-Ruarc Brennan-

Why did I say that? Why did that single word escape from my mouth. Quan was handsome, and I had to admit that his cold, mysterious ways had caught my attention. But surely, I didn't know him well enough to justify kissing him like that. It was a spur of the moment decision which calmed him down when he was faced with potential danger, nothing more. Yet, my lips still tingled from where they touched his.

I knew that the decision would come back to bite me, and this was the time.

"Do you just go and kiss many random people?" Quan asked. I didn't know if he sounded bitter or amused.

"Not random people, no." I shook my head and tried to concentrate on making tea. There wasn't that much to concentrate on, as I did this simple task at least four times a day. "I wouldn't consider that interaction random either."

Quan shifted uncomfortably, folding his arms tightly around himself. "There had to be some other way you could've sent me that message. Like punching me in the face, which I'm sure you've been tempted to do a few times."

"Only once," I told him. It was right now. If I were to punch him, then it was likely he'd be quiet and move on from this conversation. I'd lose my job and probably be arrested, but I wouldn't have to deal with talking about the kiss. "You're not used to random people kissing you?"

It seemed that was the punch in the face that he needed, as he remained silent.

"No." I stopped what I was doing. "Don't tell me that was your first."

He looked downward, which he didn't need to do to avoid my gaze. He looked like he had fallen into his own trap.

"Wow, that's the most surprising thing I've heard all day." I stirred the teabags and put them in the bin.

"How's it more surprising than me being kidnapped by my father?" he asked defensively.

"Why do you sound like I offended you?" I poured the milk into the cups. "It was a compliment."

Quan gaped at me. His arms fell to his side and his shoulders slouched. "Is it really that hard to believe?"

"Yes," I stated. "You're quite the looker, and I'd figured chicks dig the tall, dark, and mysterious vibe." I cringed at calling the psychic witch a 'looker'.

"I'm not tall," he pointed out, but I ignored him.

"You wear a uniform too, that's attractive. I'm sure you have more money than this shows."

"None of that's important," he said slightly offended. "That doesn't say anything about why people would actually like me."

I pondered over his words as I took the first three cups into the living room. As soon as I rounded the corner into the kitchen again, I said, "I see. I suppose you're pansexual? Demisexual?"

He straightened his back. "I don't know what those words mean."

That surprised me. "Quan, do you have social media? Watch the television? Talk to people?" I listed. "You seem very inexperienced with that sort of thing."

"Is there anything wrong with that?" he sounded defensive again. "This is just how I prefer to live. I don't need constant validation or an addiction to add to it."

I nodded in thought. "Alright," I said. I didn't want that to be the last word, I still had many thoughts swirling in my head and loose ends that had to be tied. "You know, I don't just kiss random people."

He quirked an eyebrow.

"I meant what I said earlier, about why many people would find you attractive, they may be superficial reasons, but I didn't just make them up." I sighed and picked up the last two cups. "I'd like to go on a date with you sometime." Then I left the kitchen.

I handed Sara and Aubrey their cups before finding myself a cosy seat. It was the first time I had been able to analyse Quan's house, and I must say, in comparison to mine, this looked far more homey. There weren't any family photographs on the walls or mantle, but there were artworks, paintings of beautiful flowers and scenes which I could only dream of seeing.

That was one thing which irritated me about becoming a vampire. I was unstoppable, but I was far more persistent and stubborn to actually visit places and do things. I wanted to visit snowy deserts and suffer through heatwaves, but I never did. I was far too comfortable here.

Quan's house had a blue colour scheme, one which was calming and cooling. There weren't many seats, so Cappi had to sit on the floor, which they didn't seem to mind. Quan had a lot of textured things around his house, like patterned pillows and fluffy carpets. It made me wonder how much time he spent in this house with his vision stable enough for him to see the décor.

Quan followed me into the living room after a few seconds, acting like nothing happened. Quan's cat, who I learned was named Clover, dashed over to him and rested on his lap as soon as he sat down.

"No fair," Cappi complained with a pout as the cat moved away from them. "I see how it is."

Quan chuckled and began to stroke Clover, looking like a movie villain in his distressed office attire. "You're just a guest in this house, Cappi. She knows who's in charge." He leant down and kissed the cat's forehead, causing a small purr to echo through the room.

"I hate cats," Aubrey stated with a glare.

"We know," Sara and I stated at the same time. It was natural for werewolves not to like cats, their instincts and territorial natures got in the way.

"Are we forgetting why we're here?" Cappi asked innocently. I was sure that if they used any other tone, Quan would've strangled them.

Quan huffed into his cup and pulled Clover closer to him. "I haven't."

I bit my lip, was it really something that bad? "I need to know how to do my job properly."

Quan faced away from me, practically showing me the back of his head. "You did a well enough job today, Candice would be very proud."

I grunted in annoyance. "But I wouldn't have to have done that job, because you shouldn't have been kidnapped. It's not fair for you to keep secrets which put you in danger."

Quan scoffed. "And it's okay for you to keep secrets?"

What had he seen? I had been so careful when showing him what was going on. I didn't question how magic worked, but perhaps I should've this time.

