I walked home alone, knowing Etienne was practically being held hostage by people he was too scared to stand up against. The moment we left the meeting place, I saw how they made Etienne carry all their bags to their rented house from the car and treated him like a servant, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. Not unless Etienne walked out of there himself. And even then, it would throw Pinewood in disarray if I helped him.

Honestly, I didn't know what Ivana expected me to do here. I could handle any grouchy werewolf she threw at me and living among the humans. Clearly, I couldn't handle keeping secrets from my own community and ill-advised romantic entanglements with newly turned vampires.

I didn't even realise Nathan and Ivana knew about the bite all along because they could tell from my unnaturally quick pulse the last time they saw me. From the blood loss. If they knew what was going on so well, why weren't they fixing it?

It wasn't like the vampires would just allow me to walk into their accommodation, the fanciest cabin you could get in these parts, of course, and talk to Etienne. Our fate was in the hands of the other supernaturals now, and the only thing I could do tonight is go to sleep and wait for the next meeting tomorrow night.

I walked to my house in the dark and sighed when I smelled an all too familiar scent and found a little pup sitting on my doormat. Werewolf pups were all little troublemakers and so was I when I was young, but I didn't have the patience right now.

"Danny, what are you doing here?" I asked with a sigh. "I'm sure your parents don't want you sneaking around in the woods with our guests present. Come on, let's get you home."

"No!" Danny protested. "I want to say goodbye to Etienne. Mommy says he's leaving tomorrow."

I didn't need the reminder.

"Etienne is not here, Danny," I said. "He's with... his people."

Danny pouted, and I felt disgusting even speaking the words out loud. Obviously, I couldn't tell a little pup what was going on so I had to censor myself. But I couldn't stop the hurt and anger bubbling up in my chest.

I couldn't help Etienne if he didn't get himself away from the vampires first. I couldn't go there and demand Etienne to come out and come with me without making this situation a hell of a lot worse for everyone involved, including Etienne.

I shook my head. "Danny, go home. The vampires will leave the woods tomorrow and after that, I'm sure your mom and dad will let you play outside again. Come on."

I picked Danny up and ignored the way he wriggled in my arms and even bit into my arm, trying to make me turn around and take him to see Etienne. He didn't stop his moping and complaining, not even when we approached his parents' home.

Danny's mother must've been on the lookout because she opened the door long before I reached it.

She greeted me with a blank stare. "Boris," she said, quickly reaching out to take her son from my arms. "Thanks for bringing Danny home yet again."

"Of course, no probl—" I replied, but before I could finish my sentence, Danny's mother closed the door in my face. Danny's protests faded away into the distance as she took her son to the living room.

I blinked. That was far from the friendly reception I usually got. It was a running gag between us that Danny spent more time escaping and trying to make his way to my house and the humans than he was actually at home. I suppose it was still funny as long as there were only humans walking around in Pinewood. The people I looked over weren't violent and wouldn't hurt a little whelp. Plus, Danny was very skilled at staying out of sight.

If I had to guess why Danny's mother was so cold, I would say the news that I let a vampire bite me willingly had already spread. Not a choice I'd get a lot of understanding for, which was understandable considering their nature and the fact they were trying to ruin our Pinewood project.

This reaction was only a small taste of what would happen if I let Etienne live with me. Ivana only supported this because if I didn't make Etienne tell the truth, we wouldn't be able to continue what we started in Pinewood. She saw the bigger picture but had no sympathy for the vampire. Only for me. She saw my struggles and tried to find a solution that was also considerate of me.

And still... although he lied about me and Nathan during the meeting and was causing a mess, I didn't want to believe he was evil. He wasn't doing this willingly. Fear was one hell of a motivator to stay silent. I didn't know what happened to him, but I could imagine the way the other vampires of castle Logoria treated Etienne when they turned him.

He must've been just a guy in his early twenties with no clue supernaturals existed. Snatched off the streets or lured away from a party, and turned. No longer able to see the sun, and treated like a servant because he was young. Vampires only respected and worshipped their elders.

