Seven Months Later...

"Alone for a while, I've been searching through the dark. For traces of the love you left inside my lonely heart..."

Garroth changes the channel. "What is it with people not playing Christmas carols this time of year?" he complains.

"Garroth, stop it, I love that song!" I say, reaching for it. He blocks me.

"Nuh-uh! No non-Christmas-y songs! I put up with it every year! Not this time!"

"Aaaaaand done!" Kim chirps, showing me her freshly tied bow on the gift.

I move away from the radio, examining it. "Nice bow, Kim!"

"Yeah!" Zane chimes in.

"Thanks..." Ghost says, her blue-y eyes glittering. "She had help from me!"

Kim laughs. "I did, really."

"Either way, it looks nice!" Zane assures her.

"Mmmmmmm..." Kawaii~Chan finishes her bow as well. "Done!"
"Kawaii~Chan... what do you call that?" Zane asks. I slap him fast. "Ow!"

"It's a bow!" KC says happily.

"Looks like a mistake to me... I thought you were supposed to know cute, Kawaii~ Chan." Zane says. I slap him again.

"Well, Kawaii~Chan isn't very good with string..." KC says sadly, hanging her head.

Zane sighs, dodging my slap this time. "Here, let me tie it for you." He moves her out of the way.

"Really?" Kawaii~Chan says in delight.

"No wait!" Ghost says. "I got this." She laughs weirdly, pulling the box towards her. "You don't need to get near her..."

"Hmm." Zane says. "Well, you are obviously the better bow tier, Ghos---I mean, Kim."

"Yeah, go for it, Kim!" KC cheers.

"Oh! Um. All right!" Kim agrees, trying.

"Ohhhhh!" KC coos. "Kawaii~Chan is so excited for Sylvanna's neighborhood Christmas party!"

"Me too!" I squeal. "I can't wait!"

"Yeah." Zane agrees. "Let's just hope Aphmau is as excited as you are for tonight."

"OHH! I hope they have mistletoe!" Ghost squeals. I shy away from her, edging towards Zane in my little-baby-bear-protective mode.

"Ohhh!" KC says giddily.

"NOPE, NOPE, NOPE!" Zane yells, running away towards Garroth. I laugh with Kim and Kawaii~Chan, and get set trying to tie my own bows when Kawaii~Chan suddenly looks up.

"Ohhh, are we talking about secret boxes?" She says.

I turn to see Garroth not-so-subtly trying to hide a pink-and-yellow box behind him, sweating a mess while Zane tries to get by him. Ohhhh, it must be from Aaron!

Zane makes a move for it, and Garroth stops him. "No! Aaron told me not to tell anyone---OOP!"

"AH-HA!" Zane cries. "I KNEW IT!"

"GGG!" Garroth groans.

"Wait. Aaron sent you a package?" Kim asks.

"And you didn't tell us?" I demand, sounding (and feeling) a bit hurt.

"Ye---yeah..." Garroth admits. "But you guys can't tell Aphmau or anyone else! Especially you, Kawaii~Chan."

"Nya? You can trust me, Garroth!" She promises.

"MMMMMM..." He sighs.

"I can vouch for her." Zane says suddenly.

"You can?" I ask, surprised.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm all right." Garroth says. "It's a present for Aphmau for Christmas. His note asked me to give it to her."

"Huh?" Zane asks. "Why did he send it to you of all people?"

"HEY!"

Zane laughs. "In a good way. It just doesn't make sense. Why not send it straight to Aphmau, then?"

"Oh, um, well, you see, his note said that Aphmau always peeks, sooooo..." Garroth giggles.

"Okay, nevermind, that makes sense." Zane says.

"That does sound like her." I admit.

"He sent you a note?" Kim asks. "Did he say anything else?"

"Yeah, he gave me a small update. He said there's a lot of snow in Falcon Claw. He's not really fond of it since... it reminds him of everything."

"Him and me both." I mutter, rubbing my arms.

"I understand, too." Zane mumbles.

"He also said he's started to walk again!" Garroth says. "Slowly but surely."

"He couldn't before?" KC asks, reminding me she's still in the room.

"No." Garroth says sadly. "Especially because he lost a lot of muscle due to bed rest."

"Atrophy." Kim supplies. "That's..." Her phone rings and she pulls it out. "Hm? Hello? Huh?! Wait. Hold on." She looks to us. "Guys, I gotta take this."

"Go on." I assure her. "We got these bows!" I tackle my next one as she leaves, heading into the living room.

"Anything else?" Zane asks Garroth.

