The hunters were professionals that knew exactly how to dupe non-supernatural authorities into believing them. They came into Lake Oldoy declaring that they were an association that disposed of dangerous, wild animals that attacked people. And, thanks to Theo's little mishap on the full moon, that now applied to Lake Oldoy.

The death (murder) of that old guy had sent the police out of their minds. With no motive, the claw marks, and the animal hairs they found on his body, they had no idea whatsoever of what had happened to him.

Theo thought that Victoria had used it as some sort of sick ploy to get the hunters here quicker. Yet from what Wednesday told me, they arrived exactly when she expected that they would. Theo muttered something about destiny when I pointed this out to him — as if it was his fate to join Victoria and then have to face the hunters.

For about three days after they arrived in town, Theo stopped talking to me. I knew that he was trying to protect me, but still, it was super annoying.

And it wasn't just him; Wednesday became closed off as well. According to Al, who was just about the only person that Wednesday would talk to, not only was she having more visions, =she was constantly paranoid that the hunters would be able to track her presence.

My mother kept trying to persuade me to go to Svalbard.

"I am not going," I told her yet again. "There are people here that need me."

"Your boyfriend isn't talking to you, and your best friend is closing herself off to the world — I think they'd cope just fine without you." Her eyes narrowed.

"I'm not going!" I exclaimed and slammed my bedroom door behind me.

"You're going at Christmas whether you like it or not, Ember Hestia Milburn!" She yelled through the door at me. I guess it's true that middle names exist almost solely so that they can be shouted when parents are angry.

I ignored her, though I knew that I would inevitably end up going at Christmas. Maybe it's my fate, for now, at least.

My phone rang and brought me back to reality. Kaden was calling me — at least he was still talking to me.

"What is it?" I snapped as soon as I accepted his call.

"Okay, don't shoot the messenger," he replied warily.

"Sorry, I just—" I sighed, not needing to say anymore — all of us had been on edge since the hunters' arrival. It felt like each of us was under some form of house arrest, like we'd end up getting shot the moment we stepped outside.

Thankfully, Kaden didn't think that I should go to Longyearbyen. But maybe that was only because he hadn't been around me long enough to see how dangerous I was... And how little control I had over the Phoenix.

"Theo's convinced that if he hands himself over to the hunters, they'll leave Lake Oldoy." Kaden exhaled wearily.

"But that's suicide!" I exclaimed incredulously; part of me didn't want to believe it, but I knew Theo well enough by then to see how selfless he truly could be. "They'll want to kill everyone and everything supernatural here anyway!"

"I know, Ember, trust me." He huffed exasperatedly. "But he's not listening to anything I try and tell him."

"Where are you now?" I asked.

"Outside his house, I was about to try and talk to him again... I thought I should call you first."

"Thanks for calling me. Can you hand your phone to Theo when you see him?" I furrowed my brows in determination. "I'll try and talk to him, he's ignoring all my calls and texts."

"Yeah, sure." He hesitated. "I'll call you back."

He hung up, and it felt like the longest five minutes ever whilst I was waiting for him to call me back. Each time I'd tried to call Theo, it'd gone straight to voicemail — a sure sign he was avoiding me. As soon as Kaden's name popped onto my screen, I impatiently pressed 'Answer', and waited until I heard Theo's voice.

"Hello?" He said, obviously not knowing it was me, and my heart leapt when I heard his voice.

"Theo, it's Ember," I rushed. "Don't hang up. I need to talk to you."

"What is it?" He snapped, voice blunt and almost emotionless, though I could sense the fear residing within him.

"You can't give yourself over to them. They won't go away, it's pointless." I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. "It's suicide."

"I'll be gone, so you can go to your uncle's and sort yourself out," he stated and the coldness in his voice was crystal clear. He's shutting me out again.

"Theo, stop it. We can fight them," I voiced, hoping that we could, and I wasn't just giving him false hope. "We can fight all of them."

"Ember, you're wasting your time." He spat out.

Then I pulled out my ace card. "You'll never be able to find your pack if you do this."

