It had been a long week of silence from Aidan. Even when the two came over for D&D night, he didn't so much as look Ada's way. He was friendly and engaged with the others, but not with her. She wasn't surprised. In fact, she would have been floored if he had acknowledged her at all. She hadn't expected either of them to show up for the game.

Noah was outwardly normal, though he tried to limit their interactions when Aidan was present. She didn't blame him. Aidan had given him hell when they got home, as he told her that night. As much as she hated it, she understood.

The drama with Aidan was almost enough to distract her from her other problems. Almost. She had been mulling over what Hillebrandt had told her for days, but got nothing new from it. She still couldn't figure out what made them return the file. The only plausible answer was that it was a power move, as Hillebrandt had suggested. She wouldn't put it past them, but she felt like she was missing something horribly obvious.

On Thursday morning, Ada woke with the usual amount of annoyance and lethargy and dragged herself into the kitchen for coffee. Thoughts of Hillebrandt and her siblings had plagued her dreams for most of the night. Even in sleep, she couldn't find that last puzzle piece. Still, it was something to focus on beyond what was happening that afternoon.

The whisper of fabric was all the heads-up Ada was given to Sam's arrival in the kitchen. Her hair was bundled in a towel high on her head and she was swimming in her plush turquoise bath robe. Her cheeks were splotchy—she liked to run her baths hot enough to cook vegetables. Ada smiled reflexively, anxiety stilling somewhat.

"Coffee?" Ada started to reach for a second mug.

"Yes, please." Sam padded over to her and hugged her waist. "What time is he getting here?"

"Around noon, I think." Ada put a hand over hers for a moment, then went back to her task. She released Ada to take her mug. "I'm hoping to be done it all by the time you're home from work. When do you want to go tonight?"

She hummed. "Dinner time, maybe? Only if you're up for it, though. Don't force yourself."

Ada gave her a warm smile. "Dinner it is. I'm not going to miss this."

"Have you thought of a costume yet?"

Ada shrugged. "Not really."

"You'll think of something. I still have plastic fangs; you could always be a vampire."

Halloween had sneaked up on her. Since she missed it the year prior—thanks to a bad case of the flu—there was no way she would this year. Costume or not, she wanted to be part of the annual tradition of getting wasted at the pub. Yeah, that's about all there was to do for anyone too old to trick-or-treat.

They could only stay for a short time, though. Well, Ada could stay as late as she wanted, but it was a blue moon that night. According to Aidan, they would feel it a lot more than normal. Sam would have to leave to go run whether she wanted to or not. The timing was unfortunate, but there was nothing to be done.

Noah and Aidan were going to come, too, but after the incident, Aidan had shut that down. Ada couldn't help feeling responsible. Noah insisted he was fine with it, but she wasn't so sure. The few times she had seen him that week, brief as they were, he had worn a solemn acceptance not unlike when they first moved to town.

"How late are you staying out tonight?" Ada asked, sipping coffee.

Sam emerged from the fridge with a carton of eggs and a pack of bacon. "Ten, probably. Aidan said he would text when the left."

"What are you going to tell the others?" Ada reached for the foodstuffs. "I'll get it started."

"Thanks." She beamed, then started to let down her hair. "I told them I have to go to work early to let in a repairman. They were bummed. Charlotte will probably try to get me to stay late."

"Good thinking."

Sam excused herself to get dressed for work as Ada made breakfast. She liked her eggs sunny-side-up, and Ada scrambled her own as bacon sizzled and spit beside her. Ada got her a thermos of coffee ready and threw together a sandwich for her lunch break before she returned. Sam was draped in a knit violet sweater dress with charcoal leggings. She was still braiding her waves as she entered. Wide, happy eyes took in Ada's task.

"You made me lunch? Thank you."

Ada smiled as her arms encircled her waist once more. Her warm cheek on Ada's shoulder was welcome. Ada tipped her head back to touch hers briefly.

When Sam was gone to work, Ada was left to her thoughts and anxiety came back with full force. She busied herself with getting dressed and cleaned up. When that was done, she made her way back to the kitchen. She had no idea what to expect, how it would go. All she could do was say her piece and hope for the best. She kept her hands busy preparing snacks, then cleaning up. With nothing left in the kitchen, Ada proceeded to the living room to tidy there. It was already pretty clean, so that didn't last her long.

