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THE JOURNEY BACK to the cabin was almost silent, save for the occasional sniffle that came from the passenger seat. Ainslie sat with her hand clamped over her mouth to stifle her fear but it was impossible to hide how shaken she was. Whenever Adele could afford to take one hand off the wheel, she rested her palm over Ainslie's to comfort her but there was only so much she could do when she had to keep her eyes pinned to the dim track.

Every time her stare flickered up to the rear-view mirror, her gut clenched with dread at the thought that her eyes might land on Creighton. Nothing felt safe anymore. It never really had but now that feeling was amplified a hundred times, the paralysing fear that she would catch sight of the man who was set on making her life a living misery.

Caleb didn't say a word the whole way home. He silently seething in the back, his eyes as dark as Adele had ever seen them. It was enough to send a jolt of unease through her, a chill skating down her spine. She swallowed hard and focused on the road, tightening her hands around the wheel as she drove back the way they had come. It was getting late, the clock already shooting past eleven, and her eyes were drooping as she tried to stay awake for the last few minutes of the drive.

It wasn't easy. Her brain crashed, overdrive spinning into a burnout. Her hands wanted to drop from the wheel; her eyes wanted to shut. She didn't let them, fighting her desperation to sleep with her instinct to survive, and the car crawled up to the cabin as the time hit quarter past eleven. That was too close to midnight for Adele's liking. She wasn't one to stay up late and her body was rebelling.

Ainslie didn't say a word as she slipped out of the car and dragged herself to the front door, leaning against the window of her room as Adele tugged off her glove to find her key. Caleb loomed behind her, the three of them stood in a silent huddle. The door opened with a click. Adele flicked on the light. The bare bulb in the hallway flickered above them. It came to life after a few seconds, the stark light hardly welcoming. The shade had broken a while ago and Adele had never got around to replacing it.

She led the way to the kitchen. It was only once she had tugged off her coat and shed her scarf that she threw a punch at the armchair.

"For fuck's sake!" she yelled out, bursting the silence with the ferocity of her words. "Why does this have to be so goddamn fucking difficult? Why does that cunt have to be there every fucking step of the way?"

Ainslie sniffed, holding back another round of tears. She swiped at her eyes but she couldn't lift the corners of her mouth from the depths to which they had sunk. Adele's face fell further when she looked up and saw Ainslie's expression, and she shook off her rage before she wrapped her arms tightly around her friend.

"I'm sorry," she said, holding onto her as though she was a life raft. "I'm really sorry, Ains."

"It's not your fault," Ainslie croaked. "It's him. He's terrifying. Oh my goodness, Adele, I don't know how you stand up to him. I thought I was going to be sick."

"You're ok, Ains," she said, rubbing her back. "You're ok. He's not going to hurt you. He's not going to lay a finger on you. If he does, I'll snap his fucking wrist and stuff his hand down his throat."

Ordinarily, such threats were hyperbolic. A joke. Not anymore. Now they were a promise.

"He is evil," Caleb said, speaking up for the first time in a long time. His voice was deep, the undertone of a growl beneath his words. "He needs to go. He needs to be gone."

"I know," Adele said. "He does."

Part of her wished she had broken her own moral code and shot Creighton then and there. She wasn't a violent person, preferring to use her words, but there was no reasoning with him. There was no way he would ever see anyone's point of view but his own, and there was no way he would step out of her life. Especially if he didn't even want her dead. If it was hurting her that he fantasised about, then there was no end to his torture in sight.

Ainslie pulled away from the hug, dabbing at her damp cheeks. "We can't do anything while he's still around," she said quietly. "He's always going to be there. We'll never find Reed."

"We will," Adele said with a firm nod. "We're going to find him, Ains."

"But Creighton is everywhere. We can't go back to the quarry. He'll kill us."

Adele took a deep breath. "We need to eliminate the threat," she said. "We need to be sure he's gone before we can go back."

Caleb shook his head. "We can't kill him," he said. "We're not evil. We are not him."

"No," she said. She didn't want blood on his hands. Even if it was the blood of someone who desperately deserved to die. "We just need to get rid of him for a day. Or a night."

"How?" Ainslie asked. She looked up at Adele and then Caleb, who looked at each other.

"I don't know," Adele said. Her shoulders dropped. Her eyelids suddenly got a hundred times heavier. "I can't think straight when I'm this tired, though. It's really late." She glanced up at the clock above the fireplace. Twenty past eleven. "We need to go to bed. We need a good night's sleep."

