The air around me was thick, almost foggy. I could hear people crying in the next room and moved past them. I entered the hallway leading to the kitchen and opened the door into a white hallway, Endor Hills Hospital. As I slowly made my way through the halls, I came upon a large door.

I pushed the door open and moved inside the room. I was stricken with an overwhelming sense of dread and fear. I noticed there was someone laying in the bed and moved towards the person. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't see the face of the person.

The face of the person started becoming clearer. As I began to recall the face, a blinding light hit me and I was thrown back.

I sat up in my bed and looked around, drowning in sweat. Not a good start.

                                                        *************************

The next morning, I stumbled into the kitchen as Mother was cooking breakfast. Dad was standing next to her and they were bickering about something. I couldn't hear them and before I could try to piece together what they were saying, they noticed me and stopped.

I ignored them before putting my messenger bag on the table and moved to the counter and grabbed the bag to bagels. As inserted the bagels into the toast and popped the button down, I noticed that the room was quiet still. They were staring at me again. Finally, with annoyance, I turned to them.

"You're my parents, do I really have to tell you how rude it is to stare?" I asked as I folded my arms over my chest, "What's with you two? You're not being annoying this morning. Hell freeze over?"

"There's something-"

"Alan..." My mother warned.

"We promised that we'd be honest with him." Dad said dismissively. Shades of their old relationship were staring to show, "There's been an incident with your brother's grave."

The air went out of my chest, "Someone vandalized it? Why-"

"No, honey, someone dug him up." Mother said as she moved to me and put her hand on my shoulder. The act of kindness didn't get rebuffed for the first time in a long time. It seemed to put her at ease, "I'd be an idiot not to ask if maybe you..." She trailed off, leading me to her point.

"No, I didn't attempt a resurrection spell." I snapped. I saw the look on her face and corrected myself, "I thought about it but the last thing he said to me was, through a woman, and it was that I need to stop trying to bring him back and live."

"What woman?" Dad asked.

"An old friend of his, Astrid." I said, wondering if I said too much. They exchanged glances before their attention returned to me, "She's a medium. Psychic like him."

"When did this girl come to you?" Mom asked.

"It doesn't matter. He left."

"Left?" Mom asked.

"Disappeared."

"Of course. I need to go lay down." She said as she passed by me.

My father stood in place, his expression telling me that he was feeling the same way she was. He'd never admit it but he was just as emotional as she was. He just liked to make the 'difficult' decisions.

"Do you remember who Astrid was? I mean..." Dad seemed to be leading to a point.

The bagels popped up behind and I grabbed them. I placed them on a plate and turned my attention to my father again.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

"I need you to do a locator spell." Dad blurted.

My eyes widened, "Did-Am I hearing you right? You want me to do magic?" I chortled.

"Just to find your brother." Dad frowned, "Or his-"

"Okay, sure. But whatever you're thinking, I so want in." I said quickly, "Deal-breaker."

"Fine. It's Saturday." Dad agreed. I nearly fell out. He was actually saying yes? That whole Hell thing was in question. Dad quickly added, "You do what I say exactly when I say it. And if you die, take me with you because your mother's wrath is worse than any death I know."

"Even the ones involving genitals."

"Especially those." Dad said as he looked past me, "I'm going to get some stuff together. Looks like you got some things to wrap up." He said moving out of the room.

I turned to the door to see David standing outside. He looked as if he were thinking about something as I swung open the door. He quickly moved into the house and pecked me on the lips. Without a word, he stood in front of me.

"Seriously? A peck and no words?" I asked. I sighed and moved to the table, sneaking a map out of my messenger bag. The map had a gigantic hole in the middle where an abundance of supernatural energy had occurred the night before. I specified the type of supernatural activity: lycanthropy. He smiled as I handed it to him and I smiled over at him, "Be careful. I would ask you not to go but I'm not an idiot. I can't go with you."

"What? Why not?" He asked.

I sighed, "Don't' freak out but someone dug up my brother." I said calmly.

"You okay?" He asked. I nodded and he stared at me with understanding, "What are you up to?"

"Locator spell and my father is letting me go with him." I explained, "This isn't something I want him to do on his own."

"I understand." David said pulling me into a long, rough kiss. He pulled away and smiled at me, "If you need anything, call me."

"That goes both ways." I said as he moved towards the door. I watched as he left and let the breath that I was holding go.

                                                          *************************  

David moved through the forest nervously. He was interested in little else but finding out the truth behind his lycanthropy. If Perry was right and there was a pack of werewolves, surely one of them had turned him. He needed to know, if only to put to rest the death in that night.

His life had been odd since that night, even before then. The only thing he felt truly at peace with was his relationship with Perry. Without Perry, he probably wouldn't be as close as he is to finding the answers he needed.

