A/N: Thanks to guardian music angel, Niffer01, Cara Mascara, Twilightloverkaren, nicole 317, and native-kitten for their reviews of the last couple chapters.

God, I feel so stoooopid! I had written his a couple weeks ago, then totally forgot that I hadn't posted it! I'm still figuring out where this is going to go, so bear with me. Also, the 'Chase Collins: Live or Die' poll on my profile page is still running - please vote!

I'm on vacation at the moment, so I'm hoping to have more time to write, but no guarantees.

Review and Enjoy!

He slammed her car into gear, tearing off, leaving Jess's lost eyes behind him. He knew she would be safe with them, and he could still hear Talia's raspy breath from where she lay in the backseat.

He couldn't loose her, not Tal. The sight of that branch speeding through the air into his little sister's chest… It would haunt him forever, more so if he lost her.

But he wouldn't, he decided; his knuckles clenching white around the steering wheel. He thought frantically. The nearest healer was too far, but there had to be someone closer. Another pack, a witch… Wait! Ophelia was in Boston, less than half an hour away at the speed he was going. She had to be able to do something!

He quickly pulled out his cell phone and punched in her number, praying to the Phone Gods that she was there.

After four rings, he was feeling cold dread spilling down his spine.

"Hello?" Ophelia's slightly breathless voice answered.

"It's Will. Tal's been hurt, I'm bringing her to you, we won't make it to a healer," he said tightly.

"Okay, but—"

"We'll be there in twenty," he cut her of, snapping the phone shut.

He didn't want to hear that she couldn't fix Tal; she had to. He wasn't going to loose another sibling.

He pulled up quickly to the address he had, quickly but gently pulling Tal out of the backseat and running up the stairs of the small, wooden two-storey surrounded by lush plants.

Ophelia was waiting, paling visibly at the sight of Talia, despite her dark skin tone.

"Is she…"

"She's still breathing," he snapped as he passed through the door she was holding open for him.

"Second door to the left," she said, before he could ask.

It was a small bedroom, with fresh towel, gently teaming water and handfuls of herbs sitting next to the single bed in the middle of the room. He sat Talia on the bed, careful of her wound. Blood was steadily trickling out, staining the sheets.

Ophelia pushed him out of the way and bent over Tal. He didn't complain, just moved to the other side of the bed and took her limp hand. He looked at the witch. Her eyes were closed, her breathing was deep. One hand was on Tal's forehead, the other on her chest, just above the branch.

"It's good you didn't pull it out, it slowed the bleeding," she murmured, not moving.

"Can you help her?" Oh, gods, please say yes, please say yes!

"Maybe. I might be able to pull the wood out without doing more damage. If I can do that, and if I can slow the bleeding long enough, she might be able to shift. Even then, it's not a guarantee, but it might be enough to get her to a healer to do the rest."

Will nodded. "Do your best. What can I do?"

"Keep holding her hand, you're grounding her. If I ask you to do something, you have to do it, no hesitations," she said, this time capturing his eyes to make sure he understood.

He nodded again.

Ophelia started digging though her herbs, preparing what she'd need. Will sat on the side of the bed and pushed the hair out of his sister's face. His little sister. What was it with big brothers and little sister? Always having to protect, to shelter them from the hurts of life. He hadn't done a very good job, but she'd always seemed so sure of herself.

Ophelia step back to Tal's side. "Okay, I'm going to start. When I tell you, you need to give her this draught." She handed him a warm mug. "It will wake her up. You'll have to get her to shift as soon as possible," she continued as she used scissors to remove her bloody clothes. "I'm no judge, but I'm hoping that she heal just enough to keep her alive 'till we can get her to a real healer."

He nodded again, stripping of his own clothes. Ophelia frowned, not understanding. "In this state, she needs a guide," he replied, resuming is place at her side.

Ophelia nodded, then gripped the branch lightly but firmly, not letting in move around. Will swallowed thickly. That branch was inside her.

The witch once again closed her eyes and began chanting softly under her breath. Willem didn't understand the words, but the sound made his skull itch.

He blinked. Then blinked again. The branch was getting greener. It was no longer dry, shrivelled, broken; instead, it was sprouting from the end, leaves curling. It twined up Ophelia's arm, and he could see the piece inside Tal was getting thinner, as if Ophelia was pulling it out with magic.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Ophelia snapped, "Now!"

