They came at sunrise.

The howling started before dawn, putting Lee on edge for hours as she paced on the front porch. Every distant cry froze her in place as she craned her neck to see into the distant tree line, but the crackling and broken wards made it difficult to see. Whatever Irene's captor had done to the protections on the cabin, they were ruined - would take weeks to replace as they were now. Blue sparks crackled and blurs danced across the expanse of dead grass in the yard as Lee stepped down onto the dirt in her bare feet. Irene joined her shortly, her ruby and obsidian wand in hand as she watched the edges of the property. Every passing second, Irene could feel her own pulse in her throat.

The handful of shapes between the trees crept out at dawn, massive and hulking forms that easily dwarfed the witch. Lee tensed up next to her, staring at the twisted werewolves with disgust and pity. "Did... did I look like that, Irene?" she whispered.

"You're way prettier than they are." Irene squeezed her hand before letting go, raising her wand and taking her stance as she prepared her spells. "Besides, you want to know the big difference between you and them?"

"What?" Lee glanced at Irene, who grinned widely as the rubies on her wand began to glow deep crimson.

"They didn't break into my shop." Irene twirled her wand between her fingers, elongating the stone and stretching it into a staff and slamming it into the dirt. The remaining cracked wards burst into flames, the blue cracks of lightning changing to spikes of brilliant red glass that shattered as the thralled werewolves charged toward the cabin. 

Chaos erupted as the fight began, snarls and growls and snapping teeth echoing in the woods as Lee ran forward to meet the handful of werewolves that had been sent after them. With each step, her body changed, her lean limbs widening and growing coarse white fur and her clothes ripping apart as they strained to accept the shape of her werewolf form. Each crack of lightning masked the sound of her bones creaking as they settled into place. As she leaped into the air, her sharp teeth clamped down on another werewolf's throat as they jumped to drag her down.

Irene swept the end of her staff across the cracking dirt at her feet, more bolts of energy shooting up and forming a wall that two more werewolves slammed into. The remaining two prowled across the edges of the flames, snarling and trying to bite at the fire as though it were a tangible thing. Irene kept one eye on the two closest to her as she backed up onto the porch, crouching a bit to reach into her bag she'd left and pulling out a large, round glass flask full of some dark fluid that clung thickly to the sides. Her father had packed the cellar full of potions, tinctures, vials and bottles of the strangest and most volatile liquids he could create - and now she finally had a use for them.

The shattering glass at the bottom of the porch steps got the attention of the two closest werewolves and they immediately backed away, but the liquid shadow unleashed from its prison latched onto their shadows in the early dawn's light, digging its claws in and making them yelp in fright. An unearthly growl rattled in Irene's ears as the shadow chased after them, each inhuman breath a hiss that faded as they disappeared in the distance.

A roar of anger made Irene look up, seeing Lee fling the werewolf she was fighting against a pole on the porch. The wood snapped under the force of the toss but the werewolf was up again immediately, teeth bared as saliva dripped to the ground while they snarled. Lee and this werewolf circled each other, snapping jaws and growling until Lee tackled them to the dirt, finally wrenching them around and snapping their neck with a sound crunch that made Irene feel sick to her stomach.

A heavy weight slammed into Irene, shoving her through the shut front door and splintering it as she hit the floor with a shriek. One of the remaining two werewolves had broken through the fire - outside, Lee caught the second one, only to yelp herself as teeth dug into one of her forelimbs and she was slammed down into the ground. Irene shoved her wand between the snapping teeth, hearing the sharp fangs breaking on the stones. "Tell your master-" Irene's eyes glowed red, baring her own teeth as she grunted and shoved up against the werewolf over her. They bore down harder on her, paws scrambling against the wood floor and scratching her shoulders hard enough she almost lost her grip from the pain. "-Tell them that I'm coming for them!" With a scream, she forced every ounce of her will into the werewolf over her, her staff glowing with a brilliant and eerie red as a flash of light filled the room.