"I don't think that's possible," Ainslie said. She hugged her elbows and shook her head, and she glanced out of the window. "He's out there somewhere. What if he comes here?"

"He won't," she said. It was more of a hope than a certainty. "He could've done that a thousand times but he hasn't. He's not going to come here tonight."

"I'm scared," she said, voicing the thoughts of everyone in the room. Adele didn't admit her fear, though. Although she was only a few years older than Ainslie, she felt like her surrogate mother: it was her job to protect her, to keep her out of harm's way, and so far she had only succeeded in doing the exact opposite. She had ripped her from the comfort of her home and the safety of her mother, planting her right in the middle of a war zone.

"We're going to be ok. We'll think of something and we'll get him out of the way for long enough to find Reed and we'll get out," Adele said, "but we need to sleep. My brain is completely dead right now. Ok?"

"Ok." She slipped out of her shoes and unwound the scarf around her neck, hanging it up on the door with her coat, and she hugged Adele again. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Sleep well, Ains," she said with a smile that was difficult to muster. Ainslie traipsed to the bathroom, where she had slowly introduced her own toothbrush and shower gel, and Adele turned to Caleb. She rested her forehead against his shoulder, her palm over his heart. The beat wasn't as steady as usual. It was pounding faster as rage coursed through him, but that didn't douse the warmth in his embrace. He didn't let his anger towards Creighton stand in the way of his love for Adele.

"You're tired," he said. "Let's sleep."

The bedroom was freezing cold. Adele shuddered even as she stood in front of the heater that she lunged for, letting the heat pierce the cold veil around her. Caleb undressed in the tiny amount of floor space, folding his clothes over the dresser before he crawled between the sheets to heat up the cold bed. He ran warm, his body a lifesaver in the cold winter nights.

When her teeth were no longer chattering, Adele changed out of her stiff jeans into a pair of thick pyjamas before she slipped into bed and curled herself against Caleb. After sleeping alone her whole life, having only ever shared a bed with her grandmother, she had fast adapted to sleeping next to Caleb. Or rather, tangled up in his arms. His heat helped. So did the bond that grew stronger each day. She couldn't fight the desire to be close to him; she didn't want to.

"I'm sorry tonight didn't work," she said, her back against his chest. They shared a pillow. She didn't need to face him when she could feel him. "I really hoped it would. God, I really thought we were going to find Reed."

"Me too." His breath ruffled her hair. He held her close against him, his hand over her stomach beneath her breasts. His knees were pressed against the backs of hers, the heavy duvet sealing them in.

"I don't feel safe," she said after a moment. "I don't know how safe we are anymore. Not that we ever really were."

"He saw me," Caleb said. "He knows my name. And Jade saw me in wolf form. She thinks you have a dog. Creighton thinks you have a friend."

"I'm banking on the fact that they're the world's most dysfunctional couple," Adele said. "I'm fairly certain they don't talk to each other and it might actually help us." She crossed her fingers and tucked her hand under her head, staring at the orange glow of the heater. "I don't know what to do about Ainslie."

"What? There's nothing to do. What do you mean?" He pulled away a little, propping himself up on his elbow. Adele rolled over to face him, their noses inches apart. She couldn't make out his features in the dim light, feeling around until her hand met his jaw, and she moved it to his neck.

"As much as I love her, and you know I adore her – she's my best friend; my only friend – and as useful as she is, I think we need to leave her behind." The words pained her as they left her mouth as though they were razor blades that sliced her lips. Her heart skipped a sickening beat and a lump took over her throat.

"No."

"She deserves to be safe. She deserves to have Christmas with her mother. Morag deserves to have her daughter for the holidays." She took a deep breath to hold back her emotions. They had been more evident at the surface recently, after years of being buried so deeply that even she couldn't find them. Now everyone could see them. "I don't want her to get tangled up in us leaving. It's not fair on her, Caleb."

"None of this is fair," he said. "It would be fair if Creighton wasn't around. It would be fair if I could love you without hiding. Nothing is fair though."

"I know," she said. "I know. Everything sucks. This whole situation is the absolute worst, and I don't want to make it even worse by getting Ainslie hurt, or by hurting her mother. They're the best people I know, Caleb. They're the kindest souls. I can't hurt them."

"It'll be worse if she doesn't come," Caleb said. "You'll miss her. I'll miss her. It will hurt a lot. And she'll be hurting too. She doesn't like not being here."

