It was mid-afternoon on a Saturday when I stepped out of the ranch into the warm sunshine and noticed Ember lying in a reclined chair at the other end of the deck, wrapped up in blankets.

"Aren't you too warm like that?" I asked her, sitting down in a chair beside her, hoping she hadn't gone into a comatose state again; that would suck big time.

A shoulder might've shrugged — I wasn't sure — and she spoke, "It's cosy."

"I can't believe it's, like, the middle of June already." I sighed, leaning back and stretching.

The sun was high in the sky, and the light outline of the full moon was semi-visible through some thin clouds. Searching for my pack all those months ago felt like a million lifetimes ago; all that had happened in Lake Oldoy was blurring in my memories — yet my clearest thoughts of those times revolved around Ember, and how lost I'd gotten in her — how in love I'd been with her.

"You know I've realised something," she announced, ignoring my words about it being June; ignoring me.

"What's that?" I frowned at her, wondering where on earth she was taking the conversation.

Head tilted skywards, she mused, "Watching the clouds is almost as transfixing as watching a fire."

"Nothing's as transfixing as watching you." The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could even process my thoughts. "I meant—"

"It doesn't matter." She waved a hand. "I'm feeling too empty to be arsed falling out with you."

Okay, that's a new one. I guess that means we're at the 'depression' stage of grief now.

"Anything in particular you want to talk about?" I tried; we hadn't really talked about the whole thing with Maia since the other day. And, honestly, I was starting to worry about what the full moon would bring for the pack that night — especially since Maia wasn't a 'real' werewolf.

Would she even shift at all? What happens if she does shift? Will she be violent, unpredictable, and out of control?

"No." A shake of the head came, along with Ember's voice — reminding me I thankfully wasn't alone with my thoughts. "I just want you to be here with me."

After a few moments of silence, I asked, "Are you cold?"

"Why?" She smirked to herself, still staring up at the ever-changing array of clouds. Her voice took on a flirting tone. "Are you offering to warm me up?"

Holy shit. It's been a while since she's spoken to me in that way.

"I mean, yeah." Teasing, I grinned across at her as her eyes locked onto mine. "I could grab you another blanket if that's what you mean."

Once again taking the conversation in a totally different direction, she blurted out, "My dad is dead, Theo. I'm responsible for his death."

"Do you wanna go for a walk in the woods?" I suggested. "Instead of just sitting here all evening?"

"Sure, why not?" She stood up so quickly that I was genuinely surprised she didn't fall over; after being wrapped up like she was, I'd forgotten that she was nowhere near fragile, or delicate. Not physically, at least. I couldn't really speak for how she was doing emotionally right then.

Her blankets fell to the floor, revealing the fact that she was wearing shorts, for the first time in, like, months. But, damn, her legs looked good. All that training she did on Svalbard had toned her thighs and butt nicely.

"All my pairs of ¾-length leggings are in the wash," Ember explained along with a shrug.

"No complaints from me." A smirk reached my lips.

"Whatever." Her eyes narrowed, but a trace of a smile crossed her face as well.

I led her away from the ranch, and into the woods, just beyond where she and Ryder 'collected firewood' the other week. What bullshit — that hickey he gave her was enough to prove that they probably never even picked up a single twig.

"I'm... sorry about everything with Ryder," Ember told me, chewing at her lip as she focused on the woodland floor beneath us.

I wanted to tell her it was alright, but it wasn't alright. It wasn't alright that she'd started something with a guy who was my best friend, basically my brother.

"You don't have to forgive me." She read my thoughts easily — though maybe my face betrayed me. "I know it's not okay... I don't even know what I was thinking."

"Were you trying to make me jealous?" I snuck a glance across at her, only to see her gaze still transfixed on the ground.

"Maybe." She sighed. "As I said, I don't know what I was thinking. Ryder's good-looking and he was interested in me. I guess I'm just a sucker for any guy that shows any kind of affection towards me."

"That's not a bad thing," I reassured, "It just means you're caring and compassionate."

