Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Thanks for helping me get set this place up guys," Rhea called out to her friends who were helping her move into her new place in Orlando. Shayna, Rhea, and Raquel were handling the heavier items, while Tegan and Dakota were dealing with getting Rhea's fridge stocked with the food they'd bought earlier in the day.

"No problem, man," Shayna responded from the other side of the couch that she and Rhea were carrying. They had started the week by getting Rhea's bed into the house, so she didn't have to keep sleeping on Raquel and her husbands couch.

She was lucky enough that the house she was moving into already had all of the necessary electronics and she just needed to get her furniture into her new home. She was especially lucky that the house had a basement that had already been retrofitted for full moons. As far as Rhea knew, none of her friends were aware of her...condition, but she would have preferred to keep that to herself. Who knows how her friends would react if they knew she had to lock herself up every full moon just to prevent people from getting hurt.

"How did you find such a nice place on such short notice though?" Tegan called from the kitchen.

"A little birdie recommended it to me," Rhea responded as she and Shayna were placing the new couch in the living room. She couldn't tell her friends the real reason she moved into this house, couldn't tell them about the cage in the basement.

Two weeks ago

"This is the place," Rhea said to herself, holding a small piece of paper and a lighter that she'd been given as she hopped out of the car down the street. It was a relatively small place, but from what she'd been told, it would have everything she'd need to take care of herself.

She pulled the key out of her pocket, opened the door, and walked into the house. Everything seemed to be in order, but there was one thing she needed to check. She looked at the paper in her hand. The only image on the small piece of paper was a flaming bird. Typical, Beth gets her out of a bad situation and leaves her with a riddle.

"Think, Ripley, What would Beth do?" She was fiddling with the paper in her hand as well as the lighter.

She stopped for a second and looked at the paper and the lighter. Why would she have been given these things if not to use them? She held the paper up and looked at the picture, a flaming bird, no, a Phoenix. She took the lighter and set the paper aflame.
Only the fire didn't take but instead spread across the paper like oil on water. She watched as the ink that made up the phoenix on the paper spread and formed a note.

"Rhea, I hope the place is to your liking. The only thing you should need to do is bring in some furniture.
Now, regarding your condition, I have made sure that the basement will more than accommodate full moons. There is a hatch in the living room that will lead to the basement, once you input the 6-digit code, 070322.
I am genuinely sorry for what my husband and his lapdog have done to you and I hope they never bother you again, please consider this home my way of starting to right all of their wrongs.
Sincerely, Beth. P.S. use the lighter again on this note."

After two years she was still processing how this whole magic and monsters thing worked but was slowly getting used to it. Following the instructions on the note, after jotting down the code, she lit the paper on fire again. This time however the flames took and Rhea had to drop the sheet before she burned her hand, not that it wouldn't heal almost immediately but it would still hurt.

"Couldn't make it simple, could you Beth?" She said to herself. Rhea quickly found the hatch and entered the code. She watched as the hatch rose on its own revealing a set of stairs.

Following the stairs, having to crouch slightly in the tight space, lead to a much more open chamber. It was an almost empty room with only one item within, a large steel cage.

Present

"Must be a pretty influential little birdie," Raquel called from the doorway with a smaller couch in her arms. "By the way, this was the last thing in the truck, I can get Braun to take it back to the rental place while we get some lunch if you want."

"Oooh, there's this new place around the corner that I've heard is really good," Dakota chimed in, jumping off the kitchen counter and grabbing her phone to pull up some info about the place. "Okay, so it's called Hallowed Grounds, and I've heard it's got this cool pagan vibe to it."

Rhea vaguely remembered driving past a coffee shop by the same name and was genuinely interested in finding somewhere to get her morning coffees. Plus it could be a good way to get to know the kind of people in this part of town.

"Sounds good, mate. Should we walk or take a car?" She asked directing the question to the whole group, to which they looked at her like she'd grown a second head. She might have spent the whole morning moving furniture with her friends, but thanks to her supernatural strength and endurance, she didn't feel sore or tired in the slightest.

"Dude, sometimes I'm not even sure if you're human, how are you not tired?" Shayna asked with genuine confusion. "You don't even look like you're sweating."

"You guys know my workout schedule, this is nothing," She responded, flexing. "But if you guys are tired, we can drive."

They piled into Rhea's truck while Dakota put the address into the GPS. The place wasn't too far from Rhea's house, so it wouldn't be too hard to find on the way home from a morning run if she found the right path.

The building itself had a somewhat rustic look to it, and the sign hung above the door said the name Dakota had mentioned: Hallowed Grounds.

But it was the things that her friends couldn't notice that caught Rhea off guard, the stench of the supernatural. She could smell the magic in the air that surrounded this place. No matter how perceptive, a human wouldn't be able to notice it, but when you had the nose of a bloodhound, you tended to pick up on these things.

As the group approached the door, Rhea could start to distinguish each specific scent in and around the building. Medicinal herbs, coffee (obviously), sweet and savory baked goods, cooked meats, and much more.

The three scents that made her stop at the doorway, however, were very familiar to her, vampire, werewolf, and witch.

Chapter Text

"Liv, we need two more coffees and three more donuts," Ruby shouted from the front counter. The shop was small and run by just three people, though Sarah's husband and brother-in-law helped when needed.

"I’m on it, Ruby," Liv called from the back. "Sarah, how's the meat coming for the lunch rush?" She could smell the array of different meats being cooked from her half, the "breakfast" half, of the kitchen, but was no expert when it came to preparing it.

"Almost done," Sarah responded, with her mouth full of what could only be the first batch she had prepared. "Five more minutes, and you can tell the customers they can start ordering sandwiches."

"Perfect, I'll let Ruby know to put the Lunch sign out," Liv called back. "Just try not to eat all of it before the customers even get a chance." It was mostly a joke, but Liv knew what Sarah was like. There was more than one occasion when the three of them had been on the road together and Sarah pulled out a full bag of meat, claiming she had brought 'snacks', even though she knew that Ruby could not eat regular food, and Liv was not going to eat meat out of a bag.

"Very funny, we've got another week before we need to worry about that, and you know it." Sarah retorted, gesturing with whatever cut of meat she was snacking on.
She was right, the full moon was next week. For all the years the three of them had known each other, they had learned the best ways to manage Sarah's monthly transformations and Ruby's feeding habits. Liv who had been studying witchcraft, and potion making specifically, for a few years before meeting Ruby and Sarah had taken it upon herself to find ways to make her friend's lives easier.

She had started with Ruby's... culinary needs. Liv knew how uncomfortable Ruby was with needing to feed on human blood, so she did what she did best, she picked up her grimoire and made a blood substitute. Sarah on the other hand was a harder fix. While there were well-known herbs and materials related to the curse of lycanthropy; silver and wolfsbane most notably. The problem was that these were both highly dangerous when exposed to or ingested by werewolves. The best Liv could do was make a repellent for the wolf, a cage of scent rather than one of steel.

They had been running the Hallowed Grounds coffee shop for about a month now and business was going well. The customers liked the style of the cafe as well as the all-natural menu. Sarah had asked her husband, Erik, and his brother Ivar to help for the day. Both of their regular waiters were out for the day, so the ladies were going to need some help getting food and coffee out to customers. It was entertaining to see not just one but two large, bearded, and tattooed men walking around with coffee cups and plates of food.

“Erik, order up,” Ruby called as Liv brought out the coffee and donuts from the back.

“Any fresh faces today?” Liv asked Ruby as she handed Erik the plate.

Just as she was about to answer, they heard the bell above the door and watched as a group of five women walked in and made their way to an open booth.
Something about the group, or one among them, was very intriguing to Liv.

“I’ll get their order,” Liv said, not taking her eyes off the group. “Ivar needs to take a break anyway.”

“Are you sure,” Ruby seemed unsettled by the group. “Something just feels off about them.”

