A/N:

Alright, every one. I apologize for the long wait. In between the last chapter post and this one, a lot of things have gone down at my work. Namely, 3 people quit or moved to a different department in the same month. We've also just had another person saying they will be dropping from full-time to part-time (and ideally only 2 days instead of the 5 they'd been working before). So, what does this mean for me?

Stress...

So much stress.

It hasn't helped matters that other people in my department have either gone on vacation, medical, or personal leave on and off constantly over this month either. The management at my job are also not helping either, but that's another story.

Suffice it to say that I've basically been working a 12-15 hour shift once or twice nearly every week this month. Things have been very, very trying indeed.

But, my work problems and complaints aside, I've finally managed to squeeze out enough time that wasn't devoted to me ending up passed out on my couch or in my bed to get some writing done.

In this chapter, we will be learning the truth of things.

I do have to snicker a little. The 'Trick' titles of chapters in this book have been tricks up to this point. Instead we will be going with 'Truth' from now on.

As well, major changes will be made to how 1st-person point-of-view will be handled in Felix, Max, and Nox. I will explain these changes and how to 'read' them correctly in just a moment. I will also be providing a 'legend' for the first few chapters with these characters until things get to a point that is should be easy for you all to differentiate without having to use said legend. Each legend will be different for each chapter, but there is a method to the madness.

Alright. So, here is the legend FOR THIS CHAPTER:

Thoughts (characters inner monologues):

Italic = Max

Bold = Nox

Speaking (the dialogue each character says aloud):

Normal = Max

Bold = Nox

So, how the HECK will you be able to tell the difference in future chapters, without my pretty little guides?

Pay attention. Looking at the beginning of any part where we will be in these characters POVs there will be a bit of a hint as to their Speech cues. For example, at the beginning of this chapter, Max is in regular print, while Nox is in bold print. If you look up above you, I have clearly written that Max is normal and Nox is bold when speaking.

Here is a general guide line for how things will work:

Thoughts:

Italics = Felix, if he is listed as one of the POVs for that specific part.

Bold and Italics = Max, if he is listed as one of the POVs for that specific part.

Bold = Nox, if he is listed as one of the POVs for that specific part.

In general, the 1st character listed is going to be Italics. Using italics helps insure thought text is able to be differentiated from all other text, besides dialogue, which is easy to see because of the tell-tale quotation ( " " ) marks. In general, Max is a mixture of Felix and Nox, so he receives the "a bit of both" treatment, while it is revealed in this chapter how Nox stands out in ways both Felix and Max cannot. Hence, Nox is generally identified by his "bold" speech.

Speech:

Normal = Felix, if he is listed as one of the POVs for that specific part.

Italics = Max, if he is listed as one of the POVs for that specific part.

Bold = Nox, if he is listed as one of the POVs for that specific part.

Please see the above explanation for why this is. It's pretty easy to guess.

Even still, I'll keep up with these little legends (though obviously much shorter) for probably the next 3 or 4 chapters. By that point, I think we'll all be familiar enough with the characters to understand and pick them out much more easily.

I'm sorry that this was pretty long, but it's important to understand what the heck is going on. I'd rather get this outta the way now then have to do this further down the line when people are even more confused.

Thanks for listening to my rant.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. Please, leave me a review at the end. I'd love to hear back from you guys. And if you leave a review, I can respond (if you aren't a Guest, sorry guys. I wish I could PM Guest reviewers. Just know you guys receive big hugs in my heart)! Ain't that crazy? ;P

Felix Maxwell Frost

Max/Nox

To say my nerves were stretched taunt as I finally confessed my dirty little secret was an understatement. My heart was racing a mile-a-minute and I felt nearly faint. Brionia's frozen expression of shock and disbelief really wasn't helping matters either.

"Her...face!" I laughed again. "This situation is so horrible...Gods, I want to die right now...It's hilarious!"

"Shut up!" I hissed, raising a hand to my face. "You realize none of your comments are helping, right?"

I risked another glance at Bri and it wasn't looking good. The shock was slowly being replaced by the one thing I'd always knew would happen...

Fear.

"So...what I'm hearing right now is that you are completely crazy. Alright. I'm going to get my girls and leave. When I find that son of a bitch Felix I will be sure to let him know what I think of this uninvited visit from you."

Her dark brown eyes were hard, not an ounce of belief in them.

My lips twisted in a sardonic smile. It made sense...Afterall, we'd been spending the last decade to separate our existences as much as possible. Felix had his own life, his own family, separate from Nox and I.

But everything had changed on the evening of April 1st...

My heart clenched in my chest, making my hands shake. I hid them, tucked under my arms, trying to keep up my calm appearance. "Well, if you really want to leave, I won't stop you. But my daughters are going nowhere. Nala and Aria are staying here, with me, their father," I hammered the nail in without pause.

"They stay, Bri," I flashed a quick, teeth-filled smile before my expression quickly fell. "I'd like it if you stayed as well. At this point, there isn't any reason to hide this, huh?" I chuckled half-heartedly.

