Lexus' soft blue eyes glanced up from her veil of stringy and dirty golden hair. She was perched on top an uncomfortable cot pressed against the one stone wall in the silver cage they had thrown her in. She had already been there for over a day and was desperate to be out and so her attention piqued anytime she heard movement outside the cells. She listened to the rhythmic sound of footsteps coming down the corridor. Her whole face lifted when then slowed and eventually stopped right outside her own cell.

The past twenty four hours she had been dying to see a familiar face, wishing to see a friendly smile, someone to tell her this had all been a misunderstanding and that she could leave now. She wanted to be back home in her own bed after a nice long hot shower but the nightmare had only just begun. While hopeful she wasn't an idiot. She knew where she was and she knew damn well why she was there. Her curse had finally caught up with her. Her small respite in London had been shattered and now the Ministry knew she was here, an unregistered fugitive werewolf. She'd likely never see the outside of a jail cell ever again.

Lexus' dry and cracked lips bent in a scowl. While she was desperate for a familiar face this was not one she had wanted to see. The man standing in front of her cell was familiar enough despite having not seen him in close to five years. His robes were nicely tailored and indicated he didn't do much work outside his office, his chisled jaw was freshly shaven, his green blue Eyes were dark with concern, only his sandy blond hair gave any indication that he might be disheveled. Indeed, Joseph Collins looked every bit the part of the concerned diplomat but she couldn't help wonder if he was here because of their blood relation or simply because it was his ambassadorial duty.

"Heard a rumor you were down here. Didn't want to believe it was true." Even after spending the last three years in London his Canadian accent still rang as true as her own. His voice held that paternal disappointment quality that made Lexus' skin crawl.

"Sorry to disappoint." Her own voice was scratchy and harsher than she had intended it to be.

"Lexus what the hell are you doing here?"

"Not a whole lot Uncle Joe. You see they didn't exactly stick me in here with much to entertain myself with."

A dark scowl crossed his features showing how much he wasn't pleased with her sarcasm at a time like this, "You know what I meant. What are you doing in London? You're restricted from travel, you know that. You're not allowed to leave the GTA that's all part of your probation. Now I find you here, locked up in the WCU of all places, and I had to find out from some punk rookie Auror that you've been on the run for years now after an attack in Montreal? What the hell Lex? Do you have any idea how bad this looks for me?"

Lexus got to her feet and crossed the cell to come face to face with her uncle, her dusty eyes flashed with anger, "I don't give a crap about how this looks on you. All I've ever been worried about is staying alive."

"Oh that's rich, that's just perfect. You were worried about saving your own ass, to hell with anyone else who might be affected by all this. I've got all types of wizards breathing down my neck cause one of my people, a werewolf no less, has illegally come into their country and gone on a rampage. Whether you like it or not Lexus I'm responsible for you and it's my ass on the line now. How can you be so stupid? How can you be so irresponsible? And to top it all off you've Ayla involved now? Bringing in a fourteen year old girl just to keep your own bloody secrets?"

Lexus growled at him, "Ayla got herself involved I had nothing to do with that!"

Joseph took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest, leveling his gaze on her, "Of course you didn't, cause it's never about you Lex, it's never been about you. You're parents death, wasn't your fault, of course not, you had no idea you were a werewolf  - despite being a highly educated witch. Those people in Montreal that you ravaged, that wasn't your fault either- why would it be? Your Ministry sponsor should have known you'd run away to go gallivanting with your friends on a full moon, and those poor people in London, not your fault either. They should have known better than to go out during a full moon."

Lexus snarled, her upper lip curling back over slightly sharper teeth than would have been expected of a woman her age - teeth that still showed mild stains of blood from the attack. She simply growled at him instead of dignifying him with a response.

"I'm sick and tired of this Lexus. I tried really hard to stand by you. I was at your trial, I did everything I could to keep you safe but not any more. I can't do it any more Lex, you're not a child. You know better." He dropped his arms and gave a large humph, "Merlin, how could you do this? I don't get it. How could you be so irresponsible?! Going out in the middle of muggle London on the full moon, without any wolfsbane? You're bordering on idiotic here Lex, you're-"

"I took my wolfsbane!" Lexus' eyes flashed golden for a long moment as she stared down the man in front of her. The man who used to have her over to his house for barbeque's, who dragged her out of the pool when she stayed in too long, who used teach her how to ride a broom because he was the only one in the family that understood just how magical she truly was, "I took my wolfsbane. I'm not an idiot, I've been on the run for over a year now and not once have I attacked a human. I have spent the last six months living in London amoungst muggles, perfectly normal taking wolfsbane every month just so I can fit in. I'm not an idiot Uncle Joe and I'm not a monster. I took the bloody wolfsbane and the goddamn thing didn't work!"

Joseph took another step back his features crestfallen as he attempted to register this new bit of information. No doubt the WCU agents and the aurors had already questioned her on the attacks and no doubt they wouldn't believe her story. He barely did himself. Wolfsbane that didn't work? It was just unheard of but if she was telling the truth even in the slightest . . .

"We have a much bigger problem on our hands . . ."