Liv had learned to trust the instincts of her friends; their supernatural senses had rarely been wrong. But she had her senses, call it intuition but there were times when she could feel the goodness in people. It’s how she met Ruby and Sarah, so she trusted it.

“I’ll be careful, I swear,” Liv claimed, with a hand over her heart. “Ivar, head to the back and take a break, ask Sarah to make you a sandwich.”

“Sure thing boss.” He didn’t even bother to hide the massive grin at the thought of one of Sarah’s amazing sandwiches.

She grabbed his notebook as he all but ran to the back of the shop. Liv approached the group, with a big smile, and bright eyes.

“Welcome to the Hallowed Grounds, Ladies,” She looked through the group, making sure to make eye contact with each woman, trying to follow her sense. “What can I get for you today?”

There, the tall blonde one. Beautiful grey-blue eyes, muscular physique, ears full of piercings, and arms covered in tattoos. What she picked up on after a few moments was what looked like a semicircle of scars partially hidden by the neck of her shirt. Liv knew what those scars meant because Sarah had a similar cluster of scars on the left side of her abdomen.

“We’ll get five of your lunch special sandwiches,” The voice of the tall, brunette shook Liv out of her thoughts. “That sound good to everyone, Rhea?” The blonde, Rhea, turned to her friend with a confused look.

“Yeah, sounds good.” It was at that point that the two locked eyes. Liv knew what Rhea was, which meant Rhea likely knew what Liv was.

Chapter Text

She was absolutely gorgeous. Long blonde hair, stunning blue eyes, and the most beautiful smile. She smelled like coffee and donuts, but also like sage and nature. This was clearly the witch Rhea could smell from outside. Not what she expected, but the only other witch she knew was Beth. It was clear that the two dealt in different schools of magic.

‘You’re staring you weirdo’ She thought to herself, as she looked across the booth to Dakota, who also noticed Rhea’s focus on the waiter. She could see the hint of a smirk on Dakota’s face as she looked down at the table.

“Anything else I can get for you guys?” She continued, eyes flicking from her notebook and back to Rhea.

“I think we’re alright, but thank you…?” Tegan responded clearly fishing for the woman’s name, as she had no badge.

“Liv, Liv Morgan. I hope you like my place.” She, Liv, replied with her arms outstretched showing off the café.

It was at this point that Rhea noticed that the green-haired woman at the counter was joined by another person. This one had brown hair that was dreaded and braided like a Viking. They were trying to watch their booth subtly and failing.

“I think your co-workers need something,” Rhea pointed back towards the counter. As Liv turned to look back, both women dropped behind the counter.
“Oh my gods,” She facepalmed as she turned to walk away. “The sandwiches will be out in about five minutes; I need to go deal with those two.” And she stormed off towards the counter.

“What was that about?” Shayna asked, quickly followed by Dakota.

“Yeah Rhea, what was that?” Everyone looked between Rhea and Dakota in confusion. But the blush on Rhea’s face and the smirk on Dakota’s quickly clued the rest of the group in.

“OH MY GOD, NO, THAT QUICKLY?” She couldn’t tell who was saying what, it was just a barrage of excitement that only deepened the red of her cheeks.

“I don’t know, leave me alone.” She buried her face in her hands and dropped her head on the table. It was the truth, she really didn’t know, her last relationship didn’t end well at all. Just the thought of her time with Nikki made the scars on her shoulder itch.

“We haven’t seen you this smitten since you told us about Nikki a couple of years back.” Tegan’s comment sent Rhea’s mind spiraling, made the hair on the back of her neck stand up, and caused her breathing to quicken. It felt like a panic attack, and she needed to get away and recompose herself before her friends, as well as the rest of the patrons, saw her true nature.

“I need to use the bathroom,” Rhea stood up and all but ran to the bathroom. As she made her way to the bathroom, she caught Liv’s eye very briefly before shutting the door and trying to calm herself down.

Two years ago

“They’re going to love you, I know it.” The Scotswoman claimed, trying to ease the nerves of her tall Australian girlfriend. It was the first time Rhea was meeting Nikki’s family and she was sweating bullets.

“Are you sure?” Rhea was pacing and wringing her hands. “I feel underdressed.”

The two of them had spent the whole day out together, visiting the local comic book store, a picnic in the park, and a few rounds of bowling. Nikki hadn’t told Rhea they would end the day with dinner at her family’s place. They were both in casual streetwear, but that didn’t seem to bother Nikki.

“You look gorgeous, love,’’ Nikki grabbed Rhea’s arms and looked her in the eyes. “You have nothing to worry about.” She stood on the tips of her toes and kissed her lips.

Rhea immediately started to relax as they walked up to the front door of the intimidatingly large house.

Knock, knock, knock.

Present

“Shit, shit, calm down Ripley. She’s gone, you got away.” She could feel the beast rising as the panic attack continued. She turned to the sink and turned on the tap to splash some water on her face. As she looked up into the mirror, she saw her eyes, normally a pale blue-grey, but right now they were glowing bright ice blue.

“Fuck.”

“You ok in there?” From behind the door came a familiar Jersey accent. Knock, knock, knock.

"Double fuck."

Chapter Text

“What are you guys doing?” Liv called out as she stormed back to the counter. Ruby and Sarah stood up from behind the bench, trying their best to look innocent.

“Ruby said there was something weird about a group that came in, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.” Liv made her way behind the counter.

"Everything's fine," She placed the group's order on the counter in front of Sarah, motioning back to the kitchen. "but one of them. the blonde one is also a ‘Viking’.” Liv said with air quotes, before pointing to the left side of her abdomen. Both Ruby and Sarah knew exactly what the codeword meant.

“Um, that blonde one?” Ruby responded, pointing over Liv’s shoulder. Sure enough, rushing in the direction of the bathroom with panic in her eye, was the tall, beautiful, blonde. There was a second of eye contact before she disappeared into the bathroom.

“Ok, that’s not fine.” Sarah was right, even werewolves with the best self-control struggled with keeping their emotions, and by extension their beasts in check. They couldn’t risk the safety of not only their customers but also the supernatural community as a whole.

“Ruby, do you still have that silver knife on you?” Liv asked, turning to grab a few ingredients from beneath the counter. Familiar ingredients, the same she would use every full moon for Sarah.

The three of them had decided to keep contingencies for each other, in case of any incidents. It was originally Sarah’s idea, as she believed she was the most likely to lose control of herself. Ruby was quick to agree, but Liv was harder to convince. That was until Ruby went too long without feeding and nearly tore Liv’s throat out before Sarah was able to separate them and grab Ruby something without a pulse. Safe to say after that moment Liv kept holy water and wolfsbane close by if she was ever in a life or death scenario against any creatures of the night.

“Of course,” She pulled a simple, but well-crafted, silver knife from the back of her pants. It was still in its sheath from where it was tucked behind Ruby’s t-shirt. Liv grabbed it as she stood up and started walking towards the bathroom.

“Woah, what are you doing?” Sarah stepped in front of her, putting her hand against Liv’s chest. “If she loses control, you’re dead, it should be one of us going in, we’ll at least heal.”

“I’m going to see if I calm her down before she ‘goes on a raid’ with all of our customers.” Liv was now trying to get past Sarah, in an attempt to reach the bathroom, and the werewolf possibly having a panic attack within, before Ruby also stepped in front of her.

“Sarah’s right, Liv,” Ruby was now reaching for the knife. “You could get seriously hurt, we just want to keep you safe.”

Keep you safe, something about the statement made her blood boil. They were always like this, trying to shield her from danger. Liv was tired of it, she could keep herself safe, and this was the perfect opportunity to prove it.

“No, I can handle this,” She pushed passed the two of them and started towards the bathroom. “You guys keep up appearances, besides if anything happens, Sarah will hear it and then you can come to save me.”