"Like I said earlier, I never wanted to lie. Felix has been the one calling all the shots, so it's made it quite frustrating...But now? Now I think I'm tired of all the tricks and lies. Now I think it's time to just come clean and speak the truth."

A crack was forming in her perfect mask of calm. A flicker of panic and shock in her eyes. "This is real? It's really...How?" she breathed out in a breathless demand. Very quickly, she shook her head. "No, no. This isn't real. It can't be...You are very clearly crazy, and this is all just a big part of the delusion of your sick mind."

She turned back to the door to the little nursery. "I'm getting my girls."

Stepping forward quickly, I reached out to grab her arm, stopping her. "The girls aren't going anywhere," I repeated firmly.

She turned her head up slightly to stare at me, her dark eyes wide. They narrowed abruptly, and her lips thinned into a narrow line. "Fuck you. You will let me go, right this second. Back off!" she snarled.

My grip slacked as I felt the magic in her voice take over my senses. "...Urk-"

"-Nice try, Bri, but your powers don't work on me." I grinned wolfishly, feeling my sight sharpen from the normal slight fuzziness my vision was without my glasses. My grip tightened once more, and I jerked her back, pushing her up against the wall next to the door, on my left.

She let out a quick gasp, lips slightly parted in an unintentionally inviting manner. "The hell-? How?" she grunted as her back slammed into the wall. She quickly twisted her wrists awkwardly, grabbing hold of my hands, before lifting her knee up for a quick jab at my nuts.

I shifted my leg quickly, blocking the vulnerable anatomy and letting my upper thigh take most of the blow. "...That's not very nice, Bri...I remember you quite liking that part of me a few months ago." I smirked, before shifting to lean most of my weight against her, pressing her back even further into the wall.

"Get off me, you crazy fuck!" she ordered. Even so, her voice didn't hold a lot of power, mostly coming out breathless and weak.

"Only if you agree to stop calling me mean names and listen to what I have to say," I tossed out the terms. My eyes ate up the sight of her face. The little flickers of disbelief and outrage pulled a small ghost of a smile to my lips. Really, didn't she understand just how much it was cutting up my heart to have her treat me like this?

Shaking my head slightly and blinking, the stronger, wilder part of me retreat for now in pain. My vision once more returned to the slight fuzziness of colors and blurry shapes, though Bri was close enough that I could make out most of her face. "Sorry for getting rough," I cleared my throat awkwardly. "But I really am telling the truth. Like I said, I honestly am tired of all the lies. I'm tired of keeping you in the dark. Would you please agree to calm down so that we can discuss this like civilized adults?" I tried, though I already had a suspicion as to what her answer would be.

"No," she bit out shortly. "I very civilly decline your offer."

I let out a snort of laughter. "Fair enough," I murmured. "Fine. We'll forget the civility and return to being brutes, hmm?" My fingers ached to run over the skin of her face, but I knew that wouldn't be the smartest move I could do in this moment. Instead, I wrapped my arms around the back of Bri's shoulders and legs, lifting her up.

She began struggling, as expected, screeching. "Oh, you fine fuck! Put me down this instant!"

I stumbled, shaking my head as my vision once again switched from blurry to crystal clear. "Christ, Bri...You're going to give me a headache with all of this," I grumbled tiredly. "Don't you realize how much of a pain it is to switch? Max wants to manage this, since he's Professor X. But if you keep this up, you'll just get me and I'm not quite so...nice all the time," I warned her lightly.

"Where the fuck is Felix?" she demanded. She wasn't outright admitting that she believed anything I was saying, but it was a start.

Clearing my throat, I shifted her in my arms, tightening my hold so she was able to struggle less. "Pretty Boy is sleeping at the moment. He gave me and Max full and uninterrupted reign, since you were supposed to be out for the entire day. I guess that failed horribly, huh? Weird, 'cause Felix only agreed to it after both Max and Bren promised that everything was 100% set in stone to happen..."

"Traitor..." Bri muttered under her breath.

I cocked my head to the side, smiling. "Bren's the man I always thought him to be. I'll have to thank him later. He's such an amazing bro." By this point, I'd carried Bri to the couch, sitting down on the sofa cushions.

I winced at setting my ass, covered by the damp towel, on the couch. "This isn't my favorite idea, since I'm not completely dry. But at least now you're stuck with me."

She remained broodingly quiet, crossing her arms over her chest in a decidedly childish manner. "That is until I get away from you," she muttered, smiling acidly.

I let out a long breath. Here I'd hoped that perhaps seeing me would jog her memory. I guess not, I murmured internally.

...This is shit, I growled in my mind. I get it...Really, I do...But did I honestly mean so little to her? I thought-

I'm in the exact same boat, I reminded myself heavily. We both thought we connected on a level deeper than a single night. Logically, though, we can blame it on the amount of alcohol Bri downed that night...But that doesn't mean it doesn't sting.

