About a week later, it was Ember's 16th birthday, and no matter what I said or how many times I tried to talk to her, she didn't want to do anything for it.

"What's the point?" She'd grumbled when we were at school the day before her birthday, "It's just another year older."

"Yeah, but you'll be 16 — that's a pretty big milestone if you ask me," I told her pointedly, remembering how my pack had thrown a huge party for my 16th the year before.

"Well, no one did ask you." She had shrugged, sighing, "And besides, 18 is more of a milestone than 16... 16 is just, I don't know, the year where you're finally away from all those 'in-between' years."

"Fine, whatever." I gave up quickly, rubbing my eyes with the palms of my hands.

"You still struggling to sleep?" Ember asked, deeply concerned.

"Yeah, but it's fine." The lie had slipped out easily, although the prospect of having to kill someone was seriously impacting my inability to sleep. I hadn't told Ember about it — partly because I didn't want her to know; partly because I didn't want her to think I was a killer.

Which I'm not — I'm not a murderer; I'm not a monster.

Am I?

Victoria was planning on me doing it on the next full moon — so that I couldn't have any regrets whilst doing it or even have control over myself. The next full moon was just two nights away.

At least Kaden was talking to me again. Hearing that I'd killed before, and not just on a full moon, had left him speechless and no doubt feeling threatened by me... But the fact that I was saving him from having to kill meant that he kinda forgave me. Kinda.

Although I kept catching him looking at me like I was a common murderer, which I wasn't.

I'm not a killer.

Though Victoria wanted to make me into one.

I'd told Ember that Victoria had let Kaden and I into her pack — avoiding the fact that I had to hunt with her, although it more seemed I'd be hunting for her rather than with her. But I figured I'd have to tell her eventually — especially if I had to kill someone I knew — yet I knew that Ember would most likely hate my guts for it and think that I was a monster.

Maybe that's what Victoria wants, for Ember to see me as a monster.

"Hey, Ember?" I began, preparing myself to talk to her.

"Yeah, one sec," she said before she went over to talk to Eric, who had beckoned her over.

"Shit, Jason, where are you when I need you?" I muttered under my breath, thinking of my previous Alpha.

My heart and my mind took me back to Coloma — to the place that had been a home for me and my pack. Though it was only home to mere apparitions now; the ghosts of days gone by.

"Not all werewolves have to do murderous things," Jason explained to me after we'd come across Luke's body.

I'd lost control and was mere moments away from hunting down those bastard hunters by myself and making them pay for what they'd done to Luke.

"But we are built to murder and to kill," I insisted, feeling my rage building within me, "And we have these... monstrous impulses that can't be ignored."

"We can learn to live with our nature, live with the way we are." Effortlessly keeping his cool in face of my hot and blind anger, he nodded. "We don't have to kill people—"

"What if we don't have a choice?" I fired back, cutting him off.

"Theo," he told me, "You don't have to be a killer."

My anger was now dissipating like mist in front of the morning sun, my senses slowly returning to me, "But I have killed — doesn't that make me a killer?"

"If they were accidents, then no," he explained, "That doesn't make you a killer."

"What if they weren't all accidents?" I mumbled, trying to avoid his gaze.

"Then you move past them; let go of the past. You learn how to control yourself." Jason bowed his head and admitted, "I've killed once before, and it wasn't on a full moon. I was forced to." He took a breath, "The Alpha who bit me was determined to get me in his pack, and he had the ability to control when I shifted... So he took control of me and made me murder an innocent person." He sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his deep brown eyes shut. "An innocent person that I knew."

My jaw nearly dropped off; I was speechless.

Jason shrugged. "I'm not perfect, no one is."

"How did you move past it? How did your friends forgive you?" I questioned once I found my voice.

"I moved past it by looking for the good in everything and everyone. My friends didn't forgive me; they didn't know they had to forgive me because I never told them." He hung his head in shame, a sentiment which I rarely saw on him; he'd always been a natural, assured and confident leader. "You're the only person that I've told."

"Not even Sienna?" I asked, glancing across at her where she stood with Jade — having what looked like an equally intense conversation.

"Not even Sienna," Jason confirmed, "But you can move on as I have."

I stood up, sensing that our conversation was over. "Why me? I mean, why tell me?"

"Because I see myself in you." He smiled weakly — he was only a few months older than me and yet he'd had so many lifetimes' worth of experience. "And I worry that one day you'll have to face the same terrible situation as me."

Confused and frowning, I walked away, back to the rest of the pack.

He called after me, "We never truly lose our demons, Theo, we simply learn how to live alongside them."

I kept on walking; my mind chaotic and numb at the same time.

In hindsight, I wished I'd stayed with Jason a little longer — he was only trying to help me and prepare me for something that I never thought I'd have to face. But, then again, that's why hindsight's a wonderful thing.