“I don’t like this, but I know we’re not going to be able to convince you otherwise,” Sarah picked up the order Liv had placed on the counter and headed back to the kitchen. Ruby stood and watched Sarah walk away before turning back to look at Liv.

“Be careful, I don’t think either of us would be able to live with ourselves if anything happened to you.” Ruby was not happy about this, but Sarah was right, there was no way they could stop Liv once she set her mind to something, especially when a pretty girl was involved.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” She sounded more confident than she was. She knew how dangerous werewolves could be. She’d seen enough of Sarah’s ‘leftovers’ to know what they were capable of. As long as she remained calm and stayed as passive as possible, she had a chance of preventing a catastrophe.

She tucked the knife in the back of her pants, the same way Ruby had it, and started subtly making a miniature version of the wolf repellent potion that she could use to keep the woman contained in the bathroom.

“You ok in there?” She couldn’t hear anything through the door. ‘Knock, knock, knock,’ She opened the door and walked in.

Chapter Text

Before she knew it, Rhea heard the bathroom door open. She quickly stepped away from the mirror and locked herself in one of the stalls. She had a feeling that the waitress knew what she was, but that didn’t mean that she knew what to do when a werewolf was losing control.

“Everything’s fine, I just need a minute.” She could feel her voice starting to deepen into a growl. If she didn’t get this sorted out, coffee and sandwiches wouldn’t be the only thing on the menu.

“You’re not alright,” Rhea could hear the woman approaching. What hit her next was the odd smell coming from the direction of the door. It smelt like wolfsbane as well as some other ingredients she couldn’t discern. All she knew was she didn’t want to get anywhere near it. “I’m just here to try and talk you down.”

“Heh, good luck with that, I hope you brought more than just fancy perfume.” There was panic in her voice, her heartbeat was getting faster, and she could feel her body temperature rising. Her clothes felt like they were shrinking as her body was starting to shift. She could only hold the transformation off for so long, she needed to either calm herself down or get away.

“I did but I’m hoping I don’t need to use it,” She was getting closer, her footsteps echoing like thunder. “Please don’t make me.”

“Trust me, I don’t want you to have to use it either,” She could feel fur starting to crawl down her back and up her arms, as her fingernails and teeth began to sharpen. “But you might not have a choice. Do what you need to do to keep everyone else safe.”

Liv could hear the woman’s voice coming from the last stall, as well as her panicked breathing. It was clear she was trying to calm herself down, but not doing a very good job of it. Liv needed to find a way to clear her mind of whatever was causing so much stress that she would start to shift. So Liv did what she did best, she started talking.

“I didn’t catch your name earlier, by the way.” She was walking slowly towards the last stall, hoping that the conversation could calm the wolf down by the time she reached the door. She’d used this tactic on the rare occasions that Sarah had lost control. It was enough to slow the shift until Erik got there and calmed her down.

“Are you seriously trying to start a conversation with me right now?” There was a split second where the rapid breathing stopped as if she was surprised by the event. “You might be as dumb as you are pretty.”

“Just trust me on this,” She was about three stalls away and still approaching, making sure to maintain a steady pace and keep her voice level and calm. If she didn’t, she risked spooking an already panicking and dangerous beast. “What is your name?”

“Rhea Ripley, I’m new in town.” There was something about the smaller blonde’s voice. Rhea could feel her mind clearing of Nikki and…him. The footsteps continued slowly.

“Do you have any interests or hobbies?” Two stalls away, the rapid breathing that had been interspersed with growls was slowing, losing the dangerous edge that came from a wolf’s throat. It was working, hopefully, Rhea would keep going.

“Are you trying to calm me down or get to know me?” She chuckled slightly in the response, but whatever this witch was doing was working, her body was returning to its normal state and the fur that was creeping down her spine was receding. “I’m sure there could have been a better time to do that, like maybe when I’m not on the verge of eating all of your customers”

Well, she was starting to calm down, if she was able to joke about the situation But now, she was getting on Liv’s nerves. Just once could she answer a question the first time it was asked. She was enjoying toying with Liv, she could practically hear the smug grin across the woman’s face.

“I’m trying to help you here, could you just answer the questions before I get annoyed.” Liv was glad that Rhea was still in the stall, or she would have seen the bright red blush that crossed her face.

She was one stall away when she heard the door open, and out walked the tall Australian. She was still partially shifted, her eyes glowing blue, her ears somewhat pointed, as were her nails and teeth.

“I don’t know if it counts as a hobby, but I’m a bit of a gym rat.” Safe to say the blush remained as Rhea flexed with a smirk. “Like what you see?”

“What I see is an idiot who almost lost control in my coffee shop,” Liv was trying her best to not stare at this beautiful woman, but she couldn’t help herself. Blue wolf eyes were odd though. All the wolves she’d ever met had yellow eyes, maybe Sarah would know more. “What happened anyway?”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to leave that conversation for when I don’t have claws or fangs.” Rhea lifted her hands to show her still slowly shrinking claws. “Would be a real shame to get back from…that just to stress myself out all over again, don’t you think?”

“That’s a fair point, wouldn’t want a reason to use this.” Liv pulled the silver knife from the back of her pants, placing it on the sink to her right. “I’m going to assume you know what that is.”

“Yeah, I know what that is.” Liv watched as Rhea reached up to the neck of her shirt and pulled the fabric back, revealing the bitemarks that scarred her shoulder. In the middle of the scars was a symbol branded into her skin, a set of scales.

Chapter Text

“Shit, you don’t think we upset her, do you?” Dakota said as Rhea made her way into the bathroom. They were just joking around, what set her off?

“I don’t know,” There was a hint of annoyance in Raquel’s voice as she turned to look at Tegan. “Maybe if someone hadn’t brought up her ex, we still don’t know what happened between them.”

Rhea hadn’t told the group what had happened between her and Nikki, but no breakup is easy. It was the reason Rhea moved back to Orlando. A fresh start she had told them, that was all they needed to know for now. If the truth came out, she would tell them the rest, if they would listen and not immediately run away that is.

“l didn’t think it was a big deal,” Tegan responded defensively. “How was l supposed to know she was going to react like that, she hasn’t told us anything about want happened.”

“Here’s a bright idea,” Shayna reached her arm around Dakota and smacked Tegan across the back of the head. “Why don’t we wait until Rhea decides to tell us, it’s her love life, not some drama for us to enjoy.”

“Ow, was that necessary?”

“YES!” Everyone else responded in unison.

---

‘Tap, tap, tap, tap.’

“Please be okay,” Ruby hadn’t taken her eyes off the bathroom door since Liv walked through it. “Please don’t do anything stupid.”

‘Tap, tap, tap, tap.’

“Ruby, RUBY!” Sarah grabbed Ruby by her shoulder, drawing her out of her trance. “You’re gonna put a hole in the counter, put the pen down.”

She looked down at the counter where she’d been nervously tapping her pen. There was already an ink stain and dent forming from her nervous action.

“Can you hear what’s happening?” She put the pen down and started wringing her hands. “I can’t take all this waiting.”

“Well, it’s hard to hear anything when someone is constantly tapping away.” Sarah had been trying to listen in to the situation, but with Ruby tapping at the counter and her nerves about the scenario, she hadn’t been able to focus. “I haven’t heard any screams, so I think we’re good for now.”

“That is not encouraging at all,” She needed something to do before she went crazy out of panic.

“SARAH, THE SANDWICHES ARE READY,” They heard Ivar from the back, who had been putting together the order for the latest group.

Erik was already walking between tables, collecting used plates and mugs, and Ivar was meant to be on his break, but Sarah had asked him to handle the sandwiches while she checked on Ruby.

“Why don’t you take the group their lunch, and I’ll keep an ear out.” Sarah turned and walked back into the kitchen to bring out the order, placing it on a small trolley for ease of movement. “I promise if I hear anything at all, we will get everyone out and rush the bathroom and save Liv.”

