Emerald was waiting for me when I arrived home, after Xavier dropped me in the school's lot, gave me a grocery sack of my share of the apples, and I drove to the Williams'. Neither of her children were present, and she grinned like she were an older sister witnessing her younger sister come home from her first ever date.

Rolling my eyes and trying to hide my smirk, I offered her the grocery sack. "You guys need apples?"

She snatched it with a sigh. "I want to know how it went!"

I shrugged, "It was fun." It was more than fun, it was one of the best days of my life! Now that I was away from them and the risk of something slipping, I found myself wishing next weekend would come sooner so I could join my new friends on whatever their next adventure was.

Emerald passed the apples to an omega walking by and then tugged me into the next room. She practically flung me to the couch and sat herself in the chair across from me. "Tell me everything."

Realizing she has just essentially replaced my mother, I found myself with no escape, and so I obliged.

"Is he your mate?" She pressed when I reached the end of the day.

"I'm still not sure. But I've decided to stop caring, to stop letting that consume me."

She raised an eyebrow, her green eyes sparkling like her namesake.

I explained, "I'm taking your advice. I'm just going to have fun and be free and live like I'm a human in college making friends as long as I can."

"And if he is your soulmate?"

I bit my lip to hide the smile trying to creep through.

"April." Emerald pressed, a twinkle in her eyes.

"Then I might have landed a good one."

She squealed and launched herself across room to throw her arms around me.

I smacked her off of me with an escaped giggle.

"You guys would be so cute together!"

"All right, all right." I stood up, signaling I was done with this conversation. "I still don't know how to know if he is or not."

She shrugged, the smile still wide across her face. She was as giddy as a little kid on Christmas morning. "So, just live human until you're more sure."

And so I did.

As the days blew past, they were consumed with my new friends, and I found myself meeting up with them as often as our schedules allowed. Everlee and I talked constantly before and after our bio class, and we studied for the next exam as much as I could handle it. I decided biology wasn't for me, so I had stopped trying, but I studied with her because I knew it was important that she got a good grade and that she cared, so I did it for her. It reflected positively for me, too, and after the first test I'd practically failed, the second one was much much better. Everlee got an A, of course, but like I said: she actually cared.

In between classes, I hung out at the library, in the same area I had been all of September. The rest of the group realized it had kind of become my spot, and by the end of the second week of October, I was finding them there to join me in homework grinds more often.

And, whenever one of us was hungry, we'd all end up in the cafeteria to sit in the big booth and chat. On weekends, Everlee often came up with at least one thing for us to do, including hijacking the Williams' kitchen to make cookies (since the three of them already knew I went over there sometimes, but that day gave me more anxiety than I expected and I avoided a repeat) and chilly hikes in the woods. Over the past weeks, I had been able to become pretty close friends with Xavier, Everlee, and Andrew, who still insisted on calling me Freckles. Jacob joined the four of us once in a while, but I wasn't sure if he was truly a student here or not. If he wasn't, his absence made sense. He was quieter, too, not as extroverted as the others. The activities he joined, he acted as if he were dragged along for the ride. I still was unsure what to make of him.

Thunk. My backpack hit the wooden table, our wooden table, nestled in the corner of the school's library with one short end against a wall. That afternoon, all four seats became occupied as I sat down next to Xavier and across from Everlee.

"Oh good, you're here!" Andrew exclaimed, as if he were relieved.

I cocked an eyebrow as I slid my laptop from my bag and onto the table, pushing it open to my most recent assignment I came to work on. "Were you waiting for me?"

"Halloween is right around the corner, we were starting to throw ideas around."

Andrew huffed. "All I'm saying is we still have a couple weeks, I think we should talk about this weekend."

Xavier's eyes reflected a "sorry" as they met mine. "I guess you're supposed to settle this?"

"Me?" I laughed. "Um, what do you guys normally do on Halloween?" Without a solid group of friends in high school, I wasn't used to forming plans like that.

Everlee lit up. "I love traditional activities like corn mazes and haunted houses and scary movies!"

"Oh! A haunted house sounds fun!" I had never been to one. My parents didn't really like Halloween much, and my siblings were too young to do spooky things with me.

Andrew cringed. "I vote no."

"You always vote no!" Everlee complained.

"Yeah, running around somewhere that people jump out at you in the dark does not sound fun."

Xavier looked like he was trying to tell Andrew something with his eyes that he just wasn't getting across to him.

"Okay, fine," Everlee argued, also ignoring Xavier. "Would you rather dress up and Trick-Or-Treat like we're children again?"

"Yeah!" He exclaimed. "That sounds way more fun!"

Everlee lowered her head to the table with a groan.

Xavier finally spoke, "I vote for a haunted house."

"Me too." Everlee grinned smugly at her boyfriend. Andrew's eyes fell to me.

"See?" He said, "That's why you need to decide."

