Luke felt like a whole chunk of his life had been flipped back into focus again. The truth, bizarre as it was, gave him a strange sense of freedom. Knowing gave him peace of mind, stamping out the last embers of frustration that had been tearing at him in the days leading up to Oaklynn's revelation.

On another level, he also had to admit that his world had been turned upside down by it. A Karkadda. The word rolled around like a pinball in his brain, still holding a sense of unreality. He glanced at her as they walked through the campus together, hands clasped together, fingers interlaced, tight and unbreakable. Mentally he could still overlay the transformation she'd shown him the previous night. The more he forced himself to remember it the less frightening it became.

Maybe fright wasn't even the word. He'd been startled, surprised, shocked, any and all of the above, but he'd never felt like he was in any actual danger from her. Oaklynn was not some wild killer stalking the forests looking for victims. She was just... different.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked, tugging him a little closer and bumping her shoulder against his.

"Just making sense of everything," he laughed. Luke turned his face, leaning down to kiss her. She pushed up to meet him, their lips meeting again for a blissful second.

They eased apart, stride unbroken. He watched other students that passed them by and no-one so much as glanced at them. No-one questioned them. It all felt right to him. He felt her squeeze his hand and looked at her.

"I know it's a lot," she said.

"I can deal."

"You know, I've wanted to tell you since I sat next to you in class." Oaklynn smiled wryly. "Though I think if I'd said anything then, you'd have turned me in to the nearest psych ward."

"I might have," Luke admitted. "You're not supposed to show people, are you?"

"The rules are pretty specific about that."

"So where to does that leave you with Kasper and the rest?"

Oaklynn's stormy eyes twinkled with resolve. "Frankly, I don't care. I didn't want to be snarled up in their crap anyway. They're a bunch of traditionalists, telling everybody what to do; what to think. I hate it. I prefer this." She coiled her arm around his, tucking herself close.

"Me too."

They turned, following the curve of the path between residence blocks. People flowed around them and it occurred sharply to him how little they knew, how oblivious they were to a whole race of strange and wonderful things living in their midst. Another thought struck him, a rather darker one.

"Hey, stop me if this is a stupid question," he began. "So Karkadda are real. Like, really real."

She grinned. "As far as I can tell."

"So, what about other stuff?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean like... werewolves, vampires, Bigfoot, chupacabra, all that stuff. Is that stuff real too?"

"Luke, I-," she paused, stifling a laugh. "I don't think so."

"Well, it's not like if someone told me what a Karkadda was I'd have believed it."

"I guess." She gave him a playful bump with one hip. "But don't worry, if we ever run into any monsters of the night I'll protect you."

He gave her a withering look. "And what about Kenny's Burning-Eyed Man? Do you think around here that comes from the Karkadda somehow? I mean, your eyes do kind of... burn."

"It could be." Oaklynn nodded. "We're not always as careful as we should be. If someone got a glimpse of one of us changed, the imagination can do a lot of work from there." She paused for a moment, a devious smirk pricking at the corners of her mouth. "Oh, and thanks for lumping me in with Bigfoot, just what every girl wants to hear."

"Hey, I didn't-,"

She kissed him again before he could finish his objection. When they pulled back she was grinning. He rolled his eyes.

"Oh, ha ha."

"Gotcha, Arbor."

They carried on, traversing the campus, chatting in low tones about the possibilities of what other supernatural beings might be skulking in the shadows of the human world. According to her, human myths and legends were largely just that, but her own existence proved it was probably best to keep an open mind.

Rounding a bend in the path, the campus diner came into sight, and Luke spotted Gabi and Kenny both waiting near the entrance. He took a breath, keeping a tight hold of Oaklynn's hand.

"You good to do this?"

She nodded. "Just stick to our story if they ask."

"And otherwise, everything's back to normal."

"Yep."

Hand in hand, they advanced. He didn't quite know what to expect from his friends when he showed up with Oaklynn, but together they'd tried to work out contingency plans to deal with any awkwardness. Deciding that brazening it out might be the simplest option, they walked straight up to Gabi and Kenny.

"Hey, guys," Luke announced without preamble.

"Hey, hey." Kenny's expression brightened as he turned. Then he saw Oaklynn and a flash of surprise flitted across his face. He caught it quickly, though and shot her a breezy smile. "And look who's back? Long time no see."

"Yeah, sorry for the disappearing act," Oaklynn replied. "I just had some stuff I had to sort out."

"All in the rear view mirror now then?" Gabi's eyes flickered down; she saw their hands clutched together. She quickly looked up again, as though trying to act for all the world like she hadn't seen it.