He quickly poured the liquid into Talia's mouth, some of it spilling out over her cheeks. He was worried that nothing was going to happen, but then she spluttered a bit, swallowing convulsively. Just as the last of the branch slithered out of his sister, her eyes fluttered open, dazed and pain-filled.

"Will?" she rasped.

"Yeah Tal. Listen honey, you've gotta shift, okay? I'll be right here with you, but you've got to do it now."

She blinked, then nodded, grasping his hand back. She closed her eyes and gasped. He thought for a moment that she was too far gone, but suddenly her fur began to ripple, changing with his until a blood covered wolf was lying on the bed, and another was beside the bed, it's front paws on the sheets.

"Good, now shift back," Ophelia ordered.

Will began to shift back and was relieved to see her shifting back with him again. His heart stopped when she passed out, her now-human head lolling to the side.

Ophelia, who still had a hand on Tal's forehead, reassured him. "She's still alive, just unconscious. That's better, her body will heal quicker."

"Did it work?" he asked, almost scared of the answer.

"I think so," she replied, looking closely at Talia's still gaping wound. "The ribs have healed, the blood has almost stopped, and some of the deeper tissue has healed. It'll still need to be treated, if an infection sets in before we get her to a healer, even she won't be able to fight it off," she glanced up at him. "And could you please put some clothes on?"

Normally, he would have made some flirtatious comment about distracting her, but he was still to wired. They still needed to get her to a healer tonight if she was going to stand a chance.

Ophelia had just finished dressing the wound and he had just finished dressing himself when Talia groaned, her eyes snapping open.

"Reid?!"

"Shhh, honey. It's Will, you're going to be okay, I promise," he soothed, stroking her face.

"Will? Where's Reid? Is he okay?" she asked, her eyes wide with panic. It was in that second that Will realised just how much Tal cared about him.

"I… He ran off after Chase, but Pogue went after him. He'll be fine, well call and check in a minute okay?"

"Call?" She looked around as much as she could. "Where are we?"

"At my place. Will brought you here," Ophelia said, patting Talia's shoulder softly. "I gave you something to help with the pain, but it will still hurt if you move too much."

"Pain," she frowned, then understanding broke across her face and she looked down at her torso. "Ugh. I was a shish-kebab, wasn't I?"

Will couldn't help the laughter that boomed out of him. "Yeah, honey, you were."

"Give me your phone. I need to call him, let him know I'm okay," he was going to, but her eyes started drooping, and she started muttering.

"She'll probably be in-and-out for a while," Ophelia warned.

"He loves me, Will. He said so," she said softly.

He'd better, or I'll kill him, Will thought sardonically.

"I love him, too. So much, it hurts. I made him hurt, Will. I shouldn't have but I did. I lied to him!" her voice was becoming agitated.

"It's okay, you had to because of the job, he'll understand," he tried to sooth.

"No, no," she tossed her head. "After. I lied after. In the attic." Will's mind went back to when he had left them alone, sensing it wasn't time for over-protective brother to rear his head. "He told me he loved me even when he thought I was bad. I told him that I didn't, now he thinks I don't care!" she began to sob desperately.

"It's okay, Little Sister. He knows, I'm certain. A when we call him, he'll be so happy to hear that you're okay, that he'll forgive you anything."

"Really?" she whispered, sounding so child-like that his heart broke just a little.

"Really."

"And everything will be okay?" Tell me monsters don't exist, Will. Lie to me.

"Yeah. We'll get Collins, then go back in time for Jacob and Anna's baby, and everything will be perfect. Everyone will be happy." Happily Ever After.

"Good," she murmured, finally drifting off.

Before he could reach for his cell, there was a loud knocking at the front door. Will looked at Ophelia who frowned.

She walked to the door, Will close behind, ready to fight if there was a need. She opened the door, then gasped. Will tensed, especially when he felt the power rolling of the witches standing on the doorstep.

"Ophelia Arujo? You're wanted for questioning by the Clan Council. You will come with us," the forty-something female asked.

"No," Will growled from the hall behind her.

The witches blinked, noticing him for the first time. "Willem Sarka? You are also wanted for questioning," the male added.

Ophelia looked back a Will, silently telling him not to resist. He trusted her and backed down.

