Twilight crept over the woods, rich with the music of birds and crickets. The whispering leaves soothed her. Sam probably should have shifted right away to cover more ground, but she couldn't bring herself to it. Staggering from trunk to trunk away from the setting sun gave her purpose, action. If she stopped now, she might not get up again. She blinked away tears as her mood swayed from apathy to anguish and back again.

Before she could register what was happening, she lurched to her hands and knees, ribs flaring angrily from the jolt. It took a moment for her to find her breath again. Her skin rippled, the change coming on faster than she was prepared for. Her broken bones and deep bruises became lava beneath her skin, scalding her so deeply she was sure she would combust. Denim ripping to a hundred shreds drowned out the night life, and silence stretched on after.

Sam fell flat on her belly, tongue lolling as she tried to catch her breath. Deep, acute burning continued in the spots she knew, or suspected had broken in the fall. It was a fraction of the intensity as during the shift, so she shook it off. There was a stillness in her, a sort of comfort she couldn't quite place. It was something entirely independent of Noah, something new. Slowly, she rose to a sit and turned her face skyward. She howled at the top of her lungs even as the aches threatened to knock her out. It was her first true howl, and she stretched it out for as long as she could manage. Moments later, a faint, familiar voice called back in the same pitch. Relief swelled in her heart.

She continued to put one foot in front of the other for as long as her body would allow it. There was a lot of ground to cover on her shaky paws. She couldn't ignore the grief weighing her down. The look in his eye as she rounded the stump would stay with her forever. Fear of the unknown mingled with love. Love. Not for her, she understood that, but for the girl whose face she shared ... Cora. The sight of her had brought him pain once, she was glad it could give him some relief in his suffering. That look, though ... it was going to haunt her.

She couldn't deny how upsetting it was to learn his first victim had been her doppelgänger. She had come too close to the same fate, multiple times. Now that the danger was gone ... well, she would have traded this outcome for just about any other. Damn it, why did she have to go and talk to him? She could at least have been ignorant of the truth, maybe avoided this irreconcilable empathy.

Hold the phones, her consciousness hadn't shut off. Not as deeply, at least. She was still very much aware of the constant narrative in her mind, though the emotions and complexity that went with it was definitely suppressed some. Was this what it was like for Aidan all the time?

She hoped they weren't too worried about her. After all, she had survived. She made it. The wolf had judged her and she had faced it. She made it through that fucking night for the second time. Milo ... she never talked about him. She never told anyone, besides her therapist, what she saw that night. Not even Charlotte knew the full story. Maybe she would change that. He deserved to be remembered as much as Amalie and she certainly hadn't been doing that for him.

That night was the worst night of her life. Not her bite, not falling off that fucking cliff. Those had given her something valuable to walk away with. Milo's death was senseless, avoidable. It wasn't her fault, but it took a long time to understand that. She couldn't control what other people do, she could only control what she did. So yeah, she had behaved poorly in the face of stress and ran from her problems when facing them would have been the best solution; but that was life. She made mistakes, she adapted, she moved on.

Her legs collapsed a few steps down the deer path she'd stumbled upon. She lay there for a few minutes, catching her breath. Aidan howled again, closer now, but too far south. She lifted her head as high as it would go and responded weakly. They would find her soon, she could keep on resting, which was good, because her spine was aching something fierce.

She wondered where Ada was then, what she was doing. Was she mad at Sam for not responding earlier? And what was her surprise? Curiosity kept her awake, though she settled her head on her paws for relief. Now that she had cleared the hurdle, it was time for her to get started on that list. And boy, what a list it was. Still at the very top: kiss Ada. She had thought about it a lot. In fact, she had a whole scenario in her head. There was a lot of time to daydream at the cabin.

There was a light between the trees ahead. It bobbed and swayed in a steady rhythm, growing slowly bigger. She perked up a little. Aidan was in this form, but she didn't know about Cain. Maybe he stayed on two legs in case she needed first aid. She probably did, so that was a good call on his part. Relief washed over her as he drew nearer. She considered making noise to let him know she was there, but the pool of light would reach her soon enough, and he should be able to smell her with the wind blowing from the west as it was.

The wind shifted and something different was in the air. Something she couldn't quite place. A flower, perhaps? It was soft and sweet, sort of like honey, but that wasn't right either.

The light reached her toes, her fur gleaming and flecked with mud. She placed the scent just as a soft gasp came from the figure.

"Aidan!" bellowed Ada, light shaking carelessly. Sam couldn't see her over the glare. "Cain! I found her!"

The light stilled over her once more, but at an angle so as not to blind her. Sam's vision adjusted as someone crashed through the woods. She couldn't help the burst of adrenaline it caused in her. Ada was there. How was Ada there? Was Sam imagining her? She did have a concussion, it wasn't a stretch. But no, someone was definitely sprinting closer. Someone had heard her shout, too.

