The air was starting to cool, the warm day coming to an end and Norah tried to hide herself in Rylan's back, escaping the roaring wind.

Rylan had wasted no time dragging her out of the house, she had wanted to stay and grab some things but he promised they would come back tomorrow. At that moment, he just wanted to get her somewhere safe.

Before they left, she showed him what she'd been hiding in her pocket. Rylan had glanced at the diamonds, as if looking at scrap metal. "Do you want to me throw them out?"

Her hand hesitated, fingers unconsciously curling around the stones. "What if he comes back?"

Rylan kissed her forehead, moving his hand over her fist and pressing it closer together. "Keep them for now if you want, but that bastard won't be getting close enough to you to get his hands on them. If it stops you worrying though, I don't care if you hang on to them."

She nodded and had put the diamonds back in her pocket.

Rylan's hand reached down and squeezed her own which were clinging to his waist. He didn't have a jacket on, otherwise she would have put her hands in his pockets. His body was warm, despite the wind, and she spread her fingers across his abdomen, trying to absorb the warmth.

The bike bumped, turning onto a dirt road and she shifted her head, watching the trees blur past. The morning felt like a strange dream. One she'd rather forget. They pulled up in front of the house, the engine cutting off and Rylan sat back. Norah moved with him, her head still resting against his back. She didn't want to go in there and face everyone, to explain everything all over again. She'd rather just drive around and try to forget everything.

"Norah? You letting go anytime soon?"

She shook her head against his back and he chuckled softly, pulling her arms from around his waist. "Do I have to carry you in? Because if I do I have to tell you, I'm not against this plan."

He twisted, pulling her off the bike and standing with her. He reached over to pick her up and she slapped his hands away. "I'll walk."

They both stood still, one waiting for the other to move. When Norah's feet refused to move, Rylan grabbed her hand and pushed her forward.

"They won't bite," he murmured. "Unless they're eating and you try to take their food, because then all bets are off."

Her lips curled at his attempt to make her smile and he seemed satisfied that he got a response from her.

"Do you want me to tell them what happened, or do you want to do it yourself?"

She looked up, mouth opening to take his offer but paused. It was her problem, she knew she should do the right thing and explain it herself, rather than make Rylan do everything. An exhaustion had seeped through her during the ride and rather than play the stubborn independent card, she took his offer to share the load.

Making a decision, she answered, "can we do it together?"

Somehow, this seemed to make Rylan happier and he grinned. "Together then."

Cassie met them at the front door, worry and concern pouring from her face. "What's happened? Lucas told me to expect you."

Rylan squeezed Norah's hand. "Norah was attacked last night."

Cassie's face paled and Norah had a feeling the direction her mind was taking and quickly added, "It was someone I used to know, it wasn't a local."

She didn't use his name, but she knew Cassie had been thinking of Liam and the relief was instant. She masked it but Norah had seen it.

They headed into the kitchen and were met by the older Montoya's; Holden, Aston, Annie and a dark featured man Norah hadn't met yet.

Holden stood up and she felt his gaze move over her. "Who attacked you, Norah?"

His voice filled the large kitchen and though she knew he was a good man, his intimidating presence made it difficult to keep his gaze. "It was someone I knew back home, a man who got my brother into trouble."

Holden stepped forward and took her free hand. Norah had no choice but to let go of Rylan's as Holden guided her into his vacated seat. He turned to Rylan. "Get her a drink, son. Preferably something with a kick."

Rylan moved to the next room and appeared a moment later with a glass and bottle of scotch. Norah opened her mouth to protest but Holden silenced her. "It'll calm those nerves you're trying to hide."

Norah took the glass from Rylan and took a sip, the liquid burning all the way to her stomach. It was a comforting sensation and she took another sip before placing the glass on the counter.

Cassie watched her from the other side, clearly anxious to ask a thousand questions but restraining herself.  Aston stood up and moved to stand beside Cassie. "What happened?"

Together, Norah and Rylan recounted the events of the night before and that morning. Norah did her best to explain everything, but every now and then her voice would falter and Rylan would take over and explain what he could while she composed herself.

They listened in silence and Cassie had slowly moved around the counter as they spoke, finishing right beside Norah and she took hold of her hand when they finished. "You poor thing, all this time you've been hiding something so dark as that in your heart. You can stay here as long as you like, you're always welcome here."

