Thankfully, there were no curious humans present on the road to my home and we arrived at my house without further issues. 

I wouldn't know how to explain Etienne and I being covered in blood while skulking around in the dusk. I couldn't even explain the part where I was with Etienne at all after telling Mr. Davis we had broken up for good just earlier today. If the news had reached Mrs. Davis, and I was sure it had, the entire town knew by now.

When I carried Etienne into my hallway, I could immediately tell Danny had been picked up by his parents with one sniff. There were three recent scents in the room, aside from my own.

In the living room, a message was waiting for me in my voicemail. Ivana had received the news from little Danny and she was on her way home from the fey woods. Her tone was distant and business-like but, to my surprise, she said we should stay in my house tonight and have a meeting in the morning.

I didn't expect to be left alone with Etienne again after what she'd witnessed in the woods. But, if I was completely honest, I was relieved. I'd had my share of excitement for the day, and I didn't need any more. 

Apparently, Etienne and I were not going to talk about how I left the fey woods either. He didn't mention it while we waited for the sun to set in the factory, nor on the way home. And if he didn't start, I wouldn't either. 

We had other things to worry about, anyway. Like him almost dying in that factory, by the hand of my pack members. The realisation was barely sinking in yet for me, let alone for him. I didn't know what this meant for the future of the werewolves or the vampires. I didn't know what Etienne would say to the other vampires in the meeting tomorrow morning, or how we could ever resolve this clusterfuck mess.

What I did know was that we could use a shower and good night's rest. 

"You can shower first," I told Etienne, as I could tell he could barely stand when I lowered him down on the ground.

"Such a gentleman," Etienne replied with a lopsided smile. "Then again, maybe you simply don't want to bathe. Werewolves aren't known for their hygiene, are they?"

"Ah, but I must smell delicious to you right now with all that blood covering me," I quipped before turning to walk up the stairs, leaving the vampire in the hallway. 

Etienne didn't have his suitcase. He'd need to borrow some of my clothes unless he wanted to walk around in a bloodied shirt and ripped pants.

I figured I'd have to carry Etienne up to the bathroom too, but while I was rummaging through my closet to find anything that would fit the vampire, he ascended the stairs on his own, albeit breathing heavily and taking breaks every five steps.

Since he'd already been reluctant to accept my help before, I pretended I didn't notice and waited until he reached the first floor on his own. The sight of his ashen grey and tired face tugged at my heartstrings, but I knew Etienne didn't want my pity. So, I simply followed him into the bathroom and set the clean set of clothes and a towel down on the edge of the bathtub.

Etienne raised his brow at the plain white t-shirt and the jeans covered in old paint stains. "Not exactly my taste."

"My scent is in it, so I'm sure you will enjoy it anyway, vampire," I replied with a wink.

Etienne rolled his eyes at my remark, but didn't protest or insist I brought him a better outfit.

"You don't need help, do you?" I asked, considering even walking up the stairs seemed to have taken a toll on Etienne.

"Now you're just looking for an excuse to watch," Etienne said with a snort. "I suppose you can wash my feet. If you beg for it like a good boy."

I snorted and shook my head with a chuckle. "Alright, you're still a pain in the ass so you're fine. I'll hear you if you call out. Let me know if you do actually need my help."

I left the bathroom and closed the door behind me. A few moments later I heard water running, so Etienne seemed to be capable of showering on his own. 

Good. I didn't know if it was wise to act on my offer to help him at this point. Talking to him was strangely... normal considering everything that had happened the past few days, but it only felt like a paper-thin layer of normalcy covering everything underneath. I was trying very hard to ignore it. 

Walking into my bedroom, I pulled my shirt over my head and took off my pants to bring to the laundry basket. I hoped a normal wash would get out most of the blood. I wasn't too familiar with how to wash blood out of fabric considering we werewolves didn't fight a lot anymore since we moved to Pinewood, and I wasn't used to wearing clothes when hunting.

Pacing around the room, I waited for Etienne to finish his shower. The smell of blood in my nose made me restless and I couldn't wait to wash it off. Thankfully for me, Etienne seemed to go for a brief shower and came out of the bathroom ten minutes later.

The vampire wore my clothes, was pretty much drowning in them. The sleeves were far too long and the pants nearly slid down his hips. My scent now clung to his skin, and my heart sped up in a way it definitely shouldn't.

And Etienne wasn't faring much better than me. His gaze glided down my body and stopped at my underwear. 