"Holy shit," Ada breathed, and Sam focused on her once more. "Wow, this is legit. Wow."

Her hair was in a ponytail, loose strands stuck to her sweaty forehead. She wasn't afraid, there was no tension in her stance, but she sure was shocked. She was just as beautiful as ever, even with a sheen of sweat.

"I'm sorry, I'm shining this in your eyes." The light moved to the right until just the soft edge illuminated her. "This is amazing."

Aidan appeared between them, fur full of twigs and leaves, and he calmed at once when he met Sam's gaze. The air seemed to vibrate just before a soothing sensation settled over her. She was grateful for the reprieve. The pain and sorrow was becoming oppressive. He whined, sniffing along her side, then tilted his head toward Ada.

"Oh, sorry!" She looked from him to Sam. "He told me earlier to ask where Noah is."

Sam leaned up and swung her head in the direction she had come. Now that her safety was confirmed, Aidan raced off in search of his brother. Sam's heart broke for them all over again, and she shut her eyes on the world. Her feigned sleep didn't last long. More crashing met her ears, paced differently and slower.

"Is she with you?" Cain shouted to her right.

"Yes, she's safe! You were right, she's still a wolf."

Cain sighed deeply. "Oh, thank goodness. We have time then."

Night had nearly fallen. In the thin navy light, Cain emerged from the brush with a great grin on his face and a smaller first aid bag over one shoulder. He crouched without pause before Sam.

"Are you bleeding anywhere?"

Sam shook her head and again gestured the way she had come. Aidan would need him in moments. Sure enough, three short, urgent howls echoed through the forest. They were not what she had expected and she sat up abruptly as Cain got to his feet. He shot them both a glance before sprinting after Aidan. What could be so urgent? Unless ...

"Can you walk?" Ada couldn't keep the concern from her voice.

Sam wasn't sure she could, but gave it a shot anyway. Once she got her feet under her, she tried to heave her weight up, but her muscles refused to lift her weight. She flopped onto her belly, panting, eyes closed once more.

"Can you change back?" Ada asked, pulling her back to her surroundings. Sam sought her gaze and nodded tentatively.

Her skin began to crawl. She settled into the soft moss once more, too spent to even tense against the sharp cracks of her bones.

Her tail, which normally was the least of her problems, ached sharply at the base the entire time it retracted. Her ribs throbbed, the burning spots rather dull now. When it finished, she lay panting on her side, cool night air biting her feverish body.

"Here." Ada said as she held out Sam's favourite tee shirt dress. She kept her face carefully composed. "Aidan said you'd need this. Need help?"

"Please."

Sam clutched her hand with all she had and let her pull her to her unsteady feet. She was too tired to care that she was stark naked, and Ada was too polite to stare. She held the garment up and let it fall over Sam's head. Her left hand came to rest just below Sam's elbow, supporting her as she swayed. Ada opened her mouth to say something, but heavy footfalls distracted her.
Aidan raced past them with Noah tied to his back, running harder than she had ever seen, and Cain followed a moment later, still trying to close the zipper on his bag. When he saw them, his eyes were bright.

"Noah is alive, just barely." He didn't stop, or even slow. In seconds he was out of sight as well, long legs carrying him fast down the spindly path.

Her jaw, she noticed, had fallen open as something thick prevented her from speaking. Alive? But it had been hours. Was he still alive when she left him there?

"I take it that wasn't what you expected?" Ada's tone was light, joking, but it was a mask for her concern. She understood the implications.

Sam couldn't begin to fathom what she must have looked like just then. Relief, horror, and terror warred for dominance. Her knees gave out, and Ada caught her easily, her free arm encircling her waist. She clung to her as fresh tears obscured her vision. He was alive. There was a chance he could pull through. There was another chance for him to kill her.

Ada rubbed circles on her back, murmuring words of comfort in her ear. Sam struggled to keep her crying to a minimum, because each heave of her chest sent a new burst of agony through her. These were different tears than when she left Noah crumpled at the base of that cliff. All her pent up stress, terror, anger, and fear, far greater than just this day, poured out at once. It was not pretty. There was snot, and jarring weeps, but none of it repelled Ada. When her distress tapered off and her breathing returned to relatively normal, she stepped back and swiped her upper lip with the back of her hand, then dried her cheeks with her sleeves.

"Are you okay?" asked Ada in a hushed voice. She ignored the damp splotch on her left shoulder.

Sam nodded, struggling to compose her face. "Thank you. How are you here?"

"Surprise," she said, grinning with her palms turned out. At her visible confusion, she elaborated. "Aidan called me on Saturday to help set this up. He said you were getting homesick."

