Cole heard Kaia coming back before he saw her. He was in his room, writing in the little black book that he hid under the bed. He only took it out when there was something weighing on his heart. This time, he'd been writing about the two wolves he'd seen. They'd seemed so close to one another, and, Cole wrote, it had somehow made him feel lonely...which didn't make sense to him, which he hated. 

Cole was aware of how trapped he was in his own life. Kaia was the one that was holed up, and yet her ignorance of the real world somehow made him see her as freer than he was. As it was, Cole was stuck. Yes, he knew about the wolves. His dad trusted him to leave the house, at least. But still, Cole had no freedom. He left the house to track down wolves, to ward them away from Kaia. His father wouldn't have anything else. If Cole were to wake up one day and decide he didn't want to fight the wolves, Cole couldn't imagine what his father would do. 

To be honest, he didn't trust his father's judgement sometimes. He wondered if it was just his naivety that was leading him to second guess his father--maybe there was something he was missing, something his father could see that he couldn't. Cole wanted to trust his father, but he knew deep down that there was something missing from his father's heart. He had a feeling Kaia was the only thing that David lived for. 

Cole sighed and shut the book, running his hands over its rough leather cover. He chewed absently on the end of his pen for a moment, staring out the window. He'd felt on edge lately. Whenever he looked at the woods outside his window, he simultaneously wanted to run towards and away from them. 

He heard muffled talking coming from his dad's room; something was probably happening that he didn't know about, as usual. Cole pushed away from his desk and stood, pacing over to the window. He crossed his arms over his chest, worried about Kaia. Something must have happened, judging by the tone of his father's voice. His felt a pang in his chest. 

He should have known better. Maybe he should have gone with her, wherever she went, followed her even if she didn't want him to. He knew the danger that Kaia was in just leaving the house, and he'd really just let her go? He should've shut his stupid little book and looked after his sister. The only way she was able to go to the Neighborhood on her own was because Cole's father had spoken to the Prowlers, had them ensure that the route was always clear for her. His family's voices picked up in volume.

He walked up to the door and leaned close to it, listening to what was happening on the other side. It was Kaia, she was safe. But their dad was definitely angry at her for some reason. She was hurt? Cole cursed at himself silently; he had been too lost in his own world. He should have been there for her. Kaia was more important. And the book...he wished he'd never seen those two wolves in the first place. 

Suddenly, he was called. Cole opened the door almost immediately, probably a bit too quickly. But it was always like that with his dad. No matter how much he questioned his father's actions, he still came running. For Kaia, he told himself, but really he knew it was because David was his father and, for what it was worth, he truly cared about the two of them. He did his best, and Cole couldn't discount that. 

"What?" Cole asked, scrutinizing Kaia as best he could without making it obvious. There was a spot of blood on Kaia's head, a bit too much to ignore but not enough to worry about. But this was their dad, of course they'd be going to the hospital. 

"I need to talk to you. Bring your sister to her room and then get back here," David said. Cole dragged his fingers through his hair, nervous already. He was probably going to ask Cole to go on a job. 

Kaia went on her own to her room. She had bursts of rebellion, but she'd always trusted their father. Cole wasn't sure why, though. He'd never told her anything. Maybe she just loved him enough that she didn't ask questions, even when she wanted to. 

"You really screwed up, Kaia," Cole said, watching her sit down on her bed, resigned to the fact that she'd be under strict surveillance for the next couple days. She looked at Cole and he knew that she understood. They both knew that their father was overprotective, that they both suffered because of it. Cole wondered if she was as jealous of him as he was of her. 

"Yeah, I know," she said. It was just a part of their lives, this living in fear. David had felt his life slip between his fingers when he'd lost his Isobel, and he clung desperately to what he had left. 

To be honest, Cole felt the same sometimes. Ever since his father had told him about the wolves, he'd hated them. He had, he told himself. The wolves were responsible for killing his mother, but worse, for robbing him of the future that he could have had with her in their lives. Every part of his world was broken because of them. So...why was it that, when he saw those two wolves, his heart softened? 

Cole tried to push the thought away. Kaia was here in front of him, and he couldn't let her see any pain in his eyes. She'd want to know what was wrong, if only to make all his pain go away. She'd always been that way, the one who saw him for what he was...a kid lost in the woods, surrounded by wolves and the pressure to carry the world on his shoulders. She was the one who treated him like a little brother, not a Hunter. He loved her for it, and so didn't hate that it was his job to protect her. He would die for her if he had to. Which is why, even if it was just a little blood, it did make his heart ache. "You could've been seriously hurt."

