A/N: Thanks to Love.Always.Alice.and.Jasper, native-kitten, Bookworm since birth, Niffer01, andKermitfries (I love your name!) for their reviews of the last two chapters. I'm glad you liked the prank!

I have to apologise for not posting a chapter yesterday, I actually had most of this one written, then I accidentally closed Word without saving. I know, I'm an idiot. I had one of those moments where I seriously contemplated throwing my laptop out the window, so I decided I might be better to go away and start again later.

Also, I've started another story (Fast and the Furious), but be assured, this one has first dibs when it comes to updates.

Review and Enjoy!

Reid stared at the back of Talia's head all through class. He couldn't figure it out. She'd been as shocked and amazed as everyone else, but there had been something that would flash in her eyes. Amusement maybe. He found it difficult to believe that she'd been responsible though. He shook his head. Maybe she just likes to watch me squirm.

It had taken him four cycles of 'lather, rinse, repeat' to get the smell of bouillon cubes off of him, and another seven to get the black dye out of his hair. To say he was pissed would be an understatement. He wanted revenge. But the thing was, if Talia was responsible, he kinda deserved it.

He was still struggling with the idea that she was the prankster, though. When anyone spoke about the 'Paint It Black Prank', the look on her face was just a little too innocent. He was starting to think that she wasn't quite the sweet, carefree girl everyone took her for. Like when he kissed her, or when she was angry, there was this spark in her eyes, something just…more.

He was just confusing himself again though. The first step is to find out if she was responsible, then figure out what to do.

Actually, that wasn't the first step. The first step was to apologise. He was going to try and talk to her after class, regardless of any scary looks she might give him.

Waiting for her after classes had ended for the day, he spoke before she had a chance to. "I know you hate me, and what I said was wrong, but I want to say…would you please stand still for a second so I can say sorry?"

She stopped, but wouldn't face him. After a moment she snapped, "Well?"

"I'm sorry, I messed up, I shouldn't have said those things, but I was drunk but that's no excuse and…"

"Reid," she quietly interrupted.

"Yeah?" he answered cautiously.

"I don't want to hear excuses. Are you sorry for what you said?"

"Yes. Definitely. I didn't mean it, and it was rude to say. I treated the three of you like crap and I'm truly sorry," he said honestly.

She finally turned and looked into his eyes, looking for the truth. She nodded once. "Okay. I accept you're apology, but if you ever do anything like that again, to anyone, all the 'sorrys' in the world won't save you. Understand?"

He nodded. "I've already spoken to Ty, do you think Jess would forgive me? I know I don't know her that well, but…"

She looked at him, laughter creeping into her eyes. "She was pretty pissed at you, but now she just feels sorry for you,"

"Feels sorry for me?" he frowned, "Why?"

"Well, for one thing, you have to deal with me."

"Ahh,"

Tal suddenly became serious again, "Look Reid, I've forgiven you, but I'm still a little angry. You just have to give it time, okay? I have to go. I'll talk to you later."

And with that, she was gone.

He meant to give her time, he really did, a couple days at least, but the next day he was walking along the hall with her and Sarah, and saw Kira and Aaron arguing with some willowy brunette. Normally this was not something that would concern him, except for the frowns that passed across Tal and Sarah's faces at the sight.

"I'll damn well do what I want in my own room and don't think going and ratting me out to the Provost will make any difference. I think you just jealous bitch, that you can't get your own man," Kira sneered, looping her arm around Aaron's.

"I don't give a flying fuck what you think, Snider. If you lock me out of my room again, I will report you!" the girl yelled back.

Aaron leaned in, a murderous look on his face. "Now listen up Alex, if you do I'll…"

He trailed off as her recognised the song that Talia had started humming as they walked past.

"What song is that?" Aaron demanded, his eyes narrowing on her.

Reid tensed, but held back as Talia turned to Aaron calmly, "Hmmm?"

"What song is it that you were just humming?" he asked again, agitated. While all of the guys had been understandably pissed, most had just laughed it off. Aaron however had taken it as a personal attack, and snapped at anyone who even mentioned it.

"Oh, just some dumb song I got stuck in my head," she said, her face a perfect mask of innocence, "I don't supposed you know what song it is? It's just that I heard that if you get a song stuck in you head you should listen to it and get it out of your system."

The brunette, Alex, clamped a hand over her mouth, her shoulders shaking with her repressed laugh.

Sarah started getting into the spirit of it too, adding, "Wait! Isn't that the song that was playing the other day when…" she trailed off as Aaron stomped off down the hall, dragging a glaring Kira after him.