Ruby grumbled as she grabbed the trolley and made her way over to the group's table. She was mumbling to herself until she reached the group, at which point she presented her kindest smile, and handed out the sandwiches including one at the empty space.

“Enjoy ladies.”

“Thanks.”

“Should we go check on Rhea, she’s been gone for a little bit,” Dakota looked to the rest of the group with concern. “I’m getting a little worried.”

“I’ll go,” Raquel stood up to start walking towards the bathroom. “Don’t wait up.”

She reached the door and knocked. She heard a bit of mumbled conversation from inside the bathroom.

“Rhea? You ok in there? Lunch is at the table.”

“I’m fine, just give me a second.” Raquel heard Rhea’s familiar Australian accent through the door. A little more hushed whispering, before the door opened and Rhea stepped out.

“Let’s go try these sandwiches.”

---

Watching from the counter, Sarah breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the tall blonde exit the bathroom, following behind the even taller brunette back to their booth.

After a few moments, Liv left the bathroom and headed back behind the counter.

“What happened, are you hurt?”

“Sarah, I’m fine. I managed to talk her down.” Liv was physically fine, but she was still processing the brand Rhea had shown on her shoulder. “I’ll tell you more later, for now, let’s just finish the day.”

Chapter Text

Rhea and Raquel made their way back to the booth and sat down. They were greeted by smiles albeit apologetic from Tegan, who was rubbing the back of her neck.

“Sorry if I said something that upset you,” She looked down at her sandwich before looking back up with a mischievous smile. “Maybe if you told us what…”

Another smack to the back of the head, this time from Dakota.

“Dude we just talked about this, she’ll tell us when she’s ready,” Dakota turned to face Rhea. “Won’t you?”

“Of course, just give me some time to get comfortable in the house and around town.” She was being mostly honest, there were a few obvious details of the situation that they wouldn’t understand.

“Hey, can we change the subject?” Shayna said through a mouthful of sandwich and gesturing with the other half. “You guys need to try this before I eat yours.”

The sandwiches smelled terrific, but they tasted even better. The bread was fresh and homemade, and the meat melted in your mouth.

“Oh, we are definitely coming here again.”

“I know I will be this might be the best meal I’ve ever had.”

“Any excuse to see the cute blonde waitress again, am I right?” There was a quiet thud as Dakota stomped on Tegan’s foot under the table. “OW! Alright, I’ll stop.’

“It’s fine, she’s intriguing.” Rhea thought back to the conversation in the bathroom, how Liv’s voice calmed the beast faster than anything she had tried in the past. “Seeing her whenever I come in for lunch will definitely be a bonus.”

She didn’t know what it was but there was an odd pull to the witch that Rhea couldn’t explain like they were destined to meet.

“We should probably start heading off, I was hoping to catch the fight this afternoon.” Shayna was starting to stand and grab her wallet.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting ready to pay for lunch.” She looked at Rhea with a confused expression.

“Not a chance, put that away.” Rhea stood and started walking towards the counter. “After everything you guys have helped me with this week, it’s my shout.”

Before getting to the counter she turned and tossed her car keys to Shayna.

“Oh, wait could you see if you can grab a sandwich to go?” Raquel called out, wanting to get something for Braun.

“Sure, just meet me in the truck and get the AC going.” She turned and jogged to the counter, which was manned by the wild-looking brunette. She must have been the other werewolf.

“Just paying for table five?”

“Yeah, but could I also grab another one of your sandwiches to go?”

“Not a problem.” Sarah walked to the back to prepare another sandwich, while Rhea grabbed the cash she needed, wrote a quick note on a napkin and folded it together with the money as Sarah came back with a fresh wrapped sandwich.

“Keep the change.” She handed the money over, grabbed the extra sandwich and walked away. “See you next time, mate.”

Sarah took the cash and placed it in the register, pausing when she found the folded napkin that had ‘liv written on it and chuckled. She pocketed the note and went back to work.

Outside

“Raquel, catch.” Rhea tossed the wrapped sandwich to her friend as she jogged toward her truck. Tegan and Dakota were already in the car, but Shayna and Raquel waited for Rhea to exit the café.

“Oh, shit.” Raquel, not expecting to have a sandwich thrown at her, tossed her phone onto the car seat as she tried her best to not squish Braun’s lunch. “A little warning next time would be nice.”

“I yelled catch,” Rhea called as she jumped into the driver’s seat. “It’s not my fault you weren’t paying attention.”

Raquel grumbled as she hopped into the passenger seat and Shayna hopped in the back, sandwiching Dakota between herself and Tegan.

With that, they drove back to Rhea’s place, before splitting up and going to their own homes.

A few hours later at the café.

Ruby flipped the sign on the door from open to closed as the day started to wind down.

“I think today went pretty well,” Liv had been distracted for the rest of the day but quickly remembered the surprise she had for Ruby. “We should celebrate with doughnuts.”

“You know I can’t eat doughnuts, Liv,” Ruby turned to her friend with a sad smile. “But I appreciate your enthusiasm.”

“No, you can’t eat normal doughnuts, but I’ve been working on something that I think you might like.” She ran to the back and returned with a tray of somewhat red doughnuts. “Now, this is just a first attempt, but I have a good feeling about this.”

Ruby was speechless, when she had been turned, she never would have expected that she’d be able to eat ‘normal’ food again. She felt the familiar warmth of her red, bloody tears falling down her face as she cried with joy.

“Oh Ruby don’t cry,” Liv set the tray down and rushed to her friend’s side.

“You’re too good to us, we don’t deserve you.” Ruby was wiping the tears from her cheeks as Liv came in for a hug.

“Don’t be silly, I know you guys would do the same for me if our places were switched.” She wiped the last of the tears from Ruby’s face, turned around and grabbed one of the experimental blood doughnuts she had made. “Now could you taste test it; I know I’m not going to.”

Ruby chuckled and took a bite of the doughnut. While it didn’t sate her ever-present thirst, it didn’t taste like ash, like every other human food she’d tried since dying.

“It’s perfect Liv,” She finished the doughnut and gave Liv another big hug.

“LIV.” Sarah came jogging out of the kitchen and pulled a napkin with her name on it out of her pocket. “That werewolf from earlier left this for you.”

She took the napkin from Sarah and opened it. The writing was rushed and a little messy but easy enough to read.

‘Liv, thanks for the help earlier. I hope we get a chance to talk again. Maybe this will help. Rhea.’

Under the short note was a phone number with two words next to it, ‘Call me?’

Chapter Text

Rhea was alone in her house for the rest of the day, and she wouldn’t have told her friends, but she couldn’t get the blonde witch out of her thoughts. So she did what she always did to clear her mind, she worked out.

The house that Beth had given to her already had a gym built in so Rhea wouldn’t have to worry about a subscription or the weird stares she’d most likely get when she’d bench press weights far above human ability.

Eighteen months ago.

“Go on give it a try.” Damian led Rhea from her room into a gym, where she saw a barbell with a ridiculous amount of weight on it.

“You’re kidding, mate.” She looked at the barbell and crossed her arms. “There’s no way I’ll be able to lift that.”

“Just try, you might surprise yourself.”

She shook her head as she walked towards the barbell and looked at Damian with disbelief. She shrugged before grabbing it and trying to lift it.

She was thrown off balance with how easily it moved because she assumed she’d need much more force to move this insane amount of weight.

“Told you so,” Damian chuckled as Rhea put the weight down and looked at her hands in amazement. “This gift we have given you makes you stronger, faster, more durable, but it also increases your senses.”

“Ok, this is a lot to take in,” She was still processing what he’d just told her. “But I do have one question.”

“Fire away.”

“Where’s Nikki?” She looked up and caught his eye with pure worry.

