Jack's back was twisted like a vine. Sleeping on the clean sofa in Niall's living room wasn't her original decision, but Cay suggested giving Lily space and any movement on their shared mattress might jolt her fresh wound, so she made herself at home on the stiff and tiny furniture.

Jack angrily stared up at the ceiling, already showered and dressed for the day. She didn't sleep well - her joints creaked like a door hinge due for oiling and the shower had only softened them slightly. For a moment Jack kept watching the ceiling and the little fly buzzing around the light. She had a lot of mixed feelings about the events of the night before but one stood out more than most.

They broke Lily's trust last night - Claire cut into her shoulder without permission, without care, and it resulted in her power going mad. She hadn't seen the state of Tyrill yet. Jack knew it was going to be disastrous and it would only hurt Lily seeing how much damage she'd unintentionally caused.

Jack hadn't heard a lot of the commotion amongst her worry for Lily after she left their room last night. The storm still above them this morning was enough of a hint that Lily wasn't okay with what happened either.

Her focus yesterday had to quickly shift from Lily to Karen when she heard the vampire screaming outside - and saw the fallen tree over her legs. Niall's sister Annie was watching the stars when Lily's storm rolled in too quickly for her to get inside. Karen, like Jack had asked, was still hanging around the house in case Lily went out of control and it was lucky she was. Karen was the fastest of them all and she sprinted out to Annie, pushed her aside and took the brunt of the tree that would have fallen on Niall's sister a second later.

Claire was too distraught to heal her so Haidan had carefully picked up the snarling vampire after Niall lofted the tree aside with his abilities, put her in his car, and drove her to Trawalla Hospital. Jack hadn't heard anything since - Claire had run the emotions off in Tyrill and the Guthrie siblings took one look at Jack's exhausted face, seeing her patience was on a knife's edge, and left her alone for the night.

Blinking up at the ceiling and watching the fly scouring around the light in search for a flower to land on, Jack's concentration snapped when someone stomped into the living room and kitchen with the buckles of their bag scraping the floor.

Jack bolted upright with a frown and scowled at Claire's bedraggled ringlets and tense shoulders. She hadn't changed her bloody clothes from last night. Jack watched her drag her bag behind her, shaking her hand out at the newly-broken nail on her finger. The fairy jolted seeing the witch sitting on the sofa with a ruffled, handwoven blanket over her legs.

"Oh." Claire muttered seeing Jack watching her. "It's just you."

Jack raised an eyebrow, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What are you doing Claire?"

"I'm going to..." Claire's throat bobbled. "I'm going to Karen."

"Wait, how are you getting there?" Jack wondered aloud.

Claire's expression hardened. "Oh, I see. When Lily's injured you'd move towns for her safety but when it's Karen you won't budge?"

"Woah, hang on, that's not what-"

"It doesn't matter. Haidan's lending me his car anyway." Claire scoffed, her feet falling heavy on the wooden floors. Jack jumped to her feet and followed her friend to the door as the fairy's voice rose. "I'd hoped you would drive me but it's clear you won't help me and you won't leave Lily's side! I can't believe I called you a friend for so long - if this is how you treat people, playing favourites, I won't no part of this friendship!"

"Hey!" Jack snapped, Claire stilling when her hand was on the door handle. "If you're going to disrespect me you can look me in the eye and do it, Claire."

When Claire slowly turned, their green eyes locked together. They were both furious, reeling, and exhausted - but Claire was crossing a line Jack wouldn't allow. The witch stepped forward and pointed stiffly at her. "I would move mountains for her. Karen's been a damn good friend to me even though you've always been closer to her than I have. Before you jump to freaking conclusions, how about you think for a moment - I didn't know Haidan was back so I didn't know you had a car, and not to mention, I just woke up."

"You're closer with Lily than you've ever been to us, Jack!" Claire shouted, her eyes blazing in fury. "You've known her for, what, a month? We've known you for years! It's like you've forgotten all about us since meeting her - what is it? We're all drawn to her Jack, that aura rushing around her, but it's like you're being brainwashed!"

"What are you talking about Claire?!" Jack ran her hands through her hair with a groan. "It's too early for a fight!"