The three girls burst out laughing, but while Reid found the whole situation hilarious, he had just realised something.

The oh-so-innocent look Talia had just given Abbot was the exact same one she gave him as they were standing next to the black pool.

He thought it through in his mind. It had to be her! He wasn't sure how she could have pulled it off, but everything else fitted. The song, the change in attitude, the fact that he had made some asinine comment about her dying her hair black.

Reid was surprised to find that the idea she was responsible didn't bother him. The idea of a badass Talia was kinda sexy. He wondered what else she was hiding.

He went to her room after school on Friday, knowing Sarah was already out with Caleb. He knocked on the door, and waiting while she answered the door.

"Reid? What do you want?" she asked surprised.

"Can I talk to you? It's important," he replied.

She frowned, but stepped back to let him in the room. Like him, she was still wearing her uniform; but a pair of jeans and a t-shirt were laid out on the bed. He noticed the top two buttons of her shirt were undone. She must have been changing.

Reid found himself drifting of in his own little world as he imagined her slowly removing her clothes, leaving her in just her underwear, at which point he would slowly unsnap her bra and fill his hands with her beautiful, round…

"Reid!" she yelled, snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"Sorry, um…" He shook his head, then remembered his battle plan. He took a step towards her, then another. "I know it was you,"

"What was me?" she said nervously, stepping back as he took another step forward.

He smiled darkly. "The dye, the pool, the music. I don't know how, but I know it was you," he took another step, crowding her against the door.

Her eyes darted from side-to-side, looking for a way out. "I don't know what you're talking about," she flinched, realising how clichéd that sounded.

"Riiight. I see it in you. You hide. I'm willing to bet that there's more to you than you let on. That you're just a little bit wild." He pressed his body up against hers, dipping his head to nibble on the shell of her ear.

His hand began to drift lazily up he thigh, lifting the hem of her skirt and snaking under. Her skin was smooth and warm, and as he drew his hand up higher, her breathing hitched, "You have no idea," she whispered, her hot breath tickling his ear.

Suddenly he was kissing her, sliding his tongue into her hot mouth and tasting her. Her hands were clutching at his face, threading though his hair and tugging him closer to her body. She began to slowly suck on his tongue, sending pleasure shocks shooting to his cock.

His hand reached her underwear and slipped inside, feeling her already wet. He knew it was to soon to try anything more, but damn if it wasn't tempting. He stroked her slick folds a few times until she moaned, then pulled back, giving her one last deep kiss before stepping back.

As he slowly licked her juice of his fingers, he kept his eyes fixed on her face. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair was rumpled and her grey eyes were dark with pleasure, and were solidly fixed on his actions.

"See," He grinned, knowing that for now he was in control. "Now I'm going to cash in my favour. You know, the debt you owe me,"

She frowned, snapping back to reality. "You're kidding."

"Nope," he replied smirking. "Tomorrow night is the bi-annual party at the Dells. I know you're already coming, Tyler told me. My favour is that you dance to one song with me."

"That's what you want? One dance?" she asked, a little surprised.

"Once dance with you. Dress like you would if you weren't playing whatever game it is you're playing. Act like yourself, not like Jess. If I think you're not being honest, the deal's off and you still owe me."

With that, he pulled her back from the door, intending to leave straight away, but he couldn't resist one last kiss, and grabbed her pulling her against his body and quickly took her mouth with his, letting go of her before he lost control of himself and then left the room, leaving her gasping behind him.

She was still standing there gaping five minutes later when her cell started buzzing on the desk.

"Hello?" she asked distractedly.

"It's me. I got a call from that witch in Boston. She's coming up in a couple of days, but she isn't sure that she can help. The Council aren't being much help on this one either, they're saying that unless it's directly about the rogue, it's none of our business. Needless to say, they don't know about you're little undercover assignment," Will sighed.

"Are you pulling me out?" she asked, surprised a just how much she wanted him to say no.

"Not yet, but if we can't come up with something to directly link them to the rogue, good or bad, then we're gonna have to move on, especially if another body turns up. Luckily, so far no girls have gone missing here or anywhere else nearby. Until we have a direction to move in, the Council is willing to keep us here. But that shifter's tip isn't enough to keep us here if bodies start turning up elsewhere," his voice was strained, and she understood how he felt. It was slow torture waiting for the next body to turn up. It was morbid, especially when they still had next to nothing on the rogue they were dealing with.

"It'll be okay, Will. We'll get him, we always do," she said trying to console her brother.

"Yeah, I guess. I just don't know how much more of this I can take. I swear, when we catch this guy, he gonna scream."