Quan continued, "what I keep secret, is my responsibility. I have my own reasons for not wanting my father mentioned or brought up, because it could get everyone into trouble."

"Well, to me, it already seems as though we're involved and could potentially be in danger," Sara commented. "So, start ya yappin', because we don't have all day."

"Do you all talk like that?" Quan asked. "Like, I noticed most people in your street talk like that." He turned to me. "Do you talk like that?"

I shrugged. "You're avoiding the conversation."

"Obviously," Quan muttered. "What exactly do you want to know? I don't want to ramble about my very poor childhood if it's not going to get you off my back."

I hated how casual he sounded. It was as though we were discussing something trivial, like the weather. We were discussing his life and whether or not it's in danger. I wasn't sure, even if I were in his shoes, that I would ever be able to speak about my life like that. It had been a major debate I had ever since I became a vampire. It was easier than it used to be, but it was still like living in a world where there's nothing but rain, with the warning that a storm would be approaching soon.

"I'm up for sharing childhood trauma," Aubrey leant forward in her seat, clutching the cup tightly. "As long as we don't have to do the same."

Aubrey's parents had been kicked out of their pack twelve years ago, which was a terrible thing to happen to a wolf. They had apparently committed unforgivable crimes against their alpha. From what I'd heard, it sounded as though their alpha was paranoid and would do anything to ensure that he stayed alpha for as long as possible.

"Oh, we'd need far more tea for that, dear," Quan said sarcastically. "But what exactly do you want to know? Or am I just picking a random age and starting from there?" He looked slightly unsure of himself, and his voice was hesitant.

"I'm pretty sure they want to know about why your father's a...uh," Cappi held their chin and frowned. I assumed they were trying to remember Quan's exact words from earlier.

The very thought made me want to laugh. I couldn't imagine such an innocent-looking child to repeat Quan's harsh words. "That would be helpful." I nodded in agreement. "It would also help us figure out what he's capable of."

Quan made a small gesture with his hands and hummed in uncertainty. "I'm not sure what he's capable of. He shouldn't have been able to use those magic binds, as they were only activated by nature witches." He turned in Sara's direction. "My father is a fire witch who wanted his children to be powerful, that's really the big picture."

I clenched my jaw. Fire witches are some of the most difficult to control and defeat, because their fire keeps burning if even a single ember remains. They were the ones that hunters would go to for help if they wanted to kill some vampires, but even that was rare. Hunters weren't the kind to get involved in supernatural deals.

"Wonderful," Sara remarked. Fire witches and nature witches don't get along well. I think it's because a fire witch has an outgoing and loud personality, which is too much for serene nature witches. Also, fire could be destructive to trees and other forms of nature.

"Why didn't he make you a water witch then?" Cappi asked.

"He didn't want me to be more powerful than him," Quan corrected his previous statement. "He was scared that I would be too big of a threat for him to handle." Fire was obviously weak when compared to water. But I didn't understand how his father would be immune to Quan's psychic attacks.

"Wish is ridiculous," Aubrey uttered.

"Smart. He made you more powerful than anyone else but himself and the other fire witches," Sara said. She seemed to be the only other person taking this seriously. "All through your childhood, he tied you up and blindfolded you?"

Quan tilted his head a few times before nodding. "There's more than that, but pretty much. That's one way of forcing someone to work on their clairvoyance skills. Put them in threatening situations where they're forced to know what's going on."

"That's abuse," I declared.

"That's how it's been for years, centuries," Quan argued without turning to look at me. "It wasn't right, not one bit, but I was a child who didn't know any better. When I found out, I left him as soon as I could."

"And you thought that the best way of doing that would be to get him arrested?" Aubrey asked. I couldn't tell if she was confused or impressed.

Quan nodded confidently before shrugging. "It made sense, I had all the proof that I needed, and I didn't want him to bother me again."

"But you would've heard if he'd escaped," Cappi pointed out. "It's not every day that someone escapes from Fairy jail. It's an incredibly tough place. The guards or whatever would be forced to inform you immediately."

I eyed them suspiciously; how did they know how fairy jail worked? I know that some normal jails and prisons did that for the protection of society, maybe they were just assuming?

Quan sighed and put his cup down, placing his head in his hands. "That's the one thing which worries me," he admitted. "I know that my father could potentially escape, but surely I would've been informed."

I nodded. "Especially if it's a supernatural jail, they would've been able to inform you almost immediately after it happened." I knew I wasn't helping, but I wanted to keep on top of the situation. "Was he involved in any other crimes?"

Quan laughed a little but nodded. "If you could name it, he probably was involved." His voice was muffled, as his hand was stopping his jaw from moving fully. "And no, I don't know what my mother saw in him."

"Did she have a thing for bad boys?" Aubrey asked lightly.

Quan chuckled. "She must've. It's the only explanation which doesn't make me ball my hands into fists." He was hiding something there, but I didn't want to dig into it anymore than we already were.

I was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable, so I cleared my throat and turned to Sara. "You've been quiet," I nodded. "Are you alright?"