Ada sighed, sinking onto the couch. Nothing left to distract her, she turned on a movie and tried to space out until he arrived.

The whiny engine was warning enough. Ada jolted to her feet but did not rush to the door. She stood there awkwardly, waiting for the inevitable knocks. When they came, she nearly hurled.

"Hey, thanks for coming." She stood back to let him in, gaze dancing away from his impassive own.

Aidan squeezed past and worked at the laces of his battered black Converse, saying nothing. He wasn't ignoring her, she could see the gears turning in his head trying to formulate a response. She spared him.

"Can I get you anything? There are sandwiches, and I made coffee."

He straightened, regarding her fully for the first time. "Coffee would be great."

Ada nodded, bustling off to the kitchen. The couch squeaked softly under his weight. Her hands shook as she poured and carried two mugs to the living room. When she passed one to him, he gave her a polite, closed-lip smile.

After a long moment, Ada cleared her throat. "Um, first off, I'm sorry for putting Noah at risk like that. I really am. I never meant to put him, or any of you, in danger."

"I know that, but you did." His voice was expressionless, but his eyes were hard. "He swears his relapse isn't your fault, but I'm not so sure."

"Me either," she admitted.

"How could you think calling him was the right thing to do?"

"Honestly? I didn't. Calling Noah was the last thing I wanted, but where else could I turn? You were both out of town, Cain isn't here, and no one else knows what I do."

He scowled. "You should have handled it yourself."

"You're right, I probably should have." She sighed. "I panicked. I've never messed up this badly before, not alone. And I've certainly never killed anyone ... before, that is."

Aidan looked away, glaring out the window for a moment. "When I left him in your care, I never thought this would be the thing that went wrong. I had considered how I would feel, how I would react, if Noah himself killed someone while I was away. I never expected it to be you."

"I didn't, either," she murmured and took a sip for something to do. "Look, I don't know how it's going to help, but you can ask me anything about anything. I've got nothing to hide anymore."

His gaze returned to hers, softer now, but still reminiscent of his father. "All right ... why do the job in the first place?"

Ada pursed her lips. "That's a bit of a levelled answer. Like I said before, I was hoping to make this the final job, to buy them off, essentially. It was supposed to be simple, straightforward. I've done much harder jobs in the past. I can't even count the number of McMansions we've broken into.

"But anyway, I guess this part started in the winter, in January." She paused, gaze turning to the window as a noisy pickup truck blazed by. Aidan waited in patient silence. "No, I guess I can't start there, I have to go further back for it to make sense.

"Okay, back in 2017 I got in contact with the Toronto police department. It was a huge risk, but one worth taking. I was fed up with my siblings and out of options. I couldn't tell my parents. Of course I had tried before, but accepting that their pride and joy were delinquents would mean admitting to themselves that they weren't around enough. They still won't listen, even after ... well, I'm getting to it.

"I was nearly arrested that day. See, we had a long track record, even if the police department didn't know there was a connection between them. The only way to get an immunity deal is to prove you have information valuable enough to earn one. I had to tell them at least some of what we had done to even have it put on the table. I gave them details on five different cars we had stolen and fenced.

"Hillebrandt—the guy I was on the phone with the other day—was dismissive of me until then. He thought I was some useless twenty-something there to waste his time, to try to get a lesser charge for something I would be busted for anyway. He had no idea what I was bringing him.

"So yeah, he nearly arrested me that day. I was terrified. It took three tries to clearly convey what I knew. I was in the interrogation room for almost twelve hours waiting for an answer. Even then, the deal was only tentative and wasn't on paper. Stupid me went ahead and told them everything with nothing more than that promise. It was a miracle Hillebrandt followed through with it, even though it went no where in the end."

Ada held up a finger and took a long drink. Her throat was dry and scratchy. Coffee didn't help much, but it gave her a moment to gather her thoughts once more. Aidan was patient. He seemed slightly less tense when he reached for one of the sandwiches on the table. Ada cleared her throat before proceeding.

"It took a year to orchestrate everything. The more time passed, the more I thought it wasn't going to happen at all. It was the longest year of my life. They may not have been living at home then, but I saw them often enough. They came home for every long weekend, every break from school that they could manage. Every time, they made me go out with them.

