Zara got a call over her radio halfway back to Evarlin. "Turn us around," she told Eric Rochester, who was driving. "We're getting reports of a brawl on Davengard turf."

"Yes, ma'am." Eric span the steering wheel left and the car turned sharply. He accelerated in the opposite direction, heading back towards the coast.

"We're going on patrol? Like, now?" I asked nervously.

She gave me an amused sort of smile. "Yes. You've got to start sometime."

Alex shuffled in place. "But what do we do?"

"Follow our example, for now. You'll get the hang of it quickly enough."

We passed fields and moors, woods and rivers. I had never been this far south before, which was ridiculous, because the entire island couldn't have been more than twenty-five miles long. People tended to stay within their houses' land, for safety and convenience. I had lived my entire life within a few meagre hectares, without ever knowing anywhere except Anglesey. Maybe half the problem with our society was that it was too enclosed. I had never even met a human being.

We unloaded outside a small farmhouse. From the backyard came the distinct sounds of a scuffle. Before I even had time to properly take in my surroundings, a stocky man appeared from the side of the house, wringing his hands.

"I didn't know what else do but call you in. They're really going at it. My friend tried to separate them and nearly lost a finger."

Zara nodded at Tobias and one of the nameless girls—Abbie, it might have been. They moved calmly towards the noises. Kai tapped my arm and grinned. We followed them, along with the rest of patrol eighty-nine.

A pair of women were clawing at each other in the yard behind the house. One distraught man shouted over the screeching, trying to make them see sense. But the women blatantly ignored him and continued to grapple. There was an awful lot of hair-pulling and gouging going on.

Alex whooped, shouting something along the lines of girl fight. Our glares silenced him quickly enough. The giant, Tobias, rushed forwards and caught one of them around the waist. He hauled her away while Abbie did the same with the other woman. Eric Rochester was giving us an impatient look, so I detached a pair of handcuffs from my belt and helped Abbie secure her prisoner, who had yet to stop trying to claw everyone's faces off.

When they were both pinned to the ground with their hands cuffed, Eric knelt down beside the closest one. "Alright ladies, care to explain?"

"Not really," she hissed. "I have a right to remain silent."

"Fair enough." He turned to the other woman. "How about you? Feel like telling your side of the story?"

"Actually I do. This hooligan attacked me for no reason. Everything I did was in self-defence."

The first woman bristled. "That's not what—"

"Ah, ah, ah. You're remaining silent, remember?" Eric cut her off. "Well, that all seems in order. Release that one, Sav. Tobias, you may escort your prisoner back to the van."

"You can't do just... This isn't..."

Eric just scowled. "Next time, I suggest you cooperate immediately. Our time is valuable — I can't afford to waste it interrogating the likes of you."

When she was out of sight and the other woman had scuttled back inside her house, Becky chewed on her lip. "Just out of interest, not disapproval, but was that legal?"

"Nope," Kai said mildly.

"Shut it, boy," Eric snapped. "The Moon Guard may twist the law, but we never break it."

Kai drew himself up, affronted. His eyes darkened dangerously. "Have I done something to you?"

"Not me personally. I hear you got into a scrap with my little brother, though. Now get a bloody handle on your wolf. You have approximately ten seconds before Zara comes round the corner, and if she sees the colour of your eyes, she will beat the holy hell out of you."

The prince blinked, his pupils receeding as he fought for control. "Ethan's your brother."

It wasn't a question. But even as Zara appeared in full stride, Eric nodded all the same. The patrol leader glanced between the pair suspiciously, but let it go when they backed away from each other. Tempers were running high today, that much was obvious. It was likely a combination of Alpha male nonsense and the stress of meeting Kai's family.

"What are you all waiting for? We have a half a dozen more calls to get through," Zara said.

