Everyone seemed to have found something to be busy about, she noticed, watching as Luke kicked leaves into a pile, then kicked the pile to continue piling them up. She rolled her eyes.

She shook her head when her friends made a move to walk up to her, halting them as she looked at her side, where Daphne sat, and said pointedly, "I think we need to have a talk."

The blonde nodded, a sorrowful look in her eyes as she rose and nodded for her to follow. Zack was at her heels, head hung low as they wound through the forest. Once confident they were far enough to have some privacy, Daphne stopped. Her wolf paced, watching with growing interest, if a bit impatient.

"Ask your questions," Daphne said.

Val thought for a moment. She had so many, but after all this time of waiting, she didn't know where to start. So she began with what she saw in that dream.

"Marcus killed them, didn't he?" Val asked, leaning back against a tree. She needed all the support she could get. She knew the answer, of course, but she needed this. To hear it clearly.

Daphne nodded, jaw clenching. "We think so, yes."

"We didn't know," Zack said before she had a chance to ask. "We would never have taken you there if we did, and he'd long be dead." The last words came out in a low, promising growl. Claws ripped out of his fingers, retracting with great effort. He looked at her, and she could almost see his wolf snarling through his blazing eyes.

"But you must have suspected," she stated, thinking back to that clearing.

"She did," —Zack nodded to Daphne— "but we had no proof. We didn't know..." He choked on the words, gritting his teeth. "It's against our nature to betray our packs, and as an Alpha—"

"He's no Alpha!" Val snarled, feeling the hair grow on the back of her head. She reigned in her anger, aware of who she was truly mad at.

Zack flinched; his throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.

"We couldn't be sure before, and that was the best place I could think to take you at the time," Daphne cut in, brows drawn. "Everywhere else was already compromised."

"Is that why we kept moving?" A nod. "How did it start? Who were they?"

Her mother's name was Evelyn Bennet, daughter of the Alphas in charge of the pack Marcus currently ruled over. When she was very young, the pack warriors had been sent out to help a smaller pack when they were attacked by rogues. They had all been massacred. The rogues had been too great in number and their pack was so small...

Everyone had died; but they managed to rescue a little boy, still running from a sickly wolf.

Marcus.

He was the sole survivor, and since no one was left to take care of him, her parents took him in. They grew up together, learned to spar together, shifted together; and after a while, Evelyn got permission to leave the pack grounds. There was something pulling at her, she'd said, and followed where her instincts pointed.

Marcus had wanted to follow but she didn't let him, thirsty for the kind of freedom only solitude could quench. So she left, and she traveled, and she ended up in a big city called New Orleans, wandering through its busy streets.

Daphne had first met her there when she entered their small shop and asked for wolfsbane to 'have some fun'. Moira had chided the girl, blabbering about how dangerous it was, especially when there was no one there to keep an eye on her. Val wanted to smile, but she'd heard of a story similar to that, and the people in it had only had fun for a short while.

Moira and Allen gave her a place to stay on the condition that she helped around the shop; It didn't take much time for Daphne and Eve to grow close. They had been inseparable.

Eve stayed with them for a little over a year, and they'd all been devastated when her parents called her back. Thankfully, they weren't far away enough that they couldn't meet often, so they ended up going back and forth for a few months. Daphne had met Marcus there for the first time, but he spent most of his time training and scouting around their territory, making sure everything was safe. Val bristled at that. That prick cared for no one but himself, she wanted to growl.

Then Eve found her mate, Christian White, just after her parents had announced that she was to take over the pack soon. Daphne had smiled when she talked about it, a sad thing that more hurt than helped to see. He was strong, and his parents had been taking him with them to gain experience before he, too, took over their small pack.

"I had never seen him so happy." Zack's voice shook, his mouth stretching but not quite forming a smile. "Never so passionate about something other than protecting the members of his small pack."

"How did you know him?" Val grunted through a clenched jaw, desperately trying to hold back the tears that blurred her vision. Her throat tightened.

They had been friends, and when Chris joined Eve's pack he decided to cross over with him. Chris had begged his parents for a merge, tried to convince them about how much safer it would be from the rogues that constantly attacked them. They were no easy prey, but numbers had a way of tipping the scale in the rogues' direction.

It wasn't until Eve was pregnant that the pack truly started to face serious problems; when the number of rogues kept rising and they started to have more casualties.

