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THERE WAS NO light; there was no sound. Blackness all around, darker even than the forest at night, and quieter too. Not even the whistle of the wind outside; not so much as the hoot of an owl or the scrape of skinny branches on glass; no creak of an old mattress on an older frame. There was no moon to be seen, no stars dotting the sky; the rich, woody scent of the forest was gone, no lingering smell of a crackling fire.

Adele awoke with a start when she realised she wasn't at home. The pillow didn't smell like hers; the bed was actually comfortable, her body sinking beneath the thick duvet that kept out the cold. It was strange to wake up warm in the middle of November when snow coated the ground and the sun hid. She sat up, disorientated, and rubbed her eyes as though that would clear the darkness.

"Angus?" she whispered to the lump beside her. He grunted.

"Try again," he muttered, his voice muffled by the pillow.

"Huh?" She fumbled for a light on the bedside table, illuminating a room she didn't recognise. "Archie?"

He groaned and rolled over. His hair was a mess, a ruffled mop that flopped over his face. Pushing it away from his eyes, he squinted up at Adele, shading his eyes with his hand.

"Christ, Del, you're an early riser," he mumbled. "It's, like seven. On a Saturday."

Her head began to spin, her stomach churning as snippets of yesterday flew back to her. "Fuck. I feel like shit."

"Maybe because you drank a fifth of Gus's Scotch after he went to bed," he muttered. "Something going on with you, Del?"

She shook her head. Archie tiredly laughed.

"Trying to drink away the memory of a disappointing fuck, huh?"

"What?" She dropped back down onto the pillow, her hand over her forehead. "Why would you say that?"

"Because you came in here at one in the morning and told me he was a disappointing fuck," he said, chuckling, and he shook his head to himself. "He doesn't know how to take the lead." He rolled onto his side and sighed, propping up his head in his hand.

"I said that?"

"No, I told you that," he said. "You said that for someone who always wants to fuck you, he's not very good at it."

"Oh my God," she groaned. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. It was funny. Then you said you wanted to fuck me." His eyes lingered on hers. "I won't lie, it was incredibly hot and very tempting, but you were drunk and I've been through enough sexual assault training to know that's never a good idea."

Adele rolled over, pressing her face into the pillow. "This is bad. Oh my God. I'm so sorry, Archie. I don't drink much. I have a low tolerance."

"You don't need to apologise," Archie said. "You really don't. But you did suck me off."

His words came out so flippantly that they shocked Adele into silence.

"You were insistent and ... well, I'm sorry, but I'm only human. There's only so much I can say no to something I would actually love."

"I remember that," she muttered, the flashback hitting her like a freight train. She had no regrets, yet she couldn't shake a sense of guilt that settled into her mind. She didn't understand that: she and Angus were nothing but friends with benefits. They weren't even friends: she didn't care for him in any manner other than sexually, yet a voice at the back of her head told her she had done something horrible. "Sorry."

Archie grinned and winked. "Nothing to apologise for. Seriously. Angus is a lucky guy."

She wrinkled her nose. "I've never done that with him," she said. When Archie raised his eyebrows, she explained. "He's not interesting. He usually just wants to fuck. Very ... traditional. And lazy. He doesn't like being on top."

Archie snorted and stood, naked and hard. "Interesting," he said. "Very interesting."

"Why?" She sat up a little straighter, slowly to keep her head from whirling. She would be fine; she just wasn't used to drinking. The odd beer, perhaps. Rarely Scotch. Too expensive. "What did you mean last night? When you said he knows you think he's hot?"

Archie stretched, unashamed of his blatant morning glory. He was shameless in everything he did. Adele found it refreshing; he reminded her of herself. She watched him crack his back, waiting for an answer before he headed to the bathroom.

"Well," he said, a cheeky grin playing between his dimples, "let's just say that for someone who tries so hard to convince himself he's straight ... he sure does love a dick in his ass."

"What?"

