The chapter is finally here! Phew, this one is really long and it took me ages to finish since I wasn't entirely happy with it at first. I hope you enjoy it though, as there are pretty important things here as well! I will keep thanking you for your comments, alerts and follows at every chapter, as those are really what keeps me writing, so thank you all again!

"This can't be happening!" Dennis screamed at the top of his lungs, unable to keep his emotions bottled "THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"

He punched the nearby wall and rubbed his head furiously, still not being able to believe what happened. Mabel, the girl who since her arrival had been an enigma to him, had finally fooled him.

She had escaped.

The image of her legs sliding through the air outlet still popped painfully in his head, the shiver that ran through his spine when he realized all their plans were about to be destroyed by a miserable girl, all things he had under control quickly falling apart. It made him insane.

And so he ran. He ran as fast as he could, even when sweat started to cover and dirtying his skin. He yelled her to stop and looked for her around every corner, even inside a group of lockers he was sure she would hide. And yet, she was nowhere to be found.

Dennis finally stopped searching for her when he found one of the exists opened, the sunlight bathing his body while slowly realizing what was about to happen. She would report them to the police, the other two girls would be rescued and he would be charged as a criminal. Even if Patricia, Hedwig and he wanted to proceed with the ritual right now, the Beast wasn't still ready to be brought into the light.

"We need to focus." Patricia said, maintaining a cool temper. "If she has escaped, we need to act fast. Take the two other sacrifices somewhere else. Remove proof and evidence of everything that happened here."

"She probably took her broom and flew away!" Hedwig intervened, strangely rather excited "That'z what withcez do, right?"

"Be silent now, Hedwig." The woman hushed him severely yet calm "The adults are talking. Besides, don't let her appearance and words fool you. She's nothing out of the ordinary."

"Whatever..." He pouted, feeling left out again.

"Now, Dennis, I want you to breathe in and collect yourself." She thoughtfully indicated him. "Then, go to the girls' room and tell them you had to put Mabel down due to bad behavior."

"But-"

"We must kill their hope, even if it's not true. That way, there will be no more escape tries". After Dennis nodded, Patricia continued "Then, you will take the chloroform, spray them with it and put them in the van. Understood?"

"Yes, Patricia." He responded while breathing slowly "I'll get goin'."

"Good." She said, satisfied.

The man turned back and headed to the teen's room, ready to follow Patricia's orders. However, as he walked by, words echoed in his head, words that still haunted him even with her gone.

You're always doing what Patricia wants you to do.

He shook his head, trying to vanish the thoughts from his mind. This was no time for doubts or second guesses. Now, more than ever, he needed to be what everyone expected him to be. The cold and calculating evil man with a perfidious mind.

When Dennis entered the anteroom, he took a second to inhale and exhale thoughtfully, letting his nerves cool and his mind think of his next words. He approached the door but, just as he was about to open it, he heard murmur inside. A very jittery one.

He opened the door without even knocking, and what he found made him lean his head to the side in curiosity.

The two girls where crouching in the space between the two beds, their backs facing the man. Their incomprehensible whispering denoted their uneasiness, and the fact they still hadn't noticed his presence meant they were up to something.

With a grunt, he approached the girls as he frowned, ready to stop whatever they were doing. When he was only about a few inches away from them, one of the girls noticed him and gasping, alerting the other and standing up, pressed closely together.

"Outta the way." He barked roughly, his patience long running out. The man pushed them to the side without any care, ready to dismantle whatever they were doing. What he saw, however, left him speechless.

Mabel, the one who had supposedly escaped, was there, sitting with her legs pressed closely to her chest and head low, arms tightly tied around them. Her body was moving back and forth, an almost inaudible muttering coming from her lips.

Dennis sighed loudly, feeling his body and mind light as he was being released for the tremendous burden of her escape's consequences. He licked his lips and relaxed his shoulders, covering his face with his hands trying to hide the grin that appeared on it. Finally, he inhaled trough his nose and turned to the girl on the floor, thinking in the million ways he was going to make her pay for her behavior.

"Stand up." The man commanded as he adjusted his glasses. The albino didn't move however, still blabbering nonsense. Dennis' patience, still not recovered, couldn't stop him from grabbing one of the girl's arms and rising it high.

"I told you to-!" The blue-eyed man shut instantly after seeing her hand, limply dangling on one side of her wrist. It was obscured and bloodied, as if it had been badly burned. He let go almost intermediately, her arm going to her initial position.