"We'll go freely," Ophelia said. "But I have an injured Lycan through there. I want your oath that she will get the proper treatment immediately."

The witches exchanged a look. Will knew they were weighing up their options. Say no, have a pissed of witch and wolf on their hands, risk starting a war over leaving someone injured; or swear, getting them to come easily. It was a no-brainer.

"You have my oath," the woman said. Will was expecting some grand gesture, like on 'Bewitched', but apparently that was it, as Ophelia nodded her acceptance.

Soon, Will was carrying Talia to a waiting truck, his movement shadowed closely by the male.

The doors slammed, leaving the three of them an eerie twilight from the neon lights as the truck jerked into movement.

Talia groaned. Then blinked. Then groaned again.

"Oww!"

"She's awake," a voice said from her left. She tried to see who it was, but she couldn't move, feeling metal digging in as she moved.

"Of course I'm fucking awake! Let me out!" she growled.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that," the voice replied, and a round face came into her view, upside-down. "You're in the custody of the Caldeira Clan out of New Mexico. Until I'm officially told, I'm not allowed to free you."

"I'm in New Mexico?!" Talia gasped in shock.

The face smiled. "No. You're in Troy."

"Illinois?!"

"New York."

"Oh." I didn't know there was a Troy in New York. "Where's my brother? Where's Ophelia?" she demanded.

"They're both fine, they're being questioned now. If you co-operate, things will be much easier. Just let me finish, then I'll have you escorted to your room. I'm sure all this will be sorted out in no time." She began poking at Talia's abdomen.

Talia settled down, not giving in, just biding her time. She needed to know the lay of the land, find Will and Ophelia.

"How am I doing?" Talia asked the healer.

"Well. You have stitches to keep the wound closed. You'll need to be careful not to tear them open. You might have a scar, I don't know. I don't work on many shifters," she admitted almost apologetically. "The witch that you came in with did a good job. You're very lucky."

Tal just nodded.

"Do you understand why you are here, Ms. Arujo?" a female interrogator with frizzy red hair asked.

"Not really, no one told me," Ophelia answered, trying to remain calm.

"You gained access to restricted Clan records with out permission. You passed them on to unauthorized people. Shapeshifters. You willingly aided them, without permission." Cold. Calm.

"I aided Joint Council agents in a Joint Council investigation," she defended, not bothering to lie. Interrogators were always strong psychics.

"You did not have authorization to access those files, and it was not up to you to decide who should be privy to such information. Do you understand? This is serious," Frizz continued, not blinking.

"Lives were at risk. A rogue was killing humans—"

"Not our problem," Frizz interrupted.

"Not normally. The shifters were handling it. But they found out that the rogue was working with a witch, and that they were going to target four other witches. I don't know all the details, I was just called in to investigate a memory block on the female wolf, and to find information. I figured that protecting innocent witches was more important than following the rules," Ophelia finished, looking pointedly at the older woman.

Frizz scowled, because she knew that Ophelia was right. The Witches highest code was 'Harm none, do what ye will.' Translated, it meant not letting harm come to innocents, either by action or inaction.

"Regardless, you knowingly broke the law. My superiors will decide what to do with you. In the meantime, you will remain confined here, in the quarters we have assigned you, and answer and questions we may have."

Ophelia didn't reply, and was soon left by herself, moving to lie on the bed. The sweat pants and baggy t-shirt they had given her itched, and she hoped this would all be over soon. She didn't regret what she had done, but she wasn't exactly looking forward to the consequences either.

Will stared at the petite brunette in front of him. She stared back.

"You're going to have to answer at some point, you know," she sighed. They had been there for ten minutes already, and he hadn't said a word, except to ask after Talia and the other witch.

He just smiled.

She sighed again.

He knew she couldn't really read him unless he was projecting; it was one of the benefits of being a shifter.

"Tell me what you were doing in Massachusetts, Mr. Sarka."

"Call me Will," he purred, leaning in close, putting all of his repressed sexual heat into those three words. He didn't miss the slight widening of her eyes. Well, well.

Smirking, he let his mind wander of the various sexual escapades he'd gotten up to over the years, broadcasting his thoughts so she would pick them up. Her eyes widened even further, and her breathing quickened, her hands clenching reflexively. After memories of one particularly wild night involving tequila, a different petite brunette and a balcony flashed through his mind, he heard her gasp, and he could smell her arousal.