He hissed an intake of breath; he knew I was right. No matter what had happened and what would happen while he was in Lake Oldoy, his ex-pack would never leave his mind. He wouldn't be at peace until he found them — or until he found some semblance of truth about what had happened to them.

"Meet me and Kaden at Wednesday's house in half an hour. Al's probably already there," he instructed. "If we can fight them, we'll need to do it together. And we'll need a plan."

"Fine." I nodded. "See you then."

Then he hung up.

In all honesty, I had no idea how we were supposed to fight a dozen hunters. What were we — a pixie, a witch, a Phoenix and a couple of werewolves? We were gonna need a hell of a good plan to beat them.

On my way out of the house, my mum shouted, "Svalbard!" to me.

It was extremely hard not for me to flip my middle finger up at her.

Wednesday's house was about 15 minutes walk away from my house, so I was there pretty quickly. Not to mention the fact I speed-walked through the streets, with fear coursing through my veins and powering me onwards. I couldn't stop — for all I knew, the hunters could've been watching me already.

"Ember!" Theo called to me when he saw me approaching him.

Grinning, I ran to him and threw my arms around his neck. I squeezed my arms around him and buried my face in his neck.

"I'm sorry." He breathed against my hair, sending warm tingles racing across my neck.

"It's okay." I nodded and leaned against him more.

His hands circled my waist, hugging me back, and his fingers grazed some exposed skin under my t-shirt. His touch sent shivers through my entire body.

God, I missed his touch.

"Okay, you two — break it up." Kaden cleared his throat.

"Is Al here?" I asked, turning to Kaden.

"Yeah. She barely leaves, apparently" he replied.

"C'mon, let's go see them," I said, moving towards the door but not letting go of Theo.

Smiling, Alastair opened the door before I'd even knocked. "Hi, Ember."

"Hey, Alastair." I beamed back at Wednesday's dad.

"And who are these two handsome boys you've brought with you?" He smirked, and my blush rose again. Goddamn it.

"Theo, and Kaden, this is Alastair Mortelle — Wednesday's dad," I introduced briefly, before moving on, asking, "How's Wednesday?" as he let us in the house.

"She's been better," he admitted. "She's struggling a lot at the minute. Al's helped tons though."

"That's good then." I smiled; I have great friends.

I led the way up the stairs to Wednesday's room, Alastair going into the kitchen.

"Theo, walk faster." Kaden huffed, impatiently.

"Sorry, just admiring the view," he replied, causing me to whirl around and playfully smack his rock-solid chest.

Stop thinking about it, Ember, I chastised myself inwardly. Who knew that being away from Theo for a few days would mess with my head and hormones that much?

Al emerged from Wednesday's room, "She's ready to talk to you now."

"About time," I muttered as I stepped into her room, though I reigned in my annoyance at my best friend as I saw her.

Wednesday lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Her face was deathly pale and she looked exhausted in every sense of the word. Beside her bed lay a collection of scrawled drawings — Wednesday often used art to focus her mind and enable her to receive clearer visions.

On the top one, there was a warehouse on fire, with a girl standing nearby. Seeing me eyeing them, Al scooted the drawings under Wednesday's bed. Neither of us said anything and I turned my attention back to Wednesday.

"Well, you look like shit," I teased as I carefully sat on the edge of her bed.

"Seriously?" Her tired, hazel eyes widened, while sarcasm was evident in her voice. "But I feel so great today."

"She's looked worse," Al said worriedly, rubbing the back of her hand over her forehead. I guess worrying about Wednesday gives her headaches as much as bad weather does.

"We're here about the hunters," Kaden announced, steering us on topic and away from staring at Wednesday in pity.

"They're going to kill us all," Wednesday uttered in a false sing-song voice, crossing her arms and worrying at her lip.

"They're not," I insisted, "We're gonna fight them."

"What with?" She laughed. "They have military-grade weapons and years of expertise on their side, and what have we got? A few deranged, supernatural teenagers?"

Theo shifted but spoke with certainty. "We have to try. We can't go down without a fight."