"What did you do to her, you monster!?" The blonde teen demanded to know, almost in tears.

"I...I didn't even touch her." He responded softly, unable to understand how she had such a bad injury. Sure, there were hot pipes in there, but none of them were able to produce that kind of wound. And if it was as dangerous as it looked, she could be in serious trouble. "You two, go into the bathroom."

"But-!"

"Go in there and don't come out until we're gone. Now." His harsh voice didn't leave room for complaining, and so the two girls obliged reluctantly. As soon as they were gone, the man looked down at her, still unsure of what to do.

Frowning, he fixed his shirt and pulled from his pocket a yellow handkerchief, placing in onto the ground. Then, he carefully proceeded to kneel on top of it, trying not to touch the floor under any circumstances. He looked at her with a mix of feelings, hating the fact she was able to make him produced such powerful thoughts. As he got closer to her, he could hear that she was, in fact, murmuring in another language.

"Nu, nu din nou. Da, stiu. Nu vreau. Rămâi tăcut. Haha! Roșu, roșu în pădure. Roșu pe mâinile mele. Roșu în jurul meu. Soarele, stai departe de soare."

At first he thought to grab her shoulders, but her hoodie was too dirty for him to bear. Instead, his hand made his way to her cheek, hidden behind a ghostly veil of white hair. Dennis' fingers fluttered over his skin slightly, the contact making his skin jolt. Truth be told, he was overwhelmed by how much self-control he was needing with the girl in front o him. He longed to touch and to be touched, to desire and to be desired, to accept and to be accepted by someone more than anything in the world, but he wanted that someone to be her even more.

He grew confident, his hands now pressing against both her cheeks. The coldness of her skin could somewhat cool his flustered skin. He lifted her face slowly, her hair falling to the sides and letting her face be visible little by little.

"Mabel?" Dennis said softly. The girl looked at him without really seeing him, her gaze lost. Tears markings covered her face, framing the big bags that were growing under her eyes.

"Acela nu este numele meu. Numele meu este..."

"Mabel." His voice was now firm and a bit demanding. Hearing her name seemed to have some kind of effect on her, as she blinked repetitively and managed to focus her gaze on him, looking at him straight in the eyes. Her breath became uneven while she looked around her, finally returning to the real world.

"...Dennis?" She whispered, recognizing the man after a few moments. "What...?"

"Calm down." He hushed her, moving his hands away from her. "You're badly injured. We need to take care of it."

As if she suddenly remembered, Mabel looked down at her hand with a hiss and nodded. Taking her other wrist, he helped her stand and guided her towards the exit, closing the door behind them. However, before they set foot outside the next closed room, Dennis stopped and turned around, facing the girl.

"Before we go..." He licked his lips and looked away. "Remove it."

"What?" She asked frowning.

"Remove your hoodie. It's dirty; I can't stand it." Dennis repeated, now gazing into her eyes. Mabel's eye twitched for a second, but she finally accepted with a sigh. However, the man noticed the painful grimace she had on her face as she tried to lift her hoodie with both her hands.

"Stop." He said after Mabel tried unsuccessfully a few times. The girl looked at him with an arched brow, an expression that would soon turn into a wide eyes when the man approached her without a warning his icy blue eyes clouded and dark. She stepped back away from him, until her hips collided with a desk, stopping her.

Dennis stood just a few inches way from her, towering her and looking at her from above. Mabel felt small and weak with a hand practically useless, and her knees started to tremble. There was something about the way he looked at her that made her breathless.

What a hungry wolf.

The wolf wants you, desires you more and more.

But this is not the wolf you should fear. Oh no, no.

They are a pack, and this is only the strongest among the weakest.

Wait until you see the leader of the pack.

What will you do then, little red riding hood?"

Dennis' hot breath touched her face as he slid his fingers underneath the red fabric, trying to touch the outside as little as possible. Mabel gasped under his touch, and was grateful her hair could hide the redness of her face. She knew she should be scared, she should hate him for kidnapping her and by taking her medicines away changing her slowly and, in a way, it was true. But there was something about the man that intrigued and made her feel at ease—perhaps the fact that they both had a shattered body and mind in their own way.

As they still looked at each other in the eye, the girl lifted her arms while Dennis pulled up the piece of clothing, the thick, red hoodie changing to a thin, black sweater with a turtle neck. The man placed the garment on the nearby table. They stood silently there for a while, their breathing being the only sound around them. When she opened her mouth to say something, he stepped back and took her wrist again.

