Hyper-focused on the trees a dozen metres or so from where Sam stood, her hammering heart deafened her to her surroundings. Something was moving in the trees. Something large. A chill wracked her spine and set every little hair on edge. For a second she thought it was Aidan, but Aidan wouldn't emerge with his hands up, palms facing her with relaxed fingers. The sunlight struck his hair a brilliant caramel, and she knew at once Noah had found her.

The roaring in her ears drowned out his voice. His approach was steady, but relatively nonthreatening. She might have projected the threat, or she might have projected the peace offering. It was so hard to tell with him. His gaze never strayed from hers, and the hardness she was used to seeing there was minimal. She wasn't sure if it was a trick or genuine, so she held her ground and worked to slow her pulse.

As he neared he spoke again, and this time it reached her. "Please, I just want to talk."

Her head cocked to the side. "Why?"

This gave him pause. The stream bisected the lush ground between them. Noah's hands were still raised, though slack now, probably because she hadn't made any move to attack him. She struggled to unclench her fists. His brow scrunched in thought, and he seemed to forget his efforts to display harmlessness, arms falling to his sides as he considered his response.

"I'm tired of running." His shoulders lifted lightly and settled once more. "I just want to talk to you."

Noah's French wasn't as smooth as his brother's, but he didn't struggle with his sentences. His vibrant blue tee shirt contrasted with his tanned skin, and in the crooks of his arms she noticed a smattering of waxy scars. Noah followed her gaze and stuffed his fists in his pockets, eyes falling.

"Yeah, those are ... well, they got the job done. I never used needles if I could avoid it." Shame dripped from every word.

Sam bit her lip, eventually saying, "I know."

His eyes flew to hers. "How? I never told ..." Dawn crossed his face, leading first shock, then alarm, horror, and finally dread. "You have my journal."

"Yes, and I've read it; I'm sorry." Tension hadn't yet left her, but she didn't sense any immediate danger.

"The whole thing?" Trepidation clung to his words as a flush bloomed in his cheeks.

"Yes," she answered, and thought of something she had wondered for a while. "If you don't mind, why did you stop writing?"

Noah frowned. "Well, I lost it."

"No, I mean after September last year, there's no more entries. Why did you stop writing?"

Noah's frown deepened as the silence stretched on. It wasn't a concerning frown, but a confusing one. He seemed perplexed, and it was beginning to affect her.

"I ... didn't," he said slowly. "I wrote right up until I lost it."

They stared at each other for a time, and in the same instant they murmured, "Aidan ..."

But why tear them out? What could possibly be so bad he didn't want her to see it? Or perhaps it was about him, that would be understandable.

Noah scrunched his eyes shut and cringed as though overtaken by a sudden pain. It lasted just a second, but his face underwent a myriad of contortions. She couldn't help tensing up again; she didn't trust him in the slightest. The spasm faded and all that remained was the furrow between his brows.

"Noah?" Sam began in a delicate tone. "Are you high?"

"No."

Sam wasn't sure which answer she was expecting. Both were probably bad news. At least sober, though, she could access his rationality ... in theory. Maybe she could resolve this all without any more fighting. She may have been harbouring some festering grudges, but she certainly wished him no more pain. It did nothing for him in the past and it would do nothing good for him now. Nor her, for that matter. She didn't want revenge, it had never been about that. She wanted to stop him from hurting people, whether that meant helping him get better or apprehending him. On a deep exhale she attempted to lessen the hostility in her posture.

"Is he talking to you?" she asked lightly.

Noah nodded vigorously, but his eyes remained squeezed shut. "Most of the time. I'm sorry, I am trying to focus. I am."

"It's okay, I believe you." This time it was no trouble to let the grudge go. She had a feeling she somewhat understood the sensation he was experiencing. "Take your time. I ... kind of get it." This caught his attention. "Mine isn't done going through my past. It's not as bad, I get that, I'm just-"

"Forget it, it doesn't matter." His mood shifted in a heartbeat, sending her guard right back up. "I'm not here to talk about me. You three need to stop looking for me, leave me alone."

"You know why we can't do that."

"Yeah, because Chase said so," scoffed Noah, the words coming out in a rush, spittle glittering in the open air. "Aidan will do anything he says whether or not it's an order. He's the king kiss-ass! I left there for a reason, I'm not going to let you bring me back to that fucking place."

"No, that's not why. We don't answer to Chase. Noah, you attacked me. You killed three young girls. You have to see why we're doing this." Her plea was soft but full of heart.

"I don't- ... those were- ... I-" His hands flew up again and clutched at his hair. When he spoke again, it was more of a bellow. "I never meant to hurt anyone! I never meant for any of this."

