I was in the driver's seat, guiding the massive SUV through the dark. Ryder had bowed out, opting to sit in the passenger seat. I encouraged him to sleep, knowing damn well that we weren't going to take a break, even when we got to our destination. The adrenaline would only last for so long and if we were going to face them, we couldn't afford any mistakes. Ryder programmed the address into the GPS, then fiddled on his phone for some time before crossing his arms over his chest and shutting his eyes.

I wished so badly that this was some impulsive road trip. We were just a young couple who decided to go on a spontaneous trip after a late day at work. We could have a romantic evening over fine food.

Seven hours. It would take us seven hours to get there. I didn't know if I was dreading it or anticipating it. This was going to end, soon. Then, after all of this, maybe my fleeting dreams could be a reality. Maybe normalcy would return to my life.

But, between then and now were hundreds of kilometers and a few hours. I found my eyes drifting about my surroundings. British Columbia at night was not a forgiving place, especially here, on long stretches of quiet highway. Surrounded by towering mountains and thick foliage, there were dozens of risks. A distracted driver could easily guide a car off a cliff, into a stoneface, or right into the side of a moose.

I forced my eyes to stay on the yellow and white lines, but my mind was not so easy to control. It was all going to come crumbling down.

But I didn't know how. And even though Ryder hadn't said anything, we both knew this was a risk. That's why we left the note for Noah. It was why we left copies of the pictures with Milo and Ajax's phone number.

We were charging full steam ahead towards incredibly powerful beings. Beings that manipulated the way I saw the world, manipulated the way I saw them. The people that I had felt like I was going to war for, they had deceived me. And I couldn't even begin to piece together this puzzle. Was I really poisoned by an alchemist? If Ajax and Keiko were not responsible for the killing of the alchemists, then where had the masters of potions gone?

And what would have happened to me if they had found the alchemist before I had drank the elixir? Was there a chance? Could I have still been mated to Ryder if I had said no and just waited a while longer?

The man in question jerked awake when I slammed on the brakes, catching the movement of a deer just before she decided to bound across the highway.

"You good?" he said groggily, rubbing his eye with the back of his fist.

I was falling apart. I was tearing at the seams and felt like I had been for some time. "Yeah, I'm good. You should go back to sleep if you can."

Ryder attempted this for a little while, eyes closing then opening again when he felt the car shift with a turn or slow for a stop sign. Eventually, he gave up. "This is insane. I can't believe that...you know what, I can believe it. I can believe that fairies would have their fucking fingers in this. They've always been pieces of shit and they've always hated werewolves."

"We don't know anything for sure," I pointed out. Which was true. There were a lot of arrows pointing to the people I had trusted for so long, but the connections didn't make sense.

"They'll tell us," Ryder said flatly. "They are incapable of lying if you aren't under their glamour. Even then, it's difficult for them, they rely on telling half truths over lying outright, especially to other magical creatures."

I cleared my throat, feeling a little cowardly, but my self-preservation refused to let me remain silent, "What do you realistically think our chances of walking away from this alive are?"

Ryder snorted at that. "They are at the top of their power levels; however, fairies are not known for being outrageously dangerous. Clearly, they are more fond of using others to do their dirty work."

We pulled into the only gas station that was thankfully open in the middle of the night and switched spots. I was able to doze in and out of a light sleep. I think the exhaustion came a little easier now that I didn't think I was walking straight into my death. Ryder wouldn't lie to me about something like that, and though our bond was gone, there was no denying that we cared deeply for each other. Once, when I woke up in a groggy state, I stared at his fingers wrapped around the wheel and wondered what it would look like if he wore a wedding band. Perhaps it wasn't werewolf tradition, but the idea sure seemed nice.

All of the warm and fuzzy feelings left me when I saw the sign for Valemount in the early morning sun. The mood in the car shifted. I sat up straighter. Ryder shut off the radio to listen to the GPS instructions. Weight fell onto both of us, heavy and thick.

This little town held some beautiful memories. The high right before the crash. Here, I started showing signs of wolf-drain, so slight I had thought nothing of it. And here they were. I had given them years of my life.

We pulled into a long, gravel driveway that wove up a hillside.

"I want to go in alone," I announced.