Daphne's voice cooled, thoughtfulness crossing her features. "Your mother's wolf kept getting more and more restless as time passed, and I don't know the specifics of who they were, or how she knew them, but your mother contacted a shaman." She gave a tired glance. "She told us about you, about Elijah; all that she was told. And she was scared, Val. For you." Hot tears were spilling down their cheeks, all three of them. She hadn't noticed when they'd started.

She'd known Daphne well enough to not be surprised by the sudden burst, but seeing Zack like that sent a pang in her chest. They had had each other to talk to, even before Val knew the truth; but Zack... He must have really loved him. And he must have been so very lonely...

They needn't hide their tears when it was just them. They were in a safe space — their space — and they could let their emotions out freely. No one would pity them. No one would judge.

They were a family mourning.

"The dreams you've been having are of the night of your birth," Daphne said, looking like she hated the words that came out of her mouth. "I'd given your mother a way out — to me. Just in case she ever needed it." Her fingers twitched; she moved over to Val. "This—" she brushed her thumb over the mark on her collarbone, "happened that night. You showed up in my room, crying hysterically, with blood running down your body from the wound."

"He tried to kill me." It wasn't a question. Her lips curled back, cheeks burning still. The mark heated on her skin, as if teasing her with its foul existence.

"I found out what happened the next day. Marcus" — she spat — "was too busy piecing the pack back together to tell me himself." She paused, eyes darkening. "Though I heard he was very sad."

Val clenched her fists, half of her trying to put everything in order, and the other half trying to keep her wolf from shredding through her skin. They didn't need that right now, and she snarled so in her mind.

"But how could he not know who I was?" asked Val, brows drawn in confusion.

Daphne winced. She crossed her hands over her chest and dropped her gaze. Then she switched to hugging herself, hands clamped tightly over her arms and nails digging into the skin. "The only thing we could do was make him think you were dead." Val looked between them, the looks they exchanged. Zack was the one to elaborate.

"She contacted me that day. We thought the best way to hide you would be for everyone to think you dead, even Marcus." She shuddered, the cold caress of the hands in the black mist raking her body once more. Daphne opened her mouth to continue.

"A witch in our town had just died at birth along with her child, a little girl no bigger than you were." Val stilled, the air suddenly leaving her lungs. "Making her smell like you wasn't difficult but your wound..." She was looking at the ground, throat bobbing, chin shaking. "We gave her up instead, let them burn the remains in your stead..."

Bile rose in her throat.

"You gave him a dead baby?" she gasped. "How could you...How—"

She lurched back and dropped to her knees, emptying her stomach behind the tall tree. Zack was there to pull back her hair while Daphne tucked the loose strands behind her ears. She gagged, dropping her head and sobbing; her whole body shook.

Death seemed to surround her wherever she was, whenever she was. People close to her sacrificed themselves without a thought, hopeful, and achieving nothing. Her death solved nothing, so what could she do? What could she give?

"I'm sorry," Daphne whispered. She could see her lips wobble, the tears that dropped from her face and dampened the ground with small dots. "I'm so sorry, Val."

She shrank back into them, angry tears streaming down her cheeks.

Her collarbone burned.

*****

Val twisted on the uncomfortable bed with an irritated sound.

Zack had mind-linked someone to gather everyone and return while in the forest; for which she was grateful. She didn't want anyone seeing her like that. That was not what they needed of her.

They had stayed there for a while, talking, making everything clear to her — swearing that they'd never keep anything from her ever again. She didn't know what time it was when they finally got back, but everyone was already in their rooms, sleeping. She looked to her left.

For some reason, even after all that had happened, Damian had chosen the bed right next to hers. She thought that maybe her friends had a hand in that but she knew if he really didn't want to, he would have found another place to sleep. With a deep breath, she got on her feet, making sure she didn't make a sound as she made her way to the kitchen.

Val slowed her pace the closer she got. His scent was everywhere, lingering in the corridors, but the closer she got to the kitchen, the stronger it got. Her wolf howled in her mind, pushing — urging.

When she passed the threshold he was already looking in her direction, eyes glowing that striking gold and blue. He didn't say anything, but his shoulders were tense under the black shirt he was wearing, and his fingers twitched by his sides before he curled them into fists. She took a step forward. His eyes dropped to her feet in what she thought was surprise. Did he think she was going to turn around and leave?

She almost wanted to laugh at that. You always run, she thought to herself bitterly and made her way to the fridge. Filling a glass up with some orange juice, she sat at one of the chairs surrounding the large table, hands fumbling over the smooth markings like she'd find the words she needed to say there.