He just winked again, slipping into the bathroom that separated his room from Angus's. Adele lay paralysed with shock, wide eyes staring at the ceiling as she replayed what Archie had just said. It didn't make sense, no matter what way she looked at it. That wasn't the Angus she knew. But she didn't really know him: when he talked, she shut him down. When he tried to get under her skin, she pushed him away. She had never wanted to get to know him, and it seemed like she had succeeded.

Fifteen minutes later, Archie came back with a towel around his waist, water dripping down his toned body. Adele opened her mouth to interrogate him but she had so many questions that not a single one would come out, too many words stoppering her thoughts.

"I'm on call," Archie said, buttoning up his navy shirt, the Penlark Police Department uniform. "I've gotta head out."

"Is Angus in his room?"

"Nah," he said. "He's off for the weekend. Went to go and see his wife."

"What the fuck?"

Archie laughed. "You're easy, Del. He headed out earlier, went to spend the weekend with his mum. He didn't tell you?"

"We don't talk," she said. "Just sex."

"Nice one," he said with a chuckle. "Well, you're free to stay here if you need to sober up before you head home..." He pursed his lips, eyeing her up. "I have a breathalyser. Maybe you should give it a go."

"I'm sure I'm fine."

"Morally, as an officer, I can't sanction you driving if I think there's a chance you're over the limit," he said. "Not to cramp your style or anything, but, you know." He rifled through his bedside drawer, throwing a breathalyser to her and taking out a pack of cigarettes for himself, putting one between his lips and stuffing the box into his pocket. Lighting up, he watched as Adele blew into the device.

"What does it have to be?"

"Under 0.22," he said. They both waited until the breathalyser beeped. She showed him the screen. He looked surprised. "I guess you're good to go. 0.2, on the nose. But you should probably eat something first. I've gotta go, but you know your way around the kitchen, right?"

She nodded. Archie did up his belt and tied his tie around his neck. He scrubbed up well.

"Well, see you around. Drive safe," he said, saluting her as he clipped on his badge and shrugged on a coat over his jacket.

"Wait, Archie." She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, standing to confront him. "Aren't you gonna explain what you meant earlier? You and Angus?"

Archie grinned. "You know I'm a lover of all, Del."

"I know you are, but what're you saying about Angus?"

He put his hand on her shoulder. His palm was warm. "I don't think it's my place to assign him a box," he said. "If you want to know, you might just have to talk to him."

Adele sighed. "Fine. Bye, Archie."

"See you on the flipside," he said, and he left.

Adele dropped down onto the edge of his bed and rested her elbows on her knees. There was a curdle in her chest and it bore no relation to what she had drunk: it felt more like the pain of guilt than the sickness of a hangover, but she couldn't understand why. She and Archie had fooled around before; she had never felt bad for Angus when she had played with his partner. She hadn't realised he played with him too, but if anything, that only turned her on a little more.

She harrumphed. Maybe she was just hungry.

*

Satiated by an extravagant breakfast of toast with the luxury of strawberry jam and a bowl of cinnamon crunch that she washed down with a milky coffee, she left. Driving would help, giving her something to focus on other than her own thoughts: she could train her eyes on the road, her ears on the radio that only gave in to static once she was closer to Buck Pines.

For an hour, she pushed it out of her mind. Or rather, she fought with her mind as she tried to push the past couple of days away from her thoughts. Easier said than done.

She screeched to a halt when she sailed through Buck Pines, a flash of orange coming out of nowhere. Her heart lurched, momentarily terrified that she would hit Ainslie, but she stepped back from the road and waved Adele down.

"Christ, Ainslie! Don't cross without looking!" she cried out, winding down her window.

"I did look," Ainslie said. "I saw you – we never talked. You said you were going to talk to me yesterday but you never did."

"Shit," Adele muttered. "Ok, get in."

With a grin, Ainslie hopped into the passenger seat and buckled herself in.

"First things first," Adele said, shifting into gear again, "did you tell anyone about Caleb?"

"Nope," Ainslie said, shaking her head. "I only talk to you and Mum."