"Okay," I said slowly, glancing between the three of them. "Why don't we do a maze tomorrow and a haunted house on Halloween?" There, everybody won, and we planned this weekend like Andrew wanted.

Everlee beamed. "Done."

The next morning, I woke to the steady drumming of an autumn shower. Rolling over, I sent a quick text to Everlee to ask if the maze was still on in spite of the weather. She responded quickly, vaguely only telling me to wear clothes I don't mind getting dirty.

Confused but intrigued, I rolled out of bed and stumbled my way down through my morning routine, dressing in leggings and a long sleeved cotton shirt. I found Emerald in the dining room, but neither of her kids were in sight.

"Good morning." She said less enthusiastically than I'd expect from her.

"You okay?" I asked as I sat down. Within seconds, an omega set a glass of juice in front of me.

She gave me a weak smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "It's just one of those days."

"The day has barely even started." I joked.

The smile brightened just a little. "You seem busy," she observed. "Happy, too."

"The head of that pack have really made up to be some good friends."

"You're taking my advice, then?" She brightened even more at the prospect.

"I am." That brought a slight giggle out. "I'm still lacking an update on the mate thing, but you were right. It has been a lot of fun just being a human."

A bowl of oatmeal was placed in front of me, and my stomach grumbled at the smell. "Thank you." I told the omega, and she smiled back with a nod.

"I'm glad." Emerald said in respect to our conversation. "You should just be enjoying this phase in your life. What are you doing today?"

I didn't get a chance to respond, as we were interrupted by a petite omega. "Excuse me, Luna." She nodded at me to acknowledge my presence as well, "April. A visitor is at the door."

My friend and I scrunched our faces at each other. Who would it be? My school friends knew I liked meeting on campus, not here. They couldn't know I lived here. Emerald exited the dining area with me at her heels.

"Xavier!" Emerald greeted before I could see who was there. My body went rigid and I nearly tripped. "Come in."

Dressed in an old long sleeved and sweatpants, he stayed on the porch step. "I'm actually just here for, um, April." He stumbled when he caught sight of me.

"How'd you know I'd be here on a Saturday morning?"

"Just a hunch."

I caught Emerald was eyeing him suspiciously. "A hunch?"

His lips twitched up into the smallest of smirks. "She hangs out here a lot, yeah?"

Emerald gulped, and I willed her to keep face. "Yes, we're good friends with her family."

I almost snorted. I guess I needed the reminder to keep face, too.

Folding my arms, I looked him in the eye. "I always meet you guys on campus."

"Plans changed today, and we figured it would be easier to swing by here." Peering around him, I saw Everlee and Andrew in the backseat of Xavier's dark truck. Everlee, being Everlee, sent me a wave when she caught me looking.

My heart skipped a beat at the thought my friends might be onto my little charade. But there was no escaping now, they were already here.

"Well," I asked as Xavier and I walked across the courtyard, "what are we doing today if we canceled the maze?"

He paused to glance at my outfit, his eyes lingering slightly longer than I would consider necessary to evaluate my attire. "These clothes you okay getting messy?"

"What do you mean by messy?" I hedged, climbing into the passenger seat.

"Mud volleyball!" Everlee shouted with glee from the backseat.

"Wait, what?"

Turned out, mud volleyball is exactly as it sounds: volleyball played in a literal pit of mud. The rain was so heavy, the dry sand that typically would be beneath the net had become a large rectangle of deep, dark mud.

The rain continued to come sheeting down as Andrew reviewed the rules of the game. The four of us split up so two were on either side of the net. The first few games it was Xavier and me against Andrew and Everlee. I wasn't crazy athletic, at least for a shifter, but volleyball was always slightly easier because of my height alone. Except for today, today was a nightmare of a game. The mud created a suction for our feet and I found myself tripping and face-planting way more than I'd care to remember. And if we weren't stuck, we were slipping, the rain like grease on the ground.

By the time the rain eased and we were adding up the scores of our fifth game-with only four of us, each match was fairly short-we were all covered head to toe with splashes of black mud. I wiped at my face, knowing I was only smearing it farther. I didn't want to know the state of my hair.

"How do I look?" I joked as I spun around, my shoes squelching from the moisture.

"Beautiful."

Xavier was teasing, I knew that, but my face still lit on fire. Suddenly I was grateful for the dirt plastered all over my face.

"Cold." Andrew answered me, too. His eyes were slightly suspicious and the heat from Xavier's comment disappeared in an instant. "Well, you should be cold, anyway."

My heart pounded, and I chuckled nervously. "Aren't we all cold? That fall rain shower lasted forever!"

Everlee chuckled with me until the boys joined in. "Yeah it's a bit chilly." She agreed.

I knew we were all lying. It took a lot for wolves to be really cold. And if they did get cold, their immune systems prevented them from getting sick as easily as a human would. And as a fox, I had never even gotten the common cold in my entire life.