After Wednesday finally agreed to talk about it, we spent about an hour debating and discussing what the hell to do.

Kaden wanted to trap them — but we knew they'd outsmart that.

Al wanted to lead them miles away from Lake Oldoy by forming a vision for them — but they'd probably break out of it pretty quick.

Wednesday suggested poisoning them — but we didn't know how that would work out.

Theo mentioned killing them, though he didn't seem too keen on it. Yet, his reasoning had been solid; surely, they'd just come back if we left them alive?

I suggested that we get the dryads and naiads to help us.

"The dry-whats and nad-whats?" Kaden echoed disbelievingly, glancing around at each of us to see the rest of us were at ease with it. Theo had already met Olivis; Wednesday, Al and I had been in communication with the dryads for a few years — ever since we became aware of their presence in Lake Oldoy.

"Dryads are tree spirits, and naiads are water spirits. There are some here in Lake Oldoy," I explained, trying to keep it simple. "The dryads have hundreds of years of knowledge; they'd know how to help us."

"I agree with Ember." Wednesday nodded. "They are some of the most intelligent mythical creatures in history."

"So, what exactly are naiads?" Kaden frowned.

"Holy shit..." I sighed, putting my face in my hands. Sometimes, explaining things to Kaden took way much more effort than it needed to.

"They're like mermaids, okay?" Theo explained impatiently, "There's just one in the lake, and her name's Halia Coralie."

"How come you know her name, mongrel?" Al frowned, and I raised my face out of my hands — equally as confused.

"The, erm, tree spirit from near Ember's house told me." He frowned and looked to me for support. "She didn't tell you?"

"Nope," I replied bluntly. Why wouldn't Olivis tell me that?

"So, we go to the dryads..." Kaden reaffirmed, "And then what?"

"We see what they have to say," I explained thoughtfully, "Then I guess we can adapt our plan from there."

"It's a good plan," Wednesday approved. Some colour appeared to be returning to her face, though she still twisted her hands together anxiously.

Al glanced down at her lover in deep concern, "Are you sure you're up for this, Wednesday?"

"I have to be." Wednesday gritted her teeth and nodded firmly.

"So... Should we meet at the lake at 6 tonight?" I suggested, figuring that was a decent amount of time for Wednesday to get up and dressed.

"It'll be dark then." Kaden visibly shivered.

All of us turned on him and stared at him in speechless confusion. Then, Theo aptly voiced my thoughts, "You're not... scared of the dark — are you?"

"No, I just don't fancy meeting a mermaid in the dark." Any attempt he could've made to brush this off was instantly negated as he swallowed uncomfortably.

"Whatever. Stay at your caravan if you're that worried, Kaden," Al told him in her usual straightforward manner. "The rest of us not afraid of the dark and naiads, meet at the lake at 6."

Everyone nodded, including Kaden.

Wasting no time, I headed straight for the lake. Theo caught up with me and slipped his hand into mine.

"Is it okay if I walk with you?"

"More than okay." I smiled at him, realising how quickly the whole 'more than okay' type of consent was becoming mine and Theo's 'thing'.

"Are you alright?" He asked and squeezed my hand tightly.

"Yeah... Better now I've got you back," I admitted with a slight blush, casting my gaze down to the forest floor before finding the courage to eye him. "You looking forward to meeting a mermaid?"

"If it gets us an answer, then yes," he replied — and even without being able to listen to his heart rate, I could tell he was being honest. "How about you?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be looking forward to meeting a stunningly beautiful, graceful, elegant mermaid?" I retorted sarcastically.

He raised an eyebrow, "Is that jealousy I hear? Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm into fire, not water."

"Whatever."

"You have nothing to worry about, Ember," he told me, squeezing my hand again.

Ten minutes of silence later, I realised that I probably should've spoken to Olivis and asked her to meet us at the lake. When we'd neared an old oak tree, that I knew to contain a spirit, I whispered to it, "Peace to the trees," to ensure that the spirit was calmed.

