Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to say a few things about before getting into the chapter.

Mental health

I know, I know, you've probably heard them all before, but you've stuck with my nonsense this far, so do it for me.

Parts of this story are influenced on events of my life (trust me, I really wish it were the dragons and vampires). In writing several parts of this story, a lot of old things were dragged up from my past. Because of the pandemic and the nature of my work, my mental health was already fracturing and this was why I needed to take a break over Christmas and New Years.

I am lucky enough to have the support and resources to get treatment and come out of these events relatively healthy and safe. But there are countless people, whether your country has nationalized healthcare or not, who do not have or do not know how to obtain these resources or the support they need.

Below I have posted a website of Canada-wide mental health resources.

If you need help, please look into some of these or look into what is available in your province/territory/state. It is never too late, no problem is ever too small. There is always someone willing to help.

If you do not live in Canada, I beg you to look into resources available, there is always help even if you do not have nationalized health care. If you are having a hard time finding resources, feel free to message me. I can help you find a place to start.

If you do not need these resources, I would encourage you to become at least familiar with them. The best place to start is being understanding and becoming an ally.

Thank you, and enjoy the chapter.

M.C. Matthews

~

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Rhia jumped a little and looked up at Madeline next to her. Her mother's warm brown eyes and gentle smile had an immediate calming affect on Rhia and she managed to smile back. "Sorry, just zoned out for a second there."

She looked back at the garlic she had been chopping to find that it wasn't so much chopped as it was practically pureed. Madeline took knife and the board. "I could tell." She laughed lightly. "What has you so distracted?"

Rhia glanced down the hall to Richard's den where he, Maddox, and an old family friend, Doctor Ashton Price, were drinking bourbon and watching the pre-game events. "Nothing." She shrugged and turned to the stove. "Work, that's all."

Madeline didn't miss her cautionary glance at the door. Without a word to the men, she walked over and quietly slid the glass French doors closed. "Is this about a guy friend?" she asked carefully.

"Sort of." She sighed. "Yes."

"Alright," Madeline pulled a bottle of wine from the fridge and poured each of them a large glass. "As your mother, I have to ask; are you pregnant?"

Rhia burst out laughing. "No. God no."

But that did bring up something she hadn't thought about. Could vampires get humans pregnant? Despite a majority of the literature, vampires were not the living dead. They had a heartbeat, they needed to breathe, and they could procreate with their own kind. Were their half-blood vampires with humans or other Ancients? Add that to the ever growing list of questions she had for him.

"I just had to check." Madeline's laugh was airy and light without even a hint of judgement. "So, tell me what's going on."

She took a long drink from her glass, enjoying the slightly sweetened wine before finally speaking. "I started seeing someone a few weeks ago. Sort of... I don't know." She put her glass down to run both her hands through her hair. "Can you promise not to talk about this with dad? Or anyone who likes to gossip to dad?"

Madeline ran her pinched thumb and forefinger across her lips, turned them like locking a door, and tossed the invisible key over her shoulder. "Lips are sealed. I promise I will not talk about it with anyone but you."

The words tumbled out of her mouth a second later without a chance to stop or think about the fact that this was her mother that she was telling all of this to.

"I don't know, that's kind of the whole point. We had dinner once. We had drinks once. Both times I learned some crazy shit about the guy. Like, could have several books written about him level of crazy shit. And just this morning when I was leaving his place, more shit comes up that goes way beyond anything I could ever imagine.

"My brain is screaming at me to leave him and stop getting involved with a guy who obviously has some baggage but on the other hand... I can't get him out of my head. I can't stop thinking about wanting to be with him. And it's not just a sex thing, but, oh my god, the sex is incredible, and it feels so right to be around him. I mean... you know me, I'm not one to fall for a pretty face after only knowing them for a few weeks, and you'd think that after Church I would be smarter than to just crawl into bed with someone I barely know.

"For the love of whatever gods are out there, I invited him to your Gala after our first date even though I knew dad would see him and not approve and there's no promise that we'd even make it that far! I've told him things about myself that I haven't told anyone, except for maybe you or Maddox! I don't know what's happening to me and it's freaking me out and pissing me off."

She huffed out a breath and finished half of the wine in a single gulp. Madeline's eyebrows had been steadily growing higher and higher while her daughter ranted. "Wow," she finally said. "I haven't seen you this worked up since your qualification exams."

Rhia laughed harshly. "The qualifications don't even come close to this."

"Okay. I guess my first question is, is he or his 'crazy shit', as you put it, going to put you in danger?"

Rhia didn't answer right away. Her immediate answer was 'yes'. That vampire who claimed to be Nolan's old friend proved that much. A part of her that she was trying to squish out of existence was whispering Constantine in her ear. The knuckles of her third and fourth fingers were swollen, red, and aching, but she doubted she had done any real damage to the guy. Then there were the multiple times Nolan been tempted to feed on her, despite his rigid stance on the topic. Her own wanton yearning for him to feed from her, which also didn't make sense, scared her. "Maybe." She finally admitted.