Holden growled and she started. "Werewolves, Vampires - they are nothing compared to the monsters of man. His disappearance is somewhat unsettling."

A look passed between Holden and Aston, as if they had come to an understanding. Rylan leaned against the counter, eyes on Norah. "I'm going to go out to the cliffs and take a look around, see if I can figure out what happened. Would you mind giving me a hand, Pete? Everyone else is still at the Mill"

The other man nodded, standing up. "No problem."

Holden moved with them towards the door. "Aston and I will go and ask some questions." He faced "Norah, you'll be safe here, lass. Cassie's tougher than she looks."

Cassie squeezed her hand and Norah sent her a smile. The men walked out and Rylan waited back. Cassie took the hint and left the room.

"Are you all right?" She nodded, looking up at him as he stepped closer. "I'll be back later, I'll let Olivia know what's happened and tell her to come home straight after work."

Norah remembered their interactions that morning and knew they would both have apologies to make.

"Do you need anything from home?"

She thought for a moment and shook her head. "Nothing that can't wait until tomorrow."

He nodded, his fingers brushing her hair behind her ear. "Get some rest, and don't let Cassie drill you too much with questions because I know she's listening right now, probably with that stupid grin on her face -"

"It is not stupid!" A voice called from the dining room and Norah released a breathy laugh. Rylan kissed her once more before he left and Norah stood up as Cassie returned. Her eyes were shining brighter than before and Norah knew she was bursting to ask about her and Rylan.

Her eyes darted back and forth, fingers twitching as she restrained herself and Norah smiled. "It's okay, you can ask."

"Oh thank god!" Cassie rushed forward and took the seat next to her. "I know I should be taking care of you and offering you tea, but I'm so happy this has finally happened!"

Norah started to stand. "I can make us some tea -"

"Oh no, dear, sit down. I'll handle that. How do you take it?"

"Just black, thank you."

Cassie set about boiling the kettle and turned to face her, teabag in hand. She stared at Norah, who was starting to get uncomfortable before she shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm just so relieved Rylan found someone like you. He rarely brings girls home and when he does, they are never 'relationship' material. I wish you'd both met under kinder circumstances but I am glad you saved him in the forest that night."

Norah flushed. "He told you about that?"

She nodded. "He told me about it last night. Came home in such a foul mood, I made him tell me what was on his mind and before I knew it he'd told me all about you and how frustrating you were."

She smiled fondly, setting the cups on the counter. "Even though he was angry, I could still see his affection for you. I was a bit upset that you were pushing him away, but deep down I knew you must have had a reason for doing it. When I met you the other night I could tell there was something you were keeping from us."

Norah started. "How -?"

"I have my ways," Cassie grinned, tapping her nose. "Call it a mother's instinct. We know when you are keeping secrets from us. Anyway, I knew it wouldn't be long before he went back to you, I didn't imagine it to happen so quickly but I'm not complaining!"

Norah accepted the warm cup, tracing the rim with her finger. "I'm not sure how to distinguish what our relationship is, but I must admit it is a nice distraction from everything."

Cassie leaned against the counter, eyes sad. "Have you heard from your brother since he was put away?"

Norah and Rylan had left his phone call out, not wanting to explain the diamonds and Norah felt their weight in her pocket when he was mentioned.

"One phone call," she admitted, "but I hung up on him. I didn't want to talk with him."

Cassie nodded, taking a sip of tea. "I hope there comes a time when you can talk to him, I'm sure he never meant to hurt you, it just sounds like he got mixed up with the wrong people. Siblings shouldn't fight."

Her voice grew soft and Norah knew she wasn't thinking of her and Adam anymore. Not wanting her to be sad, Norah agreed to try and talk to him in the future.

Feeling tired, Norah finished her tea and asked Cassie if she could lie down for a little while. "Of course! How terrible I completely forgot that you've been injured. I'll put some ointment on your bruises before you lie down."

She followed Cassie out of the kitchen and up to the second floor. Cassie opened the second door on the right and motioned for her to wait inside. "This is Rylan's room, wait here and I'll be back."

She hurried down the hall and Norah stepped inside, looking around. It was a standard sized room, a double bed sat against two medium sized windows with deep blue curtains half open. A rumpled blue striped doona rested on side, two white pillows rumpled at the head of the bed. A dark wooden desk stood opposite, magazines and books scattered across it. Clothes were all over the floor leading to the built in cupboard on the left side of the room, and Norah resisted the urge to pick them up. The room held his familiar scent and she instantly felt comforted.