"What is it, young sapling?" The oak spirit replied with a groggy voice.

"With all respect," I said and bowed my head. "I need you to send a message to the spirit Olivis."

"What is this message?" The oak grumbled back and her face yawned against the bark, revealing the form of an old woman.

"The message is to meet us here at the edge of the lake," I spoke softly.

"Very well, then, young sapling." The oak huffed and departed, her tree remaining, but her spirit drifting through the woods amongst the other trees.

"Thanks for not saying anything." I explained to Theo, "Some of the dryads can become a bit violent when they're grumpy or angered, so you have to be extra polite to them."

"No worries." He shrugged, and we kept walking.

Kaden was already there, obviously having run.

So much for some time just with Theo, I thought begrudgingly.

And I think that Theo was thinking the same as he said, "Get lost, Kaden."

"What? Why?" He frowned.

"Because I've not spoken or been with Ember for three days and would like it if you kindly cleared off — okay?" Theo explained bluntly.

"Fine," Kaden grumbled.

"Thanks for that," I told him when we sat down, and Kaden had jogged away.

Theo's arm looped around me, and I moved so I could rest my head against his shoulder. "Again, no worries... You know, I genuinely am sorry for shutting you out again."

"Yeah, I know. And I forgive you." I shuffled closer to him.

"Are you gonna forgive me for everything?" He said, half-laughing as he kissed the top of my head. Then he admitted, "You make me want to be a good person, Ember."

"You already are a good person," I told him.

"I don't know about that."

"Hey," I pulled his face back to mine as he'd looked away, "How could I feel safe around you if you're not a good person?"

"Maybe because you're stupid." He joked, a smile twitching at the corners of his lips.

Faking offence, I exclaimed, "Am not!"

"Well—" Theo began before I cut him off by pressing my lips against his.

At first, he was surprised, but he soon relaxed into the kiss, wrapping his arms around me.

"I missed you," I breathed the words against his lips as if they were fragile.

"I missed you too," he admitted and kissed me again, his tongue slipping into my mouth.

"I believe you wanted to talk to me?" A voice interrupted us, forcing us to break apart.

The voice, which sounded like a rush of waves in some way or another, belonged to the naiad in the lake.

She was every bit as stunningly beautiful as I'd expected, even in the fading light.

Her wet, blonde hair waved slightly around her shoulders, her eyes were as blue as the depths of the ocean, and she was graceful and elegant. She was lying on her front in the shallow water of the lake, her legs behind her were like that of a fish — like that of a mermaid.

"Kaden, you're gonna wanna come and see this!" Theo yelled down the beach of the lake.

"Coming!" He shouted back and ran towards us.

Wednesday and Al stepped out of the woods and joined us.

As he sat down, Kaden breathed, "God, you're beautiful — oh crap, did I say that out loud?"

"Yep." Theo nodded, pressing his lips together as he tried desperately hard not to laugh.

"Halia Coralie?" Wednesday checked as she sat down gingerly and wrapped a thick maroon scarf closer around her weakened frame.

"That is my name." Halia Coralie nodded.

"You came from America?" Theo rushed in.

"I journeyed from there, yes," she said. "But my home is the sea, not the ocean."

"What's the difference again?" Kaden hissed to me.

"The sea is smaller than the ocean," I hissed back to him.

"Would you prefer it if I joined you on the land to talk to you?" Halia narrowed her wide, fish-like dark blue eyes to squint at us.

None of us said anything for a few seconds, probably all too shocked by meeting a mermaid to care whether she joined us on land or not.

"S-sure," Kaden stuttered out eventually.

As she pulled herself out of the water and her tail began to slowly morph into two human legs, I realised that the only things covering her breasts were her hair and two thin lines of seaweed that seemed stuck to her body. She sat next to Kaden.

"Do you want a shirt?" Kaden instantly asked, undoubtedly noticing the same thing.

"If you wish," Halia replied, letting her hair fall behind her shoulders —not caring one bit about us seeing her half-naked. At least Theo had the decency to look away.