Birds took flight nearby at the disruption. Silence stretched on, and the soft burbling of the stream faded in once more. He seemed in relative control, enough that she felt confident enough to go on.

"Noah?" she probed to make sure he was listening. "There is another option here."

He stopped squirming long enough to peek at her, barely daring to hope. "What is it, death? I've tried that, I don't die easily."

"Of course not," she said quickly; death wasn't an option, it was a last resort. None of them wanted him to die, no matter how much pain he had caused. "Hear me out, please? I might be reaching, but I really think it's a viable option. See, Aidan is an alpha now, and he's sort of forming his own pack. Nothing is set in stone, we've only just started talking about this, but he loves you, and he just wants to bring you home. Home doesn't have to mean with your parents. I mean, he's already got two members, so that's something. I know he would take you in in a heartbeat, if you let him."

She was expecting anger, or maybe even fear. She wasn't expecting a flame to ignite in his eyes as his shoulders began to heave on deepening inhales. His tone was dangerously thin as he hissed, "He's what?"

Something within said to stop immediately, to keep her smart mouth shut. She didn't listen, thinking she knew better. "He's got what it takes. He stood up to your father not long ago. We can keep you safe, he-"

"Aidan has no business leading anyone. My useless big brother couldn't keep my crime a secret long enough for it to cool down. He has prostrated himself more times than I've seen him eat." Darkness fell over Noah's features as he took a long stride closer, to which she backed up one. "He always did whatever was asked." Another predatory step she mirrored in reverse. "Aidan never once kept me safe, why the fuck would he start now!?"

Whatever control in him was lost, and she scrambled to maintain the distance between them. Water soaked his left foot and he didn't even seem to notice. His eyes had gone dark, fixated on Sam's every move. The humanity in him was gone—forgotten, suppressed, or beaten down, she didn't know for sure. Noah wasn't there anymore to keep her safe from this side of him.

Sam had no idea what was wrong with him, but something primal seemed to have awakened in him. It was nearly the opposite of what they did when they shifted. He kept his human form, but the wolf was calling the shots. The man before her was barely the same person, even visually, in a matter of seconds. Deep creases settled into his features, lips thin and hooked down at the corners. He was closing the gap with little effort; her legs couldn't keep up with his. She knew what was coming, she could see it far before it would happen, and dread flooded every pore.

The first swing was wide, careless, a mere test to her reactions. She dropped before his thick arm could touch her and adrenaline bathed her. In a split second his knee was careening for her chin. Her face barely cleared it, but only because she met the blow with both hands and eased her face back just enough to graze her jaw with her own knuckles. It was pure luck, or great reflex, depending on one's viewpoint. She leaned more toward luck. She hit the ground hard, rolling out of his path to get to her feet.

Sam was not prepared for the intensity of the fight. Nothing but a true fight could have prepared her for it. How could it? Neither Cain nor Aidan fought with any anger, no intent to cause harm. It was meant to be educational, fun, a bit of stress relief all rolled into one. So Noah's laser focus and contorted face caused a crucial part of her brain to shut down: her logic. Everything at that moment was reactionary. She had no time to consider her movements, her attacks, her defences. She simply had to move as the opening came.

Blocking Noah's fists was like stopping a truck with just her arms. Every strike left a potent aftermath beneath her skin. At first she was just trying to keep up. Noah kept the distance between them minimal, his tactic meant to overwhelm. It was working, and she knew she had to do something about it. She couldn't go on blocking or dodging his fists forever.

Her first success was a risky attempt. Noah had made a familiar advance, one she was sure Cain had attempted on her. Before he landed the third swift blow to her forearm, she slammed her palm into his advancing wrist and pushed it just past her face, and the other hand she rammed into his gut. His deep grunt was gratifying, but brief. He recovered and snatched her wrist, yanking her toward his chest. She did the first thing she thought of: she went limp. Her noodle legs tangled in the grass, and she toppled at full speed into the crook of his offending arm rather than a crushing embrace. Her sudden, awkward weight startled him enough that she had time to sink her teeth into his forearm as hard as she could. Blood bloomed on her tongue, gushed when she released her hold. He roared, shoving her off him and into the stream.

The pain snapped him to some sort of sense. He clutched the wound and glared at Sam, and though he still radiated fury, the predatory focus faltered. A moment later, he advanced on her. She felt a little more prepared this time, the crisp water had startled her alert again. She held her hands loosely in front of her, hunched as she had been whilst sparring with Cain. They circled slowly. Noah stood much straighter than Aidan when he fought, keeping his arms lower the way Cain did. Now that he was thinking, he was strategizing.

