A/N: Sorry this update took a while, guys. Work is kicking my butt. I'll try and push some more chapters out a little more frequently.

The only thing I have to say about this chapter is that I just want to let my reviewers know that I don't want to disappoint you by making you think this is a Riley/Bree romance story. I'm a little too distracted by their five to six year age gap to be able to really ship the pairing. My attempt here is to dig a little deeper into their relationship with each other, which I do think is a bit more grounded in caring than it is with anyone else in the army, though in more of a brotherly sisterly way. Hope that doesn't deter any of you R/B fans from reading. If you squint real hard, you can pretend it's a romance ;)

Otherwise, enjoy! And please review, it helps me churn out chapters quicker! It's sometimes more discouraging to see a 'favorite story alert' without a review to accompany it. Thanks again, all!

...

Bree covered her ears, though her hands didn't serve to block the sounds of an enraged shout from her sensitive hearing.

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT A LOW PROFILE?"

Bree stayed hidden in her spot behind the stray garbage cans, glad that she'd stayed in control, unlike the other newborns that had just turned a car over, eliciting a pained and frightened cry from the passenger inside.

She'd only been around for a week or so, but she still had never seen Riley so angry. Short fused tempers and lectures were common at the various hideouts, but never to this magnitude. Riley often kept an eerie calm about him, even when it was obvious he was angry.

But now she could practically feel his rage, even from this distance. She caught a choke in her throat when Riley pulled the newborns from the car, tossing them away like they were ragdolls. Though the impact when their bodies hit the floor made a sickening thud, they were up in a flash, crouched dangerously and eyeing Riley: the one thing preventing them from quenching the unbearable thirst that was tormenting the newly created vampires.

Bree couldn't take it.

Everything was still so new and confusing... Times like this only made her delicate situation seem more unstable. She wanted her mother to wrap her arms around her again and tell her everything would be fine. Heck, she'd even take her father at this point.

Distressed by the various hissing and more raised tones from Riley, Bree crouched down in her hiding place, letting out loud, tearless sobs. No one seemed to notice; her cries we lost in the chaos. The newborns were still growling loudly, and it seemed as though a fight had broken out a few feet back.

Bree gasped and silenced herself instantly when she heard a deafening smash. The area went deadly quiet. She carefully peeked out from her hiding spot to see that Riley had ripped the door off the unlucky human's car and smashed it down on the concrete.

The group's thirst momentarily subsided, everyone seemingly too scared to make a sound or a move.

Riley glanced over everyone, making sure his eyes met with every last vampire, as though to ensure them that he had not forgotten anyone, and they would be noticed if they made a wrong move.

Bree flinched slightly when his eyes met hers. She was worried the sudden movement would cause him to spring into action, but was relieved when he simply looked away a few seconds later.

"Something's coming..." he said through gritted teeth. It seemed as though he was doing everything in his power to keep from exploding. "Something... bigger than any of us."

Bree shook her head and looked down at the cold concrete beneath her. She hardly understood what she was or what was happening to her. More of these mysterious 'secrets' were the last thing she needed right now.

"And if you can't... control yourselves..." Riley continued, pausing every few words to take an unneeded breath. "We're all going to die." His face became serious when he said this. Whatever he was talking about, he meant business.

Riley glanced over everyone again, once more meeting Bree's eyes.

Was that... a hint of concern she saw in them?

Was Riley actually being truthful when she said he wouldn't let anything happen to them?

"What's done is done," he said in defeat, lifting his hand. "Just... clean up after yourselves."

The second Riley turned his back, the newborns leapt forward, growling in hunger as the woman let out one last scream.

Bree was oddly engrossed in watching her 'coven' feed. It didn't bother her as much as she thought it should. To her, it wasn't like watching someone's life being snatched away, wasn't like watching a murder in cold blood.

It all seemed so... natural. Like it was just the way of things.

Bree gasped again when a figure stood in front of her, blocking her view. She curled her legs tighter to her stomach when Riley crouched down to her level, looking her straight in the eyes. She couldn't handle looking back at him... Something about his gaze was more piercing than the burning in the back of her throat.

She shook violently, waiting for whatever consequence she was about to receive for hiding out.

"You should go join them, Bree. You look hungry."

Shocked at his soft tone, Bree finally managed to turn her head to look up at him. She wanted to respond, but was frustrated to find that she couldn't. Her body was numb with fear; she couldn't even get her mouth open to at least make a sound to confirm that she'd heard him.

Instead she looked down, once again avoiding his gaze, and shook her head cautiously. She didn't know what actions had consequences in this strange new 'family' she found herself in, and she hoped this wasn't one of them.

Riley sighed, but it sounded more thoughtful than exasperated, she thought.

"Your eyes don't have any color left in them. I know you're hungry. The pain will only get worse if you don't eat."

Bree bit her lower lip, shivering in terror, realizing that even if she'd wanted a sip, she wouldn't be able to move, too petrified with fear to even think of it.

Somehow, Riley seemed to sense this.

He looked back at the hungry newborns before looking back down at her, as though checking to make sure no one was watching.

He reached forward and carefully ran the tips of his fingers through her hair. She tensed, unsure of what was going to happen.

"Bree, you don't have to be scared. I don't have any reason to hurt you."

Bree couldn't help but ad-lib the rest of his sentence in her head: 'for now'.

Riley chuckled slightly under his breath, his laughter serving to warm his cold demeanor for a moment.

"I mean it. Everything's fine. There's no ulterior motive involved here; I just want to make sure you get fed like everyone else."

Bree felt a bit of her strength returning. A few comforting words were all she really needed... Though she wished there was someone around to give her a comforting hug as well.

She swallowed, feeling a bit more comfortable in his presence, though still a little wary of the vampire in front of her. An undecipherable look crossed Riley's face. He seemed to be reading her emotions like a book, and was apparently still unconvinced that she was calm again. He reached out, carefully placing an arm around her shoulders and squeezing gently.

Bree was momentarily thrown off by this. It didn't stop old traces of her human instincts taking over, however, and she reached forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. Riley lifted his arms as though she were a leech that had just attached herself to him. An almost pained expression crossed his face before he reached down at patted her head.

"Okay kid, okay. Go, just... go get something to eat," he managed in what seemed to be a very restrained voice.

Bree nodded and stood up, moving at an uncomfortably human pace towards the wreckage.

Riley sighed in frustration as he watched her walk off.

Victoria wasn't going to be happy about this one.