"Well you were after one last night!" Claire hissed, twisting the handle. The morning sunrise bathed the both of them but Jack's patience snapped with the opening of the door.

"You carved Lily up like a damn pig, of course I was fighting you!" Jack shouted. "You didn't wait for her to give you the go ahead - you have no respect for anyone that isn't yourself or Karen! You got that from your mother; will you trade Lily and I for a Gucci bag next?"

Claire's hand trembled. "At least my mother doesn't abuse me."

Silence rung loudly in their heads. Pain and fury mixed in their bones, a hollow pit in their stomachs. Jack couldn't help swallowing, her hand drifting to the yellowing bruises on her neck. Claire's hand curled around her designer bag - neither of them looked at each other.

"How'd you know about that?" Jack whispered, her eyes lined with silver tears.

"Your neck was bare the day before formal Jack." Claire said. "Then you turn up asking for a choker to hide a bruise the shape of a hand print - then leave as soon as you can to drive to another town. I'm smarter than I look, I can piece things together. My nose isn't in my phone or a designer shop all the time, you know."

Jack sighed. "I've never thought you were dumb Claire."

"But you didn't trust me enough to talk to me." Claire shook her head. "You don't care enough for Karen to be there for her either, do you? You healed Lily just fine and didn't move seeing Karen under that tree!"

"Claire," Jack's fists curled up tightly in desperation, trying to salvage her friendship with the fairy. "I don't know how to heal, it's been a fluke this whole time! I would be there for Karen, I really would but the rogues-"

"Then why aren't you Jack? Why are you only there for Lily and no one else?"

"I care about her Claire; we all do!" Jack burst. "It's why we're here, and why you came here, remember? To heal her?"

"You clearly don't care about Karen as much as Lily. Is Karen possibly losing her legs not concerning for you, at all? It's Karen, it's my sweet K-Karen!" Claire's voice broke as she shrieked, tears pouring over her cheeks.

"By the looks of it last night, it was either Karen's legs or Lily's life!"

"Karen was saving a little girl's life, Jack. Lily's creature was just throwing a temper tantrum. I know who I'd choose and it's not the same as you." Claire spat. "You'd choose Lily. You always do!"

Jack's fists shook at her side as her anger twisted in her belly. "I can't be there for Karen because there's a hundred rogues ready to kill me on sight Claire, in case you freaking forgot - I'm safest at Lily's side! It doesn't mean I don't want to be there for Karen and you!"

"Since when did the almighty Jacinta Slater need someone's help?" Claire scoffed. "Karen needed help!"

"Claire," Jack hissed, bristling at her forgetting her full last name. "If I have any chance of Yuric not tearing me apart, it's by Lily's side, you know, the Supernova - she's the only one who can help us! I can't leave her! I can't help Karen from here!"

Claire shook her head again, pity lining her eyes. Her friend was drowning in Lily's blinding power and she couldn't save her. "I hope her reign as Supernova is not as catastrophic as this past week or the rogues won't be the only thing coming after Lily."

Jack stepped forward. "Is that a threat?"

"No, Jack." Claire walked out the door and as the door began to swing shut, looked back coldly. "That's just the truth."

The sound of the door clicking shut echoed in Jack's ears as she stared at the door. She could hear Claire shuffle to Haidan's car and throw her bag in, then herself, before the engine began to tick over. With a screech of tyres Claire was out of Niall's driveway and gone.

Jack stared at the door for a while, mulling over Claire's words. How could Claire choose Karen's legs over Lily's life? Did Claire not understand that the world needed Lily? Needed a Supernova?

The rogues were determined to kill Jack and Lily and anyone more powerful than them; to destroy the hierarchy of the supernatural system. Jack didn't get it - nature had a system of hierarchy but it was balanced. Just because someone was more powerful than you didn't mean you were useless. Everything needed an opposite but together it made a whole.

Without the Supernova, the supernaturals would go into chaos. The humans would eventually discover them if there was no one to keep them and their abilities in line. If Lily was gone, and any stronger than the norm, then the rogues would roam free - chaos would roam free. It couldn't happen; it was against nature to have imbalance. There would always be a solution.

If there wasn't a solution Jack would create one...or maybe five at least, just so they had options.