Cassie walked in, a small tube in hand and looked about with displeasure. "Sorry about the mess, I refuse to clean up after these boys, you have no idea how messy they all are, I could strangle them some days! I'll speak to Rylan about cleaning up later."

Norah wondered if she should say something about staying in Rylan's room. "I don't mind the mess, I can always stay with Olivia if you would prefer...?"

"Oh no! Don't be silly, we aren't so conservative in this house. We're all adults - apart from Olivia, if she tried to bring a boy home her grandfather would be smacking her hide!"

Norah grinned and Cassie mirrored her expression. "Sit down Norah and show me those bruises."

Norah let Cassie see all the bruises she had accumulated the day before, noticing her worried expression and the way she bit her lip to stop from commenting. Her touch was gentle and Norah found her eyes closing, her body relaxing and Cassie finished helping her put the cream on and gave her a motherly kiss on the head. "Get some sleep, dear. We'll wake you for dinner."

Leaving Norah, she closed the door quietly on her way out. Norah lay back on the bed, head resting on Rylan's pillow and closed her eyes, wishing that when she woke up it would have somehow blanked out all the bad things that had happened in the last twenty four hours.

*                             *                             *                             *                             *

Norah woke slowly, her head beginning to ache dully as the painkillers had worn off. She felt another weight on the bed and opened her eyes as she recognised the faint smell of floral perfume.

Olivia lay beside her, watching her anxiously. "Did I wake you?" she whispered.

Norah shook her head. "Didn't even hear you come in."

Olivia buried deeper into the spare pillow. "I'm so sorry about this morning, I should have known something was wrong -" Norah reached over and covered her mouth with her hand.

"I know and I'm just as much to blame for not telling you about my problems. Let's just call it even and forget it, okay?"

Olivia nodded, mumbling against Norah's hand. "I called you a bitch though so you get a free bitch to use at any time."

Norah smirked, moving her hand away. "I'll save it, for a rainy day." She looked around, noticing the sun had faded. "Has Rylan come back yet?"

"Not yet, they should be home soon, dinner's almost ready and the men in this family aren't ones to miss a meal. So, you and Rylan, huh? I totally knew it."

Norah couldn't stop the smile stretching across her face. Olivia grinned in return. "So getting married."

"Olivia!" she hissed. "Don't say stuff like that! People can hear you."

"No they can't, the bedrooms are all soundproofed, remember?"

"Oh right. Well, still no talk of marriage. I'm barely wrapping my head around suddenly finding myself in a relationship  without thinking of marriage."

Olivia nodded, though Norah could tell she hadn't heard the end of it. "I'm going to head down and give mom a hand with dinner. Did you want to come down?"

Norah nodded and made a detour to the bathroom before following Olivia downstairs. She tried to fix her hair, but it had become a knotted mess and she settled for tying it in a bun. Small shadows underlined her eyes and her skin was still pale. Splashing some water on her face, she hoped it would make a difference, though it probably only accentuated how crap she looked. Not in the mood to care much about her appearance, she gave up and headed downstairs.

The front door opened as she reached the bottom step and Luke and Logan walked in. Norah started to say hello and froze as Charlie followed them in, pulling his shirt on like the two men before him. Putting two and two together, her eyes widened. Charlie looked up in horror at her, knowing she had figured it out. Luke stepped in before Norah could drag Charlie away for an explanation.

"How are you, Norah? You look better since this morning."

"I'm fine, I'll be better when I have my keys back." She stared at him pointedly and he laughed.

Digging into his pocket he pulled out her keys and placed them in her hand. "You're not going to run again, are you?"

Her fingers curled around them. "Not anytime soon. Thank you for today."

He smiled. "Anytime. If you'll excuse me, dinner is calling."

He walked away towards the dining room and Norah grabbed Charlie as he tried to slip by with Logan.

"Norah -"

"Does Wendy know?" she demanded.

He shook his head. "And she never will if I have anything to do with it."

"Do you really think you can hide this from your sister?"

"I can try," he said weakly.

Norah sighed, letting him go. "I hope whatever reason you have for this, it was worth it."

"It was," he said quietly. "You won't -"

"I won't tell her," Norah finished. "But I plan on being there when she finds out, because I have no doubt she will and I look forward to watching her kill you."

"She won't be able to kill me," he laughed lightly.

