Sunlight streamed through the open blinds that I forgot to close the night before — slowly waking me up. Dust particles danced in the sunlight, and I felt the room warm a little as the winter sun crept in.

As my room got brighter and my senses awakened, I realised that Ember lying next to me with her head and hand resting on my bare chest. Her light weight resting upon me had been hardly noticeable and she'd been sleeping peacefully beside me.

"How did you get here?" I mumbled to her sleepily, stroking her hair as she too stirred.

"The back door." She smiled sleepily. "Happy birthday, Theo."

"Thanks." I smiled back; glad she was with me. I'd wanted so long for her to wake up next to me, with the sun rising, and there she was.

"You can learn how to drive a car now you're 17." She propped herself up on her elbows and wiped her eyes with one hand.

I shook my head back at her, still smiling, "I already know how to drive."

"What?" She exclaimed, sitting up. "How come you already know how to drive?"

"You can start learning to drive in Montana when you're almost 15 — and you can get your driver's license pretty soon after that too," I explained with a smile on her face at her surprise.

"I don't believe you." She shook her head persistently.

"Google it," I fired back.

"Fine, I will," she retorted, grabbing her phone – ever feisty, ever fiery. "Damn it." She sighed. "You're right."

I smirked back at her and kissed her forehead. "I'm always right."

"You're so not." She frowned back indignantly.

"How are you after yesterday?" I asked her, touching the side of her head where it had been bleeding.

"I'm surprisingly fine." She replied, before moving on as she read from her phone — "Let's see what else you can do when you're 17... You can drive most vehicles and pilot a helicopter or plane, become a blood donor, be interviewed by the police without an adult present and leave your body for medical study if you die. How exciting!" She ended sarcastically.

"First of all, I wouldn't want to pilot a plane or a helicopter. Second, I couldn't become a blood donor or leave my body for a medical study – my werewolf genes would just freak people out." I shrugged. "And hopefully, I'll never have to be interviewed by the police."

"Oh, there's something else here that you can do..." She added, with a frown crinkling her forehead, "You can no longer be subject to a care order... Does that mean that —?"

"Yep," I interrupted her, "It means I don't have to live with Neal and Lis anymore."

Hell yeah: protective custody — goodbye!

"So," I continued, "I'll be able to go look for my pack without needing their permission. Though I do need to find some money for a plane ticket... and food..." I trailed off; damn, I haven't been thinking about the money aspect of things.

"About that, Theo," Ember began, drawing my attention back to her, "I made a deal with my mum... I'm going to Svalbard sooner than the Christmas holidays."

"What?" I frowned; Storm neglected to mention that.

"After you told me the plan, I told my mum everything, and she helped me with control so that I could use enough of my powers to get rid of Victoria and the hunters." She sighed, looking down at her hands. "And in return, I go to Svalbard early, and stay for longer."

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow afternoon," she whispered, still avoiding looking at me. Instead, she fiddled with the necklace I gave her, which lay close to her heart.

Holy shit, that's sooner than I'd expected.

"Hey." I pulled her into a hug. "It's gonna be okay. I was planning on leaving not long after you left anyway."

"I know." She breathed, and her eyes became wet against my chest.

"Is this why you're here now — to tell me?" I asked, kissing her head, inhaling that scent of firewood that I would quickly grow to miss.

"Partly. I mean, it's still your birthday," she explained.

"Waking up with you next to me was the best birthday gift you could've gotten me." I smiled.

"I got you something else as well." She sniffed away her tears and began searching through a bag she'd brought with her. "Where is it? I know it's here somewhere..." She mumbled to herself until she found it and passed it over to me.

It was a simple dreamcatcher, constructed out of a wooden hoop, a stick and feathers.

"Did you make this yourself?" I asked as I felt the feathers lightly with my fingertips.

"Yup... Do you like it?"

"Yeah, I love it — thanks Em." I pulled her into another hug, not even realising that I'd called her Em instead of Ember.

"I like that name now, by the way." She grinned up at me.

"Oh, good." I sighed. "I was beginning to get worried you were going to spell it out for me again."

"Nope." She nuzzled against my chest.

And we lay like that for at least ten more minutes, listening to the sound of each other's breathing as sunlight filled the room. I didn't think that either of us wanted to move — like we just wanted to stay there forever.

Another moment I want to freeze.

I held my tongue; I wanted to tell her I loved her.

But things were getting too complicated for the emotion and commitment of 'love' to get in the way.

"My flight's two days long, what will yours be?" Ember asked at last.

"Around 12 hours," I replied, remembering it from last time. It was strange; I'd hated leaving America to come to the UK — and now, I didn't want to leave the UK because it meant leaving Ember.

She's leaving as well.

"What are you doing about school?"

"I'm still a transfer student, right? So, surely I can just transfer back to America for a couple of... For a while." I had no idea how long I'd spend over there — weeks, months? Would I ever come back to the UK?

"I guess so," she replied but seemed unconvinced. "My cover is that I'm going to be investigating the small fishing industries in Svalbard as part of my case study for small businesses in Business Studies... The amount of work that it'll take will be about 50% of my GCSE. And the school are going to send me over other work as well."