Present

She had just finished her workout when she picked up her and saw what she’d been hoping for since she left the café.

‘Hey, it’s Liv. I got your note. Hopefully, the next time we meet will be under better circumstances.’

Rhea winced at the memory of what had happened.

‘Yeah, sorry about that. You’d think after two years I might have gotten the hang of the whole self-control thing, but I guess not.’

‘Nah, it’s alright. I’ve had a little practice calming down beasts.’

‘Still, thank you for helping me.’

They continued to text for the next few minutes before saying goodnight.

‘How is it that a girl I met spoke to for five minutes can make me feel like a little schoolgirl?’ Rhea thought to herself as she put her phone down. She hadn’t smiled like this since…for a long time.

She tried to push the thought away before getting ready to go to sleep. Her mind wandered back to Liv, and the ease at which she had managed to soothe the wolf.

For the first time in two years, Rhea drifted off to peaceful sleep.

---

Liv sat on her bed in her place above the café, smiling at her phone.

‘Who are you, Rhea Ripley?’ Their conversation had only lasted a few minutes, so they didn’t dive too deep into personal topics. Leave those for in person.

She put her phone down and headed to bed.

***

“Where am I?” Liv had just closed her eyes, she was sure. To call where she found herself a room would be generous, it felt more like a pit.

The floor and walls were concrete and there were two windows, one about twenty feet up from the floor on one of the walls, and the other open directly to the night sky but something was covering the outside. She only saw one door, a heavily reinforced steel barrier, and it seemed to lock from the outside. If she had to guess the purpose of this space, the first thought to come to mind would be the full moon.

‘What is going on?’

She heard the door open as a familiar figure fell to the floor. Tall, muscular, short blonde hair and tattoos.

She looked exhausted, confused and angry. But what caught Liv’s attention was the fresh, bleeding ring of teeth marks on her shoulder. Rhea stood up and slammed her fists into the reinforced steel door.

“LET ME OUT OF HERE YOU WANKER!!” She kept at it for a couple of seconds before giving in to the pain in her shoulder and slumping against the door with her arms wrapped around her knees.

“Rhea, are you okay?” Liv moved from the centre of the pit to where Rhea was sitting against the wall. She reached for the taller blonde’s hand but passed through it. “I guess I’m just a spectator in this.”

“Now, Miss Ash, you’ve done us a great favour.” Liv looked up at the window in the wall and saw two figures approach. It was hard to tell fine details in the darkness from her angle, but from what she could tell there was a tall male and a shorter female. “What can I do for you in return?”

Liv had an idea and tried to will herself to where the two figures were standing. She opened her eyes again, this time standing next to the man and the woman

The woman had long brown hair and what looked like a blue and gold t-shirt covered in butterflies. The man on the other hand had a beard, brown hair, similar to Rhea’s if a bit shorter, and was wearing a finely made purple and black suit.

“All I want, sir, is to be like you.” She looked toward the man, a hint of nervousness in her voice. “I want to be strong, and fast. I want to fly.”

“Wonderful, we’ll discuss that later,” He looked up to the skylight as the barrier started moving, revealing the night sky, and a werewolf’s worst nightmare, the full moon. “The show’s about to start.”

There was a scream from below them as the moonlight washed over Rhea, who had been slumped against the door until that moment.

‘Oh no.’ Liv willed herself back into the pit as the transformation, possibly Rhea’s first and most painful if she were to guess, was starting.

The room echoed with her piercing screams as well as the thunderous snapping of her bones reshaping into a more beastly shape. Liv could hear the screams deepen into growls as Rhea’s vocal cords also tore and reformed, no longer capable of human speech.

Rhea was on her hands and knees as the rest of her body broke, reformed and expanded with muscle and fur for the next few minutes.

By the end, Liv was staring at an eight-to-nine-foot tall, brown-furred, yellow-eyed werewolf, who flexed her large, clawed paws, trying to get a feel for this new form.

“She’s beautiful, you did well Miss Ash.” The man was stepping behind the woman now, putting one hand on her shoulder while the other reached for a lever on the wall. “I think you deserve a closer look.”

The look of excitement dropped from Miss Ash’s face as the man used the grip he had on her shoulder to shove her through the opening window, and into the pit below. She hit the floor knees first, with a sickening crack and a cry of pain.

From the other end of the room, the wolf looked up from her paws and straight towards the small, screaming, defenceless woman. She looked feral and hungry as she dropped to all fours, ready to pounce.

“Shit.” Liv looked between the woman, who looked in no condition to run or defend herself, and the werewolf stalking towards her. She was standing between predator and prey as the woman pulled herself towards the wall in a futile attempt to escape.

“Rhea, please I’m sorry.” The woman started begging for her life, with no reaction. The wolf continued to approach; lips curled up in a hungry snarl. She stepped through Liv as she stood on her hind legs and dived onto her prey.

With one final scream of agony, the bloody remains of the woman spattering the body of the wolf. She shut her eyes and shook her head. Her blood-covered paws grasped the side of her head before dropping back onto all fours with a grunt.

Liv stepped back in front of Rhea as she stopped shaking her head and looked up. She could see the eyes, no longer yellow, but ice blue.

The man in the window laughed at the carnage he had wrought and with an ear-splitting howl, Liv’s vision went black.

***

Liv sat up in a cold sweat, startling Kitty who was asleep on her pillow.

“What the fuck was that?

Chapter Text

“What do you mean you saw her first transformation last night?” Ruby was setting out the tables and chairs in the dining area, while Liv and Sarah were working in the kitchen.

“I mean, I went to sleep and then next thing I know I’m watching a massive brown wolf eat someone.”

“Jeez, did you see anything else?”

“Yeah, the woman she…ate, she was having a conversation with some guy in a fancy suit. It sounded like the woman had been hired or something, to bring in someone for a specific purpose, that someone being Rhea.”

“That’s so messed up, who would do such a thing?”

The two of them hadn’t noticed Ruby, who had finished setting up the front of the café and was now listening to the conversation. She was leaning against the frame of the door to the kitchen with her arms crossed and a look of quiet anger on her face.

“Vampires,” She stepped forward, uncrossing her arms, balling her fists, and looking at the floor. “Not all of them but a lot, they treat mortals as playthings. If you’re saying someone ‘bought’ her and had her turned, they were most likely a lick trying to make a weapon. From the looks of it, she got away.”

“How do you know?” Liv looked toward her friend. Ruby barely talked about what had been done to her, let alone the person who’d done it.

“Because,” When Ruby looked up there was fury in her eyes and red tears falling down her cheeks. “It’s what they tried to do to me.”

---

The gym in the house was perfect, but there was one thing that couldn’t be confined indoors: running.

It was something she’d always done, even back in Australia. You don’t become captain of the soccer team by sitting around watching tv after all.

In recent years the urge to run has been more persistent. It was one of the few luxuries she was allowed while living with Edge and the rest. Though, the trails she’d run were always monitored and fenced in.

The complex felt just as much like a prison as the cage she’d be locked in during the full moons.

But now, she could just escape. Nothing but the dirt beneath her feet and the animals surrounding her. It was good to get away from the overwhelming sounds and smells of the town she now called home.

Rhea had mapped out a few trails when she first moved in, but she settled on one.

One that just so happened to require her to pass The Hallowed Grounds on the way home. She stood across from the café and considered going in.

‘Maybe give it a few days, wouldn’t want to seem desperate.’

She turned away from the café and jogged the rest of the way home, still unable to get the blonde beauty out of her head.

That is until she rounded the corner and smelled blood in the air. She tried her best to maintain a neutral expression but followed the scent to the front of her house, though it didn’t end there.

There was a note on her doorstep, folded but she could tell it was inked in blood. She picked it up and followed the rest of the trail. It wrapped around the side of her house and stopped at a body.