Norah stared at him. "Wendy is obsessed with werewolf lore, she probably knows on the subject that you. Trust me, she'll be able to kill you."

Charlie's face paled as Norah walked passed him and she released the smile she had been holding back. It amused her that a werewolf was afraid of his human sister who was half his size. Olivia met her at the kitchen door, a knowing smile on her face and Norah grinned. "Do you need a hand?"

"Nope, we're all set. Head on into the dining room."

They went in and met the others who were already seated. Holden and Aston were back, Norah was tempted to ask what they'd found out but she held her tongue. Holden enquired after her health and she assured him she was feeling better. She sat next to Aaron and they started talking about a movie he'd watched the night before while Cassie heaped a plate of food and put it in front of Norah.

"I call dibs on Norah's leftovers," Aaron suddenly said, eyeing her plate.

Everyone groaned, Holden included and Norah laughed quietly. The door opened she sat up taller as Rylan and Peter walked in. Their faces were flushed from running and any sort of appetite vanished in wake of a need to hear what they had discovered. Rylan took the empty seat on her other side and Peter sat opposite her, sending her a grim smile.

Her heart sank.

Rylan touched her leg gently before grabbing his own food and Aaron touched her arm. She looked at him and he mouthed 'after dinner', knowing what she wanted to ask. Everyone had heard what had happened to her by now and she knew it would be rude to ruin their dinner so she waited, hands buried in her lap.

Dinner was a loud affair, everyone talking of their day and the problems at the Mill. Holden spoke of an old friend coming to visit in the coming weeks which had Olivia excited. Apparently it was a Vampire by the ridiculous name of Daddy.

"Daddy?" she asked dubiously.

Olivia nodded. "His real name is Dada or something, he's the head of the Lubau coven, one of the oldest in existence. He comes from Mesopotamia, how awesome is that?"

"Mesopotamia? He must be really old."

"For sure, he's one of the oldest known vampires in existence. Him and Grandad used to work together when Grandad was young. I met him once when I was really little. Rylan met him too, though he didn't know at the time he was a vampire."

Rylan nodded through mouthfuls of food, his eyes on Norah's plate. "Scared the hell out of me he did, one of the largest men I've ever met."

"How does he go...drinking blood?" Norah asked hesitantly, trying not to insult Holden's friend.

"He probably uses donors." Peter joined in.

"What are they?"

"Donors are people who offer basically offer themselves as meal tickets to vampires. The Liberex states that a vampire cannot feed off a human unless they are a donor and then there's a whole other set of laws just for donor's themselves."

Norah started to feel lost, there was so much she still didn't know. Her head still ached and she put off asking more questions about this Liberex until her head could handle it. Olivia and Peter continued to talk about Daddy and what they remembered of him. Rylan nudged Norah and pointed at her food. "Eat something."

She shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

Finishing his bite, he pulled out his phone and typed something, showing it to her below the table -

Try to eat something. Cassie's been staring at you for the last ten minutes.

She stopped herself from looking across the table at Cassie, but now she was aware of her eyes boring into her. She picked up her fork, trying to find something that would be easy to swallow past the lump of worry resting in her throat. Rylan typed something again and she glanced back down -

I can feed you if you want? ;-)

Rolling her eyes, she smiled shrewdly at him. 'Idiot' she mouthed at him and he sent her a wink, grinning.

Finally settling on the cauliflower, she picked at the small pieces, eating slowly until she'd managed to finish both the cauliflower and half of the peas on her plate. The majority of food was still untouched and she started pushing it towards Aaron.

A noise of indignation erupted to her left and she found Rylan looking at her plate in horror. "Why are you giving it to Aaron?"

"Because I called dibs, brother," Aaron grinned pulling the plate towards himself.

Rylan reached over Norah, grabbing at what he could before Aaron snatched it away. "I call dibs on your leftovers for every night from now on."

"You can't call dibs for multiple nights," Logan interrupted, eyeing the full plate with equal disappointment. "You know the dibs rules."

Rylan muttered under his breath and Norah patted his arm in mock sympathy. Rylan had finished his meal and started talking with Logan and Luke about things at the Mill. His hand found hers under the table, their fingers entwining on her lap and she covered his hand with her other, a blush covering her cheeks. Butterflies fluttered in her belly, it had been a while since someone had been so affectionate with her.

It wasn't much longer until all the food was gone and Olivia and Logan started clearing the table. Cassie headed into the kitchen to help and Norah started to rise, intent on helping but Rylan stopped her. Her stomach filled with dread.