David's pristine family hadn't been keen on Perry or any of the complications that David being in a relationship him caused. Though they were okay with his relationship, he could tell that they were a bit unnerved by the situation, much like his friends, sans Parker. Perry seemed nervous about it too. David never regretted his decision to admit his feelings. Perry just might be the person David would spend the rest of his life with and he'd be okay with that.

David often wondered if Perry thought the same. Though Perry seemed to love him, there were moments when he was beyond hard-to-love. Perry seemed to handle it flawlessly and David couldn't help but think how thankful he was that Perry didn't write him off.

The only thing that still lingered in David's mind was the night he'd become a werewolf. He often asked himself if it was by accident or some more nefarious plot. He also wondered why it was him that was bitten and not the girl? Or anyone else. The twist of fate that turned him into a werewolf also seemed like the biggest question of his life.

As David came upon a clearing, he noticed a man standing beside a fire pit. David immediately recognized the man.

"Uncle Max?" He asked.

The elder Gilbert turned to him and smiled, "You made it, nephew!" He said as he wrapped his arms around his nephew.

                                                          *************************  

The locator spell led my father and I to one of the campuses of U Mass. My father seemed more determined than usual while I felt a little at odds with this. Whoever took my brother's body brought it all the way to Boston. They obviously weren't witches. Taking the body away from supernatural tethers would be ignorant. Salem, for obvious reasons, seemed to be a hub for the supernatural. I immediately ruled out my ancestors.

My father let a theory go that he suspected Astrid of trying some sort of séance or worse, resurrection. His theory had credence, though Astrid didn't seemed to want to be in the middle of the dance we were doing. My father was reluctant to discount his theory and I let him have his theory.

When we made it to campus, I noticed dot on the map was moving. The body was moving. We parked and walked the streets of Boston until we were but a few yards from the body. I grew worried because the area was highly populated, most from the abundance of stores and restaurants. We were across the street from a café when we realized something wasn't right.

"Dad, this can't be right. Maybe I screwed up the spell?" I said stuffing the map into my bag. I let out a sigh, "There's no way they're hauling a body through downtown with no one noticing."

My father's attention had been away from me, "No...no one is hauling his body around. It's moving itself." He pointed towards the café.

My gaze followed his hand and my eyes almost exploded out of their sockets as my eyes found Porter sitting at the café with Astrid. I can't describe the myriad of emotions coursing through me at that moment, only that when the happiness ended, rage hit me.

"SON...OF...A...BITCH!" I said marching toward the café.

Dad put his arm out, "No. Not the place." He said softly.

I scoffed and he pulled me away from the scene. He explained that he knew where Porter had been staying and that this wasn't the place we needed to confront him. I agreed after thought and followed him.

                                                          *************************  

David Gilbert's uncle Maxwell was the proverbial 'black sheep' of his family. He shied away from tradition, left his family in their time of need and lived an 'unbecoming' life. After the death of David's grandfather, his father and uncle had a falling out, in which his father accused his uncle of betrayal. This was the last time David saw his uncle.

It was why he was so surprised now.

Maxwell was inviting, as he always had been, but David was cautious. His father wasn't perfect but the man was a smart man. If his father thought that Maxwell was dangerous or otherwise, he probably was, especially standing in the one spot where Perry had detected a crapstorm of supernatural energy.

Maxwell had him sit on one of the logs around the fire pit and the two stared at each other for a long time before either of them even acknowledge the other again. It was Maxwell who spoke.

"I'd imagine you so many questions." Maxwell said slowly, "Why your witch friend found this place, why I'm at this specific place..."

"Why you're here at all."

"Good one." Maxwell chuckled. He stared into his nephew's eyes, "The answer is simple...the world is a fucked up place."

With that simple phrase, the ice was broken. The two laughed and talked about their lives since they'd seen each other last. After a quick catch-up, David asked the question of why he was here and how he knew about Perry.

"I've been here a while." Max frowned. David caught it but let Max continue, "Your dad is pissed at me, obviously. He can't know I'm here. I came back when I felt you."

"Felt me? Look, Unc, I'm all about kink but that's-"

"The Lycanthropy. I felt you awaken." Max corrected, "I know about your friend because his family's history is steeped in magic. That's another story entirely. I felt you awaken months ago."

"When the werewolf bit me?"

"When-What? No werewolf bit you! Your true nature-" Max stammered himself into frenzy before calming himself. He started over, "No one attack you. The Awakening can make it seem like that. This is going to be hard to hear but there was no animal that night. No other wolf. It was you who killed that girl, accidentally."

David stood in anger, "That's not true! There was a wolf there! I saw it!" He shouted.

"NO! I know. The Awakening is truly terrible and it alters your mind. The transformation and guilt changes the memories. It was you." Maxwell said as he watched his nephew's eyes go dark, "That's why I'm here...to help you. To guide you."