But clearly not caring and compassionate enough to let herself love me; a voice mocked in my head.

She was clearly afraid of letting you into her life too much, another voice responded before I could silence my inner thoughts.

"I don't know about that." Ember bit her lip, holding back from saying more.

"What do you mean?"

"The Phoenix... isn't exactly inclined to loyalty to one lover," she explained slowly and cast her eyes away from me. "That's why I got involved with Jack in Lake Oldoy."

"It's not your fault," I insisted instantly — seeing how much it was bothering her. "Remember how you told me, after that full moon in Lake Oldoy, that eventually we all succumb to our nature? Well, maybe the Phoenix's infidelity is something that you can't always escape."

"I don't know about that," Ember repeated — but something in her tone told me that she was slightly reassured by what I'd told her, so I didn't push it any further.

Ember leaned against a tree; eyes half-shut as she squinted into the sun. Leaning on the side of her tree, I got a whiff of her chemosignals: mourning — for her dad, hurt, anger and pain — for everything that happened when the hunters kidnapped her, and confusion — but I couldn't work out what that was for.

"Why are you confused?" I asked, tilting my head towards her.

"Why are you smelling me?" She countered, a semi-frown on her face.

"'Cos you smell good." I shrugged, before adding, "But I'm also right next to you, so it was kinda unavoidable. So, what are you confused about?"

"Us." She let her head tip back against the tree as her blue eyes rested on me.

"What about us?" I asked, kinda asking for myself as well — things between us were hardly simple.

Something urged me to step forwards, so I did; beginning to break down a barrier that had been present between us for too long.

"First off..." Ember turned to me, our noses basically touching. "Can we please try not to argue about this?"

"I'll try." I breathed — already getting lost in her blue eyes, which were lightened by the sunset.

"How could you expect me to love you if I don't even know your real surname?" She questioned.

"What does my surname have to do with any of that?" I frowned, stepping back, putting that barrier straight back up. The fact it was the day before a night of the full moon shouldn't be an excuse, but it was the main reason why I spent most of that day on edge.

"Maybe because your name makes up for a huge amount of your identity?" She frowned back at me, "How could you expect me to know that I loved you if you weren't even sure you knew yourself? Maybe you still don't know yourself..."

My eyebrows descended into an even firmer frown. "It's a surname, it's got nothing to do with whether you loved me or not. I would still have loved you even if your name was something boring and mundane. Your name doesn't change who you are."

"Tell that to victims of identity theft." She spat back at me.

"I don't know what you're asking me to do here!" I shook my head at her, voice rising in volume, even though I'd said I'd try not to argue with her. "Do you want me to produce my birth certificate or something? Because I can't, okay? It was burnt up along with my house and my parents."

"I just want to know your real last name!" She cried out incredulously at me, arguing back.

"What if I don't remember it?" I returned with an equal amount of incredulity.

"Theo, not remembering your last name is like... Like forgetting your parents." Ember stepped away from the tree, walking some distance away from me.

"What if I don't remember them either?" I shouted after her.

"I don't believe that," she muttered, "I don't know what to believe anymore."

Taking the deepest breath possible, I walked after her, keeping my voice quiet as I said, "You can believe me."

"I just want something real," she pleaded, eyes searching mine as she placed herself right in front of me, resting her hands on my chest. "I just want to know something real about you."

How can I say no to that?

"Oakenbank," I finally gave in and told her, hanging my head. "My surname is Oakenbank."

"Theo Oakenbank." Placing her hand under my chin and tilting my face up to hers, she told me, "It suits you."

Weakly, I smiled. "You're the only one I've ever told."

"Not even Jason?" She frowned; voice soft.

"Not even Jason." I slightly shook my head.

Will you love me now that you know my surname?

"So, Theodore Oakenbank." Ember smiled beautifully, and I don't think I'd seen her looking so happy for a long while. "What now?"

"It's up to you." Wrapping my arms around her waist, I smiled back, feeling strengthened by her.

