AN: Surprise! An extra chapter this week :D I am ahead in my writing so I thought I would share the next one! Enjoy!

The sound of paws thundering along the ground filled the quiet forest. The birds had all vacated the trees in a rush, spooked by the sound. Long hanging branches and shrubs bristled in annoyance as the wolf sprinting past disturbed them. Roy sniffed the air, searching for a new scent. He picked it up and growled, changing his course immediately. He veered off to the right, narrowly avoiding a tree trunk. He would have ran right into it, had the wolf not been so aware of its surroundings.

It's so close. The stench was becoming stronger. He pushed himself forward, his mouth watering at the thought of closing in on his target.

The trees suddenly stopped and the forest opened up into a large valley. The winter sun was low in the sky. It almost blinded him as he exited the dark forest. The snow on the ground reflected the light brilliantly, but Roy didn't get a chance to admire the sight, kicking it up as he ran.

The valley floor dropped suddenly, revealing a small waterfall and a deep pool below. Expertly, he leaped from one side of the river to the other and hopped down the large boulders jutting out from the small cliff face. It felt like the ground shook beneath his feet as he landed on the snow covered grass.

Not far now. Roy sprang into action, lengthening his stride. He could almost see the end. Just on the other side of the tree line. Spurred forward by the sight, Roy pushed himself. Someone stood in between two trees, their back to him. As soon as Roy was close enough, he pounced.

His black paws hit their back, knocking them to the ground. As Roy snapped towards their head, they were hoisted in the air. Roy continued to growl and snap as the wooden cut out of a human dangled above his head. Even on his hind legs he couldn't reach it.

"Well done Mustang," Breda greeted, hopping down from his spot. "That only took you ten minutes and thirty five seconds. Your fastest time to date."

Roy snorted in response, shaking his muzzle. He changed back into a human.

"I wish you would use real meat. The wolf doesn't like being toyed with," he replied with a huff.

Breda grinned. "I was hoping that would spur you on."

"Yeah, but you don't have put up with his shit," he muttered to himself, knowing full well Breda could hear him.

"You've got to learn to control it man. You are both occupying one body, but you need to find an even ground with your wolf. If you don't, well, you know what could happen if you lose control."

Roy sighed and nodded. Breda was right. It was something they had been working on for a couple of weeks but Roy couldn't get the hang of it. It was like having a moody teenager stuck in his body. When they ran these drills, Roy had the fastest time because the wolf was following the scent of the meat. However, at the end, when there was no reward for his hard work, it threw a fit. Right now, it was snarling within him, wanting the meat he had searched for so desperately.

"Breda is right." Grumman backed him up while announcing his presence. Following behind him was Jean and Falman. The latter, Roy had learned, was a werewolf also. He had been born and grew up in the settlement. The man was a marvel, with his photographic memory and his attention to detail. Roy couldn't remember what he had ate for breakfast four days ago, but, if Falman had spoken to him that day, the werewolf could tell him right away simply from the smell of his breath. "You need to be at peace with the wolf if you want to be effective. These searching drills are good, but if you wish to truly be effective, you must become one."

"No problem. Let me invite him round for a beer tonight and we will get right on that."

Grumman frowned at his facetious remark. "I know you are frustrated Roy –"

"I never had problem with it until you lot mentioned it."

"But acting like a child will solve nothing," Grumman continued, electing to ignore his comment. "It is not something that happens overnight," he added, his voice softer now. "But it will come." The older man turned to Breda. "That is enough training for one day. I wish to speak to Roy about an important matter."

"No problem. If you need a hand with anything," Breda offered Roy. "Don't hesitate to ask."

Roy thanked him and left with Grumman and Havoc. Curiosity filled him in regards to what Grumman could possibly want to speak to him about. He hadn't seen the man very often in the past couple of weeks. He spent most of his time with Riza. That was something he was grateful for, but he would have liked to have seen her more often as well.