I fixed a carefully composed expression, ensuring none of my thoughts were visible to read. This situation was complicated enough without adding Nox's love and my own growing feelings for Bri. Felix, stubborn fool he was, was still in the denial period. But with the secrets thoughts only Nox and I were privy to, it wouldn't be long before "Pretty Boy" realized he too held feelings for the woman sitting on my near-naked lap.

"You can try," I responded evenly. "But if this is the only way I can get you to listen to me, fine. Where to even begin?" I muttered to myself in question.

Quite suddenly, Bri began to scream. "Put me down! Let me go, you brute! Put me down! Put me down! Put. Me. Down!"

I stiffened, blinking, lowering my gaze to stare down at her. "Y-you..." I mumbled in shock. Is she kidding me right now?

Less screaming would be good, don't you think?

...Nox did have a point. "So juvenile," I sighed tiredly. Moving my right hand, shifting my hold on Bri, I brought my hand to her chin. Lifting it up, I lowered my lips down in one smooth motion until our mouths collided.

I meant it to just be a shock to get her to stop...

I underestimated the power of my own desire to kiss her again.

My breath left me in a quiet sigh of contentment as I moved my head to the side slightly in order to deepen the kiss. Bri wasn't fighting back. She'd been stiff for the first second, but now she was relaxing in my arms. The fingers of her hands that had been beating against my chest were now splayed out, playing unconsciously with some of the dark hairs at my chest. I shuddered, my eyes closing, tongue sweeping deeper into her mouth as I met with no resistance.

A world of stars, a multitude of lights in the darkness, exploded in my mind. My hand at Bri's chin moved around to cup the back of her head. My breaths were growing more ragged, the air catching in my lungs. I wasn't the only one effected though.

Brionia gave in completely, letting out a tiny moan.

The part of me that had been greedily waiting for this to happen rejoiced. Yes, yes, yes! Finally.

My more logical side realized that this wasn't the best idea. As usual, my rational side started to win, slamming on the brakes roughly.

I pulled away, breaking the contact of our lips. Opening my eyes, seeing the fuzzy world around me, I gulped in several breaths. I exhaled, trying to consciously even out my breathing. In...hold...and...out.

A few more repeats of this exercise and I felt closer to normal. Blinking rapidly, I returned my squinting scrutiny to Bri's face. Despite my attempt to remain logical and in control, I couldn't help the quick flare of man pride that shot through me.

Dazed was one word for her expression. Personally, though, I was quite fond of "dumbstruck". Her brown eyes were wide, mouth slightly open, her left hand raised, fingertips touching her bottom lip.

I'm not the only one who saw stars then?

It does a man good, seeing that sort of expression on his love's face, I thought in warm approval.

Her gaze was still wide and dazed, but she let out a sharp, giant exhaling gasp. "You!" she exclaimed in utter shock. Like an explosion, her entire face blew up into a burning red, even all the way to her ears.

I rubbed at my chin thoughtfully. "I didn't realize you could look quite so adorably embarrassed," I observed as I pulled back a little more. "You do remember me!" I grinned wolfishly. "And here I'd thought all memory of our time together had been drowned out by all those shots of yours."

She raised her hands to cover her burning cheeks. Her lips began to tremble, and her eyes were wide with panic. "I-I-I did...so...that, and that and..." she let out a tiny squeal of disbelief as her face grew even warmer.

Hell, she was well and truly red at this point.

"Just what are you remembering, huh?" I asked. "Care to share?"

"N-no!" she burst out shortly. "Oh gods, how could I have...?"

I smiled. "Feisty, huh? Well, I can remember it all very well. It was one of the biggest moments of my life," I began, clearing my throat.

"Big...it was big..." she mumbled under her breath.

My smile very quickly turned into a full -on smirk. "Oh? I always thought I'd be alone for my life. But we connected on such a level that night. Like we were one person...I've never had that before, honestly. It took me by surprise."

"Surprise...yeah..." Suddenly, she froze, her hands at her cheeks lowering. "Wait, what?"

I tilted my head to the side slightly. "It appears you still don't remember everything," I sighed. "I suppose that's to be expected. Anyway, how much closer are you to believing me now?"

"Not at all!" she crossed her arms over her chest, turning her head away in disgust. I noticed most of the bright red was retreating, but there was still a bit warming her cheeks. "Wipe the stupid smirk off your face!" she growled.

"Ah, well..." I ran my hand over my mouth. "Sorry, but I think it's a little stuck at the moment," I winked.

She reached out and slammed her fist into my ribs. I grunted, the air hissing out through my teeth. "Put me down!"

I groaned, wincing. "Ugh...You do realize you could just jump off of my lap, right?" I rubbed at the sore spot she'd hit.

She blinked, her head turning to glance between where we were sitting and the floor of the apartment. She quickly whipped her head back around. "You won't pick me back up again?" she asked quickly.

