Chloe's POV

I had no idea when we were starting our home school program, but it was a surprise to find out the next day. Ruth had a room set up with three tables big enough for about five people per table and a desk set for our teacher. It was pretty much set up like a small classroom.

We were expected to be up at eight and in class by nine. So when Tori and I got up, she went in for a shower and when she returned she insisted on doing my make-up. I still don't understand the point of the make-up since I wasn't going anywhere but the other side of the house with a room full of the same people I see every day. She took out the brown, grey and black eyeshadow, black eye liner and mascara and did a really nice smokey eye with it all. I have to admit, she was good.

We had five minutes to get to class, so we rushed downstairs and to the room where we found everyone else sitting and waiting. Bobby and Cole were at one table; Simon, Derek, and Amy were at another table, so Tori and I decided to sit with them. And that's when the teacher came in. For some reason I expected a female, but was surprised to see a well groomed, tall, and handsome man walk in. I can't even explain my surprise.

"Good morning, everyone," the teacher said aloud.

Everyone responded with a lazy 'good morning'.

"Wow, what a lively group we have here," he teased. When he didn't get the response he wanted, he awkwardly cleared his throat and went on to introduce himself as Mr. Briar. "I will be your teacher in, well...everything. I will be working with you individually."

Tori leaned towards me. "Just like Ms. Wang at Lyle House."

I nodded.

"You." Mr. Briar said.

I looked at him and saw he was pointing at me. I froze in place and I immediately thought I was already in trouble. Perfect.

"What's your name?" he asked.

I gulped. "C-Chloe."

Mr. Briar smiled in a sort of weird way. I couldn't quite figure it out. "Nice to meet you, Chloe." He moved on to everyone else.

...

School was for the day and Mr. Briar dismissed us. Well, everyone else but me. I stayed back and the teacher waited until everyone left the room to talk to me, but that probably wasn't going to be easy with Derek standing just inside the doorway.

"Yes, Derek?" Mr. Briar addressed him.

Derek motioned towards. "I'm waiting for Chloe."

Mr. Briar looked at me and winked before looking back at Derek. There was something in that gesture that made me suddenly uneasy and I think Derek picked up on that because he was suddenly standing upright instead of leaning against the wall.

"We'll just be a moment," Mr. Briar said. He motioned for Derek to leave but he didn't budge. The teacher chuckled and moved towards Derek with such ease, I think he was too confident in his abilities.

"Derek, I just want to have a one-on-one with Chloe about her academics. Is there really a cause for concern in that?"

Derek said nothing.

"Okay." He patted Derek on the shoulder and I could see him tense before stepping into the hall. I knew he wouldn't go far, but I could feel the closeness severing a bit and I sort of know what Derek meant when he said he felt like he couldn't breathe without me.

Mr. Briar shut the door and came back to sit on the table in front of me. His tie was loosened at the collar and the first two buttons were undone, which they weren't earlier. He sat down with a coolness that sort of made it feel like he was looking to impress.

...

"So what did that creepy teacher want with you?" Tori asked me as she sat down on her bed across from mine.

I shrugged. "We just discussed strategies of how to bring up my English mark."

Tori scoffed and shook her head. "Right." She laid down. "If I were you, I'd worry about Derek instead of Mr...What's His Name."

She was right. It's one thing to have a teacher potentially hit on you, but to add a six-foot-four genetically modified werewolf to the mix...Mr. Briar might as well hit the road. Although I don't want to think that him holding me back for fifteen minutes to discuss my English work is a sign of him flirting with me. If that man had any idea of what he was up against in this house, he would have disagreed to have any affiliation with us.

"I hardly think he was making a pass," I mentioned to Tori after the silence became deafening.

She shrugged this time. "I don't want to assume anything, but you need to watch your back Saunders."

I let the silence continue before something came to mind. Simon had already told me that Kit confessed to being Tori's biological father, but it meant something else when it finally came from her. When she first asked me about not really knowing my own mother, it struck a nerve and I wanted to help her through what was plaguing her mind.

"Are you ready to tell me why you asked me about my mother?"

Tori looked at me and then turned her eyes up towards the ceiling. At first I didn't think she was going to say anything except make her signature snippy remark how it's none of my damn business, but I was surprised by her actual response.

"Apparently," she began with a bite to her tone, "Kit is my real father."

I just sat there.

She started to laugh. "Can you believe that? Can you actually imagine Kit Bae being my father?" She jolted upright and looked at me with piercing eyes that sent shivers down my spine.

"I...I..."

Tori shook her head and sighed. "I think it's crap. He's got Simon and Derek. Hell, I'm no longer a part of a family anymore."

"Don't say that."

She glared at me now. "Why not? My mother raised me to believe that I had this great life. Meanwhile she was taking me to all of these bogus appointments, making claims that I was bi-polar and having me medicated."

"Tori, I -"

"She put me in a group home!" she continued as if she hadn't heard me. "She let these bastards experiment on me without so much as the bat of an eye!"

And for the first time since I met her, I actually saw tears form in Victoria Enright's eyes. All I wanted to do was embrace her like a sister and comfort her, but I knew she would hate that. Weeks ago I never would have believed that Tori had a vulnerable side because she hid it so well due to the life she lived with her mother. To see the broken expression on her face broke my heart and now all I wanted to do was cry with - in not for - her.

"Tori -"

"It's not fair!" Tori cried out loud, slamming her fists down on the bed and suddenly sparks flew from her hands and the room came to life.

All of the windows that were shut and locked had burst open wide, bringing in powerful gusts of wind. My hair was blowing in my face, making it hard to see Tori. Books were flying off shelves, beds were coming apart and the sparks in Tori's hands began shooting around the room. I threw myself down on the floor, protected by my bed and watched how Tori didn't even seem to notice the commotion she was causing. I tried to yell at her to stop, but she was too wound up and the wind coming in was too loud to scream over.

I have never seen her like this and to be honest, I'm pretty scared. The last time I watched things get bad was the first time I saw her in the hospital when we first encountered the Edison Group. My mere presence was enough to set her off and she got in trouble following that encounter.

"Tori!" I tried to shout, but it was no use.

I heard a loud banging at the bedroom door. It was clearly too loud in here to hear average banging on a door, so I figured it was Derek. Knowing his wolf hearing, he could hear everything. I wanted so much to run for the door, but light blue sparks were still shooting out around the room and I was afraid to get hit by one. I've come to realize that the strength of Tori's magic came from how upset she got. Right now she seemed pretty upset, so those bolts could be just short of lethal.

Suddenly, the bedroom door burst open and there stood Derek, Kit, Simon, and Ruth. Derek saw the activity happening and immediately shot both arms out to warn people as they rushed in behind him. His eyes immediately locked with mine and I could feel the worry and the fear radiating off of him as everything continued to happen.

My attention broke from Derek when I noticed Kit walking to Tori's side. He didn't seem to care much about the angry magic flying about the room as he knelt down beside his daughter. He reached out and gripped her arms tightly and closing his eyes. His mouth began to move as he seemed to be chanting a spell, I suppose to calm Tori down. At first I thought it was working until she opened her eyes and glared in my direction. Immediately, I cowered back into a wall, but I knew she wasn't really seeing me. She almost seemed...hypnotized. Was this normal among witches and sorcerers?

Tori rose a hand, pointing at me and that's when I heard it. All I saw was blue come towards me, thunder crashing and Derek yelling my name. At that moment, everything went black.