"That's good then." I nodded, only half-listening.

"Do you think Neal and Lis will try and stop you from leaving?" Ember filled the silence by turning the conversation back to me.

"Yes, but a teenage werewolf versus two middle-aged, non-supernatural people? I think I'll cope just fine." I smiled weakly.

I still needed to find the money for a plane ticket as well... I had a few dollars saved up in my cupboard, left over from when I left the States, but I was pretty sure I only had about 100, maybe 150 bucks. I was also pretty sure that flights from Bridstain, England to Atlanta, Georgia cost about 900 dollars.

Here's hoping I get some serious birthday cash from Neal and Lis.

Even with Em next to me, I was beginning to feel an all-too-familiar ache in the pit of my stomach. An ache that I'd come to know as loneliness.

Once again, I was leaving everything behind. My new life here had disintegrated in my hands, leaving me with nothing but handfuls of broken promises and a bitter taste in my mouth.

"You should probably go now, Em," I told her and lied, "I can hear Lis and Neal getting up now."

"Oh, okay," she responded quietly and began slipping out of my bed.

All I wanted to do was kiss her and hold her and love her gorgeous body, but, as bleak as it sounds, it felt like we were already drifting apart. Already 4,000 miles away from each other.

"Bye then."

"Bye," I replied, almost as cold as I was feeling inside.

"I leave Lake Oldoy at 10 tomorrow, and my flight leaves at 2," she told me, "And I'm spending all of today packing."

Unable to commit to anything else, I half-promised, "I'll see you before you leave."

"Okay." She opened my bedroom door and began creeping downstairs to escape through the back door.

God, I wished I could escape my life through the back door, escape all the complications anyway.

Not all of my pack were still alive... But some were.

I couldn't bring myself to think about who would and who wouldn't be dead. I shuddered at the thought of it and began getting out of bed.

"Happy birthday!" Lis squealed as I entered the kitchen.

"Thanks," I grunted and sat down at the kitchen island. Lis promptly placed a coffee in my hand, which I promptly took a mouthful of.

"Theo." Lis's voice became serious and all excitedness fell away. "The Agency knows you're going back for your pack—"

"But I have to—" I began, my voice rising, a growl threatening ever so slightly at the back of my throat — even though I could never bring myself to be properly mad at Lis.

"Shh!" She insisted. "I'm not even supposed to be telling you this! The Agency knows, but you have to go back, Theo... You just have to."

"What is it? What do you know?" I questioned, as anxiety flooded my foster mom's face.

After glancing around in fear, Lis told me falteringly, "The Agency... They're — they're somehow linked to the hunters."

"Well, shit." I breathed; I hadn't seen that one coming.

"Language, Theo." Lis chided lightly. Anyway, you have to go back, but you can't tell anyone about me telling this to you, and you can't talk to me about it again — I can't be involved."

That's almost exactly what Storm said the night my pack disappeared.

"Go back, and find them," she hissed before she pressed a thick envelope into my hand. "Use this, and you have to leave as soon as possible."

"There's a flight leaving Bridstain for Atlanta tomorrow night." I told her; I'd looked it up on my phone late last night. "But I don't have nearly enough money..."

"That's what this is for." Lis patted the hefty envelope.

I glanced inside of it and saw my passport, along with a thick wad of dollar bills. "Woah..."

"That should be enough to start with, some of it's pounds as well," Lis rushed, "Because you're 17 now, you don't need our protection. Technically, you're still a minor for another year, but you're no longer subject to a care order." It sounded like Lis had been on the same website as Ember had less than an hour ago — how long has Lis been planning my escape?

"Yeah, I know," I said back, and I heard Neal walking downstairs.

"You can't even tell Neal." Lis insisted, eyes locking onto mine like a deer's gaze into a wolf's eyes.

"I won't," I said, and the next two words slipped out before I knew what was happening. "I promise."

This time it seemed like a promise was necessary, and I knew I would be able to uphold it.

"Happy birthday," Neal grunted as he stepped into the kitchen, just as I was shoving my envelope into my hoodie pocket.

"Thanks." Gulping my coffee, I barely even looked at him. For all I knew, he could've been part of the Agency.

Lis looked nervous, and turned away, busying herself. She passed me a couple of slices of toast.

"This is for you, Theo," Neal told me, then handed me a card and something small which was wrapped in blue paper.

"Thanks," I echoed my earlier words without any sentiment behind them. The gift was a Swiss army knife. Which is possibly the most useless thing you could buy a werewolf.

One of my claws alone was as sharp as that knife.

Thank God Lis had snuck me my passport and a ton of money.

I threw a sour glance at Neal once his back was turned — the guy always was such an idiot. I could never understand how Lis put up with him.

"I gotta run." I finished my coffee and toast.

"Where?" Neal immediately questioned.

"Meeting some friends," I lied easily and locked eyes with him — daring him to challenge me.

He didn't challenge me.

In truth, I was heading into the bustling town centre of Lake Oldoy to buy a plane ticket.