Xavier reached for me, maybe thinking I needed an embrace to warm my blood. I jerked out of reach, looking down at my now-brown shoes awkwardly. By the time I looked up, his face was stoic as stone, and we both pretended like it didn't happen.

Unaware, Everlee bounced toward me, trying to loop her arm through mine, but I flinched away from her as well. Unbothered, she ran off alone to grab the volleyball.

Touch wasn't a language I appreciated. I had never been a child yearning for hugs and comfort even from my own parents. Everlee was extremely touchy, but she seemed to understand that I wasn't. I couldn't tell if Xavier was hurt by my rejection or not, he was so guarded by nature. Moments I could read him even a little were rare.

"Well." Everlee announced when she returned with the ball tucked under her arm. She leaned on one hip. "Wanna go out for lunch?"

Trying my best to break any tension I might have caused, I gestured to our clothes. "Dressed like this?"

Andrew laughed, and I felt victorious to see a tiny smirk reappear on Xavier's lips.

"We could head back home and get cleaned up first?" Andrew suggested as we started toward the car. The sky opened once more and another drizzle began.

Everlee looked up at the sky. "Maybe we do that and then stay inside for movies and snacks instead."

It was probably a good call, because once inside the truck and halfway out of the lot, the drizzle turned into another downpour.

"Do we normally get this much rain in October?" I asked, my eyes on the cloudy sky.

Xavier glanced at me funny from the driver's seat. "Didn't you grow up down the street from the Williams'?"

Guilt and panic hit my chest at the same time. "Oh, my parents are, um, divorced and so half the year I spent with my dad."

More lies. The guilt was teeth chomping their way through my ribs. What happened when they reached my heart? Or worse: if my friends ever needed to know the truth.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up." Xavier frowned.

"It's not like that, really." I offered him a smile and he seemed pleased.

I sunk back into the seat with the smallest of sighs. Every day I spent with these friends, the deeper the hole I was digging became. Emerald's advice replayed in my head over and over. It was okay to live a human life for a bit, I just had to be more careful. I promised my parents that, and I couldn't soften. I was glad Jacob wasn't there today, I felt like he would see right through me more than the others. His dark eyes seemed to miss nothing. Honestly, he still freaked me out a bit.

"Mind dropping me off at Emerald's?"

Everlee leaned forward with a pout. "You don't wanna join our movie marathon this afternoon?"

"Thanks for the invite," I told her sincerely. "Maybe another time."

Her brow furrowed, but she nodded. Xavier complied, and soon enough I was thanking them for the fun day and walking through Emerald's front door.

"Ew, what happened to you?" A little voice said the second the door closed behind me. Amethyst peered up at me with innocent crystal eyes.

"Mud. Want some?" I opened my arms and started chasing her. She dashed off with a giggling shriek, disappearing down the hall. I didn't follow, needing to get out of my gross clothes as soon as possible. Slipping off my caked shoes, I scurried up the stairs and to my room.

I had to laugh at myself when I reached my bathroom and peered in the mirror. My light brown ponytail was streaked and speckled with what looked like tar. My purple shirt was splattered with mud as if I'd been bombed with dirt-filled water balloons, and the shoes in my hand were no longer the color they were supposed to be, caked over on all sides. My leggings were the only clothing appearing mostly untouched, but that was because they were already black. And my face? It was straight out of a horror movie. I had turned into a shadowed ghost.

Stopping up the sink, I started soaking my sneakers in hot water and then peeled my clothes from my skin, revealing it to be just as gruesome underneath. Shuddering at how gross I felt, I hurried to the shower and let the hot water melt the plastered mud off of me.

Draped in clean, warm clothes, and a towel wrapped around my head, I entered the dining room to find Emerald, her parents, and River already seated.

Amethyst popped up out of thin air. "Yay, you're clean! I can hug you now!" She squealed as she wrapped her tiny around around my knees, her head resting on my upper thighs.

Chuckling, I placed one hand on her head and one on her back in an attempt to hug her back. Meeting Emerald's soft eyes on the two of us, I explained.

"Mud volleyball. I was covered."

"It was so gross!" Amethyst added before scurrying away to sit at the table.

Her mother told her something softly and the child sighed, but got up and scampered off somewhere.

"April." Kota acknowledged my presence. His mate gave me a warm smile as I sat down to join them.

I dipped my head in return. "Hello Alpha Anderson."

As Amethyst's presence was removed, the room was suddenly heavy. Emerald was looking expectantly at her mother, and even River was leaning in earnestly.

"I'm assuming this means you have news." Emerald said, her eyes not straying.

Eirenae straightened in her seat, tucking a strand of greying golden hair behind her ear. "Yes. Tally has slowly uncovered the facts behind her ascent."