"You must be Jacinta, one of Niall's new friends?" A male voice called to her. Jack turned, her narrowed gaze drifting up to see a man leaning on the balustrade railing with a somber smile to match his soft, brown eyes.

"Who are you?" Jack said, swallowing the lump of emotion in her throat. She shoved all of Claire's words to the back of her mind - she'll deal with them later. The man leaned back and began walking down the stairs, fixing her with a perplexed glance.

"My name's Rodger, I'm Niall's uncle." He introduced, stretching out a hand. Jack cocked her head to the side, shaking it warily. He stepped back to give her space and motioned to the shut door. "Your friend's quite mouthy for this time of morning."

"She has no respect for sleep, it seems." Jack joked despite the pang of hurt at the thought of Claire - did she still think Jack was a friend? Or was putting her own life and Lily's life above Karen the final straw for Claire?

"Clearly." Rodger's dark gaze - the same eyes as Cay, Jack twigged - flickered between her and the front door. "Reminds me of someone I know."

"Yeah?" Jack muttered, taking a step back and hoping Rodger got the hint she didn't want to talk to him. His eyes lit up and he began walking and talking, and despite how much Jack didn't want to talk, she couldn't just walk away and hide - it was his house, after all.

"Yes, there's this woman I adore." Rodger swooned, a glaze over his eyes that made Jack want to hurl. "She's feisty, blunt, and so independent. I'm courting her, flirting, and I know she has me wrapped around her finger but I'm so entranced. She's beautiful and powerful, and she's coming back ton-"

Jack tuned him out. Her gaze was wondering around the kitchen ceiling, seeing if her friend the fly was still circling a light in boredom, when Rodger stopped, turning. His eyes were narrowed on the corridor Lily was sleeping in.

Jack stilled but Rodger didn't make a move towards the room her friend was recovering in. "Caoimhe," he called, "you can stop eavesdropping now."

The witch spun in shock to see Cay crawl out of another doorway holding a basket of clean laundry. Her face was pursed in thought like cogs were turning in her head - Jack didn't like the look of suspicion Niall's sister threw her way.

"Hey Uncle Rodg'." Cay greeted, a mask of innocence slipping on her face. Jack frowned at the sneaky actress - what was she thinking? How much did she hear? "Want a hot chocolate?"

"Sure, what a great way to start the day!" Rodger beamed, almost skipping into the kitchen. Jack raised a brow at his enthusiasm - must be a Guthrie trait.

As Rodger began getting the chocolate shards from the cupboard, Cay snuck up to Jack's side, leaning close enough that her small lips skimmed the witch's ear. "So you're friend's the Supernova, then?" She whispered. The hairs on Jack's neck stood up as she turned her cheek towards Cay.

"I don't know what you mean." Jack lied.

"Don't do that." Cay cooed in her ear. The mask of innocence slipped momentarily to see the delight in her eyes of learning something about her spontaneous guests. "I've heard about Supernovas."

"What have you heard?" Jack said, locking eyes with her. Her eyes were muted for the moment but her magic was poised ready to use if she found Cay, or any of the Guthrie family, to be a threat to herself and Lily. She wasn't being hurt again - and she knew how much hurt family members could cause.

"They're the most powerful of the supernatural." Cay's grip on the laundry basket tightened. "The most feared, the most famed, and..."

"And?" Jack queried. The light in Cay's eyes dimmed as she looked back down the corridor, her gaze on Lily's door.

"And the most hunted." Cay finished, turning back to the witch. The cogs of confusion in her mind stopped when the pieces finally clicked. "That's why Lily didn't say anything about being the Supernova to Niall, isn't it? Why she's so guarded, right? Niall didn't know what she was, he told me he hadn't met someone that withstood his air before meeting Lily, but it makes sense why she's quiet about her powers. The rogues are hunting her down - one of them injured her, didn't they?"

"You're awfully perceptive." Jack whispered as she heard Rodger began heating up milk for the eight mugs lined on the counter.

"You haven't denied it." Cay's expression softened in shock. "I am right, aren't I? Lily's being hunted?"

Jack swallowed. "Yeah, we both are. She's being hunted by rogue werewolves for being the most powerful creature this world knows."

"Why are you being hunted by the rogues, then?"

"I might have pissed off their leader."

"Was he the one who made her so guarded?" Cay asked quietly.

