I wasn't sure about the slight change of looks, but I still went with it. Hope you won't be against it.

And yes, you got me, I was totally inspired by his role as Brandon North.

Also, big thanks to the three lovely people who commented. I really appreciate it.

Chapter 1

Bonnie Bennett was a workaholic. She didn't know that before, but after she started living her life of an ordinary non-witch, where she didn't have to constantly burden herself with everyone's problems and happiness but her own, she started noticing things about herself that she didn't even suspect were a part of her personality.

It didn't matter if she was trying to save her friends or the whole town, or working night shifts as a waitress in the local bar, as long as she had something to do that would keep her constantly on the go, leaving her with little to no time to dwell on the dark thoughts that were always in the back of her mind. She needed a distraction in order to keep her personal demons as far away as possible, and pretending to live an average human life seemed to do the work just fine, given that she never really had the chance to find herself a job, or a hobby, or to worry about trivial things such as paying her bills, always too busy switching between being dead or being used by the people or rather non-people in her life.

It didn't bother her that she was alone either, or at least that was what she kept telling herself. She's been alone before, many times, for as long as she can remember, why should it bother her? She learned how to love the solitude, to embrace it.

Bonnie sighed, annoyed that she caught herself doing her usual self-pitying routine, and looked around the bar with tired eyes, noticing that it was unusually quiet and empty for that time of the night, trying not to linger her gaze for too long on the only two clients that were currently present.

Her two co-workers and the closest thing she had to friends in this town, along with the bartender, seeing that there were no clients, decided to go outside for a brief time-off and have a smoke. Bonnie, of course, declined their offer to join them, which left her with the two men at the furthest corner of the bar, who were seated at the table of one of her friends and were already served their drinks, which meant that she wasn't responsible for their comfort and could just ignore them and chill out, but something inside her was making it impossible for her to keep both her thoughts and eyes away from them.

They seemed to be nonstop discussing something for the past half an hour and she may or may not have tried to shamelessly overhear something, but she couldn't really pick up anything from their conversation since they were too far away. One of them, the one with the mahogany red hair and the most serious and calm face she's ever seen on a person, suddenly stood up from his place, his body language telling her that he probably forgot something in his car, then he headed to the exit and less than a minute later he was back again, picking up their incessant chatter from where it last ended. As she watched him moving around, she had the chance to take a more detailed look at him, but she was pretty positive that she never met him before.

She couldn't take a good peek at the other one, though. He was positioned in a way that only allowed her to see his profile, his blonde hair, the outline of his strong jaw and what seemed to her a few days worth of stubble. She probably had no real reason for her sudden worry, she tried to convince herself that, yet the familiar, never-ending feeling of something bad that is about to happen still kept its hold around her little heart.

She stole another last glance at the two suspicious looking men, before turning her back on them and decided to make herself some coffee to help her go through the last two hours of her shift and maybe even help her clear out the intruding, paranoid thoughts inside her head. All the while she was fussing around, picking up a coffee cup and searching for the cream, she could swear she felt their eyes glued on her back as if burning holes inside her flesh. When she finally turned around to sit on the stool chair and took her first sip of hot coffee, she heard a voice calling and her head turned right, landing on their table, feeling anxious all over again.

"Miss-", The one with the red hair made a gesture with his hand, a clear sign that she was expected to be a good waitress and see what else they were in need for. She really didn't want to go, but she also couldn't say no to a client, even if technically they weren't her clients. So she took one last sip of her coffee, raised from the chair, putting a professional I'm-here-to-fulfill-your-every-wish smile on her face and headed in their direction, until she was standing face to face with a pair of ice blue eyes and a mouth twisted in what seemed an attempt of a warm smile to match her own, while the blonde one still refused to look at her.

"Can I help you with something?" She asked politely and somehow managed to keep a calm and light expression, concealing the unexplained fear these men were making her feel.

Then everything happened so fast she didn't even have the chance to scream or maybe even faint.

The red-haired one straightened from his sitting position so abruptly that before she realized it he was already pulling a gun at her.

"You're coming with us." Short and clear.

And if she felt fear before, now she could feel her heart jumping between the cage of her ribs so fast she was sure it was literally about to burst out.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, I don't even know you." But as if he didn't hear her at all, he just stepped in even closer, the barrel of the gun now almost touching her forehead.

At first her brain made the naive assumption that they were nothing but two criminals greedy for her money, but then she made the mistake to avert her gaze and look at the other man, hoping that maybe only one of them was insane, hoping that maybe there's a chance for him to interfere and stop this absurdity without anyone getting hurt.

But not with her luck.

For a brief moment she believed that she was actually walking on a good path, that she was actually living an almost normal, almost satisfying life, and then she crossed eyes with the one man there was no chance she couldn't recognize, even if it was five years later, even if he had dyed his hair, even if she saw him with her own eyes getting his head ripped off.