"Did you find him?"

Rylan shook his head. "We didn't find him, but we did find evidence of others being there. Others we are more familiar with."

She looked around, wanting to know what was going on. "Liam was there?"

Peter nodded. "We could scent Liam and Nick. They were all over the cliffs and Daniel's scent left with them."

Norah struggled to breath, her grip on Rylan's hand tightening. "Does that mean he's alive?"

Holden cleared his throat. "Aston and I went to pay my grandson a visit and ask him about it. Stubborn lad wouldn't answer us but we could scent another man there, one we weren't familiar with. We traced his scent back to the cliffs you mentioned and I believe it is the same man. We have no other reason but to believe that he is alive."

She breathed deeply through her nose, trying to remain composed. "So, should I leave -"

"No," Rylan growled.

She slapped his hand. "I mean, I don't want to bring any trouble into your family -"

"Norah," Holden said quietly. "I don't think you understand yet. You told us this Daniel fell from the cliffs, that you believed him dead when you saw him. No human could have survived that fall without supernatural help."

Norah thought over his words, chest tightening as she realised their meaning. "They've turned him into a werewolf?"

The room was silent but their answer was deafening. Her body trembled and Rylan inched closer. "Wonderful," she whispered.

"You won't have anything to fear," Aston said gravely. "With the injuries he sustained it will be sometime before his body is fully healed and then they will need to teach him how to control his abilities. If they let him go rogue, which I doubt they will, it will bring not only the Blue Stone Council, but the Council of Nine upon them."

"Council of Nine?"

"The Council of all Supernatural beings," Rylan murmured.

Holden stood up, chair scraping loudly on the floorboards. "It looks like your trouble is now officially our own. If there's anything else we should know tell us now."

Norah shifted uncomfortably. "There is one thing."

She pulled out the diamonds and placed them on the table. Everyone's eyes sharpened and she told them about the stones and Daniel's lust for them. When she was finished there was a pause as everyone stared at the diamonds, slightly allured to their shine before the silence was broken.

"Do you want to hold onto them, Norah?" Holden asked. "We have a safe in the study if you would prefer to keep them there."

Norah nodded, relieved to put the diamonds out of her sight. "That would be great, thanks."

She gave the diamonds to Holden who left the room immediately to be put them away. Everyone started to drift away, doing their own thing for the night and Norah decided to head back to bed. They had had a late dinner and she was still exhausted. 

Rylan followed her upstairs and they said goodnight to Olivia as they passed her on the stairs. Closing the door, Rylan grabbed something beside the door. "Your shoe, Cinderella."

Her missing show was held out before him and she took it, smiling. There were teeth marks along the sole and she raised her eyebrow. "Were you chewing on my shoe?"

He chuckled and started searching through the mess that was his cupboard. Pulling out a black shirt, he threw it at her. "Wear this for tonight. We'll get your clothes tomorrow."

Norah hesitated, looking at the shirt. "Can't I borrow something from Olivia?"

"Nope, only clothes you wear in this room are yours or mine."

Norah flushed and turned away, changing into the large shirt which fell just above her knees. Keeping her shorts on, she stood awkwardly at the foot of the bed. It had been alright sleeping on it before when it was just herself. Now, she was more self conscious.

Rylan had stripped down to his briefs and was already climbing onto the bed. Norah sat on the edge. "Don't let me distract from your normal routine. If you want to watch or read something go ahead."

Rylan shook his head. "It's been a mad day, I'm ready for some shut eye. You planning on sleeping at the foot of the bed or you hopping in?"

She hesitated just long enough for Rylan to reach over and grab her arm, dragging her onto the bed. He got up to get the light and she glared at him. "I was getting there," she said hotly.

He rolled his eyes, flicking the light off. The mattress lowered as he climbed back into bed and she pulled the covers up to her chin, rolling away from him to the opposite side of the bed. His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against him and she elbowed him. "Stop dragging me around, dammit."

"Stop being so stubborn and I won't have to," he murmured into her hair.

Not wanting to argue, she closed her eyes, hand curling around his which rested on her stomach, and fell asleep to Rylan's whispered promises of protection.

_________________________________________

A/N: I apologise for the long writers block I've been experiencing. It's been a stressful couple of weeks, that's all I can say. On the side you'll see my Rylan <3 he says sorry too :-P