David fell back onto the log and put his head in his hands. The truth about that night seemed to hit him like a mack truck. How could he have done such a thing? If this were true, then the only person responsible for that girl's death was him. He was a murderer from the get-go. It wasn't the answer he hoped for. It only opened more questions.

"I knew you'd come here. I knew that after you boyfriend learned about the pack, you'd come here. Good boy." Max said quickly, "I want you to meet them."

"No."

Maxwell stared at him with surprise, "No? What do you mean 'no'?" He asked.

"I mean this isn't what I want! I don't want to be this!"

"You are this and if you don't let me help-" Maxwell argued.

"No." He said turning from his uncle.

Maxwell cleared his throat, "What about the witch? Do you really want to hurt or, worse, kill him? That's exactly what is going to happen. That will be your fault." He said calmly.

David turned to him. With a silent nod, they both agreed. David didn't want to hurt anyone else. He wasn't okay with any of this but this was his position and if he had to march headlong into darkness to make sure he didn't hurt Perry, he would.

                                                          *************************  

Porter walked into his apartment and tossed his keys on the counter.

Porter was suddenly aware that he wasn't alone. He whipped around and threw a ceramic tray that caught my father in the shoulder. I rounded the corner in time for Porter to pounce. I quickly jerked my hand away, causing him to crash across a very old wood table.

"You can't be here." Porter said as he stood. My father stood and I made my way to him as Porter glared over at us. He pulled his hands up to his head and my father and I exchanged curious glances. Porter took a seat, "If you're here..."

"Porter...We're not here to hurt you." I said softly.

"How do you know I'm Porter? I could be any number of people." Porter's eyes stayed on the floor, "You weren't supposed to find me. Of course you found me."

"Son, how did you-how did this happen?" Dad asked as he made to move towards Porter. I stopped him. My father stared at me with confusion.

"Something's wrong. He's not-In the book, it says that most times, resurrection never comes out right." My eyes never left Porter, who seemed to be listening. Knowing my father, I stared at him, "I'm not saying that this is that, we just need to consider that maybe he..."

"Didn't come back right?" Porter asked.

I turned my attention to him as my father moved over to him. Alan knelt down to him and the two stared at each other, "Son, who did this? How?" He asked.

"I don't know." Porter said with a low, dangerous voice. My body tensed. Both men read me and Porter shook his head, "Robed figure. Told me not to ask questions."

My father look to me, "Phoenix or Tituba?" He asked.

"No. Phoenix is otherwise engaged and Tituba would definitely put strings on him." I heard myself and wondered who I had become. I stared between them, "You'll have to forgive me for being so-"

"You're afraid."

"I said goodbye to you." I blurted, "What's dead should stay dead." I said moving towards the door. My father quickly moved in front of me, "Move."

"This is your brother!" My father argued, "He's alive! This changes everything."

"What does it change? Am I still a witch? Is my life not plagued by supernatural beings, most of whom died a long time ago? Nothing's changed." I shook my head again, "You're a hunter and you're his father. You can plainly see that something's not right. He needs to not exist anymore."

My father looked at me as if I was someone he'd just met. I was resolute on my stance. My friends all seemed to have died in one form or another. They were better off that way than to flock to me, as so many people seemed to. Personal tragedy seemed to find me and spread to those around me. My father knew this. He had to know this.

"I can't feel it." Porter said catching our attention, "The pulling and ripping, is gone. The knowledge and power. All of it."

I stared at him, "What?" I asked.

"I can't feel it anymore." Porter said angrily.

I stared at him for the first time. I couldn't see his magic anymore. It was gone. My father must have realized what I was just realizing. My mind began firing on all cylinders again as I glared at him.

"You've got to be kidding me."

                                                          *************************  

Night had fallen in Endor Hills and the Pack had come to the very spot Maxwell said they would. He'd introduced David to many people, among them was Noah. David noticed the reverence and, quite frankly, fear he regarded the others with.

Among those, he might an Alpha named Braeden, another wolf named Solomon, and a she-wolf named Isabella, who seemed to take an interest in him.

Braeden is a fair-skinned man with dirty blonde hair and extremely blue eyes. The man was a bit feral, like most of them, though he was hot. He made a note to keep Perry away from him. He seemed burdened, though down-to-Earth.

Solomon was a fairly new lycanthrope with russet skin. Solomon was of Native American descent and had shoulder length auburn hair. Like most of the wolves, he was buffer than normal. Of course, he was the same age and because of the migration of the pack started at Thebas High a few weeks ago.

Isabella seemed totally different than the others. They all seemed to keep their animal instincts under control, whereas she seemed to revel in her lycan-nature. Isabella was petite and svelte, though she had an animal magnetism that was impossible to deny. With beautiful green eyes and fiery red hair, she was a sight to behold.