"But did you tell your mum?" she asked. Sometimes she had to be extra specific with Ainslie.

"No. She's gone to see my granny in Edinburgh for the week," she said.

"Ok." Adele nodded to herself. That was good. "Ok." She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. "Can I trust you, Ainslie?"

"Of course you can!" Ainslie beamed. "You saved my life, Adele. And I trust you with it."

"I've saved your life several times," Adele said. There was no malice in her tone. Ainslie laughed.

"I know, yeah. I'm surprised you haven't killed me yet," she said. "I'd do anything for you, Adele. You know that. I owe you a lot."

"And that includes keeping secrets?"

The sky darkened when they reached the forest, the trees shading them from the bright white sky that reflected the snow. The track grew less even and more dangerous. Adele slowed right down, easing her foot onto the brake, trundling over the hidden bumps.

"Of course," Ainslie said. "I keep my secrets, Adele. Or I forget them. Either way, if something's a secret, there's no way it's getting out of here." She tapped her temple and smiled. "Is this about Caleb? Who is he?"

Adele took a deep breath. "This stays between us. And him," she said. "Got it?"

"Got it." Ainslie stuck her thumb up.

"He's a werewolf," Adele said. "I saved him a week. Nobody can know because they'll kill him, so I need you not to even mention you saw a man in my house, ok? I found him after the Guard tried to kill him. My sister shot him but I saved him. Oh, and he's my mate, apparently." She looked over at Ainslie. "And you cannot breathe a word."

"Ok," Ainslie said, drawing out the two syllables. "Can I ask questions?"

Adele nodded. "Mmhmm."

"If he's a werewolf ... and he's your mate ... would your kids be little wolf babies? Or human babies? Or, like, some kind of weird half and half?"

Adele spluttered a laugh. "Oh my God, Ainslie. Of all the questions, that's the one you ask?"

Ainslie shrugged. "I was just wondering. Maybe they'd just be really hairy babies."

"I'm not having any babies, ok? But I'm assuming they'd be werewolves. Same as him."

"So he's a werewolf," she mused. "Makes sense."

"It does?"

"He's hairy and strong and he can't read," she said. "And he turned up out of nowhere."

"It doesn't bother you?"

Ainslie shook her head. "I know there are werewolves out there," she said, "and they're mostly people, right? They're, like ... they're people who can turn into a wolf sometimes. That's cool." She smiled, resting back against the headrest. "And Caleb seems nice. He was nice to me. A lot of people just get annoyed by me, or they don't talk to me. But he didn't care."

"He's a nice guy," Adele mused. That weird guilt returned again. She swallowed it down.

"I think my cousin's a werewolf," Ainslie said, her words popping up out of the blue, "but don't tell anyone that. Once I said it to my auntie and she cried."

"Huh?"

"After he went missing, she was crying about how he was dead and I said maybe he's a werewolf, and she cried. She said she'd rather he was dead, which I suppose makes sense when werewolves get killed anyway."

"You have a cousin? I didn't know you had a cousin."

"I have two!" Ainslie cried out. "You know Craig," she said, "and Reed."

Adele caught her breath. "Reed's your cousin?"

Ainslie nodded. "He was," she said. "But he disappeared. It's been two years: my auntie says he's dead."

Adele sighed. She was beginning to sound like her sister. "Shit."

"I have another question," Ainslie said. Adele encouraged her with a glance. "Can I stay with you until my mum gets back?"

She pressed her lips together, she took a breath, and she smiled. "Sure."

*

Caleb was in the kitchen. Adele wondered if he had moved at all since she had left. A fire was burning in the grate, the logs crackling as the flames licked higher. He stood when he sensed her, a smile gracing his lips before it fell.

"You were with him," he said. His voice was flat.

"Angus?"

Caleb growled under his breath when she said the name, straightening his back and squaring his shoulders. His eyes darkened, his jaw tightening. The ache in Adele's stomach returned, even stronger this time.