She stood sharply, knocking her chair over. "I need a break. We…we're not getting anywhere," she stuttered, trying to keep her voice level. The door behind her buzzed as the lock released and she was through faster than he thought possible.

So the little witch was hot for him? Interesting. Probably saw him as the bad boy momma warned her against.

Will threw back his head and laughed. This might be fun.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE!" she screamed, her patience lost long ago.

She didn't know how long she'd been there, a good few days at least, judging by the meals they'd shoved through the doors. Someone had come to ask her questions, but she'd just growled at him 'till he'd run away. Well, walked out in exasperation.

She kicked the door again, only stopping when her chest twinged. She hadn't ripped the stitches. Yet. There was a dent in the door though.

"I WANT A PHONECALL! I WANT TO SPEAK TO MY ALPHA!"

Nothing. Cowards.

She kicked the door a few times, then began to fell a little lightheaded. She was still suffering from the blood loss, and she didn't want to change in front of the witches.

She lay down on the bed, worrying about Will, about Ophelia, about herself. But her biggest worry was Reid. She missed him. She just hoped he was safe, and okay. She hoped she hadn't missed his birthday.

Will heard a banging, and when he pressed his ear to the door, he could her muffled shouts. He couldn't make out the words, but her knew it was Talia, and she sounded pissed. And if she was pissed, she was okay.

A few days later, the brunette came back, not bothering to sit down.

"You're being released. There was certain…confusion over what happened, but that's been cleared up. You'll be dropped off at your motel, and Ms. Arujo had elected to go with you, rather than return to her home. It suits our purpose; we'll be investigating these… 'Sons', and we'd like to keep her nearby. Charges have not been dropped against her, but it's been decided she's not an immediate risk. Her access privileges have, of course, been revoked for the time being, pending the outcome of our investigation."

"Of course," he mocked lightly.

She frowned. "I don't believe you understand how lucky you are, Mr. Sarka."

He moved towards her, crowding her as much as possible. He shifted just enough to let his eyes change and his fangs grow a little. "You've got that wrong, sweet cheeks. You don't know how lucky you are. If you'd held us here longer, or done something…ill-advised, you would have had a war on your hands. And I'd bet on my fangs over your spells any day," he growled, menacingly. Then he stepped back, lightening his tone, once again human. "You ever decide you want to start calling me Will, you know where to find me," he winked, then walked out of the door to the waiting guards outside.

Once they were unceremoniously dumped at the motel, they found it empty. Asking the desk manager what day it was, getting a very odd look in return, Talia realised it was Reid's birthday in less than an hour.

The three of them hailed a cab and travelled to Reid's house, Talia convinced that's where he would be. They were planning on just strolling through the front door, but Talia knew there wasn't time. She needed to talk to him alone. She parted from Will and Ophelia and made her way to the second-floor balcony, despite her stitches. Jimmying the door, she slipped inside; praying that whatever expensive alarm system they had was turned off.

Remembering Reid saying once that he had and attic bedroom, she made her way out into the hall then looked quietly though the doors and along the corridor until she found a flight of stairs. Taking them quickly and pushing open the door, her hearing picked up the sound of doors slamming downstairs, and someone headed upstairs. Looking through the CD's scattered next to his Hi-Fi, she found the one she was looking for, and set it to the right track. She needed to say it right, before it was too late. She had spent the last week convincing herself that he would never forgive her and her heart was pounding in her chest.

Mick Jagger had only just started singing when the door opened and Reid stood in the doorway, as hansom as ever, blond hair dishelveled, long, lean body tensed for a fight. The only thing she didn't welcome was the full-black of his eyes. She prayed it wasn't too late.

"TYLER!" Reid roared from above them. They all froze.

Had something gone wrong? Was he dark?

Tyler was about to start towards the stairs, but stopped when he hear Reid barrelling down them.

"Tyler, you little rat! How could you do that?!" Reid yelled as he all but jumped down the last set of steps. Everyone relaxed as soon as they saw his blue eyes, but they still had no clue what he was talking about.

"Reid, what are you talking about? Are you okay?" Tyler asked, bewildered.

"Where's Talia?!" Jess asked before he could reply.

"Here," Tal called from the second floor. She appeared around the turn in the stairs and began making her way slowly down. She looked pale and tired, but it was still a huge improvement from the last time they'd seen her.