Maxwell seemed to regard one of the wolves, Sera, with favor. Sera, a beautiful mahogany-skinned woman with long braids, seemed to enjoy his attention. Max disappeared with here a little into their get-together, leaving him with the pack.

David sat around the fire with Noah, Braeden, Solomon and Isabella. They exchanged tales of their turning, probably as some sort of initiation into their pack. David wasn't so naïve that he didn't see what Maxwell was doing. He felt more at home than usual, though. He wasn't afraid of going wolfy and killing everyone there.

"Poltergeist?" Was the word that brought David into the conversation. Solomon seemed genuinely shocked to hear about other supernaturals, "Like, ghosts? No way."

"There are other creatures out there." Noah said staring over to David, "Right?"

David felt uncomfortable. He would definitely never tell these people about Perry. The vampire brothers, possibly.

"Vampires. They suck." David said

The group burst out in laughter.

"What about witches?" Solomon asked, "I mean, there has to be witches."

"Bunch of bitches with wands." Isabella smirked, "And vampires are dead and cold. Bunch of downers."

"You've met vampires and witches?" Solomon asked.

"None that I like." Isabella sneered. David came to her attention, "You're quiet. Tell us about your experiences?"

David shifted uncomfortably.

"It's okay if you don't want to." Braeden said quickly, "We don't want to pry."

"Yeah, we do." Isabella frowned, "I, for one, am seriously needing some details."

"How about you cool off." Noah chuckled, "He's not interested. He's taken."

"By you?" Isabella shot back.

"Close but no. By a witch." Noah said as David stared at him, "He knows about vampires because he's dating a witch that dated a vampire."

"Is she pretty? All the witches I've met were fug-bots." Isabella said off-handedly.

"He's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." David snapped. It wasn't his intention to speak about Perry but he knew sooner or later it would come to this, "And yes, he's a witch. Actually, I think he might be the witch."

"We'd be happy to meet him." Braeden said quietly.

"Yes, we so would." Isabella said as she stood. She began stripping, "I think the moon's almost high enough."

"For what?" David asked.

"God, you're such a newbie." Isabella chuckled, "We're transforming and hunting."

"If you'd like to join us, you're welcome." Braeden nodded as he stood with everyone else and they began to disrobe.

Maxwell appeared with Sera. They were both already near-naked and they insisted he join. David reluctantly pulled off his shirt and watched the others. The quickly transformed before his eyes and he could feel the transformation coming on. His reluctance seemed to be wearing thin.

He transformed and bounded into the woods with the rest of the Pack.

                                                          *************************  

I arrived home late that night as my father told my mother about my brother. My mother insisted on seeing him and staying with him. My father agreed and said that he should do the same. I opted not to stay.

After that ordeal, I was absolutely drained. I wasn't surprised that when I opened the door, stepped across the threshold and turned, I was face-to-face with Lucas. I let out a small chuckle.

"You don't look so good."

"What do you want, Lucas?"

Lucas frowned, "I didn't bring her back...I was there when she woke up. Nora hypnotized her, fed her her blood." He said, "I just want that clear."

"I don't hate you quite as much." I said tiredly, "That it?"

"What went wrong with us?"

"I can't do this now."

"You can. You will." Lucas said angrily, "We were...good. And then you got kidnapped by your wack-a-doo ancestor and came back different. What did he do to you?"

"He explained to me what he did. I asked him because I didn't understand." I saw that he was waiting on my response, "He did nothing. You and me were never going to work, so regardless of how you feel or even how I feel, it wouldn't work."

"So, you love me?" Lucas asked.

"That doesn't matter."

"It's the only thing that matters at all to me right now." Lucas said as he pushed against the barrier between my home and him, "I wanted to kill wolf-boy. I actually almost tried. Then I thought about killing Kai. Then my thoughts moved to all of your friends and then to you. I could do it. I could catch you off guard and rip your throat out..."

I stepped closer and put my throat out to him.

"But I would never kill you. You're the one person I'll never kill." Lucas said turning and descending the stairs off the porch.

"Lucas!" I said causing him to turn, "I'd be a hypocrite to continue to love you. To love Eva anymore. It's not realistic. You live forever and I die in a week? I'm not the love of your life, I can't be the love of your life. Because our lives are wholly different. So yeah, I love you. I love you enough to know when to let you go."

"Eva's not going anywhere. Neither am I. She needs you." Lucas said as he turned and left me standing at the door.

I realized that trying to remove people that would live so much longer than me out of my life wouldn't be as easy as avoiding them. I just hoped for the strength and courage to stand true to my belief. Love didn't always conquer all. If it did, people wouldn't have to write fairytales.