She was still breathing but there were puncture wounds on her wrists and blood in her mouth.

“Rhea?” Her voice was weak, the Welsh accent being choked by the blood in her throat. Rhea ran to Tegan’s side and fell to her knees.

“FUCK, Tegan what happened?” She grabbed her hands and tried to stop the bleeding from what she could only guess were vampire bites.

“I…I d-don’t know, they s-said they w-were loo-oking for you, that they w-wanted to help y-you find-d Nikki.”

“Stop, let’s get you inside.” Rhea picked Tegan up with ease and carried her inside, the note in her pocket. There was only one group of people that knew about her and Nikki, and Rhea had tried her best to get as far from them as possible.

She shut the door and laid Tegan on the couch, she could deal with the mess later. All that mattered for right now was making sure her friend was okay.

“Just give me a second, I’ve got some bandages.” Rhea was panicking, she had been back in town for two weeks and one of her friends was already involved in the worst way. “You’re gonna be ok.”

“Rhea, why is it so bright, it hurts.” There it was, there were a few things she didn’t want to hear in this scenario, and that was one of them. She stopped where she was, bandages in hand. “What’s happening to me?”

From what Rhea knew about how vampires are ‘embraced’, as Edge would say, the victim is drained of their blood before being fed the vampires’ blood. After this, the victim would wake up with a thirst for blood and sensitivity to sunlight.

She put the bandages down, knowing she wouldn’t need them now, and grabbed her phone.

“Just give me a second, I need to make a phone call.” Tegan could hear the shakiness and sadness in the Aussie’s voice.

Rhea knew she couldn’t risk calling Beth, but luckily she’d made a friend who could most likely help her in this situation: a certain blonde witch.

---

The café had been fairly quiet for most of the day, Erik and Ivar had kept mostly to the back with Sarah, while Ruby and Liv worked the front.

They still had a few hours before closing time when Liv got a phone call, with Rhea’s name at the top of her phone. She let Ruby know before heading partway upstairs and answering the call.

“Hey, how are you?” She couldn’t hide the joy in her voice at the sudden call, though the timing was odd.

“Really bad, I need your help, and maybe your green-haired mate.” Liv could hear the distress in Rhea’s voice and her face immediately dropped.

“What happened, where are you?” She made her way back to where Ruby was and wrote a small note telling her they needed to go without hanging up on Rhea. “Is there anyone else with you?”

“I’m at my place with one of my friends, Tegan.” She gave her address and Liv heard her take a few deep breaths. “I think it’d be better if I explain when you get here.”

“Okay, we’ll be there in five minutes, just keep calm.” Liv hung up and they let Sarah know about the situation and got the boys to take over while they were gone. Liv grabbed a few of her ingredients while Ruby grabbed another knife, a pair of sunglasses, and a couple of her blood substitutes.

They jumped into Liv’s truck and made their way toward the address Liv had been given.

“What do you think happened?” Ruby asked while holding onto the handle inside the car.

“I don’t know but if she asked for you, I’m gonna guess something vampire related.” Liv didn’t take her eyes off the road, purely focused on getting to Rhea’s aid.

---

Rhea put her phone down and pulled the note from her pocket.

‘You should have known it would only be a matter of time before we found you, Eradicator. Cease this little rebellion and no more of your friends need to suffer the same fate as dear Tegan. Although, Finn claims that she was rather delicious. Make the right choice. – D.’

A growl escaped her throat as she tore the note apart.

‘So much for starting over.’ The frustration of knowing how hard it was to get away, only to be found within a matter of weeks was enough for Rhea to scream, but she needed to keep it together for Tegan. She was about to learn a lot about the world she thought she knew.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Hey, come on in.” She’d moved Tegan from the living room to the spare bedroom, closing all of the blinds and curtains.

“Hey, are you gonna tell us what happened?” Liv stepped in first, smiling at Rhea as she passed her.

“Yeah, why does your front porch smell like an abattoir?”

“Right, so I was heading back here after my morning run when I picked up the scent of blood.” Rhea led them through the house to the spare room. “That’s when I found her.”

She opened the door, revealing a much paler, and sickly-looking Tegan, who seemed to be in a restless sleep.

“I didn’t know who else to call, I knew you’d have at least a little experience.” Gesturing to Ruby, who smirked in response. “But I was hoping it didn’t have to come to this.”

They could see the wounds on Tegan’s arms had started closing. Her scent had also changed, from that of a mortal to a creature of the night.

“Has she eaten?” Ruby turned towards Rhea reaching into the small bag she brought with her.

“I don’t know, I just found her sitting against my house bleeding out.” There was a slight frustration in her voice. “Can you help her or not?”

“Hey, it’s ok.” Liv put her hand on Rhea’s shoulder and started pulling her away from the room. “Why don’t we leave them “Why don’t we go clean up your couch, you can handle this right Ru?”

“That’s actually a very good idea. It’s one thing to wake up mostly dead, it’s another completely to have your senses overwhelmed with the presence of a predator.” She looked towards the Australian with an apologetic look and received one of understanding but sadness in return “I’m gonna give her something to eat and then ease her into the rest.”

Liv pulled Rhea back towards the living room. She could tell the frustration was starting to turn to anger and needed to keep her calm or at least take her mind off the situation.

They grabbed the cleaning supplies and got to work. The bright side to Tegan’s situation was that at the rate she was starting to heal, she didn’t make a significant mess on Rhea’s brand-new couch.

“Are you okay?” Rhea scoffed at the question.

“No, I’m not okay. One of my best friends just had her life taken away from her.” She sat on the floor with her back against the couch before wrapping her arms around her knees and burying her head. “And it’s all my fault.”

Chapter Text

Earlier.

“Don’t drain her completely, she’s a message, not a meal.” Damian looked up from the note he’d been writing, in the blood of their latest victim.

“I know what I’m doing Priest.” Finn loosened his hold on Tegan, who was nearly limp in his arms. “But she tastes so sweet.”

“Just leave enough for her to keep consciousness.” He added a quick line to the note before leaving it to dry. “We want Rhea to know it’s her fault.”

“So, if I might ask, why this one?” Finn laid Tegan on the floor of the motel they had found, brushing some of the hair out of her barely conscious face. “Not that I’m complaining.”

They had been in town for a few days, following the latest lead of Edge’s prized plaything. Luckily for them, one of Edge’s many followers had found a way to hide their presence from others like them.

“Because she was alone when the group separated.” Damian stood and walked towards the window; the blinds closed to prevent sunlight from entering the room. “Did you want to take on that giant?”

“Fair point.” Finn took a bite of his wrist before placing the open wound to Tegan’s mouth. “Drink, you’ll feel better.”

Damian kept his eyes on the road leading to a hiking trail. If there was one thing he could almost guarantee it was a wolf’s urge to run, and if Rhea’s time at the complex was any indication, she’d run at any given opportunity. They just needed to wait.

Present.

Ruby very carefully approached the bed, careful not to startle the fledgling. She slowly sat down and reached for Tegan’s shoulder.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she started to wake. A look of confusion crossed her face as she realised who she was looking at; one of the waitresses from the café the group visited yesterday. Tegan's eyes started darting around the room.

‘What the hell is going on? Why am I so thirsty?’

Ruby could almost hear the thoughts running through Tegan’s mind because she’d been in the same situation years ago.

“Hey, Tegan, I need you to focus on me for a second, a lot is happening right now and I’m here to help.” She pulled one of the blood substitutes from her bag and offered it to Tegan. “Here, this will help clear your mind.”

“What is it, and why should I trust you?” She took the small bag from Ruby’s hand, inspecting it as thoroughly as her still groggy eyes could. From what she could tell it was a small white bag with a straw attached, similar to a Capri sun but without any text or images.

“If I’m being honest you shouldn’t trust me, but your friend was worried enough to call for my help, so take that as you will. As for this, let’s call it a protein shake for now.”