For a moment she gaped at her. Of course he did. Aidan had seemed a little weird during the week, almost too cheery for the atmosphere at the cabin, but not so much she questioned him. She thought it had something to do with the nice weather. But now that she knew, the week made perfect sense. He had been excited, though he hid it well most of the time.

Sam had been quiet too long, Ada was starting to seem uncertain. "I'm really happy to see you," she managed, unable to properly express the gratitude she felt.

"Come on, we should get back." Ada smiled and offered her arm to her.

The walk was slow and awkward. Her energy was spent, each step was a feat. The trail was barely wide enough for one person to walk, let alone two, and before long Ada opted to put her arm around her, reducing their combined width. They staggered through the dark woods with just Ada's phone's flashlight and the waxing moon's light to reveal the path. Sam was grateful for the warmth of her body as the temperature dropped. Her own temperature was low, probably because she had nearly died.

"Can we stop for a minute?" Sam's bare feet were getting sore from all the pokes and abrasions. Ada led her to a fallen tree just off the path ahead.

The tree had been there longer than just last night. The air was rich with rot, and when she came to rest on a solid looking section, it crushed slightly, releasing a fresh puff of earthy decay. Ada seemed to think better of joining her and instead sat back on her heels before her. A lush fern hung just over her head, glowing silvery in the dim light. If she was stressed about anything, she hid it remarkably well. She met her eyes and smiled easily.

"How much further?" Sam asked, voice hushed.

"I'm not sure, but probably a while yet." Her closed lips spread wider, sympathetic. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm doing okay," she lied. Her aches were deepening. "I'm really glad you're here. I mean, in general, not just here to walk with me."

She chuckled, and Sam shared in it. "So am I. And can I say, I have had more excitement in the past three hours than in the entire time you've been away. Is this a typical day for you?"

"I wouldn't say 'typical,'" Sam laughed.

Her exhaustion was ebbing already, but she really doubted she could walk the rest of the way. She considered suggesting they sleep in the woods, but she didn't think she could manage another shift just yet, and without, it would be a very cold night for sleeping under the stars without equipment.

She was also burning with wonder at what might be waiting for her in the cabin. Grief or terror; she couldn't imagine a middle ground after their altercation.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Sam blinked away the possibilities, focusing on the present. Concern pinched Ada's brow, and she blushed under her scrutiny. "We should keep moving."

Sam started to rise, but her legs refused to cooperate now that she had given them rest. Groaning, she eased back down and scrunched her eyes shut against the onslaught of reactions. A warm hand cupped her upper arm, fingers skimming just beneath her sleeve. The light vanilla in the air grew stronger. When she opened her eyes, Ada was on her knees in loam between her feet, leaning close enough she could see the little silver flecks in her gunmetal irises.

"Are you hurt?"

"Yes and no. There's nothing serious, I'm just fatigued."

It felt odd, after re-experiencing the car crash, to classify impact injuries as nothing serious, but it was the truth. Her body was handling them. She was sure that if she was still human, that fall would have killed her regardless of how clear her landing area was.

Warm honey crept out further into her cheeks. With the flashlight pointing up from the ground behind her, it was hard to see her features as clearly as she should in the darkness; her eyes couldn't adjust properly. She couldn't be sure, but as her concern melted away, she thought she saw Ada blush, too. Ada's heart was racing—she could hear the quick, even beats beneath the singing treefrogs—and her perfume grew sweeter, more potent as it warmed on the hollow of her throat. Her eyes flicked to Sam's cheeks, the bridge of her nose, and back up as a tiny grin played on her lips.

Sam didn't know what to do with her hands. They were cradled awkwardly in her lap, and she was afraid to move, afraid to break the moment; but at that glance, she overcame those worries. One ginger finger at a time, she brought her hand to rest behind Ada's elbow, a current running through her palm and up her arm. Her lips parted as an intensity came to her hooded eyes.

They met halfway, but she stopped just shy of her lips to enjoy the delicious tension, the feel of her breath on her sensitive lips. A hairbreadth apart, she felt her pull her lower lip through her teeth. Then her lips were on Sam's, and Sam forgot all her pain, her sorrow, her anxiety as her entire body lit up. Her free hand came to rest on Sam's thigh as she leaned into her and took her breath away.

The heady experience left her speechless long after. Sam bit her tingling lip, studying her elated expression as she caught her breath. She was suddenly glad their first kiss didn't turn out like she imagined, because where's the fun in that? The spontaneity made the experience absolutely magical.

She didn't know what to say, but Ada spared her the worry by offering a palm, saying, "Come on, I can carry you for a while."

Sam's hand settled in hers, and she twisted underneath it to offer her back. She helped her settle into place and rose cautiously, adjusting to her added weight. As she picked her way back to the dwindling trail, Ada  tilted her face to meet her eye for a moment. "I'm happy to see you smile again."