I was out of options. Most of my community didn't support this. Etienne wouldn't speak the truth. The fey didn't seem interested in mentioning their woods thought me and the vampires lovers. If I suddenly brought it up tomorrow myself, that 'evidence' that I didn't beat him up would look weak at best.

What I should do was obvious. Go back home. Eat something, shower, sleep, and wait until the next meeting. Yet, that wasn't where my feet carried me.

It was almost like I enjoyed the punishment. Had to be a glutton for it because why else did the image of Etienne's terrified eyes linger in my mind? Why did Ivana tell me to show him a better way keep repeating itself in my head?

I kept going past my house, past the meeting place, and even further until I had arrived at the luxury cabin where the vampires were holed up. The drapes were shut. If one vampire peeked outside now, they'd see me. The chance one of the other vampires looked was just as large as it was Etienne.

They'd tell everyone tomorrow that I had threatened them for sure.

I was about to turn around and leave when the door creaked. I jumped and ran to the nearby firewood shack, holding still in the shadows there, peeking out through a crack in the door. A lone figure exited the cabin and my heart skipped a beat when I realised it was Etienne. And he was coming directly at me.

"Don't be startled," I muttered the moment Etienne was at the door.

He froze. Cursing quietly under his breath, he darted a glance at the cabin and then snuck into the firewood shed with me.

"Boris!" he hissed, looking over his shoulder toward the cabin again. "You can't be here. Go away! What if they see you here?"

"They won't if you keep your voice down and stop acting suspicious," I whispered.

"Boris, I'm serious." Etienne pushed past me and started picking up firewood, bundling the branches in his arms. "I can't stay away for too long. They'll notice. What do you want? And make it quick."

What I wanted was to throw the firewood on the floor, pick Etienne up, and carry him to my house. Away from the snobby vampires who made Etienne get their firewood and forced him to lie to prevent us from living together with the humans of Pinewood. I had a creeping suspicion treating Etienne as a servant wasn't the worst they had done, considering the poor guy seemed in shock when I complimented his food once.

"I want to know if this is truly what you want, Etienne," I said.

Etienne sighed and rolled his eyes. "No. Collecting firewood is not exactly my dream job, thank you very much."

"You know what I mean."

Etienne kept his gaze trained on the wood in his arms. He stopped picking up branches for a moment as he hesitated. "It's not about what I want, Boris. Just... do yourself a favour and forget about me. You can't help me, okay? You have your own community to worry about and they will never accept me. Not after all this."

I took a step closer. "That's not what I asked."

"Yeah, well, that's the only answer you're getting."

Etienne tried to pass me but I blocked his path, standing in the entrance with my hands on either side of the frame.

"Tell me you don't want me to fight for you at the meeting tomorrow and I won't. I will go home and forget about you." I paused. "Try to forget about you. But as long as you're not telling me exactly that, I'm not stopping."

Etienne's wide eyes finally lifted to meet mine. His Adam's apple bobbed. "I can't ask this of you."

I placed my hands on Etienne's upper arms, and he shivered at my touch.

"Good thing that you're not asking, but I'm offering," I said.

Etienne gave me a pained look. "You don't understand. I did this to myself. I chose this, and I don't deserve your help."

"Etienne!" a voice yelled threateningly from the cabin. "Inside with the firewood now."

Etienne flinched. "I'm coming!" he called back. Then he turned to me. He stared at me for a moment, then suddenly leaned in. Rough branches prodded me in the chest as Etienne's lips brushed against mine.

"Don't do anything stupid, Boris," he whispered to my lips, eyes still shut. "Any more stupid than showing up here, I mean. That was already pretty stupid."

Etienne gave me one last pleading look and then tried to pass me again. This time, I stepped aside and watched Etienne disappear around the corner, moving in the direction of the cabin with the firewood.

I still hadn't heard him say the words 'give up.' I hadn't said everything I wanted to say to Etienne either thanks to the rude vampiric interruption, but I still could. It'd just have to say it in a full meeting room tomorrow.