"Look, Caleb..." She trailed off, wincing as she tried to find the words, but she didn't know which ones were the right ones. She didn't want to say sorry, not when he had blown into her life like a wind that had pushed her off her balance.

"Why were you with him?" The anger in his face dissolved, fading to anguish. Agony laced his eyes as though she had set fire to his soul.

"I can't just drop everything because you say I'm your mate," she said, taking off her coat. "I need a bit more than a day to process it all, ok? I'm not saying fucking Angus was my best idea," she muttered, giving Caleb a look when he growled again, "but you can't expect me to just accept all this right off the back. I need some processing time."

He softened his shoulders. "Ok."

"Thank you."

He looked over her shoulder. "Hi, Ainslie."

"Hey, Caleb," she said with a sunny smile.

"Ainslie knows," Adele said. "She knows everything."

"Everything?" he asked, his eyebrows high.

"Yes."

"That's a lot of things," he said. Adele harrumphed and rolled her eyes.

"I mean everything about you," she said, "not everything in the world."

Ainslie laughed. "I don't know very much in the world," she said. "But I know you're a werewolf and Adele's your mate! And I won't tell anybody, don't worry. I don't want you to die."

Caleb shot Adele a wary look; she gave him a comforting smile. She wasn't used to that expression. It felt weird on her lips.

"We can trust Ainslie," she said. "You told me yourself, she's a coibhneil."

"I am? Cool!" She stood by the fire to warm her hands, rubbing her palms together over the flames. It was below zero again; it would be until February, most likely, and she had forgotten her gloves again. Adele was tempted to keep a box in her truck, just to keep Ainslie's fingers from snapping off.

"You know what a coibhneil is?"

"No," Ainslie said, "but it sounds cool."

"It's a good person," Caleb said. "You're a good person. You don't want to kill me."

Ainslie gasped. "No, I don't want you to die! That's horrible. Your secret is safe, don't worry. I won't tell anyone. Not even my mum. I promise."

Adele dropped down onto the armchair and let out a mammoth sigh, rubbing her weary eyes. Ainslie sat by the fire, stretching out her legs. Caleb stood, glancing between the two of them.

"Your house is too small," he said to Adele.

"It was perfect for one," she muttered. "I guess that's ancient history now, huh?" She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "You haven't washed since you shifted, you know. How about you have a shower?"

"A what?"

"A shower – you need to clean your body, and your hair. You need to look after yourself when you're a human." Hauling herself to her feet, she showed him to the bathroom, demonstrating how to use the shower. "Use this on your hair; any of this on your body. Ok?"

"Ok."

"You do get it, right?"

He nodded. "I get it," he said, and he stripped off right there in front of her. She rolled her eyes, though she wasn't complaining, and she pulled the door shut to leave him in peace, returning to Ainslie.

"He seems really nice," Ainslie said. "He's a nice guy. And I think maybe it hurts him when you sleep with Angus."

"He doesn't like him," Adele said.

"Because you're his mate," she said with a knowing smile, though Adele was never quite sure how much Ainslie actually knew.

The two of them sank into a moment of calm. Ainslie relaxed in front of the fire while Adele rested in the armchair once she had poured herself a coffee. It was still early, not yet eleven, but she was ready for the day to end already. She was exhausted, her body still aching and her mind was crying out for a rest.

She wasn't going to get one.

"I think someone's here," Ainslie said. She scampered to her feet, darting to the window in Adele's bedroom before she flew back to the kitchen. "Your sister."

"For fuck's sake," Adele muttered. "She wouldn't come over when she wanted wood the other day, why the fuck is she turning up now?" She got to her feet and opened the bathroom door. Caleb was standing under the hot stream, his head back and his eyes closed. "Hey, Caleb?"

"Yes?"

"Jade's here," she said. "You need to go to your room, ok?" She handed him a towel. "Just while she's here."

He didn't question her, though he didn't know what to do with the towel. He put it down, heading to the spare room, and only when the door was shut did Adele open the front door.