"It's better than death," she said. "I can't put her in a position where she might get killed, and I did that tonight, and I feel awful about it. I was irresponsible. And it's only going to get worse."

"But it would be worse without her," he said, a little more force in his voice. "Without Ainslie, we wouldn't have any answers. Now we have ... I don't know. A lot of answers. She's part of our pack, Adele. I did a bad thing when I left Reed behind. I won't do that again. I won't leave Ainslie behind."

Adele blinked hard. "She has her own pack, Caleb," she said quietly. She pressed the back of her hand to her eyes. "She's got her mum and her aunt and her cousin."

There was a sniff outside the door. Adele stiffened. She rolled over. Another sniff. Then the door creaked open. Ainslie crept into the room. The glow of the heater highlighted the wet tracks streaking down her cheeks, tears glistening on her skin. Adele's stomach dropped.

"Ains, I'm..."

"You can't leave me," Ainslie said. Her voice was weakened by her tears. "You know you can't leave me. You need me. I need you. I can't stay in this awful town, Adele. You know that."

"I'm so sorry, Ains," Adele said. She sat up a little straighter, squinting in the dark.

"I can't stay. I'll die if I stay." She shook her head to herself, appalled by the thought of staying. "Creighton knows I'm involved now. I can't stand up to him like you can, Adele. If you leave me, he'll question me until I break and then we're all dead. He doesn't care. He'll kill me if I stay. You can't make me stay. Please don't make me stay." Her tears flowed again, a sob breaking out of her.

"She's right," Caleb said. "Creighton knows she's with us. And if he wants to hurt you, he'll hurt Ainslie. He knows you're friends."

"Don't say that," she said, elbowing his stomach, but she knew it was the truth. Creighton wouldn't think twice about murdering Ainslie just to hurt her more. He'd probably get a kick out of it. The thought twisted her gut to the point that she thought she might actually throw up. Swallowing hard, she steadied her breathing.

"I know I have to figure out what to tell my mum," she said, "but I can do that. I'm an adult, Adele. I have to be able to make my own decisions without asking my mum every time. I know I look like a kid and sometimes I act like a kid, but I'm not a child. I'm nearly nineteen."

"She's right," Caleb said again. "You're right, Ainslie. You're not small. Only the small ones have to ask."

"Exactly," Ainslie said. She smiled at Caleb and dropped her eyes back down to Adele. "How old were you when your sister moved out?" she asked. She knew the answer already.

"Ok," Adele said. in lieu of answering the question. Looking back on her life, she struggled to believe that Jade had ever let her live alone when she was so young. She couldn't believe she had ever got away with such a ridiculous request, but she wasn't sure she and her sister could have made it any longer living in the same space.

"Ok?"

"Ok, you're right," Adele said. "It's not safe for you to stay. And you're old enough to make your own decisions. But you still need to talk to your mum. I don't know where we'll go or how long we'll be gone, Ains. I don't know if we'll ever come back."

"I know." There was a new calmness in Ainslie's voice. She had succeeded: she had got her way. She wiped away her tears, her breath hitching on the lump in her throat. "I know what I'm getting myself into, Adele. I'm not stupid. You of all people know that."

"I do know that, Ains. Oh my God, please don't think I think you're stupid. You're the furthest thing from stupid I've ever met. I promise you, all my concerns are coming from a place of love. I just want to help you."

"And I just want to help you," Ainslie said. She managed a weak smile. "I know it's not going to be easy but none of this has been. I can't imagine just going back to normal life. It's so mind-numbingly boring."

"I'm sorry, Ains. Now we really do need to get some sleep. We've got a lot to figure out tomorrow."

*

Adele was awoken by the slam of the door. It didn't come from inside the house. She jerked up, blinded by the morning sun pouring through her window, and stumbled out of bed with a thump, tumbling against her chest of drawers before she righted herself and peeled back the curtain. She recognised the car, but not with the heavy dread of seeing Jade or Angus outside her window. Just a little confusion.

"Ainslie!" she called, shoving open the door to the spare room. Ainslie was fast asleep, her hair spread out like an orange halo. "Ains!"

She stirred, screwing up her eyes and yawning. "What?" she asked without opening her eyes.

"Why is your mum here? Did you call her? Did you ask her to come?"

Ainslie frowned. "What? Mum's here?"

"Your mum is right outside," Adele hissed. There was a knock at the door. She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "That's her! Why's she here?"

"I don't know," she said. "I just woke up! You woke me up!"