I wondered whether Victoria would force me to shift if I refused to.

"Hey," Ember said, returning from talking to Eric.

"What was that about?" I narrowed my eyes at Eric's retreating figure.

"My birthday." She sighed exasperatedly. "He wants me to do something as well... What was it you were about to say before?"

"Uh, nothing. It doesn't matter." I glanced away, now wasn't the time or place — though I knew I was only delaying telling her.

"I don't want to do anything for my birthday." She complained as we started walking to our next class.

"Well, you have to do something," I protested half-heartedly, dread about the full moon running through my veins. "I mean, you're turning 16 — you know what that means right?"

She grinned back at me with a brilliant smile, "It means that I can ride a moped."

I rolled my eyes and retorted sarcastically, "Oh yeah, because riding a moped is the only important thing that you can do when you turn 16."

"Yep," she said; still grinning, still messing with me.

"Are your parents doing anything with you for your birthday?" I asked.

"Maybe," she mumbled, her grin disintegrating and falling off her face. "If they even remember."

"Of course they will have remembered," I insisted but I didn't push her much. As badly as I didn't like talking about my pack, Ember didn't like talking about her family.

"Mm."

How the hell am I going to break it to her that Victoria wants me to kill somebody?

The next day, Ember was still in the same grumpy mood of not wanting to do anything for her birthday, and I was exhausted from sleep deprivation and dread. The full moon was that night.

"Happy birthday, Ember," I told her, pulling her into a hug.

"Thanks... But you didn't get me anything did you?" She pulled away from me, eyeing me in suspicion.

"Well, yes I did get you something, and I wanted to get you something — so don't start with the 'oh, you didn't have to get me anything' speech," I told her firmly.

"Fine." She pressed her lips together.

"Close your eyes," I instructed.

"You're giving it to me now?" She didn't close her eyes, frowning at me, "At school?"

"Well, you're the one that said you repeatedly that you didn't want to do anything... So yeah, I'm having to give it to you now," I explained and insisted again, "So, close your eyes."

This time she did, but there was still a frown on her face.

"It's something to remind you of me," I said, taking it out of my pocket.

"Why would I need to be reminded of you — where are you going?" She asked, suddenly panicked, opening her eyes and clutching onto my wrist. Clutching onto wrists was normally my move, but I figured she was seriously worried about me leaving her.

I raised my eyebrows. "Close your eyes. I'm not going anywhere, not by choice anyway."

"Fine," she huffed, closing her eyes again.

I pulled the necklace out of my pocket again and clasped it around Ember's neck. "As I said, it'll remind you of me. You can open your eyes now."

"It's beautiful," she said, in awe as she gazed down at the pendant. "What does it mean?"

"It's the Celtic symbol for Lycan, or Lycanthrope — which means werewolf." I explained, "And it's stainless steel, not silver, so you won't burn me with it." I laughed lightly, "Do you like it?"

"I love it, thank you so much!" She exclaimed, wrapping her arms around my neck in a hug.

Then Eric walked past us, and I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of having to kill him.

"Now, tell me what's up." Ember instructed, yanking my attention back to her.

"N–nothing," I stumbled, "Nothing's up."

"There's obviously something." She narrowed her eyes, setting her hands on her hips.

"Just listen to me, okay?" I grabbed hold of her wrists, "Stay at home tonight. Don't come out at all."

"Why, what's happening tonight?" She frowned, pulling her wrists away.

"The full moon," I replied grimly.

"Is something going to happen because you and Kaden are part of her pack now?" She asked, the crease of her frown hardening as her eyes searched mine for the truth I was withholding from her.

"Yes." I nodded. "And I need you to stay at home."

"Are you in trouble, Theo?"

I looked away.

"Whatever it is Victoria's getting you to do, you don't have to do it," she insisted and placed her hand on the side of my face, palm warm.

"Yes, yes I do." I pushed her hand away. "I do have to do it if Kaden and I want to be in her pack."

"What's she getting you to do?" She hissed, "Tell me and then I can help you."

Shaking my head, I told her once more, "Stay at home tonight, Ember," before walking off, and out of school.

"Theo!" She shouted after me once, causing me to start running.

"Do you always run away when you're scared of something?" Kaden sprung, stepping out behind a bush and jogging beside me.

"Go back to school, Kaden," I growled. "And to answer your question, no. I don't always run away when I'm scared of something. I run away when I'm trying to protect someone, and right now that someone's Ember."

"You do realise that you have no choice but to do what Victoria wants, right?"

I glanced across, squinting at him, "Do you honestly think I'd be doing it if I did have a choice? Contrary to what you might believe, Kaden, I'm not a killer."

"You've killed before, though."

Ignoring him, I rolled my eyes. Yes, I'd killed before — that was why I was dreading the full moon.

