Sunday night around eleven, Mia decided it was about time to head on up to bed. Hopefully her parents would be going to sleep soon, and she wanted them to think she was already asleep when they did. It made sneaking out a lot easier if they thought she wasn't still awake.

"Goodnight!" she called down, once she'd reached the top of the stairs.

"Goodnight!" her parents called back to her. Satisfied, she shut the door to her room and turned out the light. She waited almost an hour to make sure her parents didn't come in to check on her before she quietly got up.

When she'd gotten that mistletoe on Wednesday, she'd sat down in the car, dumping all the packets into her lap. Her mom had looked over at her and asked what all those plants were supposed to be for – especially since Mia seemed to have so many.

"School project." Mia told her.

She'd set them on her desk when she got home, but quickly moved them to her backpack after school on Friday, so her mom wouldn't see them. She didn't need her mom barging in on her randomly and seeing that she still had all that mistletoe with her; it might make her suspicious. She wouldn't know what it was for, of course – there was no way she'd ever guess that. But Mia didn't want her to realize she'd been lying.

She would have hidden it in her backpack immediately, but she didn't want to bring any of it to school with her, especially if it really would work against werewolves. She didn't want to do anything that would hurt Zev, or his friends. But Rudi was another matter. And since she'd planned on using it tonight when she went out, she figured it could sit there hidden for a few hours. What harm could it do?

Now that she was supposed to be safely asleep, it was time to figure out what to do with all those plants. She emptied her backpack of all the mistletoe she could find – seven packets. She stared at them for a minute or two, trying to decide the best plan.

She decided to take them back to her bed while she thought. And this way she could hide under the covers if her parents did feel the urge to come check on her suddenly.

She decided she wanted to wear them – in her hair, maybe. Or like a necklace. She didn't want to stuff it in her pockets, especially since she planned on using it until every single leaf had dried up and died. What if she stuffed it in her pockets and then squished it on the bus? After a few minutes of thinking, she decided the easiest thing to do was to make something for her hair – some sort of wreath, maybe. It would be easier than a necklace, and it wouldn't get flattened under her coat. And that way, she could play it off as festive instead of werewolf-repellent if she needed to.

When she was younger, she used to make daisy chains with her friends. So why not do something about the same? The stems were a little thicker, sure. But that shouldn't matter. And if it turned out that she didn't have quite enough to make a wreath, she could always split one or two of the plant pieces in half.

Mia emptied the little baggies out and went to work, slitting the stems carefully and pulling the next bunch through the hole. It was a little tricky since the stems were so short, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. And in just a few minutes, she had a nice little ring of mistletoe. She grinned happily in the dark – perfect. This should keep Rudi away. She set the mistletoe-chain on her desk, put her hair up into a messy ponytail, and got dressed. Now, she was ready. All she had to do was wait until her parents were finally asleep.

It seemed like forever before the lights in the hall went off. And Mia knew, it would be just a few minutes more before she would finally be able to go outside. She waited almost half an hour to make sure her parents were really asleep. Then, when she was satisfied, she put her brand-new mistletoe wreath on her head, threaded her ponytail through, and checked herself in the mirror. It looked nice – just perfect for the holidays, really. Mia was glad; she didn't want to look weird, especially if she was going to be walking around downtown late at night. She was hoping to attract someone, and looking kind of bizarre was almost guaranteed to keep everyone away. Even worse – it could cause her to be remembered.

Mia crept across the room and carefully slid the window open. She stepped through, onto the tiles of the roof and gingerly made her way across to the edge of the garage. She jumped down to the ground, barely using the tree that was growing up against the edge of the house.

She went as fast as she could – the bus for downtown came in only a few minutes, and she really didn't want to miss it. If she did, she'd have to wait almost half an hour for the next one. Fortunately, she got to the stop just as the bus was pulling up to the curb.

Mia sat on the bus, casually looking around. She was glad to see Rudi wasn't here – but then, she never did seem to be on the bus with Mia. Mia wasn't really sure how Rudi always seemed to know where she was; she must wait for her at the stop. Maybe Mia would get off a stop or two earlier this time, just to make sure.

When the bus rolled away, Mia walked down the streets. The lamplight cast deep shadows in front of her, and she glanced casually around, looking for anyone out wandering alone. She didn't see anyone obvious, so she decided to go a few blocks. As she did, she kept her eyes peeled, taking stock of what she had to work with tonight.

There weren't many people out, and even the ones who were out seemed to all be walking casually in groups too big for her to handle. Since it was a Sunday, nothing interesting was going on – no concerts, barely any open clubs – and Mia wondered vaguely how she was going to keep from standing out. She wished Anna was here, or even Carmine. That would liven it up a bit. But she was all alone.

She walked down the street, trying her best to look inconspicuous. She glanced back and forth, eyes darting in every direction. She wandered the streets for almost two hours, continually moving. She wanted to just settle down, watch the people around her. But she didn't. She really hated to admit it, but even with her brand-new werewolf-repellent, the idea of seeing Rudi was still putting her on edge. And if this mistletoe thing actually didn't work, Mia wasn't sure what she was going to do.

She wondered vaguely just how hard it would be to get her parents to move. Probably close to impossible – her dad had a job at the local university, and they'd already moved once because of her. If she wanted to move, she was probably going to have to either come up with some great excuse, or just wait and go someplace far away for college. Neither of those were things she really wanted to do. So instead of taking it easy, she kept walking, allowing her gaze to stop across the street.

