~Wesley~

There were a lot of things that Wesley enjoyed. But all of them were trumped by the days spent up in the mountains, Abby by his side. Thank god her finals were over. They had gone on forever. He thought she had been stressed when they first met, but that was completely overshadowed by the level of stress she had been under lately. But now, they were finally back at Alex's house. Sitting by the roaring fire, he sighed contentedly as she stood in the kitchen, talking to Tori.

Everything was as it should be, finally.

After arriving back in Seattle early that morning, Wesley and Alex had helped Abby grab her things, before heading back to their home. With the vampires on some sort of rampage, Wesley didn't want Abby anywhere near the city. They knew there had to be a connection to the current murders and the murders of the witches back in October. But they hadn't figured out what that connection was yet. He and Alex had been throwing thoughts back and forth, but nothing seemed to fit. Warren and Kyle were on their way back from L.A., trying to gather intel from the wolf pack in that area. They hadn't been able to find out anything useful from the Denver pack, but it had been worth a shot.

Alex was going to be flying out to New York soon, to meet to his friend, the Head Alpha of New York. Something was going horribly wrong, and the werewolves were trying to stop it before the humans got to close.

As Abby's laugh filled the room, Wesley smiled softly to himself. The people most important to him were safe, that's all that mattered at the end of the day. A small hand snaked around his neck, laying flat on his chest.

Turning his head, he met Abby's eyes as she peered over the couch at him. She smiled before leaning down on her other arm, "Kyle just texted Tori, they left Seattle a few minutes ago. We were thinking of meeting them in town for dinner since Alex is busy."

Glancing towards the hallway, and the closed office door, Wesley sighed. Alex had been so focused lately, more so than Wesley could ever remember him being. It wasn't a bad thing, but he worried about his adopted father. Alex hadn't been in the kitchen much since the murders started.

Turning back to Abby, Wesley nodded. "Sounds like a good plan."

"Perfect." She placed a quick kiss to his forehead before pushing off the couch. He watched as she and Tori disappeared up the stairs, probably to change into something other than jeans and flannel shirts for dinner. He sighed, glancing down at his own red flannel shirt and jeans. To heck with it, it was way too cold to put on a nicer button-down shirt. It wasn't like they were eating anywhere nice anyway. The Connel's restaurant in Buern was a small family owned place. His jeans and flannel would fit in just fine.

Glancing again at Alex's office door, Wesley pushed himself off the couch and headed over. Knocking firmly before opening the door, he peered in. He was thankful that werewolves didn't grow gray hair, because he was fairly sure that his father would have had a few strands peppering his dark brown hair. Bent over his desk, Alex had his cell phone pinched between his shoulder and ear. A thoughtful look on his face, his eyes hard and focused on whatever was laid out on the wood surface.

Stepping inside, Wesley shut the door quietly behind him before walking over to the desk. There was a map of the country laid out, with red dots in a number of cities. The murders. He was marking where they were happening. There was also a small map of Seattle to one side, marked up with a few dots, too.

"Yes, Ira. I understand. I'll be in touch."

Wesley looked up as Alex hung up his phone, dropping it to the desk with a huff. He sat down in his chair with a sigh, scrubbing a hand down his face.

Wesley glanced at him as he sat on the edge of the desk, "Ira Abrams? From New York City?"

Alex nodded, gesturing at the map. "They just found another murdered woman. Vampire."

Looking at the map, Wesley shook his head. "That's four this week. And one of those was a group of victims."

Grunting, Alex leaned onto the desk. "I'll be leaving in a couple of days...I don't know if I can be of any help, but I have to try. Warren will be back soon, too."

"Actually, that's why I came in. We're going to meet them in town for dinner tonight. Did you want us to bring you anything?"

Alex glanced at the clock on the wall above the fireplace, sighing heavily. When he looked back at Wesley, he couldn't remember the last time he had seen Alex look so tired. "Yes, I suppose so...whatever you have will be fine."

Wesley touched the map, "Why don't you take a break...come with us? You've been locked in here for hours, ever since we got back."