Sam's patience won out. A small, sharp exhale precluded a fierce jab for her belly by only an instant. She twisted sideways, his knuckles grazing her hip. She regained her footing and swung her right elbow with all her might. He brought up his arm in time to block it, causing a jarring clash of ulnae.

Noah had the advantage, she couldn't deny it. His fists were fast but struck like stones. His form was far from perfect, and she landed her share to good effect, but she was growing rapidly fatigued. All it would take was one punch to the head for him to take her down.

She was so focused on Noah, she didn't notice how close the treeline had come to her back, not until she stepped into shadow. This was her chance. She took a risky shot for his sternum and slammed her tiny fist into the centre of his ribs. They popped a few times and the air rushed from his lungs. Before he could recover, she dashed for the woods.

Running like this went against everything Sam had ever learned about traversing the forest. She kept her strides long and loping to keep her feet from tangling in the vegetation, but still she staggered from time to time. In moments she was face to face with the stout cliff she climbed earlier. She heaved her weight up significantly faster this time. There was an intense crashing crescendoing from where she had come. She didn't stick around. She couldn't see or hear the stream anymore, and she had no idea how far away from it she was, so she simply followed the steady swell of the earth. The brush thinned as she climbed, but the terrain became more rocky with moss that could slip loose if she twisted her foot too hard. So, all things considered, it wasn't getting any easier like she had hoped it would.

There was a tight rippling next to her heart, more intense than she had ever felt it, but she pushed back the urge to let the beast take over. She didn't have time to shift, and Noah could kill her in a heartbeat stuck between forms like that. She would have to lose him if she wanted to let that happen, and even then it would be risky. She had no idea how good Noah's nose was, how easily he could track her down again.

Branches tore at her face and hair. Her cheeks and eyelids were raw, and blood, or something, trickled down her cheek. She had found her stride, but it wouldn't last forever. She could hear Noah closing the distance behind with his powerful legs. So, there was no chance of losing him out there.

Sam took a chance before she fully thought it through. The trees here were spread out and old with wide-reaching branches. There was an elbow-shaped branch just ahead, and she jumped for it. She was just heaving her torso over the rough surface, sure she was home free, when the world swung sickeningly and a bomb exploded in the back of her skull. Her knees throbbed from the weight on top of them. Noah's face filled her swimming vision, shining with sweat and diluted blood. She blinked hard, and at long last realized she wasn't breathing. Her mouth was opening and closing around nothing. A bird trapped in her ribs was beating itself to death in an attempt to get free.

Sam still didn't know why Noah didn't move, why he didn't end her life right then. Air rushed into her empty lungs and her vision cleared enough to see utter horror painting his normally handsome face. She didn't question it. Her arms were splayed to either side but unrestrained; she grabbed his ears as hard as she could—gagging when she felt the scarred crescent near where his ear met his skull that she had given him—and yanked until he yielded enough that she could squirm free.

He was still on his knees as Sam got to her feet, but regaining himself steadily. She was already staggering uphill, just about turned around when she saw him gulp, clench his fists, and regain composure. Whatever that was, she doubted it would happen again. She counted her blessings.

Her energy was hovering above empty. Maybe she should have doubled back instead. She was committed to her path. She couldn't veer back without crossing Noah's furious path.

How on Earth was she going to get out of this mess? She couldn't run forever. She could run for a long time at that point—she had been jogging nearly every day—but could she outrun Noah? She had no idea. It was the best shot she had. She had no more punches in her to give or receive. No more tricks up her sleeve. There was only so many times she could knock him down without being injured herself, or even killed. Well, more seriously injured. She probably had a concussion from that fall.

"Noah," she gasped over her shoulder. "Please stop this!"

There was no response. She glanced back, and he was far closer than she expected. Close enough she could see a bead of sweat roll off his cheek.

The ground was levelling ahead of her. She pushed herself. Maybe she could make a wide loop and angle back toward the cabin. Aidan and Cain had to be getting home soon, if they weren't there already. They would see she was gone and come looking ... she hoped. That was all she had. She took the chance, her path curving ever so slightly. If Noah spotted the angle, he could be on her in no time. It seemed to be working; he was right on her tail, panting wetly. That horrible bedrock had returned to his eyes, and she knew he was out of her reach.

The sun to her left was brilliant through the thin trees. The vegetation was a little thicker here, the ground harder to see. It was slowing them both down. The air no longer felt cool in her lungs. It barely whetted her body's appetite. The ground beneath her feet was rough, inconsistent. One step was on a mossy stone, another on a soft bed of pine needles, another on hard soil. The sunlight brightened. She passed between two young trees and crushed a wild spearmint plant an instant before her foot struck nothing at all.