"We moved away from theft when they went off to university and focused mainly on joyriding and fencing cars. I used to think it was because the jobs required little to no planning, but now I'm not so sure. I think they just liked the rush. They didn't even need me for those jobs, not really. Both of them can hot-wire a vehicle, and the fence is a friend of theirs, not mine. They brought me in case of trouble because I was the best driver under pressure. Charles was a close second, but he's not one to press the issue when cops are involved.

"When the date finally drew near, I planted the seeds for the job. There would be a car parked at the curb on a street in a nicer part of town, which they were to keep clear of officers. I had never been the one to suggest a job, so it was a bit of a challenge to make it seem natural. They're greedy, though; or maybe they never expected me to turn on them. I don't know for sure. In any case, they were on board.

"We found the car and Charles hot-wired it and drove. It was painless. I was so anxious the whole time. I thought for sure something would go wrong, and I would be caught. Charles and Jocelyn took turns driving for a few hours. Even though there were strict orders to not pull us over, I was terrified each time we saw a cruiser.

"Sure, they could have pulled us over and gotten them right then, but Hillebrandt had bigger plans. We had stolen a lot of cars and fenced them all to the same place. Turns out, the cops had their eye on it already but had no leads to get them inside. So yeah, they had bigger fish to fry than a few idiots stealing cars, they wanted the fence more.

"It was up to me to find a way to connect Charles and Jocelyn to the shop in question beyond reasonable doubt. Hillebrandt gave me a few ideas. In the end, I nicked a screwdriver with someone's name on it from the shop and hid it in Charles' jacket.

"Everything went perfectly. They got their payout, I got my measly cut, and we went home in relative silence. The police were to show up in the morning with a warrant to search the house and vehicles.

"What I didn't know was that Charles went out in the middle of the night to get smokes. His car had a flat he had yet to change, so he took his shitty truck. He had only gotten it recently so he could fix it up and sell it. The warrant the police came in with was for the house, my car, and his car. That was it. The jacket with the screwdriver was in his truck.

"Charles and Jocelyn were arrested that morning. The house was torn apart for evidence, and all three vehicles were collected for further searching. I didn't stick around long. I was out the door with my bags packed by dinner. I couldn't leave, or even go inside, until the search was completed.

"My parents were devastated. They kept asking questions, crying, and I couldn't give them a proper answer. I tried to, at first, but neither wanted to listen. It wasn't answers they wanted, it was an undo button.

"I hopped on a train that night and came to Montréal. I had planned ahead and gotten myself an apartment, the one I was in up until the winter. I thought everything was over. This was supposed to be a fresh start.

"Fast forward to January, I was at home after work when Charles showed up out of the blue. He didn't know I was home and I managed to get out of there unseen. That was the first I sign that something was seriously wrong. I had barely had contact with the people back home before that, especially not my parents, and I had heard nothing at all from the police department. I had assumed that meant everything was as it should be.

"I was wrong. I went back to Toronto to get answers. I told my parents not to let them contact me again, that I meant it. Whether or not they got it, I don't know. Until recently no one knew had moved from that apartment."

Ada paused for a breath, and Aidan raised a palm to cut in. His reactions had been minimal before that. "Hold on; how did he find you in the first place?"

"Our father," Ada sighed, pulling her feet up onto the couch. Her toes curled under against the chill. To her surprise, it felt good to get it all out there. She didn't know, or much care if it swayed Aidan at this point. It was just nice to have an ear. "When you and Sam met, I was in Toronto seeing my family and Hillebrandt. He had no way of contacting me once I left. It's not like I left a number. Okay, to be fair, he did have my email, but who checks that?"

Aidan's lip twitched, the closest to a smile she had seen from him in more than a week. "So when we picked you up from Montréal, you were just getting home from that?"

"Yes. I moved into the basement place just after. Things were fine from then until September."

Ada pursed her lips; did she go into what happened most recently? She had just told him, after al. But then again, she hadn't told him the full truth. On a deep breath, Ada began the mountainous retelling of her foolish attempt at a heist. This time, though, she spared absolutely no detail. She may not have to tell Aidan everything, but she wanted to. The secret was out there, she might as well get it off her chest completely.

When she described hitting the muck and hands closing around her throat, Aidan cut her off. "You told me that was your brother's doing."