Evan sat on the chair next to her, careful to keep some distance between them as he placed a glass of water on the table and turned his body toward her. When she turned, she lost some of the fight with her wolf. Thin threads of gold shimmered and glowed in her eyes, regarding him with as much interest as they did fear.

"You're David's son," she finally said, her voice sounding strained and stupid in her ears.

He was still tense, she noticed, when he smiled. "It depends on what he's said about me." His voice was soft but strong. She wanted to hear it again.

"Nothing, really." She forced a laugh, chiding herself. Relax, she thought; relax. "We didn't have much time on the road."

He stared at her a little shyly, not quite able to stop his hands from making some kind of movement. "I guess it's more fun to find out for yourself," he laughed, cutting it short with a stammer, "I mean if you... If—" He let loose a deep breath and covered his face with a hand, laughing incredulously. "I'm sorry. This all is..."

"Weird," Val filled in for him. He nodded, dropping his hand back to his lap.

"I didn't know how it all...worked. I've never felt — I can barely control my wolf right now," he chuckled. The gold and blue in his grey eyes flared, as if in answer.

"I'm having problems with that as well." She shrugged with a small smile. "I won't judge."

Evan nodded his head. "David told me about that. It will probably get easier as you go; she won't be staying in the shadows anymore." He rubbed at the back of his head with a nervous smile. "It's been a while since I first shifted, but I could help with that as well. My wolf is both on edge and relaxed when close to you..." color tinted his cheeks. "If it's the same with yours, maybe we can use that to our advantage."

Val brought the glass to her lips and took a big gulp, if only to gain a few more seconds to piece her thoughts together. It was strange, this — connection — between them. It felt like things just kept piling up one after the other, and before she had the chance to get used to one, something new came up and scattered her thoughts again.

"A while..." she finally murmured, avoiding a direct answer. "How long has it been? Are you like him — immortal?"

"Like you," he corrected. "Maybe not right now, but when you have your full power back, you'll be like us, immortal."

"And that's if we get rid of Elijah first?"

"When," he confirmed. Then he thought for a moment and said, "I know this is all new to you, and I know it's scary, but we won't let anything happen to you this time." His eyes darkened with determination. "He won't win."

"Why do you still try? I heard enough from David to know many of you have died already. Jake died." She closed her eyes; she had no more tears to shed. "Why do you still risk it? You could have a good life."

David said they'd mourned Jake in their own way. He said he'd be remembered, always, for his sacrifice.

Val bit her lip.

There was a soft touch on her cheek, gone the next second. She opened her eyes.

Evan's hand was hovering halfway between them before he dropped it back down. "We are bonded to you, forever," he said. "We feel it when you're hurt, every time you come back, and every time you..." He shook his head, looking at his hands. "It feels like our heart is being ripped from our chest when we lose you." He glanced up then, a smile stretching his lips. "But when we're with you, it feels like we're finally where we belong. We feel happy, complete. We can't be without you," he whispered, "the alternative is too painful to consider."

"That sounds like a punishment," Val said, remembering the story David had told her of Serene — of the Moon Goddess.

"You'd think so," Evan chuckled. "But no." His eyes were warm when he looked at her, welcoming. The gold dimmed, and the blue blended in perfectly with the grey before it, too, subsided. "If we wished to, we could sever our link. There would be nothing connecting us, and we could go on with our lives as we want."

"Then why don't you?" she asked, the real question written all over her face. Why do you waste yourselves on me?

"Because we've seen how it is to be by your side," he said, "and we're not willing to compromise with anything less."

They see something every time that makes them want to fight, Sam's words whispered in her mind. I, for one, can see it.

She shook the thoughts away, wondering how far hopeful talking would get them.

She stilled when he caught her hand with his, a thumb caressing her fingers. Fire rose wherever he touched, and she watched him struggle with it as well as he continued, "I know this situation is... confusing to you," he said softly, "but please don't give up on this without experiencing it first. If you want him—"

She pressed her other hand over his, stopping his movements. "You're right, this is confusing. But I'm not going to just reject you, Evan." She saw the tension leave his shoulders, and he almost sagged in his chair from the relief. "I know what that does to a werewolf; I just... I need to clear everything in my head first."

"I can wait," he said, pulling his hand free. His smile didn't seem as forced when he got up. She realized, with a start, that he'd been expecting her to reject him. And yet he gave her space when she needed it, and he waited patiently as he answered her questions. All the while expecting her to hurt him. Her chest tightened. "I think my father will take you out to train in the morning. You better rest."

Val, feeling lighter than she had for a while, got on her feet and smiled.