"Where are we going?" Kaden asked as we kept running into the forest, the scenery quickly shifting from school buildings to a lush, fall forest with vivid oranges and reds all around us.

"You're going back to school." I stopped and pushed him back in the direction of the school, a couple of dry leaves crunching beneath my feet as I ceased running.

"Where are you going, then?" He frowned, huffing.

"To clear my head before I'm forced to brutally murder my girlfriend's ex." I shook my head at how unreal it sounded, when in fact it was all too real. "Go back to school." I told him again, and when he hesitated, I said, "I need you to keep an eye on Ember, and make sure that Victoria doesn't go after her."

"Fine." He exhaled, "See you tonight."

"Wait, no." I grabbed onto his blazer sleeve to stop him from running off — resulting in me yanking him back to me. "You're not coming."

"Why not?" He frowned, "You need me there, don't you?"

"Killing an innocent teenager is enough to have on my conscience, I don't need another innocent teenager watching me do it." I narrowed my eyes at him, clenching my fist in my pocket as I tried to bring myself to my senses.

This is real; this isn't another night terror; this is actually happening.

"Fair enough, I'll stay home. In my caravan. Where I'm probably going to get dragged into this mess anyway." He spat out the words before trudging back to school begrudgingly — but at least he didn't say 'get dragged into you murdering somebody.'

Exhaling heavily, I kept on walking once Kaden was fully out of sight. Dread and fear and panic were coursing through my veins. As much as I disliked Eric, I didn't want to kill him. Was it even worth trying to reason with Victoria? Probably not.

My thoughts were cut off when a flash of metallic-silvery purple stepped out from behind a tree.

"What are you doing here, Wednesday?" I sighed, craving solitude to clear my mind.

"You can't do it," she insisted, her eyes locking onto mine. "You can't kill him."

"I don't have a choice if Kaden and I want to be part of her pack." I frowned at her, not even wanting to question how she knew.

She squinted at me, but I don't think she truly saw me as she uttered, "She'll kill him anyway if you don't kill him."

"I know that, which is why there's no escaping it." I sighed.

"And she won't let you or Kaden into her pack if you don't kill him," she stated, before inquiring, "Who are you even supposed to kill anyway?"

"Because I'm killing for Kaden as well, it has to be somebody that I know — somebody that I have a grudge against."

"Killing for Kaden?" She echoed, confused — she clearly hadn't figured that much out with her voodoo witchy crap.

"Yeah, I'm doing it so he doesn't have to. You should've seen the look on his face." I shook my head. "Poor kid doesn't know what he's getting himself into."

"So, you're helping him... in a way?"

I nodded.

"Who are you supposed to kill?" She repeated.

I threw a pained look at her and muttered, "Eric."

Wednesday's jaw clenched, "Is there no one else you can kill?"

"Well, there's plenty of other people that I could kill... It's just that none that fit the requirements of me knowing them and me holding a grudge against them."

"Eric's done nothing wrong," she protested.

Nothing wrong apart from breaking Ember's heart and being an absolute douchebag.

"I know, and that's exactly why I'm struggling with it," I admitted and we began walking through the woods — the sounds of woodland animals providing some sort of solace to me. The birds were similar to those in Coloma. I found myself searching for anything in Lake Oldoy that reminded me of being back home with my pack.

"Have you spoken to Ember about it?" She asked.

"Are you insane?" I questioned in response.

"I'll take that as a no, then..." She trailed off, thinking.

"I told her to stay at home tonight because it's the full moon and that's when Victoria's going to make me do it."

"What if Eric isn't here? In Lake Oldoy, I mean." She put forwards, clearly thinking up a way out of the mess I'd gotten myself into.

"Then I'd probably have to kill just a random person... Why, what are you thinking?" I asked, but I never did get an explanation.

"I'll sort it out, don't worry," she said, squeezing my arm, "I'm gonna go back to school now, and you should too."

"I'll pass."

"You know you're going to have to talk to Ember about this at some point, right?" Wednesday frowned at me.

"Yeah, sure. I know," I said, brushing her off again.

Okay, so she was going to get Eric out of town somehow — that did stop the fact that Victoria was still going to get me to kill someone.

Wednesday finally walked off, leaving me alone with my thoughts and apprehension. Burying my face in my hands and sinking to the ground against a tree, a sense of hopelessness came over me — what's even the point anymore?

How can I continue like this? How can I continue living a lie?

My previous pack were probably dead by now. Ember was going to wish I was dead after I killed somebody on the night of the full moon. I should've been searching for my pack, but instead, the Agency was forcing me to stay in Lake Oldoy and join Victoria's pack.

Then I heard a voice being carried on the wind; a voice whispering to me, "Theo, do not give up."