Her worried brown eyes snapped towards me, looking like a startled animal. "What? Yeah, I'm alright." Her hands started to fidget with the hem of her shirt and her foot started to tap. "I'm just a bit uncomfortable talking about...escaping from fairy jail."

I nodded in understanding. That was the one place which was meant to be secure. "How do we even know it was him?" I asked wearily, turning towards Quan again. "There are a few creatures who could mimic someone's appearance."

Quan was about to answer immediately, but he hesitated. His eyebrows furrowed and he raised his hand to scratch his cheek. "I can't say for certain; I know that there are people who could obviously learn all about his personal life." Of course, he did, he was one of them. "But why would anyone want to target my office as opposed to the rest of the police station? I don't have enemies so to speak, but why target one officer and not the whole office?"

I nodded in thought. I wondered if maybe Quan got in the middle of someone coming after me, but that felt immensely self-centred, so I shook it off and put it in the back of my mind. Someone pretended to be Quan's father, but surely Quan would be experienced enough to know if it actually was his father or not.

"Maybe you should get in touch with the prison?" Aubrey suggested. "They'd know."

Quan slapped his knee and I braced myself for an avalanche of sarcasm. "That's a wonderful idea Aubrey, it's not as though I've been hiding for the past few years and totally know how to contact fairy jail which keeps changing location and contact details. It definitely didn't take me two years to figure out how to track them."

Aubrey deflated. "I was just making a suggestion."

Quan sighed and shook his head. "I'm just upset that this is all going down. I've managed to avoid him for around six years, and a lot is changing in such little time." He stood up, headed towards the kitchen, and returned minutes later with a box of biscuits, which he placed on the coffee table after taking a chocolate digestive.

"You need to-" I stopped myself from lecturing him about his eating habits. I really had no right to tell him what he should or shouldn't do. "We need to figure this out, you're in danger. We need to tell someone."

"Candice would shut down the entire office, there are other criminals out there," Quan argued. "She thinks that having a psychic witch is worth shutting down an entire office and making loads of employees relocate."

"Why would she do that?" Sara blurted out. "I mean, no offense or whatever, but that building's massive. She would really relocate all of the office if you were benign threatened?"

Quan hesitated but nodded. He licked his bottom lip, removing the slightest bit of chocolate which had escaped whilst he was eating. "She's done it before or threatened to do it before."

"Seriously?" Aubrey asked with disbelief.

"That was two years ago, I ended up pulling three all-nighters to work on the case." He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Either way, we can't let Candice know. If she asks, we'll just tell her that there was an intruder, and I was trying to track them down."

I bit my lip; I wasn't the best at keeping secrets. "Okay," I agreed. I would've fought harder, but it would be easier in an office which I knew. I knew what scented to focus on if his father dared step into the street, and we weren't alone. "I'm not a fan of this secret thing."

"Well, I wasn't the one to start it," Quan retaliated. "Speaking of, I've not done anything on the other case. Yet, I do suspect that there's a fairy behind it."

My mouth dropped open in shock. "And when did you come to that conclusion?"

Quan shrugged once again. "When I was in his room, I just had to figure out how I came to the conclusion that it was a fairy."

"A fairy? Hurt Simon? That's a laugh," Aubrey said in a much harsher tone. "There's no reason why a fairy would be involved, in anything at all to do with Simon."

Cappi stood up from where they were sat on the floor. "Righty-o, it seems like I should be heading off." They plastered a bright smile on their face before leaving with a wave. "Bye, good luck not dying!"

I huffed. That child was probably righter than I would like to admit. We would need a lot of luck when it came to figuring out what happened, and luck never paid me a visit.

"What else did you find at Simon's that you didn't tell us?" Aubrey wrapped her arms tightly around herself.

"No, that's all I hadn't mentioned to Ruarc," Quan replied. He leant forward and grabbed another biscuit out of the time. "Were you expecting something else?"

Aubrey and Sara opened their mouths to reply, but quickly shut them and shook their heads.

"Simon was the sweetest person that you would ever meet," I said, feeling like a broken record. "He lived on a street full of tough people because his parents couldn't afford to live anywhere else. He did nobody wrong."

"And nobody wanted to see him in pain," Quan confirmed. "His death was painless, but he was put somewhere public to show that it wasn't an accident."

"So, it was a threat?" Aubrey asked. She stood up from her seat, stalking forward a few paces. "To who?"

Quan turned in my direction. He hadn't been wearing his sunglasses the entire time, but he hadn't looked straight at me with his cloudy eyes, which looked like liquid nitrogen, including the shiver which it sent down my spine.

"You're saying we're thinking about this incorrectly. Simon wasn't the target, but he was the victim?" I was trying to make sure that I understood what Quan was telling me.

"Precisely." Quan nodded. "If he was that sweet and innocent, that's the only other thing which would give me a lead. It wasn't a simple act of violence."

"I bet it's Harlen's fault," Sara grumbled. "He's always getting into trouble."

I made no comment, but I didn't agree with her. Needles made of ice spread through my chest, wondering if I was the cause of his death. That made no sense to me, since I hadn't really spoken to him much.

"Whoever it is, we need to be more careful," I said. "We've got more than one enemy out there."