Olivis had arrived at the lake, and she called to me from the tree line, "Ember!"

I called back, "Olivis! Can you leave the tree you're inhabiting to speak with us?"

In response, she simply drifted out of the tree and floated towards us, just like a leaf breaking away from its tree in autumntime.

Al's brown eyes sharpened onto the naiad. "Okay, what have you got to tell us, Halia?"

Halia was now wearing a shirt of Kaden's that covered her. "I journeyed from America—"

"Yes, we know that already," Wednesday spat out. "What else?"

"Patience, young one," Olivis warned, placing a leafy hand against Wednesday's forehead. "You are not well."

"No shit," Wednesday grunted back.

Halia continued, "I swam all the way from Georgia after I heard about the Montanan werewolf pack... And how a Beta was supposed to have killed them all."

I felt Theo stiffen next to me as he said hissed through gritted teeth, "I didn't do it."

"I know." Halia nodded. "I know you didn't kill them because they're still alive—"

"Where are they?" Theo rushed out.

"Still in the US," Halia replied, then her serene features curved into a confused frown, "But I believe you wanted to talk to me about the hunters?"

"Yeah, that's right." Al nodded promptly. "We need to know what to do about them."

"My first instinct would be to do nothing," Olivis stated calmly.

Time moves differently for dryads and so Olivis probably wasn't that bothered about hunters coming to attack any supernaturals in Lake Oldoy — what was consuming months of mine, Theo's, Wednesday's, Al's and Kaden's lives would be like a mere minute for her. As long as her tree didn't get cut down, then Olivis would be a-okay.

"You haven't seen them, Olivis," I insisted, "They're serious about this — and they'll kill all of us. They'll probably go as far to cut down trees containing spirits, too."

Olivis painfully winced at this as if an axe were already chopping down her trunk.

"Then we have to do something." Halia pressed her lips tightly together.

"We?" Kaden echoed.

"We're all in this," Halia grasped Kaden's hand, and then directed at Olivis, "Whether we choose it as our path or not, we must accept this fate which now faces us."

"What can we do?" Al repeated.

"How many are there?" Olivis asked.

"About twenty," Theo said grimly, "More than enough to take us all on."

"We can't do nothing," Wednesday said faintly.

"We won't do nothing — I promise, we'll do something," I promised her, hoping to lighten the mood a little.

"They're here because of you, Theo, right?" Halia checked, "So if you're not here they'll go away."

"You're not getting rid of me," Theo growled insistently.

"No one's getting rid of anyone, okay?" I butted in, not wanting things to escalate to violence — I worried one wrong turn in this conversation would lead to disaster; pent-up anxiety can only bubble below the surface for so long until it erupts into aggression.

"I didn't suggest getting rid of Theo." Halia raised her head. "But if we can get the Alpha to leave town while the rest of us lie low, then surely the hunters will follow her."

"Victoria's not just going to up and leave easily," Kaden warned.

"I never thought or implied she would," Halia replied. "But if we can send a message to her, maybe she'll leave."

"What sort of message?" Al frowned.

"Well, her entire family died in a fire, didn't they? What do you think would happen if there was another fire?" Halia grinned for the first time, revealing her pearly whites and sharpened incisors. "I don't imagine she'd want to stick around for much longer."

"What are you suggesting? That we just burn the place she's sleeping in?" I questioned. "How do you propose we get away with that, then?"

And then every single pair of eyes landed on me, and I realised what Halia meant.

"You want me to commit arson," I stated bluntly.

"You're the only one that could get away with it," Theo insisted straight away, eyes locking onto mine.

"You know I don't have control." I stood up. "All of you know how wrong this could go."

No one said anything.

"You do know that, and you're willing to sacrifice me, just because I don't have control, so it could just be an accident, right?" I flung at them all and even Olivis looked away from me.

"Ember, wait—" Theo began, starting after me.

"Just don't." I pushed him away from me. "Leave me alone."

Anger boiling through my veins, I stalked away from the lake beach — I wouldn't be their scapegoat.

Not in a million years.