Ada cringed. "Not the bruises, though maybe some. Charles choked me too, but with his forearm."

That was the last interruption. Ada told him the rest of it in as much detail, including everything she and Noah had done in the woods. She had to remind herself a few times that Aidan already knew what they had done, she wasn't spilling a secret. Still, he didn't know the details. When she explained draining the blood, Aidan blanched.

"What?" she paused her retelling.

Aidan shook his head. "I just didn't know he knew about that."

"I think it's safe to assume Noah knows a lot more than we think." She thought back to the times he caught onto her shifty behaviour when no one else had and couldn't help asking herself what else he might have picked up on. "Anyway, that's pretty much it. Since then, I gave Charles and Jocelyn the files and found out about the connection between the mine and their dealer friend. I haven't heard from them since, but they did return the missing file to Hillebrandt's last night, while he was home.

"And that's it. That's the whole of it. I don't think I left anything out this time, and if I did, it wasn't intentional, I swear." She sucked in a greedy breath. Her coffee was cool in her hands. "I really am sorry. I never meant to put him in danger."

Aidan had barely flinched when she told him about the knife and where she put it. She couldn't stop herself talking about the crunch of bone, nor the way his eyes became nothing more than decoration staring unblinking into her own before she pushed him off. Silence seeped in as he reached for another sandwich. He bit, chewed slowly, all the while staring out the living room window. As much as it pained her, Ada didn't rush him. For once, she couldn't think of a thing to say. For another, she had made her peace. All that was left was for him to decide what to do with the information. Whether or not he could forgive her, she was glad to have it off her chest. It was a small comfort.

If he couldn't, how would that affect her and Sam? They were like family. Even if, by some miracle, they could handle the strain, it would be nightmarish for Sam to juggle them separately. Could she ask that of her?

"I'll be honest with you," said Aidan, gaze still following movement in the street below. "I'm pissed. You lied to all of us, you put yourself in danger, as well as the rest of us. Do you know what would happen if Noah went to prison?"

As a matter of fact, she did have some idea. "He and I discussed it, yes."

"Then you understand that, should he be arrested, he or I would have to end his life."

Ada felt the colour drain from her face. "Um ... yes."

He assessed her from the corner of his eye. "He didn't tell you that part, did he?" When she shook her head, he sighed softly. "The risk is too great. At best, he would be in prison for life and in a constant fight for control of his wolf, and at worst we would have a massacre on our hands. More bitten folk than we've had in a century.

"If Noah goes to prison and doesn't do it, then I will. The publicity of a prison break and missing convict would be well worth the risk."

"Why not just break him out and let him live if it came to that?" She set down her mug as her stomach began to churn.

"And risk all of us being caught for harbouring him? No. My father was right, there can be no more ripples." Aidan glanced at her, then sighed, defrosting somewhat. "Look, it's not something to worry about. This is just a contingency plan. I take no pleasure in discussing, or considering, the death of my brother."

Ada nodded, both for his sake and her own. Their gazes drifted apart and silence returned. She wasn't sure what else to say. What could she?

Aidan cleared his throat softly. "I ... don't know what to say. I'm going to go for a walk, okay?"

"Sure."

This time, Aidan wasn't gone so long. Ada refreshed her coffee and settled in to watch more of that movie, whatever it was. She barely paid it any mind. Her thoughts were elsewhere, on the mess she had made, on Sam. She didn't want to lose anything she had gotten, but perhaps she had brought that upon herself.

Ada didn't hear him climb the steps, just the soft click of the front door opening. Aidan took his place again on the couch. Some of the tension had left him, and he regarded her openly.

"Okay, so I thought a lot about what you said." He gazed to the window for a moment as though gathering the rest of his thoughts; she rather thought the introduction was just to buy more time. "I have to be honest with you, I'm still angry. I can't just get over this in a snap."

"Of course." As alarming as it was, Ada was keenly aware of the unsaid 'but' in that sentence.

He sighed lightly. "I do understand, though. I'm not going to get over it right away, but I am going to forgive you. I will ... maybe I already do. I don't know."

"Thank you." She gave him a warm smile as hope and relief took hold.

Just then, Percy leaped onto the back of the couch, fur mussed from a long nap. He meowed at Aidan before headbutting his nearest shoulder. Aidan reached over to scratch Percy's head.