"Who are you?" My head snapped up ad I jumped to my feet, whirling around in confusion, "What do you want?"

"I want you to survive," replied the voice, but I couldn't see anyone around me.

"Yeah, I've been trying." I laughed exasperatedly, before frowning and repeating, "Who are you?"

"Survive the hunters and find your pack. Save yourself and you save your pack." It said, I couldn't distinguish whether it was a guy's voice or a girl's voice — it was both and neither at the same time.

"How do you even know about that?" I retorted, nerves set on edge, "And how am I supposed to save myself anyway?"

"She will help you. She can help you redeem yourself for your wrongdoings," the shadowy voice whispered — and I swear it sounded like the voice was coming from all around me, though I couldn't even catch a scent of it.

"Ember won't forgive me for this. For who I have to kill."

"The witch will get him out of this town," the indistinguishable voice uttered, the sound of its words swirling around me. "Confess to Ember, and then you will be one step closer to saving your pack."

"What are you? Who are you?" I asked again.

"I have no name other than that which man has named my species," it replied.

"What are you?" I frowned, spinning around to see if I could tell where the voice was coming from.

"I am a spirit of the trees. I am a dryad," the dryad told me.

I believed it; I knew from what Al did when I'd laughed at the idea of a pixie that laughing at a tree spirit wouldn't at all be wise.

"Can you show yourself?" I asked, wanting to see the spirit that was informing me so closely on what to do.

"Yes," it responded, and suddenly the tree in front of me had a face and the outline of a body through the moss and the bark.

"So, you don't have a name?" I frowned, "Well, what type of tree are you?"

"I am not a tree; I belong to a tree," it replied in what seemed to be a carefully measured tone.

"Sorry, what tree do you belong to, then?" I apologised, not wanting to anger the spirit that resided in a giant oak tree.

"A silver birch." It said, dipping its head, "I am only appearing in this oak tree because my tree is on the other side of the lake."

"Can I ask, how do you know all this about my pack?" I frowned.

"Nymphs, water spirits, that have travelled across the vast ocean, up through the river and into the Lake Oldoy itself give important messages to dryads, tree spirits, like me." The spirit stepped forwards in the tree, coming closer to the surface, and it began to look like the outline of a young woman.

"Water spirits?" I echoed.

"I believe that in the mortal world, you call them sirens or mermaids," the dryad responded thoughtfully.

"There are mermaids in the lake?" I repeated, slightly disbelievingly.

"Just one. One that has travelled over 3,000 miles to bring the dryads the message about the werewolf pack that was kidnapped from Coloma, that one of them is coming here, and that there are hunters coming after this one, coming after you."

"Surely the hunters won't affect the dryads, though?" I frowned, "Aren't you more mythical than supernatural?"

"Sometimes the boundary between the mythical and the supernatural can blur considerably. Take your friend, Ember, for example. In all my years, I have never once heard of the powerful Phoenix taking refuge in a mortal's body."

"That makes two of us." I sighed, "How do I keep her out of danger tonight?"

"She can protect herself more than you know," the dryad told me, "If she is attacked, the Phoenix will naturally react—"

"Like a reflex," I muttered, cutting the spirit off.

"Precisely," it confirmed. "If she is present tonight, she will be fine. You must kill someone to protect those that you care about, Theo."

"I know." I sighed, "I just don't know if I have the strength."

"You must have the strength." The tree-woman rapidly became fierce and forceful. "If the young nymph Halia Coralie can journey across an entire ocean, then surely you can summon the strength required to take another's life."

Taken aback, I was speechless for a few minutes; I wasn't expecting a tree spirit to be so forceful... But then again, I'd never met one before so I shouldn't have expected or not expected anything.

"Go now," the dryad instructed, "As soon as the sun sets, you will not have long before you must perform the deed. You must prepare yourself."

"How do I know who to kill?" I found my voice again and asked what I desperately needed to know.

"There is an aged man, living alone at the far edge of the lake," she (I guessed I could call her she, but I still wasn't entirely sure — at least it was better than calling her 'it' all the time) told me, looking over her shoulder. "He is dying, slowly, painfully, and is weak. No one that shall miss him when he's gone." She hesitated. "And, indeed, he wishes his life to be over, yet he cannot bring himself to fall upon his own knife."

"So... You're telling me to kill an old guy?" I frowned, not knowing if I was interpreting her cryptic nature correctly.

"He is already dying," she reaffirmed, drifting back into the tree. "It will be easier for you to kill him, will it not?"

I looked down, frowning at the ground, "I guess so."

But I didn't get a response, as when I looked up, she was gone — making me wonder if it was all just in my head. I looked closer at the tree; the outline of her face still lingered there. It wasn't in my head — there were dryads and nymphs in Lake Oldoy.

I always knew this town was weird.