Then my phone vibrated in my pocket, and I had to drop my hands away from her, inwardly cursing myself for not leaving the damn thing at the ranch.

1 New Message from Storm

STORM:

U NEED TO GET BACK HERE RN.

With a sigh, I turned my phone screen to Ember, in order to show her. The worst scenarios were already rushing through my head — as always, the full moon worsening my hyperawareness and paranoia.

Ember swallowed. "Do you remember what I said about Storm the other day?

"Yeah. You don't trust her," I repeated. I could never forget her words — they were permanently ingrained in my brain.

"It's Storm. I don't trust her... Storm was close with Ryan, wasn't she? And he was the one that betrayed the pack to the hunters the first time around? What if it was Storm that betrayed the pack this time?"

Jerking me away from my thoughts, my phone buzzed again.

STORM:

NOW, THEO!!!

"We really should go," I insisted to Ember, "It is a full moon tonight, after all."

She nodded and didn't say anything, but walked with me back to the ranch.

When we got back, the entire pack (plus Maia) was in disarray. To start with, Ember and I had no idea what was going on — though I doubted whether anybody else knew either.

"Hey, Storm!" I called to her when she rushed by, and followed her, unintentionally leaving Ember behind. "Storm! What the hell's going on?"

"Hunters," she told me, and then was off again, bundles of clothes in her arms.

"Jason?" I spotted him. "What's happening?"

He frowned at me. "They're coming, Theo. They're coming for us and we've gotta get outta here right now."

Ember desperately grabbed onto my arm. "What do we do?"

I shook my head at her; I don't know.

"Are you sure?!" I shouted after Jason as he rushed around.

"Abi saw it, Storm saw it," Jason shouted back, "I'm sure."

"Theo, I've got a really bad feeling about all this." Ember tugged on my arm, drawing my attention to her.

"What is it?" I asked, despite my gut instinct telling me that I seriously needed to get my crap together.

"I don't know... Something just doesn't feel right about all this." Her face crumpled into a frown.

"I know what you mean." I nodded. "But we gotta go, Ember."

We went our separate ways as Ember rushed down to the hut she'd been sleeping in, and I rushed to my room. I was reluctant about letting Ember go on her own, but I knew that there wasn't any time to waste, and that going with her and waiting for her to pack would just be lost time that we didn't have.

If the hunters were coming for us, then we barely had any time at all.

Rapidly, I began throwing my belongings into the duffel bag that I brought here when I came back. And a weird sense of déjà vu washed over me; I'd thrown my clothes into a bag before leaving Coloma and ending up in Potomac; I'd thrown my clothes into a bag before leaving the UK and leaving Ember...

There was no way that we could've stayed, but at the same time, I wished that I'd made more of an effort with a long-distance relationship. Because at least then, maybe we wouldn't be fighting quite as much.

Maybe.

Jason knocked on my door and quickly explained, "I'm gonna drive Abi, Zack, Storm and Jade outta here, and then I'll come back for you, Ryder and Ember. Okay?"

"Sure." I nodded, but it felt so, so wrong to be splitting up like that.

"I'll be back in about 20 minutes," he told me as he marched out of the ranch. "Lock the door behind me!"

I went and locked the door behind him, watching through a window as the vast majority of my pack drove off. Leaving me behind.

And Ryder, and Ember. Of course.

Ember. I should go check on Ember.

After yelling to Ryder that I was going to check in on Ember, I flung open the back door and sprinted down to the lakeside, where the hut was.

The evening had grown cool, despite the glowing sun; and a thin layer of mist was unfurling over the lake's surface, reminding me of Lake Oldoy.

"Ember?" I knocked on the hut's door before pushing it open. There was a window on the door, but the curtain was drawn across it.

I probably should've waited for her to say 'come in' or something, so it was my own fault that I saw her half-naked; the curtain was drawn closed for a reason.

"Theo!" She squealed and turned away from me in order to hide her bare chest.