I shrugged. "I can make no promises. I suppose that will depend on your...behavior. Stop screaming and trying to get away and I won't be forceful. I only want to talk...that and get dress," I added a second later. My gaze moved pointedly down to where my lap was, only the towel separating myself and Bri's butt at the moment.

She let out a very frustrated growl. She closed her eyes tightly, muttering darkly indistinctly under her breath. Almost a full minute passed in tense, awkward decision for her. The entire time, she kept muttering to herself.

I never realized being picked up was such a issue of hers, I mused thoughtfully. This feels like a weapon I could very effectively exploit...The question is, should I?

"...Fine," she sighed, the reluctance evident in her voice. "I'll agree to at least stop screaming."

"Progress," I chuckled sarcastically. "Sweet, beautiful progress. Baby steps, Bri. Baby steps," I patted her head lightly.

"You do not touch a black woman's hair!" she screeched.

I blinked, pulling my hand back. "Oh, yes, right. I'd forgotten. Please, forgive me," I murmured softly. "It's been awhile," I offered as my reason, and it had been. I'd forgotten how insistent she'd been about it that night, months ago.

"So," she muttered crossly. "Just where how do you expect to get dressed?" She eyed me critically. "You might be able to fit into Felix's clothes...But some of them will probably be a tight fit."

I gasped in pretend hurt. "Oh! I am not fat, thank you very much!"

"I can see that, Sherlock," she rolled her eyes. She quickly jumped up to her feet from off my lap. I'd released my arms from around her with my last comment and I supposed she decided to take the chance. "...Your eyes are kind of creeping me out," she added quietly under her breath. It seemed like something she hadn't exactly wanted me to find out, but all well.

I braced my hands against my knees before rising up off the couch. "I have my own room, you know."

She blinked, standing warily back away from me. Her brown eyes were filled with suspicion and distrust. "Where? The only other door in this place besides the bathroom leads to the nursery."

"Ah, but I'm Sherlock, right? Shouldn't I know about a secret passage?" I teased lightly.

She did a double-take, staring at me. "Say what? Secret passage? This isn't some spooky old manner. It's a ridiculously expensive bachelor pad."

I smiled briefly. "Yes, it is," I nodded my head in agreement. I moved past her, my left hand lightly resting at my hip to ensure the towel stayed in place as I moved. When I passed Bri, she jerked back a little to get even further from me. I let out a small breath, but I didn't say anything about how she was acting.

If anything, I expected her to either make a break for it or start coming at me with kicks and her fists. So far, she'd tried a little, but that was all...

She was either still in shock from what I'd revealed, or she was cooking up another scheme in that head of hers.

My lips twitched in a small grin as I thought about it. But I quickly got myself back under tight reign. Sighing fully this time, making sure it was audible enough for Bri to hear, I moved towards the closet door. I heard the soft patter of Bri following me and I took a moment on wondering if I should really have my back facing her.

"...Holy shit..." she breathed out in quiet shock.

I paused, turning my body slightly to glance over my own shoulder. It hit me then, remembering what could possibly bring about a response like that from her. "Oh, yeah, that," I murmured in acknowledgement.

"I'm torn between thinking it looks wicked and terrifying," she admitted darkly.

I laughed quietly. "How about both? I do find it more than a little funny that this was the exact same response you had to seeing that tattoo the first time too."

The tattoo in question took up the entirety of my back. The main image was a man's tormented visage on the left side and a grinning skull's hate-filled glare on the right, the two split down the middle and forming one full face together. From the screaming mouth of the man and the slightly open jaw of the skull, black smoke poured forth. The smoke trailed down from the lower middle of my spine, twisting around the face. On the outer edges of the black smoke were smaller grey skulls, struggling to be free of the darkness that kept them prisoner.

I turned so that my right side and a bit of the front of my right chest faced toward her. "Should I walk sideways so you don't have to see the horror that is my back?" I inquired with a raised brow.

Bri blinked, pulled her eyes away from the image of the skull. Slowly her head tilted a tiny bit to the side and she frowned. "Why the wolf?"

"Did you understand nothing from what 'Felix' explained to you when he returned?" I sighed in annoyance. "The wolf is a very important symbol among the four of us," I began to explain as I turned back to continue toward my room.

"Symbol? Wait, the four of you?!" she repeated back in a gasp of shock.

"Crazier and crazier by the second, huh?" I teased as I reached the wooden wall directly next to the nursery door and underneath the bathroom which loomed above. Reaching up, since I was taller than Bri, I grabbed hold of the metal wolf head on the right side of where I stood.

"That thing?" Bri muttered. "I thought it was tacky...It doesn't fit anything to do with this whole apartment...Felix said he had no idea what was up with it. Apparently, the builders and interior decorators had thought it was a nice touch...Why is this wall designed like this?"