He watched as Alex thought about it, his eyes searching over the map. After a moment, he shook his head, just like Wesley had been expecting. "No, I need to make a few phone calls. You and girls go, have a good time." And with that, Alex went back to his work. Scribbling notes on a piece of paper, making another dot in New York.

It had been like that for weeks. Wesley would try to get Alex out of his office, but it seldom worked. It was a miracle if he got him to think of anything other than the murders.

With a nod, Wesley slid his hand off the desk and walked to the door. Taking one last look at his father, he left the office. Maybe there would be some blueberry muffins left at the bakery when they got into town.

She was dressed in leggings, boots, and an oversized navy blue sweater. The color made her hair even brighter, if that was possible. And her eyes seemed impossibly alive that night. Wesley always thought she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. But sometimes, all it took was a different sweater, and he was blown away all over again. And other times, it reminded him that she wasn't fully human. Only a Faye had eyes that vibrant.

They were sitting in the restaurant, waiting for Kyle and Warren to get there. They had left too early, he had known that. But then Tori had wanted to stop at the little boutique across the street, so early was a good thing. If it wasn't for Abby pulling her away, Tori probably would've looked around for hours.

"There's my three favorite people!"

Turning at Kyle's voice, Wesley smiled as he walked over and clapped a hand on his shoulder. Then tossing his arms around a waiting Tori. Warren came next, bending down to kiss Abby's cheek before clapping Wesley's other shoulder. "Sorry we're late, the mountain pass is getting a little sketchy. Glad you got up here today, Abby. We're supposed to get more snow overnight."

Abby smiled, resting her hand on Wesley's knee under the table. "I'm happy to be back too. Glad you guys got through okay."

Kyle walked around the table to kiss her cheek too, and Wesley was acutely aware of how much he had missed his pack brothers. Not to mention no other men could ever get that close to Abby without losing their heads.

"Eh, Warren is an expert driver in the snow, no need to worry. But man, am I hungry!"

Tori laughed, resituating herself at the table. "You're always hungry."

Sitting between Abby and Warren, Kyle winked. "Well, yes. But that's beside the point."

Warren looked across the table at him, smiling softly at Kyle first, before looking at Wesley. "No Alex?"

Sighing, Wesley shook his head. "I tried...but no. We got some blueberry muffins from the bakery though, and I'll order him dinner to go." Concern crossed Warren's face before he nodded.

~~Abby~~

As Abby followed the boys towards the front door, a particularly harsh breeze hit her face. If it wasn't for Tori at her back, Abby would've fallen back a few steps. As it was she turned away from it, trying to hide her face behind her hood, but something just beyond the piled snow caught her eye.

Rising from the snow, a small aspen sapling came out of nowhere. Abby knew for a fact that trees didn't grow that fast. It didn't stop reaching for the sky until it reached her shoulders. Branches sprouted, bright green leaves so out of place in the December cold, sprang forth. When the last leaf uncurled, the whole tree gave a shake in the breeze.

Holding her breath, Abby stared at the tree, afraid to move a muscle. She didn't even look to see if the guys had stopped walking, wondering where she had gone. Tori stood frozen beside her, her eyes locked on the tree as well.

Trees didn't just grow out of the snow in seconds. Not without a little help, anyway.

Tentatively, Abby reached out a hand. The closest branch was only a few inches away from her outstretched arm. As her fingers brushed the underside of the closest leaf, the branch shook. Snapping her hand back, Abby glanced to her right.

The guys stood there, Kyle's hand on the door to the house. They were watching her, concern and confusion etched on all three faces. She could feel Wesley's concern flow through her - he knew she was afraid.

Turning back to the tree, she stood in silence as the leaf she touched changed. It grew to three times its original size and curled in on itself. The bright green color shifted to brown and then beige. In moments, a rolled-up scroll sat perched on the end of the branch. A wax seal holding it together.

Snow crunched as Wesley came to stand beside her. When he was behind her, his hand resting on her shoulder, she could feel the heat of his body through her coat. "That's the seal of the Faye" His voice was hushed, as if he was afraid to break whatever magic they had just witnessed.