I didn't need to hear a skipping heartbeat to know his thoughts. Etienne had stared at me the first time I undressed in front of him, and I had figured it was an attempt to faze me. Now that I knew the vampire a little better, I knew it was something else; simply a vampire's appreciation for things he liked to see.

And now that things were different, his wandering eyes did faze me. A shiver travelled down my spine. I definitely shouldn't have taken my clothes off yet. Not even if they were bloodied and gross and made me restless. 

"Like what you see?" I asked dryly. 

The remark slipped before my brain caught up and told me teasing was an even worse idea. 

Etienne's eyes shot up to meet mine. "Very surprised I'm seeing you at all, I must say," he said lightly. "I figured I never would again after the fey woods."

Oh. So we were going to talk about it after all. 

And I wasn't even wearing a shirt for it. Shit. Etienne, even after almost dying, still had his ability to catch me off-guard and his mercurial moods.

It wasn't like I had wanted to leave the fey woods, but I shouldn't speak Ivana's orders out loud. Us werewolves needed to form a strong front. So, I kept my mouth shut.

Etienne limped past me out of the bathroom. "At least you didn't leave me to bleed out on the factory floor as everyone else in these woods would."

I didn't know why Etienne's flippant remark about his own life hurt, but it did. Probably because it was true. I didn't know about the vampires, but my pack members would leave him to die. They already had.

Again, I wanted to tell Etienne it wasn't my choice to leave the fey woods. But I couldn't. I didn't blame Ivana for her decision. In fact, it was definitely for the best.

Despite my silence, Etienne's eyes softened slightly. He sighed. "I suppose saving me excuses your rudeness." 

"Speaking of rudeness: I still haven't heard thanks, by the way," I quipped, glad we were moving on from the topic of my sudden departure from the fey woods.

"Thank you," Etienne actually said, catching me off-guard even more. "Even if it won't matter."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Etienne shrugged. "Your pack leader will send me away tomorrow. I drank your blood. I broke our deal."

I hesitated. "Why do you assume I'm going to tell on you anyway? I said I wouldn't tell them and I won't."

"Why?" Etienne asked with a confused shake of his head.

"Because I promised."

Etienne just stared at me. "You promised?" he repeated. 

"Yes. Promises mean something among werewolves, Etienne," I said.

"They do for vampires too," Etienne replied with a frown. "It means I'm in your debt and I need to repay you."

"If you want to give me something back, tell me what you really want in Pinewood," I tried again. "What is your real mission?" 

The odds were very slim that Etienne would suddenly decide to open up, but maybe he would speak now that he owed me his life. I had to try.

And I immediately knew I'd failed when Etienne's red eyes flashed with anger and narrowed. "I already told you: to live here! That is what I wanted. A better question is why you keep helping me. It would've been easier for you to let me bleed out. It might've been better if you had."

"Better?" I called out incredulously. "Etienne, we would have a war on our hands when the vampires found out if you had died. We still might if you tell them what you told me—that Nathan attacked you. This is an entire clusterfuck now thanks to my pack members, and I have no idea how this will end tomorrow morning."

Etienne averted his gaze as I raised my voice, and something about the way he looked so defeated, so tired, made me want to go on. To make it personal.

"And... You're a pain and spoiled, but you're not so bad, vampire," I added jokingly.

Etienne scoffed, but there was a familiar sadness in his gaze again—one I'd seen too man times now.

Etienne tried to walk past me, but I didn't let him leave. I stepped in front of him, blocking his path. He looked up at me with wide eyes, but stopped moving.

"What's going on, Etienne?" I asked. "Why do I keep getting the feeling that you're not lying and you really do want to stay here?"

Etienne sighed. "Because I keep telling you that's what I want?" You're not listening to me. I'm trying to..." he trailed off.

He looked at me in a desperate way that made me feel like he was trying to convey something to me without speaking, but couldn't.

And I felt like I needed to protect Etienne. Like it was important I didn't let him out of my sight. I didn't want to name it, certainly not out loud. But even if I didn't want it, I realised that was dangerously close to a mating instinct. An utterly unwelcome one.

I needed to walk away.

Still, I couldn't help but gently brush my shoulder against Etienne's in the passing on my way into the bathroom. If I wasn't allowing myself to say anything because this situation we were in was enough of a shit show already, at the very least I could show him a smidge of compassion after a violent near-death experience at the hands of werewolves. 

"Boris?" 

I stopped in my tracks and looked over my shoulder automatically when Etienne said my name. 

Etienne's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. He opened his mouth, seemingly changed his mind, and shook his head. "Sorry," he mumbled. Then he turned and disappeared into Aquila's old bedroom.