Her eyes softened. She hated when her dad worried about her too much, but she knew that when Cole was worried, it was for a good reason. She looked up at him, "I know. What's he going to talk to you about?"

Cole felt a weight on his chest. He couldn't tell her. His father had made him swear not to tell her the truth about the wolves, about what danger she was really in. This was what ate him up inside, made him hate himself a little bit. He wanted to trust David, to see things the way he did. This was for Kaia's good, it must be. She could get hurt. But at the same time, Cole felt that she should know. He felt that she would be safer if she knew what she was up against. So he was stuck between two worlds and wasn't sure which path to follow, his father's or his own. 

But Cole had never really been one to stand up for himself, not around his dad. 

So he just shrugged and mumbled a quick, "The usual." He left her in her room and stood on the other side of her door for a moment, his eyes closed and his arm hanging from his neck. When he finally found the strength to go into his father's study, David was still standing in the middle of the room. It made Cole uneasy, seeing him waiting there like that, staring at nothing. Was he lost in thought?

"Dad?" Cole said. 

He looked up immediately, his eyes sharpening. A chill passed over Cole and he crossed his arms over his chest to ward it off. Cole felt permanently cold, especially in their empty, drafty house. "I need you to follow a lead." 

"I heard you call a team together," Cole said, shutting the door behind him so that their voices didn't carry down the hallway to where Kaia was. "You still bringing them in even though she's ok?" 

"She's not ok, Cole," he scolded, "She's been attacked."

"Attacked? You think it was-"

"What else would it be? Where we live? There aren't fights here. I would know about it. She lied to me," he replied, frustrated. Cole could see the glimmer of fear in his eyes. 

"Assuming it was one of them, is it really worth it to try and find this thing? We can't just plow into wolf territory to try to find the one that-" Cole began, but there was a fire in his father's glare that told him to be quiet. 

"She's your sister," he practically growled. 

Cole swallowed. He'd said 'sister' like he meant 'duty.' Cole's heart hurt. "We can't break the Accords, dad." 

That seemed to wake him up slightly, but there was still something dangerous in his eyes. "We can't let him find her. You should go with the team I called in and patrol the borders. If they're coming for her now, we'll catch them at the line. I'll go with her to the hospital."

"Him?" Cole asked, curiosity rising. Cole knew that there were things that his father hadn't told him, but...

"Them," David said quietly, dismissing the question, "You should go soon. Tom will meet you at the border." The border. Cole tried to ignore the sinking feeling that word always brought him. Even harder, he tried to ignore all the questions he suddenly had because of one tiny word. If Kaia could do it, so could he. 

"I'll go. How many people did you call for?" Cole asked, putting his mask on. He always used it around his dad. He wouldn't let his father see his weakness. 

"There'll be seven, but you should split into two teams," David said. 

Cole nodded, "Yes, sir." 

His father's face softened for a moment. "Cole," he said, reaching for his son. He put a hand on his son's shoulder and held it tightly, "I'm proud of you for taking care of your sister. You're already a better man than I ever was."

Cole's throat closed up a little. He'd never heard his father say anything like this. He felt his chest fill a little, and felt annoyed that just a few meager words from his father had changed him so completely. But still, he had to appreciate it. His dad wasn't one for softness. Perhaps he was more shaken by Kaia's injury than Cole had thought. 

"Thanks, dad," Cole said finally. Cole told himself that it didn't matter. This man was his father, and there was a bond there that mattered. They were tied together, working to keep Kaia safe, her guardians. Even if it meant sacrifice from Cole, Kaia had to be protected. Because they loved her. 

But Cole wished he only had one path in front of him. The funny thing about life is that there are a million different paths, the road diverging, splitting, and twisting at every choice you make. Cole had so many futures laid out before him, but could only really choose one of them. And so the existence of the other paths only made his soul ache. He would continue on the road his father insisted on, gazing at the others he let slip by with a little seed of discontent and confusion in his heart, wandering ever farther and farther from the paths he wished he could follow. 

Later, when he stood at the border between human and wolf territory established by the Accords, the fresh snow crunching under his boots and his breath curling around his head, Cole continued to wonder what his father meant by using the word 'him.' Who? Was it really just an accident? Had Cole misheard him?

Cole leaned against a tree and waited for Tom and the others to show up. He stared into the woods. Questions and worries flew around him, weaving between the trees above his head like spectres, whispering and warning him about every possibility the future held. For now, Kaia was safe. That's what mattered. But Cole still had a feeling that something was coming, that his life was going to change. He had lived on hold for too long, as if he were waiting for something. It was well past time. 

Whether it was the beginning or the end of the world that was coming, he didn't know. But he wished the universe would just get it over with already.