"What're you doing here?" She stood with her arms folded tightly across her chest. She hadn't heard a peep from Jade ever since she had stormed out of the café and that anger reared its ugly head as though she was right back there in the moment.

Jade held up her hands. "Don't get mad," she said. Adele scoffed.

"Why're you here?"

"Because I want to talk."

"You didn't call."

"Because I knew you'd say no," Jade said. "Look, I came all the way out here. Can I just come in?"

Adele waited for a couple of seconds before she stepped backwards, wordlessly inviting Jade into the cabin. "Sure you're not just here for the wood?"

"No," Jade said. "Well, I do still want it. And I have the money. But I wanted to apologise." She followed Adele into the kitchen and she sat down in the armchair. "Oh, Ainslie. Hi."

"Hi, Jade," Ainslie said with a smile. She had a smile for everyone.

"Um, can Adele and I have a moment?"

Adele span around. "No – you can't show up and kick my friends out," she said. "Whatever you want to say, you can say in front of Ainslie. Especially if you're just apologising. Unless you'd rather the world didn't know you might have a heart?"

Jade scowled but she said nothing. Shifting to the edge of the seat, she unzipped her coat and folded it over the chair, resting back with her hand over her bump. Adele's eyes fell to her sister's swollen stomach, the first time she had seen it.

"I'm sorry," Jade said.

"For?"

"For keeping this from you. I realise that was a bad idea."

"So why'd you do it?"

"I was going to tell you at twenty weeks," Jade said. "Once I knew everything was ok, and I knew what I was having, but Creighton didn't want anyone to know yet. He wants to keep it between us. We don't want all eyes on us."

Adele narrowed her eyes. "That makes no sense. You're going to have to give birth eventually. People are going to know you've had a baby, Jade."

"I know," she said, "but we didn't want everyone getting in our business. You know how people get – if they knew I was pregnant, they'd never shut up about it. I don't want everyone in town trying to touch my bump."

"It's just weird," Adele said. "Being so secretive. Is Creighton ashamed or something? Does he even want a kid?"

Jade narrowed her eyes. "That's got nothing to do with it," she snapped, then softened. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry I didn't tell you, and I know I should have. I know I'd be annoyed if you didn't tell me." She paused. "And I'm sorry about what I said. I ... I got riled up. We always rile each other up. We said stuff we didn't mean."

Adele couldn't agree with that. She had meant every word she had said, but common sense kicked in and she refrained from pointing that out. Ainslie sat silently by the fire, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible without having to leave the warmth.

"So," she said. "I'm going to be an aunt, huh?"

*

Jade stayed for thirty minutes. That was the longest she and Adele had spent together in years, possibly the longest ever that they hadn't erupted into a shouting match. She left with the wood, leaving two hundred pounds in an envelope for Adele. It was double the price she had quoted; Jade left before she could ask why.

Adele flopped down in the chair, swinging her legs over the side, and she threw her arm over her eyes. "God, I need a nap," she groaned. "Caleb! You can come out now – she's gone!"

A few seconds passed. No response. Adele nodded at Ainslie, who was already standing.

"Go and tell him he can come out," she said, closing her eyes. Ainslie did as she was told, bouncing off to the spare room. It wasn't long before she came back, her eyes wide and her cheeks bright red. Adele laughed. "Oh, shit, yeah. Uh, he doesn't like clothes. Is he still naked?"

Ainslie nodded, the movements short and sharp. "He's ... busy," she said, mortification in her eyes.

"Wha- oh. Oh my God," Adele spluttered. "Jesus Christ, I'm sorry, Ains. I guess it was only a matter of time before he figured that out, huh?" She shook her head to herself, rolling her eyes. If nothing else, Caleb amused her. She smiled at Ainslie.

"What?"

"Maybe I could get used to this."

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some questions answered, i imagine. maybe more to be asked? who knows. i don't, so let me! picspam-wise, i've been slacking a little recently - here's a quickie!