"Yeah, it's dealt with. I made my choice, properly this time." She dipped her head sideways to tap Luke's shoulder.

Kenny grinned. "Stop the press. Should I start the wedding planning now or...?"

"Oh, shut up." Luke made a half-hearted attempt to clip his room mate round the ear. Kenny laughed as he ducked away – even Gabi could suppress a smile then.

"Right, right, c'mon, I'm starving." Kenny ushered them towards the entrance of the diner. "You can regale me over a burger."

*

To Luke's relief, lunch passed uneventfully. Neither Gabi or Kenny opted to question them about what had happened last night. He could almost sense their curiosity, but they restrained themselves, sticking to basic campus chatter and tactfully avoiding mentioning the murders that lurked in the background of every conversation like a dark cloud.

He wasn't totally sure if it would have been better to get all of that out of the way as quickly as possible, though. He could tell both of his friends had a lot of questions smouldering away inside that needed to be answered sooner or later.

"Just gotta duck to the restroom," Oaklynn said once they'd finished their meal. They stood up and she planted a kiss on Luke's cheek. "Be back in a minute."

She scurried off, leaving the three of them loitering around the diner entrance. They shuffled to the side to get out of the path of comers and goers, but an uncomfortable silence settled in the air between them. Luke could feel the unease in the air, with no more social buffers standing between him and the hard questions.

"Luke, I'm glad two you patched everything up and all," Kenny ventured once Oaklynn was out of earshot. "But help us out here. What exactly is going on?"

Luke felt a tremor of nervousness shimmer up his spine. "With Oaklynn?"

"No, with Santa Claus."

"Alright, alright."

"C'mon, Luke," Gabi interjected quietly. "A couple of days ago she's public enemy number one and now you guys are, what, dating?"

"I guess." He gave an awkward shrug.

"Well then what the hell happened when you went to see her?" A sudden horrified expression crossed her face. "Wait, you guys didn't... you know?"

"What? No!" Luke recoiled in surprise. "God, Gabi!"

"I'm just saying."

"Mind out of the gutter, Gabrielle," Kenny chuckled, giving her a nudge with one elbow.

Gabi folded her arms and looked pointedly at Luke. "Well?"

"We just talked," he replied. It was true. Sort of. "I took that stuff we found; confronted her about it."

"Guess she must've had a hell of an explanation."

You have no idea.

"It wasn't what we thought," he said carefully. "I asked her about Thunder Bay; about all the things we dug up."

Kenny gave him an expectant look. "And?"

"It's probably better if you hear it from her." Luke looked off in the direction she'd gone, squirming uncomfortably inside his skin. The lie they'd concocted felt ashen on his tongue, but he knew he couldn't tell his friends the truth. Part of him hated that, but what choice did he really have?

"The connection with Thunder Bay – she's already spoken to the sheriff about it," he told them. "Both her and Kasper had relatives who died out there." Luke felt his skin crawling. "I shouldn't really talk about it. She's not supposed to tell any of us. Kind of like how we weren't supposed to mention..." He gestured towards his forehead. "You know?"

Gabi looked dubious, but for the moment she kept any objections to herself, instead glancing at Kenny. He pursed his lips, one foot tapping up and down in thought. In the end he shrugged.

"If you say so." A smile abruptly split his features as he changed gears. "So, you two lovebirds still coming to watch the game tonight?"

"Count on it," Luke answered, eagerly grasping the switch of subject with both hands. "Not going to miss Kyan tearing it up."

"Go White-Tails." Kenny mimed blasting a train horn.

Oaklynn rejoined them a moment later, beaming a smile. She caught Luke's eye; he nodded. So far their lie had been enough to keep from facing any further scrutiny. Idle chatter returned as Kenny led them off, speculation on their respective knowledge (or lack thereof) of the sport they were about to witness dominating proceedings.

They met Kyan and Aliyah not far from the campus sports centre, where Kyan would soon be hitting the ice rink for the ELU White-Tails. He had his team jersey on – a jet black top with gold stripes running down the shoulders and a graphic of a white-tailed stag emblazoned on its centre. His bulky hockey bag hung off one shoulder and he held his stick in the opposite hand. Aliyah stood with him, her slim frame swamped by a White-Tails hoodie.

"Here comes the party," she declared.

"Look who's gone full cheerleader," Kenny joked. "What, no memorabilia for us?"

"Oh, you know where the shop is."

"And I'll sign it all for free," Kyan laughed. "So you guys are all coming tonight?"