There was a pause while both of them contemplated just exactly what they would do to him to make him scream. Cheered by the thought, Talia told her brother, "Tell Jess there's another party tomorrow night, and I need her riding shotgun. And tell her to bring my car."

"Another party? Who are these people?" Will said, in mock-disgust.

"Oh, come on! When we're at home, your life is one non-stop party! You're just jealous you can't come," she said childishly.

"Yeah. I heard about that prank you pulled, real mature. You better not get caught," he warned.

"Sorry,"

"Rubber ducks, huh?" he asked in a curious tone.

"Yeah,"

"Cool,"

Will passed on Tal's message to Jess before making a few phone calls. After hanging up on the last one, he turned to Jess, "I'm heading out to do the rounds, I'll be back soon." She just nodded, without looking up from her computer.

Every evening, he would walk through the town, seeing if he could get a scent. He knew the odds weren't good; any wolf trying to stay hidden could disappear into the Willowdale National Forest for months without being seen. But sitting in that motel room day-in, day-out, with Jess tap-tap-tapping away at the keyboard was driving him crazy.

This case was really getting to him. Usually, their jobs just involved finding the latest kill, tracking the rogue's scent and killing it. Easy. But this one was different. This rogue had a plan, and he had no clue what it was.

He didn't like Talia and Jess being involved either. Usually, it was pretty clear-cut, and Talia was a good fighter. A very good fighter. But he was worried for their safety. He was also concerned about how close they were getting to the five locals. Part of him was glad that his sister and adopted sister were finally getting to be normal teenagers, gods know they didn't get a chance in their regular life, but he also knew the dangers.

Even ifthey weren't the bad guys, which he grudgingly had to admit seemed the case; things still would not end well. Once the job was done, he, Tal and Jess would have to go back home to Chicago, only to be sent somewhere else again on another job. The witches would most likely be a little pissy when they found out about these kids, and it was unlikely that they would be allowed near them for a while.

Not to mention the fact that if Tal did reveal to them that the three of them were shifters, they were unlikely to be happy about being lied to.

He wanted his sisters to be happy, and he could tell how attached they were getting, even if they hadn't figured it out quite yet. But he couldn't let them get their hearts broken. He wouldn't. It was his job to look after them, and he wasn't going to screw that up too. The only answer was to get the job wrapped up as quickly as possible, and get out of there before things got to complicated.

His thoughts were interrupted by a chirping from his pocket. Great way to give away your position, idiot. he mentally cursed.

Sighing, he flipped open his phone, "What is it Jess?"

"We got a tip-off through our Council contact. Another body," she replied, sounding defeated.

"Okay. Gimme the address, I'll check it out." He quickly memorised the address and figured out the quickest route. "You know what to do. If I don't call back in, say, an hour; get Tal, get somewhere safe, and call the Council, understand?"

"Yeah," she answered tightly.

He made his way to the location of the body, and was unsurprised when he found the building empty. Well, except for the other shifter standing half changed at the other side of the abandoned warehouse.

A trap. Didn't see that one coming. He mentally rolled his eyes. Yeah, right. He rolled his broad shoulders, getting ready to change. At least I'll finally get a piece of this son-of-a-bitch.

But as he reached for his second form, he felt like he was grasping at air. Fear shot through him.

"Having problems are we?" A voice said behind him. He spun quickly, recognising Chase Collins from his school photo. He positioned himself to keep both men in his line of sight. "It certainly seemed to bother the girl from a couple weeks ago. One of your friends, I assume?" Collins asked conversationally.

"Sister, by the smell of them," the rogue growled.

"Ah! Well, she certainly was fun to play with. Very pretty," Collins replied.

"Too bad your 'brothers' showed up," the rogue said to his buddy. "I wasn't done with her yet. Still, once we've taken care of the Sons, we'll have all the time in the world to get to know your sister better. Too bad you won't be around to see it."

"Yes. See we learn from our mistakes," Collins replied, just as the rogue ran for Will, back-handing him and sending him soaring into the far wall.

Coughing, he pulled himself up, and said, "Yeah, so do we. And I didn't come alone either."

There was a sudden roar from the doorway behind Chase, and the color drained from his face as he came face-to-muzzle with a giant black bear. "Fuck," he whimpered, before his eyes flashed black and he and the rogue disappeared in a swirl of smoke.

"Damnit!" Will roared, whirling and slamming his fist into the brick wall. He hadn't counted on them just disappearing. At least he knew how he'd lost the rogue's scent the night Tal was attacked.