"I can't believe you stole my car," said Aidan, suppressing a chuckle.

"I broke into your apartment, too, to get the keys."

"Unbelievable."

Ada pulled a face in the mirror, assessing her outfit with scorn. In the end, she had gone with the vampire option. She couldn't think of anything better. Sam had shown her her outfit from the year before, but Ada wasn't one for skirts, let alone showing off her chest—though she wasn't complaining when Sam sent her pictures of that night. Ada had enough options in her own section of the closet.

Her old leather jacket was layered over a weathered The Distillers tee she had shredded into a tank top. In the back of the closet, she found a pair of jean from high school with large patches ripped out of the thighs and shins, from her skinny jean days. She rarely wore fitted pants anymore, but hey, it was Halloween. She squeezed into them and threw on a studded belt and a half-dozen chains. Her makeup was black and intentionally smeared down her cheeks in sharp but faded spikes. Her lips were a matte, inky black she hadn't worn for ages. And then, like a fool, she decided she might as well go back t the full punk she had been then and shaved half her eyebrows off, so they were sharp, pale, pointed drops.

Did she regret it? Yeah, kind of. She kept raising and lowering her eyebrows in the mirror, trying to consolidate seeing part of who she was smashed up with who she is. She did her best not to think of those days, and yet there she was, essentially replicating them.

On the other hand, she looked amazing. Ada had swapped out her eyebrow and nose ring for neon green ones. Her hair was half-up, half-down, the top in two sloppy buns. Like this, the rainbow was visible, and the multitude of studs and hoops in her ears shone in the bright washroom light. They were always there, but she often skipped wearing anything in her lobes out of sheer laziness. Not that night, though. She wore a series of four hoops from tiny to coin-sized, which took way too long to put in.

Ada was self-conscious as she emerged. There was no reason for it. She had worn this look, though a bit toned down, proudly for years. She still wore much of it. What was she so nervous of?

Sam glanced up from the vanity as she entered, and she froze, a huge grin overcoming her. "You look incredible! Here, I found the fake blood."

Ada leaned over her in the mirror and took the tube as she dabbed more white powder on her neck. She had dark cracks painted down her cheek, across her right eye, and over her brow. Long lashes made her doe eyes impossibly wide. Satisfied with the powder, she took a soft peach lipstick and drew a perfect, heart-shaped mouth over her whited-out lips. Just like a porcelain doll. Her eyes flitted to Ada's, and she smiled again.

"You're staring."

Ada grinned, trailing a hand down the back of Sam's neck. "Well I was just thinking, I'm not going to be able to kiss you at all tonight."

Confused, she glanced at Ada again, eyes locking on her inky lips. "Damn it."

Ada chuckled, at last opening the fake blood. She let one drop roll down her chin, then dabbed away the drip. It was hard to resist swiping it away as it tried. It felt like she had drooled.

The pub was exactly as tacky and exactly as overcrowded as she expected. Sam was eager, leading Ada by the hand inside. The little plastic fangs sealed to her eye teeth felt funny against her lips, and Ada kept prodding the dull points with her tongue. They were far from outlandishly dressed, and she quickly felt her anxiety disperse about her costume. A man in nothing more than a lion head and fur shorts was the first person she saw when the door opened. He was animatedly telling a story to his friends, though she couldn't hear a thing over the din.

Drinks in hand, Sam led her through the crowd, scanning tables and booths as she went. The middle of the room had been cleared of tables and chairs to allow room for dancing. It's not like there were clubs in a town this small. Ada stumbled to keep up as Sam suddenly turned, bee-lining for a table in the corner. Then she saw them. Carson was, she guessed, his NPC (non-playable character) merchant character from their D&D campaign, just based on his notorious two eye patches. One was flipped up, though, to allow him to see. Charlotte was a little more niche: her costume, if Ada was right, was Fox from the third Friday the 13th film. She had pinned her curls to appear shorter and had a folded red bandana across her forehead. Beside her, Shelly was a Silent Hill nurse, sans weapon. The bandages around her face were parted to allow her to drink. They greeted Sam and Ada cheerfully, and they exchanged compliments.

"Carson, are you dressed as Mr. Doug Douglas?" Yes, that was the character's name, and yes, you did have to call him Mr. Doug Douglas or he wouldn't sell you anything.