"Wouldn't miss it," Gabi chimed, giving him both thumbs up.

"Thanks."

"Thank us if you win." She flashed a devious grin.

"Oh, is that how it is?" Kyan gave her a look of mock severity before his gaze moved on to Luke and Oaklynn. "And you guys?"

"We'll be there," Luke answered.

"Great." He winked at Oaklynn. "So it was the prospect of a real sport that dragged you back to us, huh?"

"Careful, skates," Gabi warned, prodding him in the shoulder.

"Oaklynn!"

The hoarse shout that echoed across the campus killed the conversation stone dead, and made Luke turn his eyes skywards in disbelief. Eventually he forced himself to look in the direction of the voice and saw Kasper running towards them. There was a panicked expression on his face, but Luke didn't see any sign of his usual entourage.

"You've got to be kidding," Gabi groaned. "Did this loon slip a tracker into your breakfast or something?"

Oaklynn shook her head, a black expression on her face as she turned towards Kasper, arms folded and hip cocked as she stared the boy down. He clattered to a halt, his furious gaze flashing over the rest of the group for a brief, dismissive instant before he looked back to her.

"Oaklynn, what are you doing?"

"None of your business. I thought I made that clear."

"What?!"

Luke moved up alongside her. Without even looking Oaklynn reached over and grabbed his hand, not breaking eye contact with Kasper. He looked down at the motion and an expression of utter fury churned his features.

"Are you insane?"

"Kasper, stop!" another voice shouted distantly.

Luke looked passed their antagonist and spotted the two students who normally hung around with Kasper racing across the campus grass towards them. Out in front the girl with the dark braids waved frantically. The came to a juddering halt just behind Kasper and the girl edged around to one side. The boy didn't look overly concerned, his face impassive beneath his shock of red hair. He struck a nonchalant pose, leaving the heavy lifting to his partner.

"Kasper, you were told not to interfere like this," she hissed, her voice low and urgent. "We all were."

"Look! Look at them!" Kasper shot back, pointing to Oaklynn and Luke; at their hands.

The girl looked and her eyebrows rose in consternation. Even the red-haired boy looked surprised by it. Luke surmised that the Karkadda must have had some pretty specific rules about dating on top of secrecy. She quickly refocused, however, turning her attention back to Kasper.

"This isn't the way. We need to go."

"You've got that right," Kenny put in sneeringly. "C'mon pal, seriously, how many hints does a girl have to drop for you?"

"Stay out of this." The girl flashed him a fiery glare.

"How about you stay out of this," Gabi countered. "Who the hell are you people? Can't you spend your time persecuting someone else?"

"It's okay, guys," Oaklynn said. "Kasper, walk away. I'm not going to ask you again."

"You're not safe," Kasper insisted.

"I'm safe enough."

The other body shook his head in disbelief. "You know that's not true. What is it with you and this guy?"

"Maybe it's because he's the only person in this town that actually gives a damn about what I might want!" she snarled, her grip on Luke's hand tightening. "He's the only person here who gave me the choice, let me decide. I don't answer to you, Kasper, and I never will. Now get the hell away from me and don't come back!"

Kasper stiffened and Luke could see the vein bulging in the side of his neck. His face reddened – he looked like he might explode. Beside him the girl with dark braids edged forward.

"Kasper, no, not here," she said, approaching him the same way you might approach an angry cobra. Reaching gingerly forward she gripped his upper arm. "We won't solve anything."

"She's right, K," the male student finally spoke. His voice was harsh, like rough glass, and he had a heavy Irish drawl. "Looks like Little Miss has made her choice."

"Kasper, I think it would be better for all of us if you just go, okay?" Luke said, keeping his voice level, trying not to provoke the kid any more.

He might as well have tried to put a lid on an active volcano.

This time the other student wasn't going to be so easily pacified, by his friends or anyone else. Luke tensed, ready to spring as Kasper yanked his arm loose from the girl's grip and stepped forward. His fists clenched by his sides and anger swirled in his eyes. He glimpsed the faint churn of energy there, the same thing he'd seen weeks ago when they'd first met; the same thing that crackled behind Oaklynn's eyes just before she changed.

If Luke had been harbouring any doubts that Kasper was a Karkadda, they evaporated in that moment. Nevertheless, he held his ground.

Something thumped to the ground behind him, followed by a clatter of wood on concrete. The next thing he knew, Kyan stepped decisively between them. Having shed his hockey gear, the brawny freshman stood a little taller than Kasper and he let it show, squaring up to the other kid with their faces just a few inches apart.