"Let's go."

The brunette stood in front of the police department, gathering all the courage she had buried inside her. This was one f the few times in her life she was going to go against his uncle's desires, the mere thought of it making her tremble in pure terror. However, Casey knew that if she didn't do anything, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

Breathing in deeply, she opened the transparent doors and entered into the station. She was supposed to ask for the police in charge of the case and so she did as soon as she got to the receptionist.

"Casey Cooke?" An unfamiliar voice called from behind. The girl turned around and found a tall, corpulent man with a dark, foreign complexion. He had green eyes and a crooked nose, and his face had little scars scattered all around. The man was formally dressed, but didn't display the police uniform.

"Yes?" She responded, distrust written all over her face.

"My name is Victor Florescu, Miss Cooke." To Casey, his accent sounded awfully familiar. "Your case was assigned to me this morning."

"Are you a...police?"

"I'm afraid not. I'm a FBI agent." He showed her his licensed plate for a brief moment and put it back. "I was told about the reason why you were contacted, and I need to ask you some questions. Follow me, please."

The man guided her through the hallway into the corridors, and stopped shortly after in front of one of the offices. He opened the door and let Casey step in first, closing the door when they were both inside. He gestured for her to sit down in a chair across the table as he did the same thing on the other side, fixing his jacket and taking a series of files from inside the table's drawer.

"So, Miss Cooke..."

"Call me Casey, please."

"Casey." He corrected himself with a little smile. "First and foremost, I want you to know we are doing everything we can to find your friends, and that your help is heavily appreciated."

"Thank you." She said, nodding.

"However, there is something we noticed while reaching for your friends' families. We finally found out the school they were attending to and everyone told us you were her closest friend.

"Wait...is something wrong with Mabel?" Casey asked, worried and concerned.

"I'm afraid there is." The man continued, his eyes looking at her deeply. "You said her name was Mabel Sadoveanu, right?"

"Yes." She responded with a frown. "D-Did I misspelled her name in the document?"

"That isn't the case. Casey..." The man continued, his eyes looking at her deeply. "There is no Mabel Sadoveanu."

Silent filled the room as Casey tried to process what Victor had told her. Her lip twitched for a second and he leaned forward, placing her hands onto the table.

"What...what do you mean?" She asked, completely stunned.

"We searched for her everywhere. We looked into the immigration register, the census...and we didn't found anyone matching her name and characteristics."

"But how? I-I mean, that had to be her name, there wasn't a single problem with it at school-"

"That doesn't always mean the names are true, sadly. And hers wasn't, Casey."

"Why would she lie?" The girl asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I don't think she did it out of a whim. She must have had a good reason for doing so. Her people are known for having various names, but their surname should stay the same." Like Casey, Victor leaned onto the table and looked at Casey again as he opened one of the files."Nevertheless, there is someone that matches in everything, except the surname. I will give you a picture of her, and I want you to tell me if it is the Mabel you know, alright?"

The brunette nodded, and so Victor handed her a photograph he pulled earlier from within the file. As soon as her gaze landed on it, Casey gasped in surprise and disgust. The picture showed a much younger Mabel, with the difference that in the photo she was completely torn apart. It was a close-up of her head. There were dirt and blood covering her face, traces of dried leaves scattered across her hair. Her cheeks were sunk and her fingernails long, eyes looking into oblivion. Seeing the horror in which she looked at the picture, Victor proceeded talking.

"This photograph was taken when she arrived at the police station of Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania. She and her whole family had been attacked by a net of human traffickers due to their exotic lineage. Mabel was the only survivor."

"Oh my god..." Casey whispered, trembling.

"I was the one in charge of her case back there. I made sure the traffickers were found and jailed and that the little girl was found a proper home. However, you could say the bodies of law in Romania aren't the cleanest." He said, clenching his fists in anger "And so I lost the case and her track when she moved here. I don't know if she did so intentionally or...or if she was caught by another traffiking net. Please, I must know...Is that the Mabel you know? I need..." Victor looked away and frowned, clearly affected by the memories "...I need to know."

"I believe she is." Casey responded in a shivering voice, still traumatized by the FBI agent's story.

"Back there I was only a cop." Victor furthered reluctantly. "But I promise I will do everything I can to save your friend, Casey. I owe her that. "

The girl nodded, convinced to do the same. Casey herself has been through rough and terrible things over her life, but she couldn't even began to imagine the things Mabel had to live all by herself, in a foreign country.

