Oz and Cassie were the only ones awake when they returned to the house covered in blood. Oz gave them a silent head nod before bringing himself and Cassie to their bedroom. Rhys and Anna went to their bedroom without saying a word. Anna slept on the edge of the bed and as far away from Rhys as possible.

Anna woke to the sound of little feet pounding down the hall as children were running and giggling. Anna smiled as she sat on the bed. She ran her fingers through her thick hair and looked over at Rhys to see that he was still asleep. She snuck around the room to change her clothes. She tiptoed out of the room and quietly closed the door behind her.

She listened to a murmur of voices as she approached the kitchen. Cassie and Elena were in the kitchen cooking. Accalia and Oclan had colouring books and a collection of broken crayons in front of them. Anna could see through the windows that a thick layer of snow had fallen overnight. Giant snowflakes were falling from the sky.

"Good morning, Anna," Cassie said.

"Morning," Anna said. "It looks beautiful outside."

"That's the start of a Yukon winter."

Accalia was scribbling with the crayon and smiled. Cassie passed Anna a bowl of porridge.

"Mommy, can Anna come with us outside?" Accalia asked.

"Let Anna eat first," Cassie said.

"I'd love to after," Anna said.

Accalia nodded her head before continuing to colour. Anna leaned against the kitchen counter and ate her breakfast. Elena scoffed as she looked over at Anna.

"Did you even bring any winter clothes?" Elena asked.

"Rhys didn't say much when they brought me to my apartment to get my stuff," Anna said. "I really didn't think that I would be up in the Yukon."

"I'd let you borrow my stuff, but I doubt it would fit," Cassie said. "Elena, you're her size. Let her have your jacket and boots."

"You mean I have to share with the bloodsucker?" Elena said.

Anna's spoon stopped halfway to her mouth. Her eyes went wide when she looked at Elena, who smirked and returned to cooking. Cassie rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Be nice," Cassie said. "And you will lend her your stuff."

"Fine," Elena said.

Anna finished her porridge in silence. She set the bowl down in the sink and Elena left the kitchen. She came back with a winter jacket and a pair of boots. She set them down on one of the kitchen chairs.

"Here you go," she said.

"Let's go!" Accalia shouted as she jumped up from her seat.

She ran across the house and came back with a toque on her head, a pair of mittens, and a thick jacket lined with fur. She had a pair of boots in her hands. Oclan was close behind her with her winter jacket on.

"Come on, Anna," Accalia said.

Anna giggled and slid on Elena's winter jacket. She noticed that she had also brought down a scarf, toque, and mittens. Anna put on the layers of clothes. She wrapped the scarf around her face before slipping on the boots. Accalia was pulling Anna's jacket as they stepped outside.

The snow crunched under their feet as they walked. The cold wind burned Anna's face. She grabbed the fur-lined hood of the jacket and pulled it up over her head. Accalia and Oclan were running through the snow. They were tossing snowballs at each other as they ran into the forest. Anna trudged through the thick snow and tried to keep up with the girls.

They stepped into the forest. The girls were giggling as they zigzagged between the trees. Anna shoved her hands in her pockets as her eyes scanned along the woods.

There was the faint sound of a branch snapping. Anna stopped walking and froze in her spot. Another branch broke and Anna gasped. She assumed that there was some kind of animal in the forest. She worried that it would be something large that would attack them. Accalia and Oclan were getting further and further away from her.

"Girls!" Anna called out. They turned around to look at her. "Come over here."

The girls looked at each other before walking over to Anna. She bit down on her lip as she listened to the sound of snow crunching under someone's boots. Anna grabbed Accalia and Oclan's arms and pulled them behind her.

A man came out from behind one of the thick trees. Anna knew instantly that he was not one of the werewolves. He had a crossbow slung across his back and he had on a pair of goggles. He raised them and set them on the top of his head.

It was Darren. He was one of Jonathan's friends, and Anna grew up with the man. He had been to every one of their holiday meals, and they had spent countless months together training when they were younger.

Anna turned to look at Accalia and Oclan. Their eyes were wide with horror and their mouths were open.

"Run back to the house," Anna said. "I'll follow you soon."

They nodded their heads and took off running. Anna turned around. Darren's gloved fingers curled around the strap of the crossbow.

"If you're just a wolf I'll let you go," Darren said. "I have no issue with dogs."

"I'm not a werewolf," Anna said.

Darren raised an eyebrow. He recognized her voice. She pulled the scarf down so that her face was exposed.

"It's Anna," she said.

His jaw hung open as he lowered the crossbow.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" he asked. "Actually, where the hell have you been? Jon has been so worried about you."

"Jonathan is looking for me?"

"Yes. He says you have not answered your phone all week."

Anna had not thought much about her phone. The battery had been dead in her purse since going to the club with Jess. Anna did not think about getting the charger when she went to her apartment to get her stuff.

"Tell him I'm okay," Anna said.

"Why are you out here?" he asked. "Your friend has been missing too. Jon is really concerned about you, especially with all of the killings that went on near your university."

"I'm fine," Anna said. "I'm just on a trip with some friends."

Darren furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. His eyes slowly grew as the realization washed over him. Anna's chest tightened and she bit down on her lip.

"What happened to you?" Darren asked.

"You can't tell Jonathan," she said.

"Tell him?" Darren had a slight chuckle behind his voice. "Anna, I'm going to have to kill you."

Darren swung his hand gripping the strap to the crossbow. Anna knew that he would use it to pierce her heart in seconds. She could not spend her eternity in hell.

She ran toward him. The heavy snow slowed down her movements. She grabbed Darren's shoulders and thrust her knee into his stomach. He let out a gasp of breath and Anna pushed him down into the snow. She grabbed the crossbow and pushed it down into his arm and pinned him down to the ground. She pushed all of her weight down onto the weapon until she heard the snap of the bone of his arm. Darren screamed, which echoed through the empty forest.

Anna knew that she would have caught the attention of the other hunters around them. They never went on missions alone. She wanted to run away, but she knew if she left Darren alive he would tell Jonathan the truth. He couldn't know.

Her eyes darted around the woods before her fangs protruded from her gums. Darren let out another cry as he watched her eyes darken. He thrashed under her body. Anna was quick as she brought her mouth to Darren's throat and sunk her teeth in. His screams were soon garbled as Anna greedily drank from his body.

She pulled herself away to see Darren's eyes were glazed over. He was dead and her secret was safe.

She pulled the scarf back over her face. Her knees shook as she got up off of Darren's lifeless body. Blood was splattering the crisp white snow.

Anna took a step back before turning around and running toward the house.