed. It was strange, but she only wanted to deal with one worry at a time.

After spending four days with someone in cramped quarters, she found herself beginning to trust the young man. He always offered to do something, Riza guessed in order to repay for his past sins. Apparently her speech had gotten through to him. She was pleased about that.

"Who put ants in your pants?" Rebecca asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know what you mean," Riza replied, feigning knowledge of her fidgeting.

"You have been wringing your hands together and shifting constantly since we started driving," Rebecca stated. "It has caught my eye so many times and it is becoming incredibly irritating. Sit still."

"I have not."

"Riza, don't start with me," Rebecca replied. "What's the matter, do you miss lover boy too much?"

Riza glared at the brunette, who simply grinned in response. Her friend knew Riza couldn't fully explain why she was so nervous, not with Jean in earshot, and Rebecca was taking full opportunity of winding Riza up.

"Not at all," she replied, her teeth gritted together.

Jean glanced back at the pair of them in the rear view mirror, amused at the exchange.

The arrived back at the resort late morning. Riza had received no word from Roy, the reason or her unease and worry during the car ride back. They were supposed to be meeting him at his home, but every time she tried his phone it rang out, only to be replaced by it going straight to voicemail.

"What's the plan then?" Rebecca asked, scanning the front of the house. They were currently parked outside the hotel, which had a good view of Roy's house. The place looked deserted. The snow covering the front porch was untouched, a sign no one had left the house all morning.

"I don't know," Riza replied, at a loss for once.

Riza wasn't sure. She didn't want to waltz up to the front door only to be met by a stranger. Roy had mentioned he lived with his Aunt, but was she aware they were coming?

"Well," Rebecca begun, unbuckling her seatbelt. "I, for one, could use a strong drink after what I just went through. You coming, Jean?" She hopped out the jeep and strode into the hotel bar.

Jean caught Riza's gaze, shooting her a helpless look. He wasn't expecting that reply from the brunette.

"Just go," Riza ushered with a smile. "Make sure she doesn't overdo it."

Jean nodded, hopping out after the brunette.

"I'm just… Gonna…" Kain trailed off, motioning towards the bar. After a pause, he walked off to catch up with Jean and Rebecca.

Finally, with some peace, Riza took a deep breath. Steeling herself, she approached the front door and knocked, before she could chicken out.