He knew they were discussing her childhood and he was informing her about the running of the settlement. She was fascinated by it all, taking it all in. More often than not, she would return to their cabin at night after Roy had fallen asleep, worn out from his training and patrols that day. In the morning, she was up and out of the house before he was even awake. The only evidence of Riza occupying the same space as him was breakfast on the table with a small note apologising for leaving him so early.

They had barely spoken much and it was getting to Roy. He missed her. A few days after their Big Discussion was the start of her early rises and late nights. Roy had tried to wait up for her every time, but he was too exhausted. Breda had him on an intense training programme. Because he was still a new wolf, the ginger man had taken Roy under his wing and taught him about fighting and strategy as a wolf. He was taught about the Hunters, their strengths and weaknesses. They weren't as clueless as Roy had been led to believe. There were some factions who were, but the group who had kidnapped Riza were not. They knew what they were doing and how to exploit the weaknesses of different species.

"I have something to discuss with you regarding Riza's childhood."

"Oh?"

Grumman nodded. "I want to know what it was like. Has she told you anything about it?"

"She has yes. I was there with Riza and her Father for a short time. He tutored me for school."

"Really?" Grumman asked eagerly.

Roy nodded. "I believe she said, and I quote, "The bastard did more for other's people's kids than for his own"." Grumman's shoulders sagged and a defeated look crossed over his face. "From what I understand it wasn't a happy childhood. She had to raise and fend for herself for all of it."

"Has she said anything else?" His tone took on a hopeful lilt, but what Roy offered him in return squashed that hope of his granddaughter being happy and loved after she left.

"Yes, she thought her father had turned her into a werewolf through the use of some kind of serum. She thought he had done the same to myself and Rebecca."

"Interesting." Grumman had raised one hand to his chin as he thought, staring at the ground as he walked.

"Do you know anything about that?"

Grumman shook his head. "I do not. I can look into it if you like?"

"I would really appreciate it. I…" Roy was about to tell the old man that his parents weren't werewolves, but he had no way of knowing for sure. He didn't know about Rebecca, but he could certainly guess she was in the same boat as him.

"I will ask around and get back to it. Take the rest of the afternoon off. Spend time with Riza. She has been struggling with something recently, but she won't open up to me."

The mention of her name had Roy perking up immediately. Excitement flooded him at the thought of spending the afternoon with her, however it was followed by concern. Was she okay?

"Okay, thank you. I will."

With a grin and a wave he was away, Havoc and Falman following close behind him.

Effortlessly, Roy changed into a wolf and made his way back to his cabin. He reached out to Riza, finding her there. There was a hint of sadness around her, which increased his concern.

Upon reaching the cabin, he found it in darkness. That's odd. They didn't need the lights on, their eyesight was good enough without it however the forest was dark. By the time Roy had made it back the sun had disappeared behind the trees.

"Riza?" he called softly, not wishing to startle her.

There was a gasp from the direction of the couch.

Foregoing turning a light on, Roy strode over to the couch in question to find her lying on it, clutching one of the pillows tightly. The look of terror on her face told him enough. Within a second, he had rounded the piece of furniture and was kneeling by her head. Clutching her hand in his, he met her gaze. Instead of seeing those soft brown eyes, they were wide and panicked, flitting backwards and forwards in fear.

"Riza?" he called again desperately, his own panic rising. What is wrong with her? "Riza, it is me, Roy. Can you talk to me?"

No reply.

"Riza, please!"

Through her terror, Riza seemed to pick up on the desperation in his voice. As the blonde gradually returned to reality, she was aware of someone holding her hand in a crushing grip.

Roy jumped as she bolted upright, catching him off guard. Her breathing was heavy, as if she had just ran for her life. Her head swivelled, looking around the dark room.

"Riza?" he tried once more, panic still laced in his voice.

Her eyes found his. They locked onto his dark orbs, staring for only a moment, before she sagged in relief.

Roy scrambled to his feet, sitting next to her on the couch. He placed an arm around her shoulders and held her close. In return, Riza clutched his hand tightly in hers as she focussed to level her breathing.