"Can I ask you..."She started, her mouth dry. "...Can I know her real surname?"

After a few second, Victor gazed into her eyes heavily, intertwining his hands together.

"Malkavian. Her name is Mabel Malkavian."

"Why did you came back?" Dennis spitted out, unable to held back his curiosity. Mabel panted, a sound in between laughter and resignation that surprised him. While the girl seated on a chair, he took the first aid kit from one of the cabinets from inside the kitchen, sitting shortly after in front of her as he placed it on the table.

"I guess I just couldn't leave." Mabel simply said, making the man frown deeply. Her crimson eyes landed on his icy ones, and he could feel it. He could feel there was something inside her that was changing.

"What does that even mean?" He asked while taking from the kit bandages and antibiotic ointments.

The girl opened her mouth for an instant, willing to answer, but closed it shortly after, averting her gaze.

There's no one around him. Around you.

The others are sleeping. Numb. Silent.

Isn't this the perfect opportunity?

The moon shows the path is best taken.

Earn his trust. Earn his affection. Earn his heart.

Then, stab it with your fangs.

"Say, how about we play a game?" Mabel suggested, softly arching a brow while extending her hand.

"I'm not here to play games with you." He responded severely, obviously not in the mood for her tries of bundle-ling his mind.

"You'll want to play this one." Before he could complain, she kept talking "I'll ask you a question and you have to answer truthfully. Then you can ask me. And we can ask about everything we want." Mabel saw his brows furrowing for an instant, and she knew she had awoken his curiosity again. "If one of us doesn't want to answer, then we can propose a little dare. Nothing too extreme. How does that sound?"

"Utterly stupid and pointless. I don't have time for this, I have an appointment in two hours."

"Great! You can start."

Dennis grunted, applying a little more force into the bandage, making the girl hiss in pain. This was definitively a waste of time, one he was completely uncomfortable with. She had already messed with his thoughts too much, making him aware of the treatment Patricia was giving him and making him doubt about the Beast's awakening. And he couldn't allow himself to doubt when his reception was this close.

However, he would lie if he said her little game didn't spark in him a flame of curiosity. The girl has been a mystery to him and the others from the start, and perhaps this way he could find weaknesses within her.

He also thought about the possible dares he could make her go through.

"What if I lie?"

"Believe me, I'll know it. Oh, and that counts for one question, by the way."

Mabel grazed her fingers against her lips, thinking while looking at Dennis. Truth be told, the man had never felt someone putting that much attention to him. "Are you the...original one, if that's how it's called?"

"I'm not." He responded, taking the sticking plaster out. "All of us are here to protect Kevin."

"Kevin? Is that how he's called?"

"It's my turn to ask."

"Hm. Fair enough." She nodded with a grin, leaning her head to the side.

"Why did you came back?" He asked without looking at her so he couldn't see her triumphant smile, still treating her wounds.

"Honestly...I don't know." She responded, stunning him. "After my hand burned I simply...black-outed. I guess I woke up when you touched me."

Did that mean she didn't remember what she was talking about, Dennis thought. Perhaps she was in a kind of sleepwalking state. That was good. That meant she didn't remember the way back.

"My turn." Mabel smiled softly, and she saw how Dennis began to feel less awkward about the situation. "You said you're here to protect Kevin. Protect him from what? What made him...create you all?"

The man looked up at the ceiling, thoughtful. He wasn't entirely comfortable about telling Mabel about his past. Then again, the girl wouldn't be alive for much long. He fixed the place of each and every tool he had pulled out to treat Mabel and looked at her.

"Kevin's mother was...bad to him." Dennis started, licking his lips and looking away, pushing his glasses up. "We were born to protect him form her, and we stayed to protect him from the world."

Mabel thought about asking him to explain further, but since she was trying play nice, she thought it would be the best for her to stay shut. And so she did, nodded, and gestured him to ask her something. He thought about asking her about the pills, her odd behavior or the burned skin, but ultimately realized it would be a waste, since he was going to ask Dr. Fletcher about it shortly after.

"Why aren't you scared?" Dennis asked without a second thought, making Mabel arch an eyebrow, surprised. "Why are you here, talking with the man that has taken you away from your home and family?"

"That questions has two answers. However, I will answer both." She stated after a while, gazing into his eyes as her white eyelashes fluttered around her own.