"Jesus. Shit. Oh my God, why do I never get any fucking warning when people are coming over?" Adele grunted and peered out of the window. "I can't leave her out there."

"Let her in," Ainslie said, peeling herself out of bed and stuffing her feet into a pair of trainers, treading down the heels. Pulling on the closest jacket, she beat Adele to the door and opened it to her mother's sunny smile.

"Hi, sweetie!" Morag said, her eyes flickering between the two bedheaded girls. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"Well, we were asleep, Mum," Ainslie said, a confused frown pushed into her forehead. "What're you doing here?"

Morag held up a plastic bag with a beam. "I was cooking yesterday and I got the quantities a bit wrong, ended up making a whole extra pie. I thought you girls might like it."

Ainslie laughed. "Oh. Um, thanks, Mum," she said, taking the bag. She glanced up at Adele then back to her mother. "Actually, we need to talk."

Morag's face lit up, her gaze flickering between the two. "We do?"

"Mmhmm." She nodded at the kitchen. Adele stood by, no idea what to say. She was painfully aware that Caleb was right next door, asleep and clueless, but Ainslie pulled her into the kitchen along with her mother.

"I ... I don't think I'm going to be around for Christmas this year," she said, gesturing for her mother to sit in the armchair. Morag's face fell. That wasn't the talk she had been expecting. She was still waiting on an announcement that would never come.

"You won't?"

"Adele and I are going away for a bit," she said, forcing out each word as she thought of it on the spot. Morag's smile lifted again.

"Oh! That's wonderful," she said, clapping her hands together. "Where? How long? When're you off?"

Ainslie fidgeted. Adele tried to hide her wince. Morag wore a look of utter optimism, her cheeks aglow with the misguided belief that her daughter had found a girlfriend.

"I don't know," Ainslie said. "We're just going to see where the wind takes us, I guess. A bit of an on-the-fly road trip."

"Well, that sounds lovely," Morag said. "I'm so glad you two found each other. It makes me so happy, it really warms my heart."

Neither Adele nor Ainslie could bring themselves to correct her. That would mean a whole lot more explaining, none of which they were prepared to get into right now. Adele had a lot of respect for Morag, and a fond appreciation, but she needed her out of the house. Caleb knew better than to come out of the bedroom when he heard unfamiliar voices, but that didn't get rid of the fear.

"Thanks, Mum."

"Anything for my little girl," Morag said. "And if you two need anything, ever ... you just let me know." She stood and pulled Ainslie into a hug, then Adele too. "I'll get out of your hair now – I just wanted to drop off the pie and see how things are going. I'm so glad you're well." She hugged Ainslie again, holding on for a few long seconds, and held her jaw to kiss her cheeks. "Have a wonderful day, you two. Enjoy the pie!"

"You too, Mum," Ainslie said, trying hard to wipe the sadness from her smile. There was no guarantee of the next time she would see her mother. "I love you."

"I love you more," Morag said.

"I love you most."

Her mother chuckled and kissed her forehead. "That, my dear Ainslie, is simply impossible."

She left with a wave, a bounce in her step as she headed back to her car and drove off. Only then did Adele let out her breath, and Caleb came out of the bedroom. Ainslie let her smile shatter, her expression enough to break Adele's heart.

"It's going to be ok," she said, rubbing her back.

"This is going to be so hard," Ainslie murmured. "I just lied to my mum."

"No you didn't. You just didn't tell the whole truth. There's a big difference."

"That was your mother?" Caleb asked. Ainslie nodded and when he stepped into the room, she hugged him. He gave the best hugs. It was all down to the warmth in his heart.

"I don't know how long I can lie to her," she said, her words muffled by his chest. "She'll have to know someday. I don't know if I can just never tell her."

"One day," Adele said. She curled a lock of Ainslie's hair around her finger and gave her a comforting smile. "But not yet. It's better that she believes what she believes. She's happy that way."

Ainslie nodded, holding back her emotions. She let go of Caleb and pushed her hair of her shoulders "I want her to be happy. She's the best mum in the world. She deserves to be happy." 

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sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter out! i'm very easily distracted, mostly by supernatural to be honest, and calculating how much i need to pass all my modules (pray for me and the 6% i need to get on saturday's exam - and the 0% on tomorrow's). today it's exactly 3 weeks until i go to see hamilton in london and i am so excited! i can't wait to be home (9 days until my flight!) and i will definitely have finished this book by then! five chapters to go!