"Are you okay?"

Roy's voice sounded like music to her ears as she fought to shake off her dream. She let it wash over her, as if it was a water extinguishing the flames of her fears. She held onto that sound, anchoring herself to it. It helped.

Riza nodded, not trusting her voice.

"What was that?"

"Just a dream," she finally replied.

"Were you…?" Riza dreaded his question, but knew it was coming. "Back there?"

Riza nodded. She noticed Roy's hold on her increase. He was still furious with the Hunters and she knew he sought revenge. She didn't blame him, Riza did too. However, the blonde didn't want him to lose control to his anger like he had almost done before. Every time the group were mentioned his jaw clenched and so did his fists. There was a fury in his eyes that she had never seen before, nor did she ever want to see again.

"It was just a dream," she replied, trying to convince herself. But it wasn't "just a dream". It was a memory which her tired, PTSD brain cooked up as some form of torture. This time, they had Roy too. Only he didn't make it.

In the darkness, the pair held each other. Roy worried for his love, his mind going over and over how he would make the Hunters pay for what they did to Riza. The blonde in question committed his scent and his touch to memory, relishing in it as it calmed her frayed nerves. Whenever she had one of these spells, she always thought of him afterwards. She thought of how kind he was to her when they were kids. She thought about his easy grin and how it could make her stomach flutter with no effort at all. She thought of his hands running over her body as they made love, how he worshipped her, and how she returned the favour.

Replaying those memories brought her back. To put it simply, they made her happy. There had been so few moments throughout her life which did so, she was grateful for Roy Mustang bringing her that happiness.

"I'm okay," she reassured him, finally raising her head with a tired smile.

"Does this happen often?"

Riza met his haze, seeing the worry and fear in them. He searched hers, as if looking for the truth in those brown orbs.

Riza nodded. "Yes. Almost every night." Roy hung his head. There was no point lying to him. It would do nobody any good. "It is okay. It is getting easier."

"How come you haven't told me?"

This time, Riza hung her head in shame. It had been three weeks since she returned. Day to day life was getting easier to deal with. She wasn't triggered as often by things while she was awake. For example, when there was the slightest pressure on her chest, like when Rebecca had pinned her with a grin while they were sparring one day, a wave of panic erupted in her. Another time was when the sleeve of her newly acquired hoodie got caught on one of the door handles, pulling her arm backwards. Poor Falman was privy to another panic attack as she was reminded of being restrained in that cave.

Riza also couldn't deal with darkness. Riza had spent the majority of her time in that cave either unconscious or in darkness. After her initial discussion with the vampire the lights had been extinguished and she was left unable to see properly, especially once the poison dulled her senses. It was okay at night when Roy was there and he held her as he drifted off to sleep. As soon as she was sure he was asleep, she flipped the bedside light on. However, she had taken to spending time with her grandfather late into the night. He escorted her back to their cabin without a word, understanding her struggle with the dark forest surrounding them. As soon as she arrived, every light was turned on and she entered their bed, cuddling into to Roy. The man responded happily, burying his face in her hair. Riza herself barely felt like she slept, but simply being held by Roy and hearing his breathing was enough to keep her calm.

Because, if she fell asleep, then the dreams would come. And they were even worse.

She was up so early because she needed to turn all the light off again before he awoke and she spoke with the resident therapist every morning. It was on Walter's insistence that she did so, but Riza found the witch incredibly helpful.

"I didn't want to you to worry any more than you already are."

Riza knew that answer wouldn't please him. His jaw set and he frowned in disapproval.

"I have been getting help, don't worry," Riza added hastily. "Why do you think I leave so early in the morning?"

Roy opened his mouth, but suddenly everything made sense.

"I have been training with Grumman too. He knows my… condition well and thought it wise he dealt with me on a one on one basis, rather than risking another panic attack."

"You have had one before?"

The mix of sadness and surprise in Roy's voice pulled at Riza's heart. I should have told him about this. "Yes. Even the little things would set me off." Riza rose her gaze from her knees, staring into the dark room. It felt less threatening now than it did three weeks ago. "Anything that reminded me of being in that cave."