I turned back to smile at her. "Obviously because I chose it to be that way." She was speaking about the wall I was standing in front of. It had been designed specifically to look like a more modern-take on Japanese screen art. The image was a darkness-shroud samurai, the only color a bright red circle on his back. The samurai's hair was tied up into a tail, flowing out in the breeze, the same that picked up the tail of his kamishimo, which began to dissolve into black mist on the left side of the image. On the right side of the image, the samurai silently walked into a giant, bright circle of white, much like the full moon.

I'd thought the image was more than suiting, considering everything. Shaking my head to clear it of any more side-tracking thoughts, I gripped hold of the head of the wolf. "Now, just watch..." I pressed in on the black wolf head's two red eyes, twisting its head slightly to the left. As I did, the samurai wall made a very soft click sound and the right side of the wall popped open a small hidden panel in the white of the moon's glow. Lowering my right hand from the wolf's head, I gripped the panel, turning it up and to the left, much like the knob of a door that was not properly sized to the floor and ceiling. Without any resistance, the part of the wall that the right side of the samurai was on, where he was walking towards, in fact, pushed inward. Stepping through the door, I turned to look at Bri who was standing five feet behind me, jaw on the floor. "Are you going to follow me or not?"

Reaching out on the wall directly to my right, I flipped the light switch, flooding the room in illumination. It wasn't anything fancy. I didn't have a bed or anything in here. Mostly this was where I and Nox kept our own belongings that were separate from Felix's. I had my small bookcase with some of my favorite books, as well as a CD case with all my favorite artists and albums. The walls of this room had a light grey coating of paint, with pale and dark green accents. I had a chocolate brown sofa on the opposite left side of where the entrance was, and the floor was covered in a very lush forest green carpet. All the shelving and furniture was done in a dark walnut or mahogany wood, flirting with the light colors of the walls. The door leading to the computer and surveillance room was directly across from the entrance as well.

I moved to my dresser on the left side of the room, which had my white 5-disc stereo sitting on top of it, along with all of the currently CD cases inside it neatly lined up. Nox's dresser had an ice dragon statue on the left side, about a foot and a half tall. The dragon was resting on a snowy landscape, body laid out in a relaxed state. Its scales were white, grey, and pale blue, with dark blue outlines along the curves of its body. Its wings were slightly raised in the air, the body of the wings made of snow-white leather. The tips of the wings looked as if they'd been made of icicles, just as sharp and deadly as stalagmites.

On the right side of Nox's dresser was another statue, two and a half feet tall, so that it effectively towered over the resting ice dragon. The statue was a black wolf, with blood red eyes. Its jaws were open in a snarl, lips pulled back wide in a feral, hungry smile as it faced the ice dragon. It's mane, parts of its body, the ends of its paws, tail, and back end rippled and pulled away in wild fashion, as if it was still in the process of forming a physical body from the shadows. The tips of the statue where the shadows were still not fully formed were either red, blue, or grey in color. Around it's muzzle and mane, a darker red, like dried blood flecks, had been meticulously colored in as well.

"How the hell have I not known about an entire other room this entire time?!" Bri demanded in shock.

I opened up the drawers of my dresser, pulling out clothing as I saw it. "It's simple. I've been working my ass off to ensure you didn't."

"That doesn't mean anything...I can't believe how stupid I was being," she growled under her breath, though it was easy for me to catch it. "Why would the weird wall and wolf head not be incredibly suspicious, Bri?" she asked herself in irritation.

I dropped the towel from around my waist. "Maybe next time you should be more suspicious?" I offered.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a second!"

"You've seen my naked ass before, Bri," I reminded her calmly as I pulled on my boxers, and a pair of grey sweat pants. I turned to face her as I started to pull the white shirt over my head.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You're lying through your teeth," she turned her head up in dismissal.

"Still in denial, it seems?" I sighed, pulling my arms through the sleeves of the shirt.

As I started to lower the ends of the shirt down to cover my upper body fully, Bri's voice made me pause. "Wait...What's up with those weird symbols?"

I glanced down at the tattoo on my right side. "They spell out one of my names," I explained calmly, "which is Niði."

"Niði?" Bri repeated in confusion. "Who the hell is that?"

"Oh, you know," I smiled softly as I pulled my shirt down completely. I covered up the black wolf whose jaws were open, beginning to swallow the grey and white moon hanging above it mockingly. In black were the Norse runic symbols which spelled out Niði, scrolling down from the left side of the wolf. "You've met the fellow once before, in a dark alley way." Moving to the top drawer, I grabbed my fifth spare pair of glasses...I couldn't ever be too careful, honestly. Setting them on my nose, I blinked as the world came into clearer sight. "Ah, that's so much better."

"...Wait...the wolf?" Bri murmured to herself. "That's this Niði guy you were talking about?"

"Correct," I nodded my head briefly. "So, now that I am properly clothed and equipped to handle things, why don't we sit down for a nice, long chat? Honestly, we need it. There are a lot of things to talk about."

Her arms crossed over her chest and she glared at me from across the room. "I can't just close this and lock you in here, can I?" she asked sweetly.

