Boy, it was icy today. The icy freshness of the winter blew my ponytail gently behind me, nipping at the tips of my ears. But I wasn't cold. In only a t-shirt and sweatpants, I happily navigated the snow encrusted ground. Giggling as my feet sank into the snow, I couldn't care less when the cold bit at my toes, soaking through my trainers.

I heard my father up ahead, shouting at me to continue. Looking up from my feet hidden beneath the snow, I found him watching me with a soft smile. I grinned, running up to him. Dad always had a smile when he spoke to me. It was something I loved about him.

"Daddy..." I began, and he hummed in answer. "Do you really think it is going to happen soon?"

"Ailia, do you even feel the cold right now?"

I pursed my lips, pressing my index finger into them as I fell deep into thought. The cold brushed my bare arms, ached my damp feet, but no.

"It isn't cold!"

"Then, yes, Spitfire, any day."

I grinned, clapping my hands. "I can't wait!"

Dad made me stop and looked down at me with a stern expression. I pouted, not liking when he changed his smiley face.

"You say that, Ailia, but you realise what's going to happen, right?" He wondered.

Rolling my eyes the best five-year-old-me could, I sighed. "Yes, Dad."

"Good." He breathed. "It will hurt."

"Daddy, you always say, if it is meant to be-

"It will be." He sighed. "I know."

"Then stop worrying! I'm supposed to do this!"

"Since when did you get so wise?" He smirked, tickling my side.

I giggled. "That's because I am the boss around here!"

His smile fell, but I didn't notice, and continued to jump like a frog through the snow. Then a thought passed through my mind and I stopped dead. Dad called out to me, concerned.

"Ailia?"

"Daddy, why do I not change on my birthday?" I gasped.

He chuckled softly, relief flooding his features. "It's a six-month window, Spitfire. The Goddess gave you your wolf when you were in Mummy's belly, so it depends when she is ready."

"Well, I think she is definitely ready now." I nodded, prideful.

"Me too," He grinned. "Now, let's go. See if you can beat me, little wolf."

As we ran, laughter tumbled from my lips as my dad pretended to chase me. But I had lived here a long time now; these orange trees were my home.

I zoomed through the shrubbery, the snow barely hindering me as I rounded the lake near the cottage. I wondered for a moment what would be for dinner, but then all of that disappeared when something caught my attention. I skid to a stop, automatically baring my teeth and snarling at the male stood in my way.

"Ailia, what's-Oh! Jeremy!"

Jeremy?

I studied the man before me. Dark skin, dark eyes.... He was wide and tall, taller than Daddy. The two of them shook hands, and Daddy smacked him on the back.

Why do boys hug like that?

"Ailia, come meet Jeremy."

I eyed him cautiously. It was rare Daddy ever invited anybody to the house. Mother didn't like people around. Said they were too dirty and loud.

"Jeremy, my daughter Ailia."

Jeremy turned his dark eyes down to me, lips curling into a grin to reveal shiny teeth. He held out a hand, and I glared at it without returning the gesture.

"I don't know you."

He chuckled, pulling it away. "That is true. I do not blame you for not wanting to shake a stranger's hand. But it is a polite way of saying hello and showing comfort."

I rolled my eyes, and Dad chided me. I nuzzled my face into his side, peering up at Jeremy from behind his hip.

Jeremy smirked. "She is already showing a lot of signs."

Daddy nodded. "She has since she was a toddler. Quite a wild one."

I blanked out most of their conversation, Daddy's hand pressing between my shoulders and pushing me along beside him. The entire time, I kept my attention on Jeremy, watching how he moved. I didn't like how relaxed he made my dad. It put me on edge. Then when we got to the house, his hand moved so quickly, I wasn't sure if Daddy even saw it coming toward his neck.

Before Jeremy could even touch Daddy, I was darting in front of the stranger and pulling his arm down. He grunted with my effort, and I twisted his arm and pushed the two boys both apart with either arm. I growled at Jeremy, narrowing my eyes at him with a dare.

Dare to touch my daddy again, stupid stranger.

"Ailia!"

Oh no, Mother.

Sobering up quickly, my eyes widened as I turned to her. "Y-yes?"

"Release our guest!" She snapped.

I dipped my head, letting go of Jeremy's arm. Our skin clashed, the two colours so opposite it surprised me. We never had strangers round, and the first one was somebody who tried to hurt my dad!

"Ailia, you and Jeremy are going to become friends."

"What!" I squeaked, running my eyes up and down Jeremy. "He's like... thirty!"

The two of them laughed, sharing looks. I scowled, glaring at Daddy's face instead of facing Mother.

"I am seventeen." He mused. "We will be friends in the future. I can promise you that."

I bared my teeth dangerously, and he grinned. Huffing, I glared at him instead, not liking when people treated me like I was a baby.

"Ailia, stop glaring and go freshen up." Mother chided.

I bowed my head, frowning. "Okay."

With my head lowered, I made my way toward the stairs. Stopping half-way when voices caught my attention, I turned around. They were muttering together, both my parents standing beside each other, giving me their backs. Jeremy was laughing at something they said, hand rubbing his wrist where I once held him.