"I swear Riza," Roy announced, giving her hand and shoulders a squeeze. "I will make them pay for this. You don't deserve to go through this."

The blonde shook her head. "No one does. But we need to be –"

"Smart, yes I know," Roy replied, finishing her sentence. Riza nudged him with her shoulder playfully, a small smile playing on her lips. It was an old argument, one that seemed to be repeated every day.

"Don't you think you are bias?" she asked, turning her body to face him directly, but never letting go of his hand.

"Not at all," he grinned, raising her caught hand to his lips. He then trailed them up her arm to the crook of her elbow, causing Riza's breath to shorten and her heart rate to increase. "In fact," he murmured, pulling her towards him. Riza stopped short of hitting his face, her smile mirroring his crooked grin. "I would say I am the fairest of them all." Roy punctuated his sentence by kissing her neck, trailing the kisses down to her clavicle.

Riza snorted derisively. "Okay, Snow White."

Roy grinned at her, bringing his head up to hers. They were inches apart, breathing in each other's breath. It mingled in the air between them, heating up their faces.

"I love you," Roy whispered, his cheeky grin fading to a soft smile.

"I love you too," Riza returned, overcome with the desire to kiss him. She told him in that kiss just how much she did love him. Grabbing the front of his shirt, Riza brought his lips to hers. Roy responded eagerly in turn.

As the pair made love to each other there on the couch, Riza didn't even think about the darkness surrounding them. If Roy was there with her, she had no reason to feel afraid. As she called out his name, she suddenly thought about how the darkness didn't seem so bad tonight.

"If you say clear you mind one more time Catalina so help me god."

Riza cackled at the display in front of her. Rebecca was trying, and failing, once again to teach Roy how to be a werewolf. As Riza grinned she thought back to the day the brunette tried to teach him how to turn into a werewolf. Riza found herself doing things like that more often nowadays. Her therapist had encouraged the behaviour, seeing how happy it had made her.

"Well how about you do it then," Rebecca fired right back to the dark haired man. They glared at each other, neither backing down. She finally growled in frustration, throwing her arms up in the air helplessly. "You are a lost cause," she muttered, stomping over to sit beside Jean. In a huff, she sat and glared at Roy. Jean, on the other hand, chuckled at the exchange as he placed his arm around Rebecca's shoulder.

"Come on Becca, be fair to the man," he encouraged with a grin. "We can't all be graced with pure talent."

Roy turned his glare to the blonde man as he guffawed at Roy's reaction to his jab. Out of the three of them, Roy was the only one who hadn't mastered the technique of "befriending the wolf", or whatever the hell they wanted to call it.

It had been over a two months now and the beast simply didn't want to be at peace within him. No matter what they tried, his wolf was like a rebellious teenager. It didn't seem like a problem to Roy, but it was a problem to everyone else. And it was beginning to piss him off.

Havoc had even started a bet of how long it would take Roy to master it. Breda had the start of November. Falman declined to participate in such activities, but still watched with interest. Fuery was roped into it nervously, but even he had come out of his shell and bet before Christmas. Havoc had bet after the New Year. Being the subject of their mockery was not his idea of fun.

Seeing how pissed off Roy was getting, Riza finally stepped in.

"All right, try this," she offered. Standing from her place around their campfire, Riza grasped his hands in hers. She closed her eyes and focussed on her own wolf. It shifted within her as she visualised channelling her energy towards Roy. The wolf recognised its soul mate immediately. Riza could have sworn she heard it yip in response to the close proximity.

Roy felt something jolt in his chest. He looked at Riza in surprise, but the blonde had her eyes closed. The rest of their small group looked on either eagerly or with interest. His Aunt watched like a hawk at this new development. She didn't fully understand what was happening, neither did he, but she had become very interested in this whole community. Although she was desperate to return home, she had told him as much one night a few weeks ago, she seemed loath to leave just yet. Christmas was fascinated with the people here. She spent most of her time at the bar (typical) simply listening and gathering information. No surprises there. It wasn't to sell on, she assured him vehemently. She simply wanted to learn.