Madeline stiffened and donned her mom face again. "Honey, are you sure you don't want to bring your father into this?"

"Oh fuck no do not bring dad in this."

"If you're in trouble..."

"I'm not in trouble. But I don't know if I can stay out of trouble."

The doorbell rang then. Madeline hesitated before pulling Rhia into a hug and kissing her cheek. "We'll talk more about this later. But I do want you to talk to me about this, okay?"

"Yeah." Rhia hitched a smile on her face.

As her mother walked out to greet whoever their new guests were, Rhia tilted the bottle over her glass again. Dinner already required thorough lubrication, but if she was going to talk about Nolan to her mother, she was going to need a lot more wine. A high-pitched shout made Rhia slosh wine over the counter. "No!" Her mother shouted. "You get out of here!"

"Relax, Madeline." Came Mark's condescending voice. She could almost hear him rolling his eyes.

"No!"

"Mom?"

Rhia followed the voice to the hall by the front door. There Madeline stood, her slender five-foot-six frame ineffectively blocking the much larger police captain from entering her house. A powerful wave of nausea washed over her as she looked at the man slightly behind Mark. Tall, strong, classic surfer good looks with wavy blonde hair, stood Christian Churchill. His light brown eyes slid to Rhia, and an embarrassed smile spread across his face.

A rush of emotions exploded through her. Memories, good and bad, flooded her mind. She couldn't breathe. She turned on her heel and darted to the bathroom and vomited. Her heart slammed painfully against her chest wall. Tears welled up in her eyes. The ribs under her tattoo seemed to ache with the pain in her heart. She knew what he did to her. She knew she had done nothing to deserve it. He was not a good person. But all she could think of was the years they had together before that happened.

The way he held her close, like she was the most precious thing in the world. The way he kissed her cheek before she went to work. The way he whispered in her ear after making love.

Maddox had been thorough in his efforts to purge Church from her life. He deleted old pictures off her phone and computer. He burned any printed photographs. He'd pawned the engagement ring. But as hard as Maddy tried, he couldn't erase the memories. He couldn't fix how Rhia felt about him.

Rhia pushed away from the toilet and leaned against the wall, panting hard. The door opened a crack further and Nova pushed into the small room. The large dog lay down, her large body pressed against Rhia, her head turned towards the door. The presence of the protective animal was a small comfort to Rhia and ran her hands through long silver fur.

There was shouting at the front door, though she couldn't make out the words. Maddox and Mark matched volume and pitch. Madeline was pleading with Richard. Richard was silent. When Rhia was finally able to stand without her legs shaking, the voices fell silent. A door slamming upstairs told her that her mother and brother lost the battle. Just like that, he was back in her life. She rinsed out her mouth until the taste of bile was out of her throat and threw water across her face. She stared at herself in the mirror. Pale skin and bloodshot eyes stared back. She dug her fingers into the porcelain sink. No. She was not the same person she was before. She was stronger now.

She turned and almost jumped out of her skin as she saw Richard standing at the door. "Jesus fucking Christ," She gasped, bracing herself on her knees and willing her heart rate to go down again. "Don't do that!"

"Are you alright?" he asked. There was actually a hint of concern in his voice that she wasn't used to.

She shrugged. "I'm fine."

"Really, Rhia?" he raised an eyebrow. "You don't need to lie."

"What difference does it make?" she snapped, fighting back the tears again. "You're not going to tell him to leave. You're going to do what you always do. You're going to pick your friend over your family, no matter how deliberate he's being in hurting one of your children."

"Rhia..."

"Just leave me alone."

She pushed past him and headed back to the kitchen, Nova at her heels. Richard went back to his mancave with his friends and Church. Maddox had relocated to the kitchen. He was fuming, but blissfully remained silent while Rhia finished getting dinner ready. Madeline reappeared a little while later, a glaze in her eyes telling them that she had dipped into her not-so-secret stash of expensive vodka.

Madeline called them all to the table, sounding about as pissed off as Maddox looked. Rhia refilled her glass and carried another bottle with her to sit deliberately between her mother and brother. Nova squeezed herself under the table, lying on Rhia's feet. Across from her sat Ashton and the shithead. Mark sat at one end of the table with Richard at the other, looking as far from happy as she'd ever seen him. "This looks wonderful, Madeline." Ashton said nervously, trying to break the awkward tension.

"Indeed," Mark said innocently. "Why don't we go around the table and say what we're thankful for?"

"How about we don't. Not this year Mark." Richard said coolly. "Personally, I am thankful for a great deal. We'll be here all night. We'll express our thanks in private."

Mark looked like he wanted to say something more, but kept his mouth shut. Madeline gave her husband an appreciative look that still clearly communicated 'you are still sleeping on the couch tonight'.