He lifted his eyes, noticing me still standing there. The stair light was off, but this man had to be a wolf, because he raised his chin at me and smirked. I glared, baring my teeth at him with annoyance, before running to my room and falling onto my bed.

There was no way I was going to be that irritating man's friend!

Ugh!

I woke with a start, finding myself still sitting on the floor. I must've fallen asleep down here.

I shook my head, too concentrated on the bizarre dream I just woke up from. I cradled my head as the ache began, like it always did the past few days. Ever since Azriel teleported me, I dreamt of weird things at night. Not a lot of them made sense, some glimmering, blurring images of Evermore or a cosy home with my parents and sister.

But this one, this one, was so vivid. I could remember parts of it so clearly.

I remember seeing the second man from Northwood in the place I assumed was once my house.

I remember being a wolf, with bright orange fur.

I remember my dad smiling, telling me I was a big girl.

I remember the pain that overtook me one day, the burning, bone-breaking shatters of my body as I fell unconscious.

Was this my past? Were my memories fighting whatever the witch did to me? Was Azriel's torture making them come back to me?

I now knew that those orange leaves and lake that Azriel pushed me into belonged to my lovely step-mother. We had lived there for a few years before moving to Evermore. I just needed the why.

But at least I knew that the man in the woods the other day was the man in my dreams. The same man who chased us was somebody my father knew. Somebody I knew as a child.

But how?

I raked my brain, trying to give context to the youthful image of him in my childhood home. He had been smiling at me, his arms crossed as though he were challenging me. Why? In my own home? Who was he?

I need to find him again.

But how? I didn't even remember his name.

My brain hurt from how hard I was trying to remember, to the point I could feel it pulsating in my temple.

Groaning, I slammed my head into the wood of the foot of the bed.

"So that's what that noise is."

I jerked, spinning around on the floor to stare wide-eyed at the intruder. It was dark, and I had to blink to try clear my mind. Was I dreaming?

"Princess."

I glared at Azriel as my eyes adjusted. "What do you want?"

"A hello would be grand."

I blinked, waiting for him to continue his joke, but he didn't. So, I begrudgingly muttered a hello.

"Great. Now we have acknowledged each other, I must say you look terrible." He grimaced. "Not been sleeping?"

"I think that could also be the lack of food."

"A human would have succumbed to unconsciousness by now. You have been in here four mornings now." He stated, and I cast a look at the curtains. "It is morning. Early morning."

"What are you doing here?" I mumbled.

"I got bored."

Rolling my eyes, I curled my knees into my chest. "Yeah, right. Join the club."

He smirked, completely unfazed by his horrific behaviour. "Are you not curious?"

"To what?" I spat.

He blinked. "How you are alive?"

"Should I be?".

"I have not fed you, Princess." He mused. "You have been here nine days."

My eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

"Yes." He laughed. "Nine days of pure starvation, nothing but my venom. Yet every time I fed from you; it tasted the same. So perhaps, now I have left it for four nights, it may be different."

"You are experimenting with me?" I shrieked. "That's uncalled for!"

"You are alive, aren't you?" He mused. "Now that means definitely not human!"

I scowled, already knowing I wasn't a human. I shifted into a fucking orange wolf in my dreams. My father was a wolf. I had concluded I was not human a long time ago. It just took me sometime to admit it.

"How was your isolation?"

"I don't know. How was your starvation?"

"I get fed elsewhere." He dismissed me with a wave of his hand. "You are not the only human in this coven. Each vampire has a blood human. I just borrowed some."

I wrinkled my nose up, the whole concept sounding vile. "Then why did you come back for me?"

"Because we are going on a fun little adventure!"

"We are?" I frowned.

"Yes!"

I paused, waiting for him to expand. He was still standing there, watching me quietly. I shakily rose to my feet, my knees knocking against each other. I slithered toward the curtains and threw them open.

"Where are we going?"

"To visit a little wolfie."

Something twitched in my chest, an ache of a warm embrace. "When?"

"Right now."

"So soon?"

"It is last minute, but the little mate of yours has help. We have to make it a surprise."

Help? What kind of help?

I kept my lips sealed, nodding once. "Okay. But first, you feed me."

He laughed, shaking his head. "Silly girl, we go now. I will not feed you."

"That's not fair. I deserve food. Even Asra gave me food."

"Your mate does not give a shit about you. My informant says he is not even looking."

Informant. Who was his spy within the pack?

"Your informant was obviously wrong. I got food every day."

"Not from your mate's command, but the beta's." He snorted. "I have eyes, Princess. I know everything."

I curled my lip up, baring my silly little teeth at him, much like I did in my dream. "I do not want to be any part of this."

He was going to kill me, and Asra, and the longer I stalled, the better.

He tutted. "My coven is already there, fighting. Have you not noticed how quiet the house has been whilst you were up here? I can only transport a handful at a time, and it took all night. We fight at sunrise, and would you look at that..."

I looked beyond the sky, seeing the sun peek above the horizon. It was already sunrise.

I swallowed nervously, wondering what was in store for me. But then his hand was wrapping around my wrist and I was tilting away from the bedroom and to a new place entirely, without a second thought.

*****

home time!!!