The car ride back to my house seemed to go by faster than going to Pittsburgh. I sat next to Connor with the small solace that he was going to be staying with me till things were situated and fixed around the world. His jaw was set, and he kept looking out the windows while driving eighty miles per hour down the highway. I clenched the door handle till my knuckles turned white.

"When do you think they'll attack?"

"I'm not sure," he said.

"Do you think it'll be at my house?"

"Probably. They know you live there; I don't see why they wouldn't. It makes more sense."

"I had an idea about the other wolves."

"What?" he asked looking at me.

"If we managed to kill the silver wolf and returned it to the story, do you think that will return the others to normal?"

"Maybe, but how are we going to kill the silver wolf? I'm not going to lie, Abs, that thing is a beast."

"Yeah, I know," I said rubbing my chest.

He drove on in silence. The country side flew by us in blurs of green, blue, and the occasional white building. It wouldn't take us long to get to my house at all.

***

When we got in the house, both of us dumped our bags in my room and headed for the attic. I went straight for the trunk. The cloak lay inside where I had left it, and the book was right under it.

"I think I should keep these with me."

"Not a bad idea."

With my weapons and bait in hand, we headed back to my room. Connor spent a majority of the rest of the day teaching me how to use the axe. He showed me the proper ways to hold it, swing it, and making sure it hit its mark. He drew a crude bull's eye on a tree and had me practice throwing it. I wasn't good. There was just no way that I'd be able to fight off anything.

"I'm not going to be able to do this. I suck."

"Well, that's why you have me."

"You're not fighting an entire pack of wolves on your own. You can't do it. You're only one man."

"There's only one wolf I have to go after."

"What am I supposed to do then?"

"Read him back. That is most important, and only you can do that."

"Why is it only me? What is so damn special about me?"

"You're a Grimm, Elysse. How many times do I have to tell you? You are a direct descendent of Jacob and Wilhelm. They created the world somehow, and have passed on their special little gift to their children. Someone has killed off everyone but you. Now, they want to kill you. Once you die, that's it. No more Grimm's. No more chances to send these evil bastards back to the hell they came from," he said.

"No pressure there," I murmured.

"You'll be fine," he hugged me trying to reassure me that things were fine.

I knew they weren't. We had no idea when to expect the wolves or where. As the sun set and the chill set in, we went inside, and I started dinner. After a big pot of potato soup was served the three of us sat around the modest kitchen table. It was the place when I learned about all of this.

"Mom, things are getting a bit bad."

"Is it time?" she asked, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"Yes," I said quietly.

"I knew this time was coming. I've known since your father left. I dreaded the day you would have to face this. I'm so sorry, honey. I never meant this for you."

I stopped eating and looked at her. The truth was finally coming out.

"This isn't your fault. Someone has to stop them."

She dropped her spoon in the bowl and looked up at us, "Why you? Haven't I lost enough already? It's not fair that this has fallen to you, Elysse."

"You haven't lost anything. It's not your fault dad took off."

"He was supposed to stop this. He was supposed to protect you! He didn't. He didn't," she buried her head in her hands and cried.

"Mom, I'm going to be alright. I have Connor. Who else besides the actual huntsman would be good to have with me?"

She looked at us through red rimmed eyes. She didn't believe me, which was fine because I didn't believe me either. I knew one of us wasn't going to make it. Maybe even both of us. I hoped that when I died, it would be fast and painless. I didn't have a high threshold for pain.

"I love you, Elysse," she stood and walked to where I was sitting.

I stood and embraced her, "I love you too. Please, don't worry. Things will be okay. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she started crying again.

"This is one I fully intend on keeping. We will defeat the wolves and send them back to the hell they came from."

She glanced up at me and smiled. The stress she had endured through all of this really did take a toll on her. I brushed a few stray gray hairs back into her messy ponytail and observed as she shuffled down to the office. She had enough emotional connection for the day.

"That was something," Connor said taking my hand.

"I had no idea she has been terrified of this all along. The woman never talks to me."

"She's your mother; she didn't want you to worry."

"So becoming a reclusive, depressed nut job was the thing to do?" I looked at him incredulously.

"Well, no, but maybe that was all she could do."

I sighed and pushed my soup around in the bowl. I suddenly had no appetite.