A/N: I know I said when I updated in January that I had another chapter almost ready for publication and I'm sorry it took me so long to get it to you. Originally it was longer than this and unfinished, but I realized when I went in to finish it that it was really a combination of two different chapters so I've posted this part and will work on the rest. Hopefully I will get it to you shortly. Enjoy!

Chris looked at his sleeping wife and buttoned his shirt.

There had been a change in the tide recently and their fighting had all but ceased. He had noticed Bianca was no longer withdrawing from him but neither was she sharing the valuable information his brother needed. On more than one occasion it had seemed as if she wanted to confide in him but something was holding her back.

It was enough to see her try and Chris felt his anger melting away. Sometimes you had to pick sides, and just like she and Mel had chosen Rae, Chris had chosen Wyatt. What else could he do?

There was no blame because Rae was her family and this crazy intersection of familial relationships was bound to make this situation messy. What it shouldn't have done, he was now realizing, was come between man and wife. He had done that. He had allowed for this drama to come between him and his wife.

Not anymore.

But there was still more work to be done.

Melinda filed paperwork and confirmed the liquor orders for Potions, moving about with little worry or concerns.

That was until an unexpected visitor called on her.

As she left the office to restock the bar before the first shift started Mel was yanked back by her hair and before she could do anything about it was pressed up against a wall. Mel let loose a scream and a hand clamped over her mouth.

"You haven't changed a bit," the voice oozed charm and Mel's eyes went wide. "Ah, little seer," the English accent spoke on, "as powerful in this life as the last. You've been up to no good I can see. How does your brother feel about the role you've played in the demise of his lover?"

Mel tried not to let him frighten her. She urged her body to calm down and think about how to escape when she felt every inch of of his 6'4" frame press firmly against her body, his nails digging into her upper arms as he slammed her back into the wall, hitting her head and making her woozy.

"Tell the King 'Thank you.' By binding the curse to himself he ensured his own destruction. All I have to do is sit back and delight in his tragedy," the visitor sneered before leaning in for a kiss.

Mel turned her head and his kiss was delivered to her hair, allowing her to feel his breath on her ears and neck as he whispered, "You were always my second favorite. Give my love to the Queen."

He was gone before she could blink the tears out of her lashes and Mel scrambled for her cell phone. Her fingers were shaking and it took her a moment before she could voice activate it. "Call Rae," she cried out and began moving behind the bar, gathering pouches of ingredients and a leather bound journal. Her phone dialed until someone picked up.

"He's here," Mel tried to maintain some semblance of control. "Don't go anywhere by yourself."

Wyatt became concerned when Rae's face dropped. He had seen her pick up the phone and could tell from the raised voice coming out of it that it was most likely his sister. She was upset and that was not the little sister he knew.

Mel took care of herself and everyone around her. She always had. If she was worried something had happened and if she was calling Rae then it could only be about one thing. The curse.

"I'm here with Wyatt," his queen spoke as she cast a wary glance at him. "Do you want us to come get you?"

"No," Mel said scrambling up the stairs of Potions. "I'm coming to you. He could be anywhere waiting for you to show up. I don't want to lead him to you by having you show up here."

"Won't he just follow you," Rae argued.

"I have wards on the car," Mel informed her friend and slammed her door shut, turning the key in the ignition and revving the engine. "He can't follow me. Still, I'm going to take some precautions. I should be there within the hour-"

"-it's a ten minute drive," Rae interrupted her, the terror evident in her shaking voice.

"And who knows what kind of magic he has on his side which is why I have to make sure I'm not being followed. I'll see you soon. Call my brothers and the cousins," the brunette said speeding out of the parking lot.

Rae signed and looked at her phone, angry at the dial tone that did more than suggest the other witch had hung up on her. Wyatt grabbed her arm and she looked up at the once and future King.

"Call your brother and cousins," the woman who had once been his queen directed. "He's here."

"Who is here?"

"The man who cursed me. The man that was responsible for the fall of Camelot."

"Mordred," Wyatt simply said and watched her eyes shoot up towards his.

"Yes," she answered, "but how-"

"-You aren't the only one who has been looking for answers. There is quite a bit of lore out there. His name seems to come up as a friend and rival, sometimes a nephew or warrior. A false King," Wyatt told her.

"It's worse that that," Rae told him. "Call your cousins. If he was able to get to Melinda he can get to all of us."

Mel pulled in a block away from Wyatt's apartment an called for Chris. He met her in her car, protective wards allowing only those who possessed Halliwell magic to enter it.

"You ready," he asked.

Mel shook her head and reused to look at her brother. "No," she bit her lip and let her head fall onto the steering wheel; her hair blanketing her face in falling layers. all the better to prevent people seeing you cry. And she did. Soundless little sobs that she tried to repress.

How could she still cry for him? She didn't know but better here than in front of the entire family, she thought.

The youngest of Piper Halliwell's children gained her composure and grabbed a bag from her visor before hanging it around Chris's neck. "Never take this off," she told him. "It will keep him from tracking you."

Chris touched the pouch as his eyes traveled to his little sister, someone whom had stopped needing his protection along time ago but whom would always have it. "Who is he," he asked, wanting to know who it was that could terrify the strongest woman he had ever known.

Mel wiped away a stray tear and looked back at her big brother. "Just get me to Wyatt's. I'll tell you everything once we're all together."

Chris wrapped his arm around his sister and orbed, unaware of watching eyes hiding behind the column the next row over.