Refocussing on what was happening between him and Riza, his mind's eye was filled with a vision of the two wolves together. Riza's wolf sniffed him curiously before licking his muzzle. Roy's wolf jolted in surprise, simply staring at the blonde wolf. He's frozen like a love-struck teenager.

"What…"

"Shh!"

The rest leaned forward in anticipation, particularly the werewolves.

Riza opened her eyes with a grin and just like that, the blonde wolf was gone. Roy's wolf turned on the spot, searching eagerly, whining as he did so.

Crack.

Roy focussed his vision to in front of him, staring at Riza. Her golden eyes stared back. Without even thinking or willing it, Roy was a wolf and responded to her. He barked happily, licking her muzzle affectionately. A calm had washed over him that Roy couldn't explain. Whatever she had done to him, he was glad.

"No way," someone muttered in wonder.

Rebecca huffed in annoyance, thinking about how Roy never listens to her teaching, but somehow gets it right away when Riza comes along. It was petulant, but she was in a petulant mood right now thanks to that man.

Riza changed back with a grin. She turned to the group with a flourish. "Pay up boys."

Roy looked at her in shock.

"Wait!" Havoc called indignantly. "How do we know you aren't lying?"

Both Breda and Havoc changed into their wolves in sync. They approached Roy and sniffed while they stared at the black wolf.

Instead of the wolf becoming aggressive at the intrusion of his personal space, not to mention at the thinly veiled challenge they were presenting, he was calm. Roy was surprised. He hadn't expected that reaction. He was in complete control of the wolf. He had been in control before, but if his emotions ran away with him, it became harder to stop it from growling at his other pack members if they posed even the slightest threat.

Satisfied, Havoc and Breda changed back, grumbling in irritation as they reached for their pockets.

"Pay the woman, Fuery," Havoc barked.

Changing back, he looked at Riza accusingly. "You bet too?" Riza grinned at his incredulous tone.

"Of course."

Havoc, Breda, and Fuery handed over fifty bucks each to a smug Riza. They weren't very happy about it.

"What is it with you two?" Breda wondered aloud, the sullen look in his face comical.

"Soul mates," Riza announced. Roy continued to stare at her in shock, and also quite indignantly. He still couldn't quite believe she had bet on him.

Breda stared at her with an open mouth. "Well that explains it!" he cried, throwing his hands up in frustration. He pointed an accusing finger at her. "You little sneak!"

"You never said we had to play fair," Riza winked.

The ginger man was left gaping at Riza, but he had found a new respect for the woman. She had outplayed him.

"Explain what?" Fuery piped up, confused.

Breda, with his hands on his hips, turned to the young man. "Werewolves who are soul mates are connected in spirit. They can feel what the other feels, see what they can see – to an extent – yada, yada, yada. Since they are connected, Riza's wolf helped sooth Roy's, and in turn, helped Roy gain control." At the sight of Fuery's still confused expression, Breda sighed dramatically. "Riza essentially just helped Roy to become one with his wolf. She knew she could do this, because I told her that it was possible! So she saved it for today so she would win the bet." He shook his head, but finished with a grin. Holding out his hand for her to shake, Riza grasped it. "Well played!"

"I can't believe you bet on me," he muttered, indignant.

Riza laughed. "Just remember, half of this is yours."

That perked Roy up and he grinned at her. "I knew I loved you for a reason."

"Think of it as a Christmas gift," Riza added softly.

Roy smiled. "Thank you." His apology was sincere and held more meaning behind it than simply thanking her for money. Yet again, she had helped him understand himself better. What he ever did to deserve this woman, he didn't know. But he would sure as hell make it up to her.

"Come on love birds," Christmas called. "Food is out." Despite her short command, she watched the pair fondly, glad her nephew had found someone who meant so much to him.