She thought she could recognize Kai Parker everywhere and every time, which made her feel that much more stupid for not having been able to predict what was happening and what was now already too late to prevent.

His emotionless expression was suddenly replaced with a mischievous grin, the sparks in his eyes telling her that he knew what she was thinking and that he was having fun watching her confused expression.

She knew she just entered or rather just got led into a dangerous, unknown territory, but she tried her hardest not to panic.

None of them spoke for a few very long seconds, keeping their intense stares locked on each other – him still in his casual sitting position, and her standing frozen in one place with hands clenched into fists.

She didn't know if he recognized her, he must have. She didn't look much different, except for her much longer hair that was now put into a messy ponytail.

She opened her mouth, ready to blurt out the first question that came to her mind, but then she decided against it. She had a million and one questions – how are you not dead?, how did you find me?, what is it that you want from me? – but she did not dare ask any of them. She knew he was already feeling victorious, no need to prove him any further that he was, in fact, the one who had the upper hand.

"Don't even contemplate on using magic on any of us." He suddenly spoke, taking her out of her trance. "Erase whatever neat spell you have stored inside your pretty, smart head, because, trust me, you'll be dead with a bullet in your heart long before you manage to spell out the words."

Then he finally straightened up from his sitting position, passed around the table with the grace of a hungry predator and faced her, leaning over her much smaller body.

She swallowed, her throat dry, and silently thanked the universe that at least none of her co-workers were anywhere to be seen, that no one was going to see her like this – weak, backed into a corner. Or even worse. Maybe soon she was going to end up dead on the cold floor and this time there won't be a prison world or friends who're going to mourn her and attempt to bring her back from the dead.

"I see you've got a tattoo, a pair of wings on your shoulder blades," he smirked at her, "Next time choose your clothes wisely, Bon-Bon, that sexy backless crop top of yours is what did you in." He finished, his smug face making it hard for her to control herself and his words deepening her confusion even more.

But she couldn't let his obvious advantage get to her. She was in many similar situations before and she still survived every single time, she could do it again, she just had to want it hard enough and be smarter than everyone else, like she's always had.

Then, just in time, a thought passed her mind.

All his chatter about her clothes made her realize that she still had her car keys inside the pocket of her baggy jeans.

She sighed, feigning resignation, and said in what she praised herself for a seemingly calm voice, "Listen, why don't we go and handle this outside?", then she pretended to look somewhere in the long distance behind his back, faking obvious anxiousness that wasn't actually that much fake as she wanted it to be, and then added, "A client or the whole staff can walk in every moment. Aren't you afraid they may call the police and complicate things even more?", she said everything in one breath, her nerves taut as the strings of a bow.

He threw her a knowing smile, which startled her for a second, but then she brushed it off. She didn't care if he suspected her in something or if he knew something she did not. She wouldn't even care if he underestimated her and intentionally decided to go along with her little scheme just to see her what she'd do, as long as they were out of the bar where her chances of escape were non-existent.

To her surprise, he suddenly stepped away and said, "Ladies first."

So she braced herself and lead the way.

##########

They went out the back door, the little space between them not doing much for her bravery, neither did the gun his partner was still holding aimed at the back of her head as they were walking.

It also didn't take her long to realize her first mistake. She cursed internally as she saw the entire staff in a pile in front of the bins. So he knew she was pretending.

She heard his laughter behind her, annoyed at the way he seemed to always be in tune with her every emotion, no matter how hard she was trying to mask them.

She did not know whether they killed them or just knocked them out, but she swore she wasn't going to let them do the same thing to her, she refused to be used and abused for whatever purpose they wanted her for and then be thrown out like an object.

She wrapped her hand around the silver medallion around her neck that was a gift from her grandma and tried her hardest to focus on her breathing and inner strength rather than on all the awful possible scenarios playing inside her head.

She only had a few brief seconds of privacy, before Kai's cold hand wrapped around her wrist and turned her to face him with an abrupt force.

"Don't worry, they're not dead, I just magically sedated them." He winked at her. "You, on the other hand, may not be that lucky, unless, of course, you behave like the good girl I know you are."

And without giving her a chance to answer him, he turned his head to his friend and muttered something in Russian, which sounded to her like a command for him to leave them alone, and her guess was soon verified as they both watched him walk away and get inside a car, soon nowhere to be seen. For once she was actually glad for men's arrogance, always thinking they can easily handle a woman all on their own. At least now she wasn't outnumbered, though, knowing Kai and his sociopathic ways, she wasn't sure if this was any real consolation.