Dennis leaned forward a bit, anxiously waiting for her words. Her attitude was something that has been bothering him for too long—always looking at you with a serious expression yet a fearless one, as if calculation your every movement.

"Firstly, your statement is wrong." Mabel smiled sadly, looking at her now bandaged hand "You haven't take me away from my family and home, for I have none of it."

Dennis opened his mouth to say something, obviously confused by her answer, but Mabel lifted one of her fingers, indicating him to remain silent. She breathed in and out, soothing herself.

"And secondly...I guess I remembered there are worst things than dying."

It was at that exact moment that Dennis knew. He knew just how different Mabel was from the other two sacrifices. For the first time, the blue-eyed man asked himself if Mabel's place was among them as a sacrifice, and not with him a a pure soul. Perhaps she was indeed broken, but there were still chances she was an impure one. One thing was clear: her voice didn't tremble with lies when answering his questions.

"What's Kevin's full name?" The question caught him off guard, making him blink a few times.

"Why do you want to know?" He said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Answer my question, please." Her voice sounded a rough, as if Dennis' question had left her in a bad state.

"...I'm afraid I cannot." Mabel smiled, and the man had the sensation she was waiting for this moment for a long time.

"I can respect that, though I'm afraid you'll have to go through a little dare." She said wickedly. "Names are very powerful, you know. That's why my people keep them hidden."

"Your people? You mean Romanians?"

"Not exactly. Since you agreed to play, I will answer this last question." Mabel rested her head over her hand, averting her gaze. "I was born in Romania, yes, but my people don't really belong anywhere.

"And who are your people?"

"We are the Romani. Gypsies, putting it blandly." There was a hint of pride in her voice. "Romania is a place of ancient tradition and even more ancient superstition, so people didn't really bothered us unless they wanted something. But, returning to the question, it is tradition among us to have three names. One is for everyone to know, the one that will go into the register and juridical stuff—in my case, Mabel." She furthered, placing her other hand over her chest. The look of concentration Dennis was giving her, so focused on her explanation, almost made him look somewhat cute.

Almost.

"The second name is only known among the community. It's much more private, and if someone knows it outside the gypsy circle basically means you're trusting them immensely. The third one..." The albino girl's mind drifted somewhere else for an instant. "...The third one is only known by you and your mother. No one else is allowed to know unless you're ready to give them your very heart."

Mabel's words sank in, slowly and meant Mabel wasn't even the name she identified as, not even close. She was meticulously careful, he gave her that.

"In summary, it's all for protection. That's how powerful a name can be, and how much power can it give you to know one. Funny the surname stays the same, though. Now." She leaned over the table as she placed her hands off the way, grinning. "How about I tell you what your dare will be?"

"Look, I'm not gonna-"

"I want to talk with Hedwig." Her demanding made Dennis frown in distrust.

"Why?"

"You said you would accept the dare. I promise my intentions are good." She furthered. "Please."

Before Dennis could complain, he felt the light slowly and forcefully being taking away from him, and he knew Hedwig has listened to her call. He suddenly found himself in The Room, looking helplessly at how the spot was being redirected to the little kid.

Mabel saw the man change in front of her eyes, his face twisting in seemingly pain and relaxyn shortly after, transforming his expression entierly. His severe and serious grimace turned into a more childish one, his eyebrows arching with happiness and his eyes looking at the girl with infinite curiosity.

"You wanted to zee me?" He asked, his voice sounding completely different. It took a moment for Mabel to process his change, but he masqueraded her shock with a gentle smile.

"I did." Mabel said as she stood up startling Hedwig, who dangled his legs over the chair. She knelt in front of him, looking at him with caring yet unsettling eyes. "I wanted to apologize. For scaring you."

"I wazn't zcared!" He stated, pouting. The girl giggled at his child-like behavior and placed her healthy hand on top of his, making him look at her.

"I know you weren't. But what I said was wrong, and I shouldn't have treated you that way." she apologetically said, gently squeezing his hand. "Can you forgive me, Hedwig?"

"Hm hm!" He nodded cheerfully, clearly touched by her ask for forgiveness. She wasn't as bad as Patricia had told him, he thought. "But only if you promize to play gamez with me too. I know Mizter Denniz wantz to be with you every time, but I want you to play with me!"

"I will." She agreed, deliberately not mentioning anything about what he said of Dennis.

"I wanna know. Iz it true you're a witch? Like, with spellz and such?"

"I'l leave that to your judgement." She chuckled with a wink.