Tegan was hesitant, but another twinge of thirst pushed her over the line of caring. She pulled off the straw and stabbed the bag, draining it of the liquid inside. Ruby watched her relax as the ‘blood’ filled her body.

Unfortunately Ruby knew she needed something fresh and warm to properly sate the first thirst.

“Wait here, I’m gonna go grab something a little more substantial.” Tegan sat up, straw still in her mouth and nodded. Ruby left the room, looking for Liv and Rhea.

She found them sitting on the floor in front of Rhea’s couch, tears streaming down the Australian’s face with Liv trying to calm her down.

Ruby cleared her throat to grab their attention. Rhea wiped her face as Ruby made herself known.

“Hey, I can tell I’m interrupting, Tegan’s a little more responsive but she needs fresh blood.” Both women looked towards her and stood up, maintaining their grip on each other’s hands.

“Uh, yeah how much do you need?” Rhea stepped forward, offering her arm and by extension her blood.

“It actually has to be Liv; your blood won’t help.” Liv was already stepping forward, knowing this fact from the times Ruby had been desperate enough to try and feed from Sarah to no avail. “We can fill a glass if you’re alright with giving that much.”

Liv nodded letting go of Rhea’s hand. The three of them moved toward the kitchen to prepare Tegan’s ‘meal.’ Luckily, Rhea had some disposable plastic cups, so she would need to dirty one of her good glasses.

She left the room while Ruby and Liv filled the cup, deciding to head back to cleaning her couch before the blood stained it permanently. Thankfully, it was only a small amount before Tegan’s wounds had started healing so it didn’t take too long to clean.

By the time she had finished wiping the blood from the couch, Ruby and liv walked out of the kitchen with a cup of warm blood, fresh from Liv’s veins.

“So, why would my blood not have worked?” Rhea asked as they approached, feeling a little guilty that Liv not only came to help but was also giving some of her blood to save someone she barely knew.

“Because I’m human.” Liv explained, holding a paper towel to the palm of her hand.

Rhea looked back at the blonde with a confused expression.

“I thought you were a witch.”

“I am a witch, but everything I can do I had to learn, whereas everything you can do is because of that.” She pointed to Rhea’s shoulder, where she knew the scar was hidden beneath her t-shirt.

“Right.” Rhea rubbed the scar through her shirt. “Can we go, I don’t want to leave Tegan alone for too long.”

The three of them headed back to the spare room. When they got to the door Ruby went in alone with the cup of blood, leaving Liv and Rhea until she gave the signal to come in.

“You can’t blame yourself for this.” Liv grabbed Rhea’s shoulder while they waited. She could tell the Australian was still beating herself up over the incident.

Rhea was about to respond when they heard Ruby knock on the door. The door opened slightly as Ruby invited them in. Both of them stepped in, Rhea a little behind Liv as if trying to hide and looking down.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Liv asked as she entered the room, fingers interlocked with Rhea’s.

“A little better, the drinks helped.” She looked a little less pale and was sitting on the edge of the bed with her hands on her knees. “Everything feels a little weird.”

“It's gonna feel that way for a little while, but we’re here to help.” Ruby sat next to Tegan on the bed, putting her hand on her shoulder. “Right guys?”

Liv nodded while Rhea’s eyes didn’t leave the floor.

“I owe you more than that, considering this is my fault.” They could hear the pain and guilt in her voice. “If I hadn’t run, they wouldn’t have come here and done this.”

“Wait, are you saying you know who did this?” Ruby looked back at her with slight confusion in her eyes.

Rhea finally looked up, tears streaking down her face but fury in her eye as they flashed blue.

“Yeah, the same assholes who gave me this.” She grabbed the collar of her shirt and revealed the scars from silver and fang.

Chapter Text

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The week seemed to fly by, and Tegan was picking up on things very quickly. Liv and Ruby were over for a lot of the week when they weren't at Hallowed Grounds that is.

Rhea was spending almost all of her spare time trying to track her 'old friends' but was struggling to pinpoint their location. That is if they were even still in town.

She came back one afternoon to find Tegan in her gym staring, mouth agape, at the equipment.

“You don't actually lift this do you?” She looked over her shoulder towards the Australian, while still pointing at the gear.

“Most of them,” Rhea dropped her bag in the doorway and walked over to the weights, gesturing to the smaller ones. “These are too light for me.”

“That is bullshit, no way you can lift that much.”

“Ya know, I said something very similar when I was first turned.” She chuckled, still looking at Tegan as she reached down and with one hand lifted one of the medium weights with ease. “Here, give it a try.”

Rhea lifted the weight so it was between herself and Tegan as the smaller woman reached out both hands to grab the weight.

“Shit, that is no joke.” She struggled to keep it at a level height but was still surprised to have been able to lift the weight at all. 

“I guess we can tick a minor strength boost to your abilities.” The blonde grabbed the weight from Tegan and placed it on the rack. “Feel free to use the equipment while you're staying here, just make sure you put everything you use back where it belongs.”

***
As the night of the full moon approached, Rhea became more restless and irritable. Liv was over more as the night drew closer, knowing that Ruby could take care of Sarah, and not wanting to leave a fledgling vampire alone with what was, historically, her mortal enemy.

“You know you don't need to stay tonight,” She turned to Liv, who was preparing dinner for the two of them, while Rhea sat on the couch and watched whatever movie she had found to use as background noise. “Not that I don't love your company, I'd feel less uneasy if you were far away and safe.” 

“Not a chance,” Liv kept one eye on the meal she was preparing while looking over her shoulder at Rhea. “If I've learned anything about you, and Tegan over the past week, it's that you'll do your best to keep each other safe. You won't exactly be able to do that effectively in a few hours.” 

“How are you feeling by the way?” Tegan inquired, she had been sitting at the kitchen counter on her phone. Thanks to her somewhat enhanced senses, she could smell and even hear the differences in Rhea's physical form.

“I'm fine, everything's just starting to become more heightened. A bit like sensory overload.” The two of them looked over to the Australian and could see that there was a paleness to her skin, comparable to Tegan's but sicklier, as well as red marks across her arms from some itchiness. 

“You don't look so great, is this normal?” Tegan stepped towards her friend, only for Liv to step up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I know you're worried but as bad as this looks, she's perfectly fine. Why don't you give me a hand to plate up dinner?”
The brunette nodded and followed Liv back into the kitchen, rooting through Rhea's cabinets for plates and cups.

“What are you cooking, smells delicious.” 

“Lasagna, it's a family recipe.” Liv walked back over with two plates, one more full than the other and sat next to Rhea on the couch. “Enjoy.”

The three of them finished their dinner and the movie before Rhea started to really feel the effects of the moon as it began to rise.

“If you can avoid it, don't come down here during the night,” She stepped into the cage and closed it behind her. “Do you understand?”

Both Tegan and Liv nodded, though reluctantly. Neither of them felt right about leaving her alone down there but knew it was for the best to not give the beast live prey.

“The basement is soundproof so you shouldn't be able to hear anything while the hatch is closed. Now, go, please.” 

***
With Damian occupied for the night, Finn decided to try and pay their old friend a visit, before the moon fully took her mind. They had scouted the house Rhea had found almost as soon as they rolled into town. She wasn't quite as subtle as they were.

As the sun started to drop below the horizon, he stepped up to the doorstep of the lost pup's home.

'Knock, knock, knock.'

After a few moments, he heard a few locks click open before a shorter woman with blonde hair and blue eyes peeked between the doorframe and the door.

“Can I help you, sir?” 

“I was told this was the home of an old friend of mine.” He lifted his hand and started fidgeting with a dark metal ring resting on his finger. “Maybe you know her, short blonde hair, tattoos, piercings. She's pretty hard to miss.”

“Doesn't ring a bell. Sorry.”