***

We answered all of them. Every single one for the entirety of the day. By the time Evarlin came into view, I was ready to collapse into my bed and sleep all day and night. We took prisoners and statements, collected evidence and mediated disputes. That day, and the day after that, and the week after that. Slowly, we began to get the hang of the job. Zara often let us deal with situations alone before the first few days were over. But she was always watching nearby, just in case something went wrong.

My time inside the fortress proved nearly as trying as outside of it. Nate Silveryn wasn't allowed to return home. Neither were his companions. It was a discrete sort of imprisonment—being invited to dinners and meetings without any way to refuse. I only knew any of that because the Moon Guard were big on gossip. Nate and I hadn't spoken since the challenges. I saw him around often enough, but we never quite seemed to find the solitude to actually start a conversation. His pendant was starting to burn a hole in my pocket. Would I ever get a chance to return it?

Then one day, out of the blue, he was sat waiting in my chamber when I returned from patrol. Stretched out on my bed, as if we were old friends. With one, scarred hand, he tossed one of my daggers in the air, throwing and catching it without even looking.

"Good afternoon," he said quietly.

"What do you want?" My voice sounded far more suspicious than I would have liked. And of course, he noticed. Nate's eyes narrowed slightly at the tone.

"Do I have to want something to visit you?"

I made sure to keep my voice down — Kai and Becky's rooms were on either side and I wanted neither of them to know a Shadowcat was sat in my bedroom. Least of all Kai, for some unknown reason. Oh, wait...I did know the reason now.

"You don't have to, but you usually do anyway. Is this about Seb again? Because I'm really not in the mood. Come back after I've slept."

"This can't wait," Nate insisted.

I sat down on my bed, shoving him over to make room, and began unbuckling the straps of my harness. Beside me, the dagger flipped end over end as it continued its acrobatics. I sighed, "Fine."

He smiled slightly, those green eyes annoyingly satisfied. "I wanted to make an exchange—information for information. Talk to your parents about Sebastian, and I'll pass along a juicy little tidbit."

"About what?"

"Prince Kaeden," he said smugly. "You two are friends, aren't you?"

I scowled. Of course he would hold Kai over my head, knowing I couldn't refuse something which might help a member of my patrol. "We have a deal."

The dagger went dead still. "One of the king's emissaries will visit your commander tonight. I strongly advise you to take note of their discussion."

"That's not even information, just a way of getting some," I complained.

Nate raised an eyebrow, his gaze like ice. "You know something you didn't a minute ago. That is information. Now, you have two days to tell me what Sebastian was doing before he died. Fail to do so, and I will be forced to resort to...less pleasant measures."

And then I smirked. "If you want to twist words, Nathan, we can play that game. I said I would I talk to my parents about Seb, I never said anything about the subject of that conversation. Maybe I'll just ask what his favourite colour was."

His eyes narrowed almost to slits. I suddenly found myself wondering if I had just signed my death certificate. He said, "That would be ill advised."

"Even so, I'm the one with all the leverage here, Nate. You can kill me out of spite, but you still won't learn what you need to know."

A soft sigh sounded as he gave in. "What else do you want?"

I found myself smiling. "Where and when the meeting will take place, for a start."

"Midnight in the commander's chambers. They are planning to slip the emissary in and out without any of the guard seeing. Peyton is supposed to be neutral on the matter of the succession, and talking with Wyatt Rochester's dogs would not help that image," Nate said.

"And how on earth am I supposed to eavesdrop on the commander himself?"

Nate shrugged, his shoulder brushing against mine. "It's not for me to say. You know the castle better than I do—like where the outer wall meets the turrets and which path the night guards walk. I'm sure you will be able to work something out."

And just like that, without even acknowledging that he was helping, Nate had told me the answer. I slipped a hand into my pocket and produce the medallion he had dropped in my house all those weeks ago. "Thank you. I think this belongs to you."

The young Shadowcat looked as surprised as I had ever seen him. "This— I lost this the day—"

"The day I saved your useless life," I finished.

"You would give it back?" he asked. "Without even knowing how much it is worth? This symbol could guarantee your safety with any of my kind."