"Oh! Yeah, slowly, he's been socializing with other werewolves. REEEEALLY slow. And he's having a hard time..." Garroth trails off.

"Interesting." Zane admits. "Can't say I know much about werewolves, but hopefully that's a part of the healing process."

"Um---Hey, Garroth, may I speak with you in private for a moment?" Kim asks, returning from the living room.

"Everything okay?" I check.

"Yeah!" Kim assures me, doing the everything-is-so-not-okay voice. "Everything is perfectly fine, just need to talk to Garroth about Christmas presents! Secret ones!"

"OOOOOO!" Garroth squeals. "I'm in." He follows Kim upstairs.

"Ohhh... I hope everything is okay with Aaron~Kuhn." Kawaii~Chan says worriedly. Zane joins her and I at the table.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." I assure her.

"He's been through a lot." Zane says. "He can get through this recovery."

"I'm sending my thoughts to him." Kawaii~Chan tells us, closing her eyes hard for a moment. Then they pop open, along with a wide grin. "OOOOH, what do you think Aaron is like as a werewolf?"

I jump. "How'd you know---"

"AH! You haven't told anyone, have you?" Zane demands.

"No! You made Kawaii~Chan promise!" KC says firmly.

"Zane!" I hiss.

"What? We can trust her!"

"I know we can, but---"

"I'm sorry, Violet~Sama, but I promise Kawaii~Chan hasn't told anyone about Aaron~Kuhn's secret." Kawaii~Chan says.

"Good." Zane says. "I'm really giving you a lot of trust, Kawaii~Chan." He hesitates for a moment and I back away sullenly, getting to work on my bows. He mumbles something to KC, to which she laughs.

"Of course Zane! I appreciate that you told me this. I respect your secrets. Plus, it's fun to share secrets with you!" She says, all bubbles.

I feel a big grin coming my way, and it has to do with Zane, so I blubber something about checking on Garroth and zip upstairs, staying on the landing so I can listen. Zane and KC don't even pay attention to me leaving.

Kawaii~Chan giggles. "So, how you think he's going to be with Aphmau as a werewolf?" She challenges.

Zane laughs. "Let's not think about that!"

And then they both dissolve into giggles. My brother. Giggling.

Interesting...

Maybe we SHOULD have mistletoe at the party tonight.

______________________________

Mistletoe was not needed.

"So tell us the details of what happened." Zane instructs.

"It's like I said." Lucinda says urgently. "Someone broke into my house and stole the book. They didn't touch anything else in the house."

"Did you file a police report?" I ask.

"No, no, not for a book that dangerous." Lucinda says.

"What do you mean?" Kim asks.

"That book... It had some useful spells and information, but... It was dangerous." Her voice catches. "And some magic and potions and spells..."

"I know!" Ghost agrees. "It was terrifying."

"Some spells I couldn't even read." Lucinda admits. "They needed to be translated. But all I know is that the book was definitely one of a kind. I couldn't even tell how old it was."

"What could possibly have been in that book to be dangerous?" Garroth asks, his famous boob-mind returning.

I have the words on the tip of my tongue. But even thinking them brings back memories I never wanted to relive.

Lucinda confirms it a second later. "Well... Forever potions, for one."

"Oh-h... that's right..." Garroth's voice shakes and his eyes look like they're trying to send mental hugs to Zane and I.

"Not only that, but there was a lot of research in it about a new way to turn a person's soul into a stone." Lucinda's voice quivers. "It's just... It's terrifying."

"Then whoever took it... knew what they were after." Zane says, voicing all our thoughts.

"Can you think of anyone who would have taken it?" Kim asks.

Lucinda doesn't answer for a second. "No, I... I can't."

"Then we should be on guard." Ghost suggests. "We have to suspect everyone. But not let anyone know about it."

"Agreed." Garroth says.

"Yeah. For now, let's get back to the party." Zane suggests. "We can talk more about it later."

"Yeah. Right." Lucinda murmurs. She turns and goes back inside, each of us following her one by one. But I stay outside, watching the snowflakes fall in flurries. Each one hitting my hair and face makes me so grateful I can feel the sting, feel the cold on my skin.

Not trapped inside my own head, feeling them touch me but not feeling the chill.

I brush some out of my eyes, staring into the dark gray sky. Letting myself remember.

Purple wind. What could that have been? Why had I not needed a potion to break myself free? Whose voice was it that I heard inside my head?

Why do I only remember the pain of it all? Why does something this earth-shaking have to ruin everything we hold dear?

I shake my head, bringing myself out of it. And then I turn on heel and go back inside, joining those who I call my family.