The woman at the booking agency asked, yawning slightly, "Return, or one-way?"

I hesitated, before deciding, "One-way, please."

First off, it was probably cheaper than a return ticket. And second, who knew when or if I'd been coming back to Lake Oldoy?

I winced slightly as the woman told me the price and I handed over the correct amount, trying not to look too suspicious with an envelope full of cash.

"Enjoy your flight." She sighed, taking the money, signalling I could leave.

With a relieved sigh, I left the travel agency.

I guessed I should speak to Kaden before I just up and left town. So, I walked from Lake Oldoy to where his caravan was, by the side of the lake. He'd moved it closer to the trees and away from the shoreline because of the gales that were predicted on the weather forecast, and warned by Wednesday as well, for that night.

At his caravan I sharply knocked on the door. "Kaden, it's me — it's Theo."

"Ugh... Erm... Yeah — one second!" He called back haltingly.

I heard Halia hiss to him, "You do not have to let him in right this moment!"

"Shh, babe — we can finish this later!" Kaden whispered back and I heard the sound of passionate kissing.

I turned away from the caravan, eyes widening; I did not want to hear any of that. Staring at the cold lake, I blocked out the sounds from within the caravan.

"It's fine, Kaden!" I shouted to him, "I can come back later when you're dressed."

"Crap, how did you know?" He yelled back.

"It's not hard." I laughed and patted the side of the caravan. "Have fun in there you two!"

"Oh, piss off, Theo." Kaden huffed irritatedly.

"Alright, I'm going," I told them, still laughing slightly, and headed back to Saint Francis.

That could've been the last time in a long while that I'd walk through those woods, and so I embraced every second of it.

Winter had well and truly fallen over Lake Oldoy, overnight, it seemed. Frost laced tree bark and made fallen leaves crunch under foot. A mist hung in the air, clinging to everything as ivy clings about an oak.

It was cold, sure, but no way near as cold as winters got in Montana. Over there, in winter, it can have an average daily high temperature below 40°F, which equates to something like 4 or 5°C — pretty damn cold.

I was still struggling to comprehend that Victoria and the hunters had gone, and they weren't just waiting behind a tree to jump out at me.

We were right; the hunters had followed Victoria and those two other Betas, after declaring to the police force that they now had the 'animal problem' under control, and they were leaving Lake Oldoy to make sure the 'animal problem' didn't return.

I didn't feel half as much remorse for Victoria as I probably should have done. It was creepy how much she looked like Jade... I'd have to ask Jade the next time I saw her if she had some long-lost evil twin.

If I ever see her again.

If I ever see any of them again.

No, I told myself, you'll see them again. I had to see them again... I couldn't imagine what would happen if Jade was dead if Jason was dead — I couldn't imagine what would happen if any of them were dead.

But Halia had told me that some of my pack would be dead. Not that that would stop me from looking for them — my desperation to find them hadn't altered when she told me that. My resolve hadn't wavered once.

Back 'home', I avoided Neal and Lis and sprinted upstairs. Grabbing my duffel bag out of my wardrobe, I began packing. Clothes, wash kit, the money from Lis, my own cash, the useless pocketknife from Neal, Abi's pendant and the dreamcatcher from Ember. Not much, but it was all I needed.

That's not true; I needed Em... But I couldn't exactly pack her into my duffel bag and take her with me on what could be a wild goose chase across the States.

The day had gone by faster than I'd realised, I noticed after a quick glance at the time — it was already 7:30 pm.

Should I go see Ember tonight? I thought about it before I realised what I was doing.

Surely it would just make things harder. But it could also be the last time in a long while that I could be with her. Her plane was leaving Bridstain at 2, she was leaving Lake Oldoy at 10 — it was unlikely that I'd end up seeing her after that night.

This could be it, I realised, this could be the last time I see Ember before we're almost on opposite sides of the world.

I had to see her.

Zipping my bag shut and dumping it on my bed, I snuck downstairs.

Lis was sitting in the living room reading a magazine. "I'll cover for you," she said airily as if she were mentioning the weather.

"Thank you, Lis," I told her seriously and sincerely. "For everything."

From Saint Francis, I practically sprinted to Lake Oldoy — thoughts tumbling unfiltered through my mind while the crisp ground crunched beneath my feet.

I didn't want to feel lonely that night; I didn't want that numbness building up inside of me again. That same loneliness and numbness that I'd felt when I'd woke up and all my pack were gone.

It was because of Ember that I'd found myself again, that I'd remembered how to live again — with her, nothing seemed so pointless. She'd given me a reason to carry on; a reason to stay in Lake Oldoy; a reason to stay alive, instead of handing myself over to the hunters. She forgave me for everything I did wrong, insisting that I was still a good person, despite having killed.

She was the same as Jason, in a way. She also believed that I wasn't a cold-hearted monster. Undoubtedly, the reason why she was my anchor, was the same reason why I needed her right now — because she gave me hope.

Hope that I wouldn't be lonely and numb forever.

Shit, I love her more than life itself. She's everything to me, and I'm about to let her go.