I decided that I should make a pretty good meal for Alpha... for Alex... since I had hurt him... twice. I could tell that his pride had taken a beating when I asked him to stop upstairs, but I didn't want... that. Not yet.

I opened the fridge and pulled out two packages of Tortellini. I put water in a pot and turned on the fire. When it was at a rolling boil, I added the pasta. I went to the cupboard and pulled out a sauce pan and the ingredients for my infamous creamy tomato sauce. Once all my chopped vegetables and spices where simmering in the pan, I turned around to wash my hands in the sink. I was looking out the small window when I saw a girl hurriedly walking down the street holding her arm. On closer inspection, I realized blood was running down it. She was constantly looking behind her, as if someone was chasing her. Her face was tear streaked and dirty yet she looked familiar.

"It's that girl... from school. The one who ran into me" I said, recalling how she had been speeding down the hallway of my school. She had hit me but been in such a hurry that she barely apologized. I threw the towel I was holding down as I ran to the front door.

"Be careful, little one" Memerat said quietly in my head.

I opened the door and stepped into the porch. The sound caught her attention and she almost jumped out of her skin. She stopped running and stared at me, recognition dawning her face. I turned sideways and gestured for her to come inside. She looked backward one more time and then hurried into the house.

My senses were giving me a strange feeling but I needed to find out more about her, so I led her into the kitchen so she could sit at the bar. She was looking around the kitchen like a scared animal.

"What's your name?" I asked cautiously. It calmly as I grabbed a cloth and ran water over it.

"Natasha" she said quietly. She had a very slight accent, Russian most likely.

"Hi Natasha, I'm Terri. I'm going to clean up your arm, ok?" I asked as I rounded the bar slowly and held the wash rag up for her to see. She extended her left arm toward me and I saw the deep gash that was oozing blood and some sort of black substance. I gently dabbed at the wound and she flinched but said nothing.

"Natasha, what is this black liquid? How did you get this cut?" I asked, looking up from my work into her eyes. She just stared at me blankly. I sighed and continued my works.

"It's poison" she said. I looked up alarmed.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt you" she assured me. "You don't have to clean my cut, I'm going to die anyways. The poison will kill me, shifter abilities or not".

"So you are a shifter. Good, then I don't have to pretend...how did you know I was a shifter?" I asked curiously.

"I-I can tell" she said, "uhh smell"

"Oh, alright. Why will it kill you but not harm me?" I said, ignoring her as I finished up my cleaning.

"I'm... allergic to it" she said.

"Well I'm not going to let you die. Wait here" I said and I sprinted up stairs. I quietly entered my room to find Alex asleep. I grabbed my medicinal suitcase and brought it downstairs.

"I'm going to flush the wound with multiple cleaning supplies, alright?" she nodded, but I could tell she had given up on the idea of living. I led her to the sink and put her arm under running water. I then grabbed the Hydrogen-Peroxide. I turned off the water and grabbed her arm firmly. I poured the Peroxide on her arm, letting the excess run into the sink. I then repeated the process with alcohol. By the end, the wound was clean and clear of black ooze and blood, but it was still deep and gaping.

"I'm going to stitch you up" I said, but then an idea came to me.

"I'm assuming the poison travels through the blood stream?" and she nodded again.

"I'm going to cauterize the wound, but you're going to have to trust me" I told her.

"Ok" she said. I flipped my palm over and concentrated on making my hand heat up. My tattoo began to harm up and was soon red hot. I turned my palm over and hovered it over her wound.

"Ready?" I asked and she nodded with a worried expression on her face. I pressed my hand against her arm and the smell of burning flesh reached my nose. She cried out but didn't move, thankfully. When I removed my hand, her wound was red. I grabbed my sterile needle set out of the bag and warmed the needle. I sewed up her gash and bandaged it tightly.

"It shouldn't spread. But I want you to stay here so I can monitor you. Here, take these and go lay on the couch in the living room" I said, handing her my special pills and water.

"I need to leave" she said before she walked through the doorway.

"No. You're going to stay for lunch" I said, never looking up at her as I mixed the sauce and the pasta together in a bowl. From my peripheral, I saw her take a hesitant step into the living room. I poured the contents into a glass dish and sprinkled Parmesan on top. I placed the dish into the oven to bake and leaned my hip against the counter.

Someone or something had Natasha scared out of her mind.

"I don't trust her or her story"

"Me either" I agreed mentally.

"Then why did you help her?"

"Innocent until proven guilty, remember?"

"Foolish way to help people kill you"

"One of the greatest aspects of being a leader is empathy"

" And a bloodthirsty desire for victory"

"I worry about you" I thought right as my oven beeped. I pulled open the oven and grabbed the dish without thinking about the fact that I wasn't wearing an oven mitt until it was too late.

Only... it didn't hurt. I placed the dish on the cabinet and checked my hand. No burn but my tattoo had warmed up and turned orange.

"Nifty...." I mumbled and dished out a huge serving of pasta into a bowl. I grabbed a bottle of water and headed up stairs. I opened the door only to find Alex sitting upon bed.

"I brought you food" I said quietly, holding up the bowl. He gave me a look of indifference but held out his hand for the bowl. I handed it to him and he took it and began eating.

"You're welcome" I said snidely, waiting for a thank you.

"You burned me with a fireball, it's the least you could do" he said with a mouth full of food.

"Alright, give me the food back" I said, reaching for the bowl.

"No way" he said, lifting the bowl out of my reach.

"No, you don't deserve it" I said reaching over him.

"Fine, thank you for the food" he said looking me in the eyes.

"You're Welc-" but I didn't finish as he pecked me on the lips with a kiss.

I leaned backward and stepped toward the door, not sure what to say.

"A-Alright, eat your food" I said, choosing to ignore what just happened.

"Hey" he said as I was walking out the door.

"What?"

"Whoever that is downstairs isn't welcome on my land unless they ask for my permission. Tell them I'm letting it slide since you trust them enough to let them in the house" he said with a raw intensity that gave me a shiver.

"Alright" I nodded, and closed the door.