Dinner was... awkward. The silence was so thick, the minimal attempts at conversation died after a few words. Rhia kept glancing at the clock. She just needed to make it to six. After that, she could leave and go to the one person who made her feel safe. It was ironic that the one person was a vampire who repeatedly struggled with the temptation to feed on her.

Eventually the conversation turned to the gala. It was a neutral topic that had absolutely no way of starting a fight or causing any more stress or awkwardness. "I was able to get that extra ticket for your date this year, Rhia." Madeline said, a little too deliberately.

Rhia stared at her mother and felt Church watching her. "Were you able to get one for mine, too?" Maddox asked a second later.

Nova stood up from her place under the table there was an audible crack as her head struck the underside of the table. She yelped and scurried out. "Who are you bringing?"

Richard aimed the question at Rhia, but Maddox answered. "Her name's Lynn. I'm sure I mentioned her before. Mom and I have talked about it after I invited her to the Gala this year."

"Of course, I have an extra ticket." Madeline caught on quickly. "I'm very excited to meet Lynn."

While Maddox and Madeline loudly discussed his date, Rhia excused herself and carried her still loaded plate back into the kitchen. Nova whined behind her, her tail drooping. Rhia carried the bottle of wine with her to the front yard to let the dog out. Her mother's perfectly preened front garden was green and full of life. She took as much pride in her gardening as she did with her art. Nova disappeared into the rose bushes, nose to the ground.

She pulled her new phone from her pocket and stared at the notification on her front screen. One unread text message. She knew it was from Nolan. She had sent him a text telling him his car was at her house and they were taking a cab to her parents' house. She hadn't had the courage to look at what he had to say about the events of the morning. Her thumb felt heavy as she dragged it across the screen to unlock it.

I have some work to do at the hospital. I'll pick up the car on my way there. Call me when you can.

And that was it. No apology. No explanation. Maybe he just wanted to do that in person. She took a swig from the bottle of wine. The world was beginning to tilt pleasantly. You know what... fuck it. Her thumbs flew across the screen.

Church is here. Please come get me. She sent the message with the address and waited.

A second later he responded with; Twenty minutes.

A desperate laugh escaped her lips and she drowned it with more wine. Asking the new boyfriend to save her from the ex-boyfriend. When did she become the girl who needed to be rescued?

The door opened behind her and she jumped up. Nova burst out from the foliage to stand between her and Church. He raised his hands defensively, a cocky smile on his face. She loved that smile. Used to love that smile. "Woah there, killer." He chuckled. "Call her off. I just want to talk."

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, thankful for the weight and heat of the dog beside her.

He slowly walked down the stairs, careful not to make any sudden movements or trigger Nova's training. Church had worked with Maddox. He was well aware of what the animal was capable of. But he also knew that she would never attack another officer, in uniform or not. "I wanted to see you. Maddox has done everything in his power to keep us apart, you haven't answered my calls... I miss you." He reached out, ignoring Nova's snarling increasing in volume, and touched her arm. "You look good, Rhi."

His touch sent shivers through her whole body. She remembered how good his touch once felt. She used to tease him about how soft his hands were, even though he worked with weights and trained in hand-to-hand combat on a daily basis. She forced herself to remember what happened the last time he put his hands on her. Nova pushed her body hard against Church, forcing him to take a step back again. Rhia pulled away as well, feeling her face go red. "You've seen me." She said shortly. "You can leave now."

"Don't be like that." He cooed. "I know you miss me too."

"I don't." her voice cracked.

His smile widened. "Of course, you do."

This time when he reached for her, she jerked back, taking several steps away. "Don't touch me. Don't ever touch me again."

"Rhia," There was an edge to his voice now. She had the sudden urge to turn and run as fast and as far as she could. "I'm tired of this. How much longer are you going to punish me for one measly mistake?"

"You put me in the hospital!"

"I didn't mean to!" he insisted. "God, baby, you just drive me so fucking crazy sometimes! But I get it! I fucked up! But we're never going to be able to get over this if you don't come home!"

She felt her thighs touch the fence, and a wave of fear washed over her. He took the chance and trapped her against the low wall, pressing his body against hers. Nova started barking wildly, scratching at the door, and otherwise trying to get someone's attention. "Get off!"

She tried to shove him off, but he reached up to grab her face, dragging her eyes up to his. "I don't know who the fuck you are, going out with some other asshole." He snarled, shaking her hard enough for her to see stars. "But you better cut it out now. All he's going to do is use you and leave you. I'm the only one who will ever put up with your shit."

"Stop it." She begged, clawing at his hands.

"Face it, Rhi. You're damaged goods. I'm the best you could ever hope for."

His head lowered and his mouth clashed against hers. There was a blur from the corner of her eye and Church was ripped away from her. As he crashed to the ground, Nova pounced, slamming her full weight against him and snarling an inch from his throat, daring him to move. Rhia looked at the person standing between her and her ex. He wasn't much taller than she was. Slender and young. When he turned to look at her, a pair of glowing pale purple eyes stared into hers. "Etienne?"

~