I smiled just the same. "Sorry. That's not how things work. Changing the subject...Now that I've gotten some clothes on, let me introduce myself properly this time. My name is Max Wells and I am the father of those two girls in the room right outside this door."

Bri rolled her eyes dramatically. "So you say."

"It's very true. In fact, I think its past time I start explaining the truth to you. So, how about a compromise? If you will agree to sit on the sofa there," I moved my hand to point to the sofa Bri was standing two feet away from. "If you agree to my request, I will do something else for you."

"Like what?" she crossed her arms over her chest in a dismissive manner.

"We'll keep both this door," again I motioned to the special door into my room, "and the nursery door open. At any time if you want to check on the girls, or vice versa, that's fine. As long as you don't try to pull any over-the-top stunt like attempting to grab the girls and run." Her eyes narrowed, and I sighed. It had been one of my first guesses as to what sort of move Bri would make next. "As long as you agree to this, I will agree to allow you to work your siren powers on me to force me to tell the truth. How does this arrangement work?"

"...You'll just switch to, uh, Nox again, right? That's bullshit," she shook her head firmly.

I smiled thinly. "No, I won't. Nox will behave himself and not come out to stop your siren powers, unless you try to give an order other than what I stated earlier."

She worried her bottom lip with her teeth, watching me closely through narrowed eyes. "Alright, that sounds fair enough," she nodded her head firmly. "I'll agree to stay and talk, as long as you tell me the truth." Moving forward and to the right, she sat down on the sofa I'd pointed to earlier. Crossing her legs over each other, she leaned back to make herself comfortable. She shot me a quick, expectant look. "Aren't you going to sit down?"

I moved past her, through the open doorway and to the nursery door. Opening it, I peered in, checking on the occupants of the room. I heard Bri let out an uncomfortable noise behind me, most likely from her discomfort of my proximity to the girls. I caught the soft sound of her starting to stand before swiftly turning on my heel and returning into my room. "Remain calm, alright? I was just making sure the girls were okay and opening the door, so we'll be able to hear them if anything should arise. It's been about an hour since they started their mid-day nap, so I'm sure they'll be waking up in another two hours."

I took a seat in the armchair beside the bookshelf, waiting. Bri studied me for a few more moments before opening her mouth and placing her spell upon me. "Max, tell me the entire truth of this situation."

I closed my eyes briefly, feeling the sensation of the enchanted besot coming over me. Not exactly the most pleasant feeling in the world, I mused in the back of my mind. I suppose it only makes it worse how this is a sort of bittersweet situation as well. "Yes, well, I'd been planning to do that from the start anyway." I struggled with keeping my voice as steady as possible. I also made sure not to look Bri quite head-on. Doing so made everything about her seem to almost glow with a light that made me want to fall to my knees and beg her to allow me to stay by her side forever.

Miss my influence already, huh? Nox smirked internally. I don't know if I pity you or should be jealous, Max.

Please just be quiet for now, Nox, I barked shortly at my other self.

Fine, fine, he retreated with a chuckling breath. But don't come crying to me if you actually end up getting on your knees and licking her feet.

WHAT?! I snarled.

"...Uh, Max?" Bri's voice, which sounded so much like tinkling bells in my head, made me blink. "What's with the death glare?"

I jerked my head back and forth, once, getting myself under control. "Sorry about that. Nox was being a bit of a nuisance," I explained, reaching up to rub at the bridge of my nose, careful not to bump my glasses.

"I can see that, actually," Bri tipped her head forward in a slight nod.

I lowered my hand and focused back on her. "So, where to begin?"

"The beginning?" she offered in a slightly sarcastic voice.

I smiled briefly. "Yes, of course. How very obvious."

"I'm detecting sarcasm in your voice, Max," she gave me a saucy look.

"What weapons does a man have but sarcasm, Brionia?"

"Good point," she admitted with an amused smile.

"So, the beginning. Well, I suppose starting there will involve telling you things I'm quite sure Felix will not like. In fact, I feel uncomfortable saying them. After all, they are not my demons to carry. Would it bother you if I refrained from brining up certain things? I feel it is best if Felix himself is the one to tell you this."

Bri's face tightened and she looked incredibly conflicted. But after almost a full minute, she shook her head in a jerky manner. "No, no secrets. Tell me everything. I'll apologize to Felix later."

My breath came out in a low, weary exhale as I felt the compulsion settle over me. "As you wish then," I muttered reluctantly. "The truth is, Jack Frost is not Felix's father. He is, in fact, his uncle."

I didn't hold back and the shock that registered over Bri's face wasn't surprising in the least to me. "Wha-?" she gasped, brown eyes widening in reaction. "His uncle?!"

"Correct. Felix's biological father was in fact the same as Luke Frost's father-"

"Wait!" Bri threw her hands up, leaning forward slightly, still on the couch. "But he's younger than Aiden and Sera, which means Nisha was married to Jack at that time. Holy shit, did she have an affair?"