She took a step away from him, bringing herself face to branch with the scroll. Up close, she could make out a vast tree with far branching roots, etched into the red wax. With a deep breath, Abby reached out and pulled the scroll from the tree.

The weight of the paper was barely in her hand before the leaves on the tree yellowed before her eyes. But they didn't stop there. Yellow turned to brown, and as she watched the leaves fall to the snow-covered ground, the tree began to shrink. Back into the snow from where it came. A strong wind wiped through the yard, taking the brown leaves with it. Within seconds, no evidence of the tree remained.

Silence descended on the yard, only the wind whistling through made any sound.

"What. Was. That?!" Abby turned to see Kyle still standing by the door, his hand on the doorknob. The shock on his face was enough to make laughter bubble up in her chest.

Wesley's hand shifted to her back then. Peering over her shoulder, he said. "We should probably go inside."

Nodding her head, Abby looked at the yard one last time. If it wasn't for the others, who had seen the tree too, she would have thought she imagined it.

"Alright, I can't wait anymore. Open it." Standing across the kitchen island from her, Kyle wrang his hands nervously. Abby couldn't remember ever seeing the werewolf look so on edge. Even when facing down a warlock, Kyle had seemed unphased.

The scroll still clasped in her hands, Abby glanced at Wesley beside her. With a one-armed shrug, he said, "Alex's is on another phone call, he could be a while...I'm with Kyle. Let's see what the Faye want."

Although a part of her wanted to wait until Alex was there too, she also wasn't sure she wanted to know what was inside. Turning from the kitchen Abby focused on Warren, standing by the roaring fireplace. He hadn't said a word since the tree had appeared. Tori stood to her other side, hands resting on the marble countertop. Her eyes staring at the scroll.

"Warren, what do you think?" Although Abby had full trust in both Wesley and Kyle, the oldest werewolf in the room had earned her respect over the last few months. His opinion mattered to her.

With his arms crossed over his broad chest, Warren turned from the fire and raised a brow. "I think we should be waiting for Alex."

Figuring that would be the response, Abby sighed. "I know...but do you think we should be ignoring a message from the Faye?"

Warren chuckled, his arms falling to his sides. "Abigail, the Faye don't view time the same way we do. We don't even know if they realize the message hasn't been opened yet."

Looking down at the scroll in her hands, a chill went up her spine. She was fairly certain they knew. Magic was a tricky thing, she knew that much already. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that whoever sent the message would know when it was received.

Beside her, Wesley sighed. "Warren, you know I agree with you. But I also agree with Abby." She watched as he ran a hand through his hair. "I think we should open it."

All eyes shifted to Warren, who shrugged his shoulders at the attention. "Well, then don't look at me. I'm not the Alpha."

Taking a deep breath, Abby looked up at Wesley's face. Searching for the comfort of those crystal blue eyes. His lips quirked up in the corners, and he nodded his head briefly. Another deep breath and she broke the seal on the scroll with a finger.

Abigail Reed is requested, by the

Council of Faye Elders,

To be at The High Forest come

The eighteenth day of the twelfth month.

The wolf may accompany.

Sincerely,

Elder Neirdre

With Wesley reading over her shoulder, Abby read the message aloud - after reading it four times herself, first. The Council wanted to see her. The Faye Council had sent a message directly to her, through magic. And she had exactly three days to travel to The High Forest. She didn't even know where The High Forest was!

"Abby..." Wesley's hand was on her shoulder again, squeezing gently.

Forcing herself to take a deep breath, Abby looked at Kyle, then Warren, and finally Wesley. "What do we do?"

Wesley tilted his head to the side, one shoulder rising in a shrug. "Well, I doubt it would end well for us if we ignored the Council's request."

Warren moved to the kitchen island, sliding up between Tori and Kyle. The three wolves shared a look before Warren looked back at Abby and Wesley. "Wesley is right, Abby. You have to go, both of you."

Looking at her friends around her, and trying to take comfort in the weight of Wesley's hand on her shoulder, Abby read the words once again.
Something told her that they had finally figured out where Lord Elazar had disappeared too.