"You betcha'!" he exclaimed in the character's weirdly nasal voice, then laughed, unable to maintain it for long. It was his favourite character to portray. He couldn't fight or join the party, but Carson was building a whole backstory for him anyway.

"Where are Aidan and Noah?" asked Shelly as they took their seats.

"Home sick." Sam managed a rueful smile.

Once they got over their disappointment, fun set in. Sam and Ada had had wine while getting ready, and Ada was fairly sure the others had done something similar. Charlotte taught them a drinking game she learned from a tv show. It was silly, but the more they drank, the more ridiculous it became.

Around half-past nine, Sam was getting jittery. Her leg bounced on the rim of her stool under the table. When no one was paying attention, Ada placed a hand on her knee.

"You okay?"

She nodded. "I have to go soon."

Smiling, Ada tossed back the last of her drink and took her hand. "Dance with me, then?"

Sam excused them, and Ada led her out to the mass of people. Surrounded by strangers with only music in her ears, Ada left her worries bleed away. Space was limited, forcing them together regardless of the tempo. Her frilly, layered dress smelled strange, sweet, like the shop she had found it in. Her hair was done in perfect ringlets which bounced as she moved. She peered at Ada from under her lashes. Even under all that makeup, Ada could tell when her cheeks flushed.

"What?" Ada murmured, half-smiling as she took Sam by the waist.

Her cheeks dimpled on a grin. "You look really hot."

It didn't happen often, but Ada felt heat creep across her cheeks, and she knew she was blushing. She gave her a smile and said, "This is doing it for you?"

Rather than shy away, Sam met her gaze fully. Her face was inches from Ada's own. She nodded.

"You know, I'm really regretting my lipstick choice right now."

Sam smirked and dabbed Ada's lip with her finger; it came away a thin, splotchy black. "Damn."

Just as she opened her mouth to reply, Ada's phone buzzed in a distinct heartbeat pattern she had assigned to two numbers only. She froze, and Sam glanced away from her face to the buzzing in her jacket pocket. Ada fished it out, glanced at the screen, then tilted it toward her.

Charles.

Their gazes locked. Sam found her hand and tipped her head toward the table, purpose bright in her eyes. Ada answered and shouted for him to hold on, then hit mute. Sam leaned over the table, fingers laced in Ada's.

"We have to go, Ada isn't feeling well."

Everyone glanced at Ada, and Charlotte said, "Oh, no, I hope it isn't whatever they've got."

Ada shrugged. "I sure hope not."

They hurried to the door and Sam went to retrieve her jacket. Ada told her she would be right outside and then unmuted the call, shouldering the door open.

"Sorry, it's crowded in there," Ada said en lieu of a greeting. "Are you still there?"

"I'm here." Charles gave an exaggerated yawn. "Where are you?"

"The pub."

"Are you drunk right now?"

Ada shrugged to no one. "Yeah, kind of."

Ada wasn't the only one outside, but she didn't want to go too far without Sam. Small clusters of people were huddled near the door, smoking and chatting about nonsense. Ada tucked her free hand inside her jacket to keep warm. Her breath fogged, catching the light.

"Whatever, it's fine." He sighed, and as he did, the door swung open again. Sam rushed to her as Ada put the phone on speaker and held up a finger to be quiet. "Simon wants to talk to you. I thought it was only fair I give you some heads up. We'll be there in two days."

"What? No, hell no, you're not coming back here." Sam and Ada shared a look over the phone. "You sold me out?"

"Hey, I did what I had to do, okay? You promised a payout, and I told him about it. I had to give him a reason why you wouldn't be helping with the old job. Then you went and burned it down,"—Ada glanced around to make sure no one had heard that—"so of course he was going to figure it out. This is as much your fault as anyone."

Ada rolled her eyes. "You still can't admit when something is your fault, eh?"

"Oh, shut up. Do you ever get tired of being so preachy?"

"Not really. You lot had better not show up at my place, not in two days, not tomorrow, not ever."

He laughed dryly. "Or what?"

"You're not the only one with dangerous friends," said Sam, to Ada's utter surprise. Sam smashed the end call button as Ada gaped at her. "What? Your brother's a dick."

Ada couldn't have cared less about her makeup then and kissed her deeply.