"No," I answered in a cold, biting tone. "She was kidnapped, brainwashed, and believed that Jacob - Luke's father - was in fact her actual husband."

Bri sank back against the cushions of the sofa, speechless, the color draining from her face.

"A few years later, Felix was born. When he was still very young, Jack found his missing family and well, lots of interesting things ended up happening. But the final result was that Jacob is no more and Felix was accepted into the family as Jack's son. Felix was always a sweet child, besides a bit of a troublemaker. Still, his family tended to spoil him, and he had been too young to be able to remember very well anyone else as his father besides Jack as he got older and older. But it was during one fateful day, when he was twelve years old that Felix, walking by the study of his father, happened to overhear a conversation that changed his life forever."

Bri shifted slightly on the couch but continued to say nothing. Her expression was one of dire focus. It was evident that she meant to try and understand everything that she could from what I was going to tell her.

No matter, I decided. This is for the best anyway.

"Jack and Aiden did not realize that the door to the study had been left slightly ajar and so their voices were carrying out into the hallway. Felix's ears were better than a human's, so it was an easy task for him to pick up on their words. Curious, he leaned against the wall by the cracked door of the study when he heard his own name." I paused to take in a breath, rubbing at a stiff ache in my shoulder as I continued to speak. "He'd done something to piss off Aiden just a few short hours ago and Aiden was apparently acting a bit like a tattle-tale, complaining to Jack about the issue. In his anger, Aiden started brining up certain sensitive topics and it was these that Felix overheard."

My memories floated back to that time, even as I continued to speak. My jaw tightened at the memory of what had brought me into existence. I supposed, in many ways, I should be grateful to Aiden. But more than a few reasons drowned out any sort of gratitude I might feel over the older man's actions that had caused a large part of the problems that had afflicted my life since.

"He's not even my brother, not really. He's the son of the bastard that hurt Mom, Dad! Why should I forgive him when all he's going to do is act like what he is? He's a bastard son and a bastard brother."

"...I'm sure, in retrospect, Aiden regretted those words, after he'd calmed down from his anger. But words in anger can never be taken back and that was all it took for things to go very wrong. Felix was twelve years old - not quite a teenager, but not exactly a young child anymore. Even at that age, he'd picked up on a lot of the subtleties between men and women. Hell, he'd even already experienced them for himself. Felix had never been very shy, once he got out of his shell. And with how much his family spoiled him and acted as if he could do no wrong - he, the one child who was unaware of the dark truth that stained the Frost family past - matters were not helped."

Bri's lips opened, as if she wanted to say something, but she quickly closed her mouth. Her eyes were filled with a strange emotion. In fact, she almost looked like she was going to cry. I waited for a few more seconds, but when it was evident she wouldn't interrupt, I continued on.

"It wasn't hard for Felix to understand what Aiden was alluding to with the words 'the bastard that hurt Mom'. Especially if he was the result of such an action. Felix's mind started to crack at that point. Coming to the realization that he was the son of someone who would do such an awful deed...He wasn't his father's son, he wasn't Jack's youngest? But, wait, what if he was his father's son? His real father, this monster that had hurt his mother. His bright, loving, gentle mother..."

I cleared my throat, allowing that thought to run through both of our minds. "Felix couldn't handle it. He couldn't accept that. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with this mysterious 'father' of his. At this point in time, Felix had no idea who the man even was. He had no idea that, biologically, Luke was his older half-brother and that the man in question he'd always seen as the disowned Uncle Jacob. All he knew was a monster, a horrible man had fathered him. So, he decided in that moment to reject it all. Everything to do with that man."

"Reject?" Bri finally spoke softly.

I smiled bitterly. "Yes," I nodded in confirmation. "If the man was that bad, he had to be the exact opposite of Felix. Felix has blue eyes, blonde hair, pale skin, good eyesight. I have black eyes, black hair, darker-tan skin, and poor eyesight. Felix is superficially charming, compulsive, holds multiple relations with women, and is very selfish. I am anything but charming, meticulous, practice monogamy, and I do my best to compromise in most situations. Felix has adapted a persona of being what his brother said he was in all it's forms: a bastard. He acts in ways designed specifically in order to make others either hate or become angry with him. He puts up a façade that he cares for no one else but himself, but deep down he never stopped being the caring child he was before all of this...Still, in Felix's mind, this is his punishment."

"...Punishment?" Bri repeated quietly, brows creasing in a frown of confusion. "Why does he have to be punished?"

"For being born," I explained. "Despite how he looks and acts, Felix is quite the masochist. He will consciously refuse to admit that Jacob is his father. As far as he is concerned, Jack is his true father and Luke is simply his cousin. Felix plays the Frost role very well. But in the back of his mind, he is plagued by the guilt and pain that is the reality of what happened to his mother. He is terrified of being like his own father. He's terrified of having a 'bastard', which is why he was so adamant that he couldn't have children. He's always terrified that if you ever find out, all you will see him as is the monster he was sired from."

"And you?" Bri pressed, her dark eyes watching my face closely.