"You're gonna walk away from this," Kyan grated. "Right now."

Kasper turned a contemptuous glare on him. "Get out of my face, kid."

Kyan replied with a sudden, piston-like shove to the Karkadda's chest with both hands. Tall and strong with it, he put enough force behind the push to send Kasper toppling off balance. The other student tumbled backwards and crashed to the ground before his companions could catch him, a wordless growl of rage tearing out of his throat.

He rocketed back to his feet again and lunged forward, only for the girl to catch him around the waist. She just barely managed to hang onto him, and the other boy jumped in to help, hooking Kasper beneath the armpit and wrapping him into a tight hug from behind to hold him in place.

Kyan started moving as well, one hand sweeping back, ready to slam his fist into Kasper's face. Luke and the others piled in to keep the two apart, grabbing Kyan and dragging him a few steps back. Only then did he realise just how strong his friend was. It took him, Kenny and Gabi to wrestle him just a few yards away from the struggling Karkadda.

"You stay the hell away from us," Kyan snarled, his whole body still tense with anger. "If I see you again I'm gonna smash your god-damn teeth out. You get me, tough guy?"

"Please try it."

"Rory, get him out of here," the girl said, heaving Kasper away and bundling him into the hands of the other boy. Rory slung an arm tight around the back of Kasper's neck, forcibly twisting him away from the encounter.

The girl shot a furious glance back over her shoulder, her eyes fixing on Oaklynn. Her jaw tensed, as though holding in a torrent of words that couldn't be spoken in front of others. Luke guessed she had to be a Karkadda as well, given how much time she seemed to spend around Kasper.

In the end she contented herself with a frustrated snort and stalked off after her friends, leaving Luke and the others in the simmering aftermath of the confrontation. After a few seconds they released their hold on Kyan, stepping away from him. His eyes stayed locked on Kasper's receding figure, his body still visibly tense.

"I... I'm sorry," Oaklynn stammered. "I had no idea he would be so-,"

"Look, I dunno what shit you have with that guy," Kyan snapped, glaring at her. "But you better deal before somebody gets hurt. Get a restraining order; get the cops to haul his ass outta here – I don't care. Either you deal with him, or I'm gonna."

Then he turned sharply away. Scooping up his kit back and hockey stick, he strode off at a furious pace in the direction of the sports centre, his pent up fury lingering in the air behind him. Aliyah cursed, shooting Oaklynn an accusing look.

"He's right," the normally soft-spoken girl spat. "Stop putting us in the middle of your mess." Before Oaklynn could answer she was off, jogging in pursuit of Kyan. She caught up and Luke could see them exchanging words, too far away to hear.

They pair kept going until they turned a corner out of sight, leaving the rest of them in a tense silence, like the aftermath of a thunderclap. Luke swallowed hard. Kenny and Gabi exchanged bewildered looks.

He moved over to Oaklynn. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, I just..." She raked both her hands through her hair, hands clutching at her dark locks in frustration. "I never thought he would take things so far."

"I'm sorry about Kyan. That's just the adrenaline talking."

"No, he's right," Oaklynn conceded, shaking her head. "I thought Kasper had got the message, but I guess I need to spell things out a little clearer for him." She looked apologetically to Gabi and Kenny. "Sorry you guys keep getting dragged into this. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

Then the low grumble of an engine revved in the air and in his highly-strung state Luke whirled around, looking for the culprit. About a hundred yards away on the street running adjacent to the campus path he spotted a grey pick-up truck performing a u-turn, swinging its bulk around. It wouldn't have bothered him, if it weren't for the unmistakable bar of crimson slashing from just above the front right tyre, back across the vehicle's side.

DeVergne.

He couldn't see the driver, tinted windows blocking them from sight, but Luke recognised that truck all too well. It growled and turned away from them, rolling off down the road and turning out of sight, heading back towards town. Beyond coincidence. Far beyond. He narrowed his eyes, jaw clenching in thought.

"What is it?" Gabi asked, glancing in the direction the truck had taken in confusion.

"That truck." Luke glanced at Kenny.

His friend nodded. "That guy we ran into. DeVergne."

"That's his?"

"Hard to miss it."

"And that guy," Gabi's face lit up in realisation. "That's the guy we saw out back of the equipment store? The one talking with coach?"

"That's him."

"ELU Campus is a weird place for a camping trip," Kenny said. "What do you think?"

"I think I've had just about enough of that guy creeping around campus," Luke muttered. He gave the others a deliberate look. "It's probably about time Sheriff Nalen had a good long talk with Mr DeVergne."