Lee freed herself from the werewolf that had attacked her and spat out the mouthful of fur, panting and watching as the werewolf collapsed from their injuries. Wisps of red died in the air as the magic in the cabin gave out, and Lee ran inside, frantic and terrified. On the floor, Irene's prone form lay pinned under a werewolf who had quickly returned to their human shape - a young man, with long orange-red hair and pale skin peppered with freckles. He groaned and rolled over, wincing at the scratches on the corners of his mouth as he covered his face. "My teeth-!"

"You'll get them fixed." Irene sat up and grabbed the back of his head, her fingers forcing more of her own magic into his mind. "Tell me who they are! Who commands you!?"

"I can't- tell- you-! I don't know-!!" He spat out a broken tooth, eyes watering with tears as he grabbed her wrist, trying to pull her away. "Please-!"

"No!" Irene pushed him down face-first, a startling amount of strength for someone as short as she was. Lee finally stepped in, shoving her head between Irene and the younger werewolf and pushing them apart. "Lee, what are you doing!? He has to know where-!"

Lee just shook her head with a snuff and shoved the man with a massive paw, growling at him as he scrambled to his feet. A ferocious, angry bark frightened him off the property, cutting his feet on broken glass as he went. Irene stared after him before looking at Lee as she changed back into herself, hissing as she sat down while her legs re-situated themselves in their sockets. "We'll track him." Her voice was shaking as she examined the deep bites on her arms, sniffing one of them and grimacing before grabbing her pants from where she'd left them and pulling them up her legs. She'd had the forethought to just wear shorts and a shirt earlier - less clothes wasted - and wasted no time in pulling her shirt on, grabbing Irene's arm and tugging her to her feet. "If his master wants him back so bad, wants any of us, they'll reach out and reconnect to him. We'll follow him and his teeth to their location." She squeezed Irene's bicep and let go, turning to step out without even bothering to locate her shoes.

Irene followed her after a moment, picking up her bag of potions and slinging it over a shoulder as she started to run after Lee and her long strides. 

Hours of silence passed as they followed the trail the man had left. Eventually, Lee spoke up: "What on earth got into you?"

"I overreacted. Having that... that bastard in my head, I- I thought they were going to try to attack me again through the werewolf that was trying to bite my head off." Irene stared ahead, not looking up at Lee. "I don't regret acting the way I did, Lee. I've done way worse to people before."

"I just want to know you'll keep a cool head when we find this guy." Lee groaned and stopped, grabbing Irene's shoulder and turning her to face her. "I lived under this bastard's control for I don't even know how long, Irene, but I would much rather put them before the power of the Council than kill them myself."

"What do we do if they're someone of high regard?" Irene asked irritably. "If they're someone more powerful than the Wodenton Council, more powerful than my mother, lobbing those accusations at them will end us. End my-" Irene went quiet, realization in her face and horror soon joining it in her expression. "No. No, no no, I know who this is, this is-" Irene grabbed Lee's wrists. "We need to run. We can't-"

"Who are they, Irene!?" Lee cupped her hands in her face. "Tell me. I'll take them down on my own if I must but for the love of god, you have to let me help you! Don't leave me out!"

"I-" Irene shook her head desperately, biting her lip. "My- My aunt. She- She disappeared about eighty years ago after she was ousted from the High Council, she was caught practicing necromancy on a graveyard in Idaho. We did everything we could to track her down but she just- just vanished."

"Is she on your mother's side or your father's?" Lee asked, letting go of Irene.

"My mother's. She's a younger sister - my mother is, I mean, and Aunt Zoe's the oldest of four, and she's always hated my mother for-" Irene let out an angry cry. "I'm such an idiot!!"

"No, you're not." Lee grabbed her shoulders and gently shook her. "We're going to find her and we're going to end her, Irene. I promise you, she's not getting away again."

"She got away last time, what makes you think we can get her without any help?" Irene asked bitterly.

"She just went and pissed off her niece." Lee kissed Irene's forehead. "I can't think of anything more terrifying than a scorned family member."

Irene chuckled weakly despite her rage, rubbing the furious tears from her eyes. "Let's go."