Well, when he put it like that... I hadn't even considered that it might have some value beyond that of the sentimental kind. Though perhaps I should have, because Nathan Silveryn was not the sort of person to have possessions with no functional use.

But I still said, "It's yours. I'm not a thief."

"No," Nate agreed. "You're not. But keep it all the same, at least until Kaeden is on the throne. There might come a day when you will be glad of protection against the Shadowcats."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded. "Are you planning to side with the Rochesters?"

"My father's not planning to side with anyone, if he can get away with it. Why do you think we no longer walk among you? The Shadowcats are sick of fighting werewolves' wars. It's not in our nature to band together, as you do."

I glowered at him. "You all swore to defend the throne. Or are you just going to break that promise?"

Nate's eyes narrowed at my tone. "Not if I can help it. Kaeden is still my blood, even if he's not my species. Of course we would prefer to fight for him over the Rochester pretender. But I need to know why Seb died in order to secure my people's allegiance for you."

"Why Seb?" I asked, frustrated.

He just stood up smoothly and took a few paces towards the doorway. I tried to ignore the ripple of muscles through a too-thin shirt with every movement he made. Then, calling back over his shoulder, "I imagine you will find out when you talk to your parents."

The door slid softly shut behind him, not making a single sound as the lock clicked back into place. Words games, riddles and puzzles. Damned Shadowcats, making every over-complicated. Would it kill him to give me one straight answer? I was still muddling through the half-meanings and planning my nightly escapade when Kai slipped into my room through that same doorway.

"Night, Sav."

Even that single word, intended as a greeting, sent my mind reeling to the inky black fur I had spent hours leaning on as I tried to save a life. I shook my head to clear my thoughts of anything and everything Shadowcat related. Kai was easy to focus on, easy to like. Forget your mess of complications for a while. Especially the complication named Nate Silveryn.

"Hey, Kai."

"You got a minute, or should I...?"

I nodded happily. "Come on in. I've actually been meaning to ask you, why don't we ever have to do guard duty in Evarlin?"

"Oh, it's optional. You only have to go down to the common rooms and volunteer. They draw lots every night. In fact, I reckon tonight's choosing is going on at the moment — loads of clamour from downstairs at the moment," Kai explained.

"Really?" My luck seemed too good to be true. "Who holds the straws?"

He frowned. "I'm not entirely sure, but I think someone called Marcus is in charge of the guard rota."

The Moon Guard must have been smiling down on me as I recognised the name of one of the members of Seb's patrol. He wouldn't refuse me, not when it was for my cousin's sake that I asked a favour in the first place. I beamed at Kai and rushed for the door. "Thank you. And goodnight."

"Sav, what are you—?"

But I was halfway down the staircase before he could finish. To turn eavesdropper on the commander, I would need to be on the guard shift for the stretch of wall outside his chambers, as Nate had so helpfully hinted.

In the common room several stories below, a small crowd of guard members surrounded a sandy-haired youth in his twenties. Marcus from patrol eighty was holding a fistful of coloured straws and reading from a list of positions. "Left side, second quarter division. Pick away, everyone."

I waited patiently amongst them while duty after duty was filled. No one noticed or cared about my presence — just another young Moon Guard looking for extra credit. When Marcus came to the post outside the commander's tower, though, I slipped into the mind-link.

I said to him, "I need to win that draw and I can't tell you why. For the sake of our dead brother, please tell me which is the shortest straw."

Our brother, even though he was a blood brother to neither of us. I knew that patrols saw each other as family, especially after two years in the field. Marcus' eyes settled on me and he frowned, but replied mentally, "For Seb, it's the red one on the left. Although I honestly don't see how it could be so important."

So I leant forwards to pluck it from the bundle when my turn came. Marcus clapped me on the back as I held up the sliver of plastic, still wearing an uncertain expression. Out loud, he announced, "Congratulations, Sav. You're on the Midnight Watch."