"Your really alive," Alex whispered from where she stood next to Pogue.

"Well, what can I say? Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated."

Jess tore away from Tyler's arms and shot up the stairs, meeting Talia halfway down. Rena wasn't far behind. They hugged, kissed, laughed and the others looked set to join them, but Tyler was more concerned with the fact that his best friend was staring daggers at him.

"Reid?" he asked, worried.

"You. Jess. Talia." He smiled darkly. "Bouillon cubes. Black dye."

Tyler swallowed, and looked towards where Jess and Tal had frozen on the stairs. Jess's eyes were wide with shock, but Tal had a knowing smile dancing over her lips.

"You…" Tyler cleared his throat. "You told him?"

Talia grinned.

Pogue was frowning, but Caleb was looking between Tyler Jess and Tal, understanding dawning across his face. Apparently, Alex and Sarah had already figured it out, as they were trying to suppress their laughter.

"You did it?" Caleb asked.

Tyler, seeing no alternative, just nodded.

Alex was now laughing out loud, clutching onto a confused Pogue.

"You three were the one that pulled that stunt at the pool?" Caleb asked again, obviously finding it hard to understand.

"Yup," Talia said cheerfully as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Don't blame Ty," Jess defended. "We talked him into it." Not exactly true, but Tyler appreciated her attempt to defend him.

Caleb just shook his head, but Reid was still glaring at him.

"Reid," Talia said, coming to stand behind him. "You know you got over it already, remember?" Reid's eyes glazed a little. "Come on. I need to sit down."

Reid followed close behind her and sat next to her, gently putting an arm around her shoulders. What ever had gone on up in that room, it would seem that they'd both gotten over whatever issues they had before.

Rena, who along with Garret and Ophelia had no idea what they had been talking about, but now she stepped to the front.

"This has turned into a bit of a drama. The Council have allowed us blood rights on Collins because of what he did to Talia," she nodded solemnly at the girl. Reid's arm tightened reflexively. "We're allowed to stay here until it's fulfilled. But the witches are officially taking over the investigation."

Will cursed under his breath.

"I know, I know, but now that Vargssen is out of the picture, us shifters no longer have a stake in this. The witches have arranged a meeting for tomorrow with the Sons at which I would guess they'd want to discuss your place in the witch hierarchy. That is your business, and we're not allowed to interfere. Fortunately you already have two witches willing to give you a little advice in that area." Alex and Ophelia nodded.

"But," Garret took over, "Since you both asked directly to speak to your Alpha several times and they ignored you, that means they broke Joint Council law, and they'll have a lot to answer for. Jacob will not be pleased," he added with relish.

"So this meeting. What do they want from us?" Caleb asked.

Ophelia cleared her throat, unsure about her place in all this, but knowing she was the right person to answer the question. "Finding four powerful witches such as yourselves is unheard of. The Witch Clans like power," she glanced apologetically at her younger cousin. "They'll try and get you on their side, try to convince you to work for them. That's your choice. It would certainly be suicide to go against them; they would see you as a threat and try to take you out. Different Clans might try to place a stake on you, claim you as their own, but that's irrelevant really. You have to decide if you want to be part of the Witch Council or not. If so, you'd be under their authority, have to follow their rules, if not, well…" she shrugged.

"They wouldn't be too happy," Caleb nodded in understanding.

"They sound like real peaches," Reid commented sarcastically.

"It's not as bad as that," Talia replied. "Before the Clans organised, it was chaos. Witch fought one another, humans, shifters, anyone. Innocent people were killed, the was no rule, no law. It was the same for the Shifters. All the tales of evil sorcerers and rabid werewolves, they all come from somewhere. But eventually we all realised that we couldn't continue that way. It was bloody and hard, but eventually the Witches and Shifters formed their own controlling bodies, and in the end, the Joint Council. They may be egotistical and ruthless, but they keep their people in line."

"An take care of people like Vargssen," Will added.

"It's not perfect, not by far, but it's better than the alternative," Talia concluded.

Everyone nodded in understanding.

Rena cleared her throat, drawing attention back to the issue. "You boys need to figure out what it is you want, and it's not a choice we can make for you. You'll have the packs friendship either way, but you need to be damn sure of your decision, because it's one that you'll have to live with forever."