I expected Ryder to argue, but he just shrugged and put the car in park. We sat at the base of a turn, only able to see a little of the white siding between the branches of the trees. He would be close enough to hear me scream if I needed him. But I just...I wanted to confront them myself. Maybe we had gotten it wrong. Maybe they would tell me the truth if Ryder wasn't with me. I had seen his temper flare. I knew he wasn't the most inviting when he had violence on his mind.

"Here." He handed me a small knife. "It won't do much good if they try to use their glamour on you, but at least you won't be going in empty handed. I'll be right here if you need me."

I swallowed and took the knife, putting it into a pant pocket before slipping out of the car.

The long walk up the driveway seemed to take forever. The home inched closer, looking so much like the home they had in my little mountain town. Did they host meetings out of this one too? Did they hold up pictures of dead werewolf hunters here as well?

I knocked on the door. This could be nothing. This could be some massive misunderstanding.

Dawn opened the door.

But it was not the Dawn I knew. Her cheeks were free of wrinkles, smooth and youthful. Her hair was perfectly sleek and luminous though still very grey. Eyes young and sparkling with life. And poking from her silvery hair were two tall, pointed gazelle horns.

"Georgia?" she whispered.

There was a blink, then she opened her arms as if to welcome me.

I stumbled back a step.

"So it is true," I gasped, unable to tear my eyes away from the towering horns.

She jerked back as if I had slapped her. "Georgia, sweetheart." Her voice was soothing and melodic. Then, her horns disappeared. Her cheeks sagged with age, crows feet lining her eyes. "My dear, are you alright? Where have you been? We've been so worried about you." She stepped forward again, moving to embrace me again.

Now that her cover was restored.

Lies. It had all been lies. And I was just being slapped in the face with all of it.

"You have not been worried about me," I hissed. "You have never cared about me or Milo or anyone else, have you?"

"Georgia, what are you talking about?" she murmured. "Are you quite alright? Are you experiencing wolf-drain?"

"Wolf-drain doesn't come from wolves," I snarled. My words were venomous, but my gestures were cowardly. I kept slipping further and further backwards as she inched forward. This was the person I trusted. This was the person I had given up my life for. I had believed every lie that had come out of her mouth. Her husband's words were law. She was the warm comfort that came after the whip.

And now she had horns.

"Georgia, you're talking crazy," she soothed.

"What's going on?" Armond burst out of the home. "Jesus, is that Georgia?"

He didn't have his glamour on. His ears were pointed at the ends.

"Get the gun," Dawn said flatly.

"What?" Armond sputtered.

"She knows. We have to put her down."

Like a fucking dog.

They were talking about me like I was a farm animal, used and now needing to be disposed of.

Armond moved fast, faster than I had ever seen. He was gone before I even had the knife in my hand. But Dawn was right there, staring at me. She had hugged me when I cried. She smoothed my hair and convinced me everything would be alright when I feared that everything was crumbling beneath my feet. And now, she was ordering that I be shot.

The knife was flung from my hand. Not my first choice of weapon, or even my second. If I had been Milo, it would have landed square in her eye. But I was not Milo. And I was not at my peak hunting form. The knife was embedded in her thigh. A scream tore through the air just as Armond reappeared.

"What are you waiting for?!" Dawn screamed, ripping the knife out of her thigh. "Shoot her!"

A rumbling snarl answered from behind me.

I didn't know when he had gotten out of the car. I didn't know how he knew I needed him so soon. But I was grateful. Grateful and horrified and completely useless with no weapons left to defend myself.

"We will void the treaty," Armond choked out.

"She is a hunter, no one will come for her. And they will just assume that she killed the wolf. We will not be tied to it. Shoot them both. Fuck shoot them you fool!"

Ryder lunged while I was frozen in fear. He was a flash of teeth and sharp claws, moving for Dawn. His jaws dove for her side, going for the vital organs. Armond swung the barrel of the gun from me to Ryder.

There was a noise from behind me, a flap like a thick blanket being caught in the wind.

"Now, now, let's not be hasty. We don't know just who is watching, now do we?" a silky voice purred.

And behind me, there was Max. The tall vampire. And behind him, looking like hundreds of little leaves, were bats. All of them hanging upside down, their little eyes focused on the scene before their leader.