“Are you sure? Maybe you should invite me in so I can look for myself?” 

“I'd rather not, now if you'll excuse me my dinner's getting cold.” And with that final word, she slammed the door in his face.

“That was rude. Oh well, it was worth a try.” After a moment of looking over the rest of the house from the front, he turned and headed back in the direction of his temporary residence.

***
'Knock, knock, knock.'

“Shit, Tegan get out of sight.” Liv placed her fork down and whispered in the fledgeling's direction.

“Right.” She moved towards the secret hatch, entered the code and quietly stepped beneath, closing it behind her.

She had thought to stay at the top of the stairs to the basement, but her curiosity got the better of her as she silently stepped down to the chamber below.

As she approached the base of the stairs, she could hear ragged breathing from the corner of the cage. It had only been a few minutes since Rhea had locked herself downstairs, and something in Tegan expected the transformation to have finished. She had no idea how to process what she was seeing.

Rhea was laying in the corner of the cage, a leather belt in her mouth to keep her from biting her tongue off as her teeth sharpened into fangs. Her hands clenched and unclenched as the bones in her fingers snapped and reformed, long, black claws growing from bloody fingertips where her nails used to be. She slowly moved from a prone position and sat against the wall, her eyes clenched shut as they also appeared to change, just as painfully as the rest.

“What the fuck?!” Tegan attempted to keep her voice at a whisper but was unable to drop beneath the wolf's enhanced hearing.

Rhea's eyes sprung open, revealing the ice blue irises and black sclera, dropping the thick, heavily dented belt from her mouth as she noticed Tegan watching on in fear. 
“What are you doing down here?” Her voice sounded wrong, spoken from a mouth with too many teeth and vocal cords slowly tearing themselves apart. She tried to stand up and step towards the bars of the cage, but a snapping in her leg prevented the motion, dropping to the floor.

“Someone was at the door, Liv told me to hide.” She visibly flinched at the sound of Rhea's legs snapping and becoming digitigrade. “I panicked and now I'm here. Is it like this every month?”

Gritting her teeth, the Australian pulled herself on mostly animal arms, back into the corner she had started in, visibly growing taller and more muscular.

“Nah, yeah, pretty much.” Her voice was practically rumbling from her throat, becoming more of a growl than actual words. “Could you do me a favour and go back up the stairs, whatever is left that's human is about to go to sleep and the wolf will not take kindly to you, please just stay up there until Liv lets you out or the morning comes, whatever happens first.” 

“Are you su...”

“JUST FUCKING GO!!” Within seconds the last portion of her humanity left her as she launched herself towards the bars of the cage, more animal than person as Tegan fled with a slight scream.

After a few minutes of hearing nothing but growls, and the scrape of claws against metal and concrete, Liv opened the hatch and let Tegan out.

“You okay?” She could see the red stains of bloody tears along Tegan's face as she stepped out of the stairwell.

“I just watched one of my closest friends have her whole body broken right before she tried to attack me, I don't know.” More tears, bloody and not, were shed through the night as Liv comforted Tegan after what she'd witnessed.

Chapter Text

Morning slowly pushed its way through the blinds of Rhea’s living room, where Liv had been asleep on the couch. She opened her eyes and looked around blearily, noticing that the basement hatch was open as she did.

The next thing she noticed was the smell coming from the kitchen, bacon and eggs. She stood up, rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and walked towards the Australian’s small kitchen.

“Morning sleepy head, you looked so peaceful when I left the basement, figured I’d treat you to breakfast.” Rhea stood over the stovetop in a black singlet and a pair of track pants, though Liv could see faint residual claw marks across her arms and neck. “How do you like your eggs?”

“Are you sure you should be the one cooking, you're still healing from your own claw marks?” The shorter blonde rushed into the kitchen and grabbed the other woman’s arm.

Rhea looked down at Liv holding her arm, revealing her bloodshot eyes and pale features.

“I’m fine,” She pulled her arm away from Liv, returning her attention to the bacon and eggs. “Besides, I’d rather be up and doing something.”

There was the sound of a creaking door as Tegan made her way into the kitchen, sniffing the air.

“That smells amazing,” She moved past the pair and stepped down the stairs to grab something she could actually eat.

“You didn’t answer me,” The statement made Liv flinch a bit, pulling her attention away from the slowly healing claw marks across Rhea’s arms. “How do you like your eggs?”

“Right,” She responded, realising she wouldn’t win this battle. “Sunny side up.”

The Australian gestured to a couple of plates that had been set aside earlier and started to plate up breakfast, her plate piled high with bacon.

Tegan returned to the room, drinking from a ‘blood’ bag, and finally noticed the state that her friend was in, nearly dropping her breakfast.

“Holy shit, you look terrible,” She sat at the kitchen bench, staring with concern at Rhea. “Does the happen every month?”

Rhea sighed, placing her plate on the bench across from the vampire and pulling up a stool.

“Yeah, it’s not always this bad,” She sat down and poked at her breakfast without looking up. ”I guess the more the Wolf and I fight for control, the more it tears me up in the morning.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this happen to Sarah,” Liv placed herself on the edge of the bench, forming a triangle between the three women. “I guess she’s had more time to connect with her other side.”

Tegan’s face brightened for a moment as if an idea just popped into her head.

“Hey, maybe she could teach you to connect with the Wolf.” She reached across the bench and gave Rhea’s arm a gentle tap.

“I appreciate the idea, but as of right now I don’t really feel comfortable getting any closer to that monster than I have to.”

Liv looked between the two friends, and back to her breakfast.

“We shouldn’t rule out that option though, Sarah could help you a lot.” She wasn’t looking up from the food. “She seems to have less pain than you during the change, and more self-control.”

“Can we move on from this,” Rhea snapped, looking up at the faces of concern across Tegan and Liv's faces, before sighing. “I’ll think about it, but not today.”

A few minutes had passed when Rhea looked up at Tegan.

“You came down to the basement last night, why?” She was pointing emphatically with her fork.

“Oh yeah, well I didn’t see who it was, but someone came knocking on the door,” The vampire answered quickly. “Liv told me to hide as soon as we heard it.”

Rhea’s gaze shifted to Liv, along with the fork she was still gesturing with.

“There was a man, with dark brown hair, a beard, pale skin a leather jacket, and a dark metal ring.” The expression on Rhea’s face told her everything she needed to know, the man was one of them. “He said he was an old friend of yours, I take it he was part of the crew you used to run with?”

Memories she had tried so hard to bury were bubbling to the surface of her mind, herself, Damian and Finn, stalking through the night, hunting.

“That would be Finn, one of the older vampires within the organisation, the one who turned you.” She gave an apologetic glance over to Tegan, before looking back down at her food. “I take it you didn’t invite him inside, considering you’re both still alive.”

“Even if I had, I don’t think it works like that,” She gave Liv a puzzled look. “I’m not the owner of the house, I think it has to be you who invite people.”

Liv looked down at her watch, finally noticing the time.

“Crap, I need to go,” She the last of her breakfast and ran to put the plate in the sink. “I have to open the cafe, see you guys later?”

She was looking at Rhea when Tegan’s voice called out in response.

“Of course, tell Ruby I said hi.”

Rhea gave her a small nod and a smile but didn’t say a word. The short blonde returned the smile before stepping out of the house.

She hopped into her car and drove in the direction of Hallowed Grounds. She pulled up about half an hour before Sarah and Ruby.

“Hey, how was last night?” Ruby leant against the counter, where Liv was preparing the till for the day. “We don’t need to call animal control, do we?”

She knew the statement was a joke, but couldn’t bring herself to laugh. Seeing how wrecked Rhea was that morning seemed to have soured her whole day.

“No, everything was fine,” She’d tell them how the night went later, for now, she just wanted to start her day and sell some coffee. “I just have a lot on my mind right now.”