After walking for a few minutes, the trio reached a tall, once lovely birch tree on the edge of the forest. Now, though, it was obvious the tree was dying. The leaves were withered and brown, many already covering the forest floor. The normally beautiful white trunk was covered with rust colored streaks, the branches drooping towards the ground.

It should have been impossible that a tree that had been so perfectly healthy yesterday could be so close to death now. Sticking out from the knot in the center of the trunk was another wicked, cursed blade, just like the one left on their front porch.

“Ava, pull that blade out,” Argent barked. Ava didn’t hesitate to obey, swiftly sliding the wretched thing free from the tree. Ava stepped away, clenching the blade tightly, despite the unnatural coldness emanating from it. She could already feel it trying to take her abilities from her.

They stood, waiting, for something - anything - to happen. Finally, a young woman tripped - fell - out of the trunk.

The trunk itself didn’t open, but at the same time, it also didn’t quite stay closed. It was hard to process what exactly happened. One minute, there was a lone tree, and the next, there was a tree and a woman. Somewhere between those instances, there had logically been a time where the two had still been together, but Ava had not quite seen it.

Lorelai had been standing in the perfect place to catch the young woman in her arms, from which she promptly lowered her to the ground, propping her against the tree. Ava dropped the knife and moved to stand beside them, instinctively taking up a defensive position between them and the rest of the forest.

“Will Juniper be alright?” Lorelai asked breathlessly, staring up at Argent with wide, unblinking, sapphire eyes. Her hand was wrapped tightly around Juniper’s. Argent knelt beside the pair, checking Juniper for any obvious wounds. When her search turned up empty, she put a reassuring hand on Lorelai’s shoulder.

“She’s going to be fine,” Argent promised. “Tired, but fine. The knife wasn’t in her home tree, just the one she happened to be in at the time,” Argent explained. As a dryad, Juniper was able to travel between any tree that wasn’t currently occupied by another dryad, but she had one tree that she had claimed as her own, that her life force was tied to.

“The knife trapped her in this tree, but didn’t do any physical damage,” Argent continued. “We should take her back to her home tree to rest, though.”

Lorelai nodded and Argent stepped aside to let Ava pick her up. The dryad weighed about as much as a 10-year-old human child. Had the Hunter taken her on in a fight, there would have been little Juniper could have done to fight back. Ava was painfully aware of how close they had come to losing another pack member.

The group made their way back to Juniper’s tree, letting her fall into the trunk. Just like last time, Ava didn’t see the space between woman-and-tree and just-a-tree, but she knew it had to have happened. It was as if her brain blurred the two together, completely leaving out the in between.

Once Juniper was safely inside her tree, Ava was dismissed, much to her irritation. When she expressed this to Argent, she’d simply been told that she wasn’t needed right then, to go keep an eye on the main house, and check in with Lupus and tell him what happened. Ava obeyed, stalking home.

***

“So Juniper was attacked?” Lupus asked, stone faced as always. “She’s alright though?” Ava nodded, and Lupus’s face relaxed almost imperceptibly. “That’s good.”

“What can I do?” Ava said, fingers tapping impatiently on her thigh. “What are we doing?” Lupus gave her a sympathetic look.

“I sent everyone in Beta Den out to look for the intruder. But you and I, we’re just trying to act like it’s a normal Saturday morning,” he said. “The younger ones are scared, and they need to see that we aren’t. But later,” he added at the look on Ava’s face, “I want you to make sure all the younger members know how to defend themselves.”

“Got it,” Ava said, turning to leave, until Lupus called after her again. She turned back to look at him again.

“Hey, I keep forgetting to ask, how’s the ink?” He asked, grinning. Ava couldn’t help but smile back, tugging up her shirt to show off the tattoo he’d taken her to get. It was simple, just her favorite quote scrawled across her hip, right over cruel, wicked scars she’d had since she was a child: “Do not go gentle into that good night, rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

“It’s good,” Ava said, pulling her shirt back down. “Your artist did well. I think I’m ready for another.”

“Just let me know when,” Lupus responded, this time letting her go when she turned to the door again.

***

Abigail sighed, flipping another page of the book in her lap. She was trying to work on homework, but it was difficult to focus on anything after such a rocky start to her morning. She was almost grateful for the interruption when Ava slammed the door open.

Ava stalked in like a panther, all lithe muscle and deadly grace. Abigail sat up straight, on edge immediately. She knew that restless anger, that burning need to do something, written across Ava’s face. The last time Abigail had seen her like this, she’d brought home a Hunter’s medallion, torn from the neck of the man who had killed Dahlia.

“What’s up?” Abigail asked, putting her book down. Ava stared at her for a few moments, as if she didn’t recognize her. And for a moment, Abigail didn’t recognize Ava.

It was Ava’s body, Ava’s blue hair and sharp mouth, but the eyes made all the difference. They were still unnaturally gold, but instead of the molten anger Abigail expected to see, she saw something cold and ancient.

“Ava?” Abigail asked, shifting into a crouch on her bed, preparing to do something, though she didn’t know what. Thankfully, Ava’s name seemed to snap her out of the daze she’d been in.

“Sorry about that,” Ava muttered. “I’m fine. Come with me?” Without waiting for an answer, Ava left as quickly as she’d come. With a sigh, Abigail hurried to follow her, slipping on her shoes on the way out the door. She caught up to her on the front porch and fought the urge to stare at where the wolf had been.

No matter how many questions Abigail asked, Ava didn’t answer. Eventually Abigail gave up and wordlessly followed Ava wherever she was going. When they approached the Beta Den, however, Abigail understood.

The Beta Den was the only house that had a suitable place to work out or spar indoors. Ava obviously needed to blow off some steam, and Abigail was there to help. It had been a while since she’d sparred with Ava. This was going to be rough, but if it would help Ava, it would be worth it.

No one stopped them on their way in, mainly because there was no one around to do so. Everyone had been given a job to do, either trying to find the intruder, or checking on other members and defenses. Lupus had already assigned people to the Rearing Den, as extra guards to the expecting mothers and the youngest children.

When they reached the back room of the house, Ava threw open the doors, going straight to the mat in the center of the floor. Abigail was slower, taking the time to untie her shoes and line them neatly against the wall, as opposed to Ava, who simply hurled hers to the side.

Abigail slowly took her place on the mat, facing Ava. She steadied her breathing and braced herself for a fight. Finally, she signalled to Ava that she was ready.

Abigail hardly saw her coming. One moment, she was standing, ready for a fight, and the next, she was flat on her back. Abigail groaned, but stood again. Ava wasn’t holding back. Neither would she.

The next time, Abigail was able to block the first few blows Ava delivered, but didn’t get to land any of her own before she hit the mat again. That did not stop her from getting up again.

As their sparring match continued, Abigail’s body fell back into old rhythms. It had been a while since she’d sparred with Ava, but she was happy to discover she had not forgotten the way her friend moved.

After a few more times hitting the floor, Abigail was able to hold Ava off long enough to get in a few good hits, but she still wasn’t able to knock Ava down. After ten minutes of this, Abigail was sore all over in a way she hadn’t been in a very long time. She stood up to go again, but a hand shot out to stop her.

Abigail looked up, surprised to find Argent there, face hard. Wordlessly, Abigail stepped back, allowing Argent to face Ava on the mat. Already she could tell this wasn’t going to be a normal sparring match. Not with the way Ava was sizing their alpha up, not with the way she was baring her teeth in a snarl. This was going to be Ava unleashing herself, and even Abigail was a little afraid of what that might look like.