In between their small talk and afterwards while Kai was still busy keeping an eye on the red-haired one all the way through his small walk from where they were standing to his car - as if he didn't believe him he'd do as he was told - Bonnie took advantage of his distraction to take a closer look at his face. She was trying her hardest not to get intimidated or distracted by it, but hell if he didn't look just as good with blonde hair as he did with brown. The contrast between the light blonde and his dark brows and two days' worth of stubble was making him hard to ignore. The fact that all psychopaths were given such good looks was the reason why Bonnie refused to believe in God.

His head snapped back in her direction and she was looking again inside those royal-blue eyes, filled with obvious amusement from having caught her staring, "You missed me?"

She smiled sweetly at him, leaning in closer, her warm breath caressing his cheek, "As if!", she hissed in his face and before he could react, she smashed the heel of her boots right on top of his foot, followed by an immediate kick in his groin.

She heard him screaming something about her being an annoying tease, but she didn't waste time paying attention to what was flying out of his never shutting mouth, and took off in full sprint with the only goal in her mind to reach and get inside her car.

She tried to open the stupid car door, but her hands were trembling like leafs and the keys fell on the ground. In a flash she found herself with her hands behind her back, both of her wrists in a tight grip, and her cheek painfully pressed against the car window, his massive body covering hers, "Now that wasn't a smart move", she heard him whisper close to her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

And up in flames went all her chances for a fast escape.

She felt his hand forcefully tangling into her hair, completely loosening her already messy ponytail, making her curls spill all around her face, and with a swift motion, he turned her to face him, or rather face the inhuman rage in his blazing eyes. She let out a slight whimper when his body connected with hers again and he pressed all his weight down on her with the clear intention to crush her between himself and the car door, but then he regained control and eased some of the pressure, adding just a few millimeters between them, just so she can breathe effortlessly again.

She observed his features, now calmness radiating off his face again, and she was amazed by the way he could so easily change his moods – from hot to cold in a matter of seconds. But what would you expect from a lunatic like him?

"Sweet Bonnie, now comes the moment of truth." He said with an anticipating grin, enjoying the way her eyes widened, confirming once again that she had no idea what he was talking about or what fate had gotten her in the middle of. But clueless or not, that didn't mean she wasn't one of them. In fact, he was pretty positive it was her he was looking for. She fitted the oracle's description all right with her tattoo and the scar he knew she had right where he shot her with an arrow five years ago, add to that the fact that the Bennett bloodline was one of the most notorious and powerful witch bloodlines, and you have the last piece of the puzzle.

But he still needed to feel it with his own body just to be completely sure, he couldn't afford to be careless. So without wasting any more time, he planted very ungently his hands on both sides of her shoulders, waiting to taste some of that powerful magic running in her veins, to feel the magical alchemy of a prophecy being fulfilled in the air–

They both froze and stared at each other expectantly.

Nothing happened. He didn't feel anything.

Could he be wrong?

He let his hands fall from her shoulders, his palms smoothly caressing her skin all the way down to her elbows, and he felt the way she tried not to shiver under his touch.

And then he noticed it – the little curve of her mouth, the way she was now standing in front of him with more pride and less dread, and he knew it – the little witch tricked him again.

He then suddenly burst into maniacal laughter, his eyes never leaving hers, "Ah, Bonnie, always so thoughtful.", he chirped, enjoying how uncomfortable he was making her feel, pretty sure this wasn't the reaction she wanted to provoke in him.

"Where did you put it now, huh?" He stared down at her with a wide grin pasted on his face, looking like a kid excited to play hide and seek. "Why is it that every time I need you, you're always magicless?"

"Maybe because you're always after something that does not belong to you?" She fired back this time and met his challenging gaze.

"No offense, Bon, but life is a game of give and take, and I rather take." He looked at her, and she could taste the mockery in his voice as he then said, "Maybe if you tried to do the same once in a while, you wouldn't end up in situations like this every single time."

He finally pulled his body away from hers, but her freedom only lasted a second, before his fingers closed around one of her wrists like shackles, reminding her that she was under his control and better not try anything stupid like running away again.

Then he pulled out his cell phone with his other hand and dialed a number. Someone answered him, probably the red-haired guy, since he spoke in Russian again.

When the conversation ended he winked at her and commanded, "Get in the car."

"Why, where are you taking me?"

"I'm not taking you anywhere." He said as he opened the car door, "You, on the other hand, are going to show me where exactly you've hidden your precious magic."

Bonnie just rolled her eyes, obvious to her that she wasn't given a choice and she'd have to play along until she figures out how to get herself out of this mess. She tried to move and get in the passenger seat, but he stopped her, "What now?", she growled, already beyond annoyed with the turn of events.

He put the keys inside her palm, his fingers gently brushing over hers, "You'll drive."