I smiled thinly. "I am an orphan. My father was Derek Colton, my mother Kelly, and my older sister Lily. All of them died long ago," I explained. "I do not see the Frost family - besides Luke - as having any relation to myself. I was born from the illicit relations between two married individuals, with different spouses. I was experimented on from a young age by a corrupt 'doctor' who assisted with ensuring my parents' relationship could continue. She was trying to find a way to see if she could implant a soul inside a body that she would be able to control very easily. The doctor played around for awhile until finally succeeding. She didn't have any control over what soul she pulled down from the Heavens and that was her downfall, really. The lucky soul in question was Niði, who took residence inside my body."

"You share a soul with that...wolf?" Bri asked, trying to figure things out, by her contemplative expression.

"Correct. Niði is the fourth 'personality' I suppose you could say which makes up Felix Frost. But Niði does not usually make himself known, except for during the times leading into the new moon. His personality is also much closer to how one would stereotypically see a wolf. While he is capable of complex thought, it is difficult for him to express himself, and not only because of how large and frightful he is. So, as a result of this, Nox was slowly brought into existence over the years following my own creation inside Felix's psyche. Nox is - in the easiest way to explain it - the 'human' personification of Niði. Besides Niði, Nox is the next most powerful of the four of us. Felix and I are of about equal power, but this should explain to you why your powers have no effect at all on Nox."

Bri nodded her head slowly, staring at me with a clearer expression. "...That would make more sense then."

"So, do you believe me now?" I inquired evenly.

Bri nodded her head once again. "Yes, I believe that you aren't lying at all about your connection to Felix. But I still won't believe that you are the father of the girls. Those are Felix's daughters."

I sighed. "You know, I'm pretty sure Felix would be glad to hear you say that. But, if you recall, on the only trip Felix took with you to your OB-GYN he did mention he was 'the father stand-in', did he not?"

Bri's mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to find something to say. After a few tries, she crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged. "Yeah, so what? That doesn't prove anything at all."

I rubbed at a small ache on the left side of my temple. "It proves a lot, actually. I'd just wish you'd stop being in denial and just admit it."

She totally remembers something, Nox pipped up after staying quiet for so long. She's just being difficult.

Very difficult, I agreed tiredly.

"I'm going to enjoy the expression that comes over your face when you finally stop being stubborn."

"You shut up!" Bri snapped, glowering.

I raised my hands up quickly in surrender. "I said nothing. That was all Nox."

"Well, Nox can go shove a 120 mm up his ass!" she bit out harshly.

"Daaaaaamn. Bri's super pissed. Watch out!" I raised my hands up to cover my face. Then, straightening, I tossed her a saucy wink. "I guess I should be covering my ass instead, right?"

"Oh, you cocky little-!"

"Let's all just calm down, alright? The girls are still sleeping, remember?" I rose to my feet quickly, holding my hands up in a sign for peace to return. "Damn you, Nox. We were doing so well."

I shrugged, brushing my hand over my nose in a quick, cocky gesture. "Yeah, okay. But what's a party without a little life? Besides, Bri's fun when she's just a tad bit riled up." I stuck my tongue out in a childishly taunting manner, winking again.

"I'll show you riled up-"

"Feel better?" I asked abruptly.

Bri froze, blinking, thrown off guard. "I-I...what?"

"I could tell. Something was on your mind. Something that was bringing up bad memories of your own."

She stared at me in quiet shock. "...How could you have known that?"

I lowered back down into the chair, shifting to get a bit more comfortable. "Unlike Max and Felix, who have to either be both present but one dormant or fully present and the other asleep, I am always present. I am there, no matter if Felix is sleeping, if Max is sleeping, or if they are both awake. I am more attuned to Max, as the both of us were 'rejected' by Felix as being things he had no wish to admit were himself. As the rejected parts of Felix, we are more attuned, so I find it quite easy to come forward when Max is the one awake. I can do the same with Felix, but he tends to resist me much more and at times that can cause problems. Besides the fact that in order to keep our identities as separated as possible, I can't exactly come forward while Felix is going about his everyday life. So, basically," I leaned forward to smile brightly across the room at Bri who still looked a bit shocked. "You're never going to be able to get rid of me, Bri."

She stared at me for two long, silent minutes. Then, throwing back her head, she began to laugh. She laughed so hard I could hear the difficulty she was having, pulling air into her lungs through her laughter. I started to rise to my feet, but she threw out a hand to stop me. "No, I-" She shook her head weakly, raising her other hand to wipe at the tears the sprang to her eyes. After a few more minutes, she started to calm down. The tears were still there, but they weren't quite as bad...

It did bother me though that they no longer looked like they were completely from her laughter though.

"What's so funny?" I sighed, rubbing at the bridge of my nose again.

"I just think it's hilarious. Minus a few of the extra crazy bits, Felix is a male version of me, honestly," she explained in an oddly calm manner. "Don't you think that's funny as well?"