She thought she saw a familiar shadow near one of the storefronts, but she wasn't sure. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Still, better to check it out, just in case. She turned down the first street she saw, down a dimly lit alleyway. She wasn't sure if Rudi knew, but this particular street was a dead-end. If that really was Rudi following her, Mia would be able to find out right now. She leaned up against the wall, hiding in the shadows.

It only took a few minutes before Mia saw a shadow on the sidewalk coming towards her. She grinned in anticipation. Just as she expected, Rudi came into the alleyway – and Mia was ready for her.

"Why are you following me?" she asked, stepping out into the light.

Rudi jumped back in surprise. Apparently, she didn't think Mia would have the nerve to confront her out here like this. A week or so ago, she would have been right. But Mia was more than tired of Rudi. And she had something that, with any luck, would make Rudi leave for the night.

"I told you – I want to know what's wrong with you." Rudi narrowed her eyes.

She considered Mia for a minute, wrinkling her nose. Then, she glanced up at Mia's hair. Mia grinned to herself as she saw Rudi's eyes widen just the tiniest bit.

"Nice wreath." Rudi sneered. Mia didn't miss the sarcasm, but she chose to ignore it anyway.

"Thanks." she said brightly.

"Any reason you've decided on mistletoe?" Rudi was suspicious, Mia could tell.

"For the holidays." Mia said shrugging.

She really wanted to point out that it was for Rudi's benefit but she knew she couldn't. There'd be no way to explain how she knew about Rudi without instantly throwing suspicion on Zev. After all, Carmine was right – who else would have told her something like that?

Rudi stared at her for a long minute, but didn't say anything.

"You like it?" Mia couldn't resist asking. She grinned at Rudi in a way she hoped was just menacing enough to get under Rudi's skin.

"It's ok." Rudi told her, even though her tone obviously said no. "It's a parasitic plant, you know."

"So?"

"So maybe it's fitting." Rudi gave her a knowing glance that sent shivers up Mia's spine.

"What's that mean?" she asked, eyes narrowing. She hoped she looked more menacing than she felt.

"Oh, you know..." Rudi trailed off, smiling in a way that was way too sweet.

Mia laughed. She just hoped it sounded more like a derisive snicker and not a nervous giggle. So, Rudi did suspect her after all. Mia wanted to ask what it was that gave her away – the sneaking out? Or did she remember what Anna had done a few weeks ago? But Mia wasn't stupid enough to walk into that admission.

"Well, I won't keep you." Rudi said suddenly. She glared at Mia, and Mia could tell she was annoyed at the idea of letting her go. Mia had to stop herself from looking as relieved as she felt; it looked like Carmine was right about the mistletoe after all.

"See you in school tomorrow!" Mia said as cheerfully as she could, trying to look innocent.

Rudi's eyes flashed, and Mia realized she hadn't succeeded particularly well. So, she gave Rudi a wicked grin instead.

Rudi spun on her heel and left the way she came. Mia couldn't help but notice that she wasn't being nearly as quiet as she had been when she snuck into the alley in the first place. Mia listened intently as the footsteps hurried away. She peeked around the corner and was just in time to see Rudi stagger towards the nearest bench. She sat there with her head in her hands, looking sick even from this distance. Good. Now maybe Mia could finally get some peace.

She hurried in the opposite way, trying to put some distance between her and Rudi. Rudi might not be in any condition to follow her at the moment, but Mia didn't know when she'd recover. And when she did, Mia wanted to make it at least a little hard for her to follow her.

She ran at an almost full-out sprint for about six blocks. When she was sure Rudi wouldn't be able to find her, she slowed down. She'd still keep an eye out, of course. But it looked like she might actually have a night where she could hunt on her own.

Finally, after what seemed like way too long, she spotted someone. A man in his early thirties was walking down the street, almost directly across from where Mia herself was. She grinned, a mixture of relief and anticipation on her face. This was exactly what she'd been looking for – he'd be perfect. And she was pretty sure it hadn't even been long enough for Rudi to have recovered from whatever happened to her back in the alley.

Mia crossed the street, already coming up with excuses in her head. Should she say she was lost? Looking for her mom? Or maybe her car broke down. Maybe she just needed directions – and the help of some nice stranger. Mia grinned to herself – it never ceased to amaze her how people around here were always so interested in helping her. She would have thought that sooner or later, people would be suspicious of strangers walking around late at night. It must be because she looked so young, she figured. What harm could she possibly do?

Still marveling at how naïve humans could be, Mia crossed the street, ready to head off the man.

"Excuse me." she said sweetly. "Can you help me please?"

She tried to look distressed – not that it was too hard. With Rudi constantly stalking her and the knowledge that she might recover any second, Mia had plenty to worry about.

"Of course." the man told her.

Mia stared at him, as if she was trying to figure out how to phrase whatever question she had. Of course, he waited patiently, staring at her. It wasn't long before his eyes started to lose focus and slowly close. He wasn't under very far, but that didn't bother Mia – she knew he wasn't going anywhere. She looked around one last time, making absolutely sure that Rudi hadn't found her. When she was sure the coast was clear, she gently guided the man around the corner, to a place with much less light. She knew Rudi could see incredibly well in the dark – Zev had demonstrated that skill to her plenty of times by now. But at least she wouldn't stand out quite as much here, and that corner should provide at least a little bit of cover.

She turned back to the man, making sure he was completely under. When she was finally satisfied, she leaned down and bit him.