"Yeah, he and his rogues." Jack bristled at the thought of Yuric. She wondered where he was now - he would never stop until they were dead and powerless to them, but Jack knew the fear of him would not leave her and Lily for a long time unless something changed.

Cay looked back at Lily's door with a soft expression. "I hope she'll be okay." Cay said. "If there's anything I can do let me know, okay? I make great omelettes."

Jack blinked in surprise, unable to help compare Caoimhe Guthrie with Claire Lauren for a moment. How quickly someone she's known for a few days had jumped at helping a stranger, when someone she's known for years left at the first sign of the damage Lily could cause. Lily needed people at her side and Cay was fearlessly volunteering.

"You're offering to help the most powerful creature in the supernatural world?" Jack asked, wondering why there was no fear in her eyes.

Cay's left hand wavered as she gripped the basket. Jack narrowed her eyes on the clean clothes within - and the fresh bandage on Cay's left forearm, hooked over her thumb. "I don't doubt Lily can help herself, and you could help her too, but it's nice to not go through things alone." She eventually said. "People can go through the most difficult of things and survive huge traumas by themselves but even the strongest people need a hug every once in a while."

Jack looked away, thinking of the faded bruises on her neck and the memory that will follow her for years to come. Her mind drifted to Lily; she'd lost her whole family, grief had been her best friend for years, and then she's almost kidnapped and killed. Yet she still sang songs in the car, still laughed when she saw Jack scoff a stack of pancakes, still cared for people who didn't deserve the love she had in her heart.

"Thank you Cay," Jack eventually said. "She'd like a hug once in a while, I think."

Cay nudged Jack's shoulder with a smile. "Same offer goes for you Jack - if you ever need to rant about someone, or just talk, I'm here."

"Oh, I'll definitely cash that in multiple times. You might regret that." Jack joked, pushing aside the warmth in her chest.

Cay shrugged. "You should hear Nick rant." She smiled at the mention of her eldest brother, her eyes drifting to her uncle beginning to pour milk into the chocolate-filled mugs. "Speaking of my brothers, I should wake them. Do you want to wake Lily?"

"No," Jack said. "She needs all the rest she can after yesterday."

Cay nodded and began walking towards the stairs with the basket rocking in her grip. As Jack was about to walk to the kitchen, the front door handle jiggled. For a moment she suspected a mane of blonde ringlets to spring around the corner, but her heart thudded seeing Haidan twist himself around the door and close it before the cold air rushed into the warm home.

He shook his dark hair of the morning rain delicately falling outside, jolting in surprise seeing Jack standing there watching him. His dark eyes widened. "Hey Jack, how are you? How's Lily?"

"I haven't seen Lily this morning." Jack answered, cocking her head as her piercing gaze raked over his warm attire and the bag hanging over one shoulder. "Where were you?"

"None of your business." Haidan said too quickly.

"Huh, right." Jack drawled. "Totally not suspicious."

Haidan rolled his eyes and began walking past her to put his stuff down on the other sofa - it was where he'd been sleeping since arriving in Tyrill. Jack paused, remembering he was there and mentally present for yesterday evening's events after Lily's impromptu surgery. "Hey, do you know what happened to Cay's arm?" She asked, her eyes flickering to the staircase to see if she was eavesdropping again.

Haidan stopped, his bag slipping from his hands and landing at his feet with a thud. A flash of fear shadowed his expression for a moment before he turned to Jack, unbuttoning his plush jacket. "Cay was trying to move the tree off Karen's legs yesterday in the midst of the storm. I got out there in time to see Karen's eyes turn this, this demonic red and bite Cay."

"What?" Jack's eyes widened in shock. "Karen bit Cay?"

"Yeah." Haidan swallowed. "I've never seen something so monstrous - what is she?"

Jack's stomach twisted at the term 'monstrous'. "Karen is a vampire Haidan." She explained. "What do you know about vampires?"

"They're not as theatrical as Twilight, I'm assuming?" Haidan said. "Karen wasn't sparkling."

"You've watched Twilight?" Jack blinked.

"Yeah? I've watched the whole series."

"And you believed that over the real supernatural existence around you?"

Haidan glared at her. "Are you explaining real vampires or not, Jack?"