"Oh, shit. Sorry," I apologised but stayed where I was, staring at her slightly muscled back as she pulled on a bra.

I couldn't get the sight out of my head, the sight of her boobs, so I flicked my eyes all around the hut — taking in the messy bed, the overflowing bag of clothes, some uneaten candy bars and packets of chips — everywhere but her.

She turned to face me again, folding her arms across her bra-clad chest, but in a way that emphasised her curves; even though she'd lost a shit ton of weight, she'd still managed to keep her curves.

"Mind giving me a little privacy?" She raised an eyebrow at me; everything about her emitting annoyance and anger.

"Yes." I shrugged. "I don't think you should be left alone."

"Yeah right." She scoffed. "You just want to see me naked again."

My eyes flicked away at that; it wasn't that simple. I didn't just want to see her physically naked, I wanted to see her mentally and emotionally naked — I wanted to know her dreams, her wishes, her fears, and her worries.

I wanted to know the mind of Ember Hestia Milburn better than I knew my own mind.

I wanted to get lost in her again.

"Theo!" Ryder stupidly shouted down from the ranch — something I'm pretty sure Kaden would do... Why am I thinking about Kaden?

What the hell does Ryder think he's playing at?

"Get dressed. Right now," I barked at Ember, ignoring the hurt look on her face.

I stormed off before she was finished, and ran up to the ranch, Ember not too far behind.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I growled angrily at Ryder.

"They're here," his words dropped to barely a whisper. "Storm sent me a message, and they're here now. I had to shout you to get you here; Storm told me to."

Swallowing, I sucked in a deep breath, and beside me, Ember had begun to shake a little.

"Hey, hey." I turned to her, placing my hands on her shoulders and looking into her eyes. "It's gonna be okay, we're gonna be okay."

She nodded, but her bottom lip was trembling in fear; she doesn't trust me.

"Ember," I tried again, "We're going to be alright. I promise."

For a split second, she stopped shaking. "I thought you didn't believe in promises."

"Yeah, well." I shrugged a shoulder but kept my gaze locked on hers. "I guess you make me change my mind about what I believe."

At that moment, I did believe in promises; I believed, with all my heart, that I would keep Ember safe, no matter what. I wouldn't let the hunters take her like they did last time. I'd never let anyone take her away from me ever again.

"Erm, guys?" Ryder's voice echoed through the very-nearly empty ranch, "I hate to break up your little moment, but—"

A knock came at the door. Short and sharp — three knocks, all of an equal force, and all equally spaced apart.

Why would hunters knock?

Ember grabbed hold of my arm, nails digging into exposed skin.

"We'll be okay," I whispered to her, detaching her hand from my arm. "I'll go look."

Ryder nodded anxiously as I walked past him.

"It could be Jason," I told him, "Jason could've come back for us."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Theo," Ryder told me. "What if it's what they want?"

"Why would hunters even bother knocking?" I questioned them both, before deciding, "I'll go look."

"Last time you thought it was Abi and Storm at the door, it was Maia," Ember said in a hushed voice.

Choosing to ignore both of them, I walked along the wooden floorboards to the door. I could only hear one heartbeat; so, if it was the hunters, the rest of them must've been waiting somewhere else. So, it could've been Jason back for us.

Three more knocks came, shorter and sharper than last time.

Despite the glaringly obvious reason for not opening the door, there was something deep within me telling me that it was alright. My gut instinct was reassuring me; it's not the hunters, it's not them, it can't be.

Ryder and Ember were now stood a little way behind me — just as ready and as prepared as I was. Or, at least as much as I thought I was. I was nowhere near ready or prepared.

Slowly, I unlocked the door and opened it ajar.

As I took in all the features of the man standing in front of me, shock temporarily flooded my body, and I was frozen to the spot.

The man at the door was middle-aged, tall, broad-shouldered, with a strong jaw and ears that stuck out from his head in the same way that mine did. His eyes were squinted at me, and his mouth a firm line.

And I knew him.

I know him.

"Dad?"