Hypersensitivity to cold is one of Paige's least favourite aspects of lycanthropy. It's followed closely by the primal urge to turn into a she-beast every month.

The reason behind this is almost lost in most legends. Some say that their bodies are longing for the cold moon that they howl at, so their body mimics the temperature. Others say that the venom in their bloodstream changes their bodily temperature.

Paige thinks that's a load of crap. She thinks that because their natural state is in werewolf form, their body has trouble adapting to temperatures without fur. It's like when you shave your head and you feel a lot colder than you used to.

Either way, whenever the sun graces Rosewood with its' warmth, Paige soaks up as much as she can. It's for this reason alone that she is sitting in front of the school, doing homework under the sun.

Because it's currently late winter in Rosewood, Paige is too enthralled by the sun to really pay attention to anything around her. Which is why when a certain brunette drops her books right next to a sunbathing Paige, she jumps in her seat.

Clutching a hand to her heart, Paige breathes, "Jeez, Em! Give a girl some warning."

Emily laughs and sits opposite Paige, grinning as she asked, "Aren't you supposed to have great hearing?"

Paige rolled her eyes and shut her books, knowing she wouldn't get anymore work done until Emily left.

"Doesn't work like that." Paige says.

Emily almost recoils at this. Paige watches as she pursed her lips, and her shoulders straightened out, stiffening her posture.

Paige immediately asks, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just…" Emily pauses, trying to find the words, "For a Hunter, I know next to nothing about what I'm hunting."

Paige tenses. There was a large part of her that wanted to reach out to Emily, to tell her everything and anything she want. However, the part of her the knew the safety of the pack was crucial, held her back.

"Emily…" Paige began softly, watching as Emily shook her head.

She shrugs it off, "Don't worry, Paige. That's not why I'm here."

Paige tilts her head and smiles, asks "What do you need?"

Now, Paige had always thought she was middy attractive; if Emily-freaking-Fields took an interest in her then she must be. She always thought that her face was too scary, that she was too awkward or too muscly. So when Emily seems to nearly swoon at the sight of her, Paige has to stop and rethink her previous self-assessment.

Emily bites down on her lip, hard, and shakes her head softly. When she looks up, there's a certain sparkle in her eyes that makes Paige grin.

She asks, "I was wondering if you wanted to come over tonight?"

Paige freezes, and not subtly either. She stops mid-breath and her eyes widen. She quickly shakes her head, mumbling, "Um, no, no, I can't. I have… werewolf stuff."

She dives back into her work, hoping that Emily would take the hint. Paige would be damned if she set foot in the Fields house again.

Unfortunately for her, Emily sees straight through her (awkward attempt at) deceit, and squints her eyes in skepticism, saying, "Paige."

"What?" Paige sighs, knowing that she'd cave in the moment Emily used that voice.

"Are you lying?" If Paige wasn't mistaken, the vein on the side of Emily's neck was beginning to show. The temptation to lean forward and press it down with her lips —

'No! Bad thoughts, Paige.' She thinks to herself, clenching her jaw, 'You lost that privilege a long time ago.'

Paige nodded slowly, saying, "…Yeah."

Emily groans in irritation and not even Paige's sheepish grin sways her. She bites out, "Why? You're the one who said we should be friends in the first place."

"It's not that I don't want to. It's just…"

"What Paige?" Emily is boarding on anger now, and Paige has to common sense to come clean.

"Your Dad has a fucking shotgun! In the living room, Em!" Finally letting that out came with great relief and smidgens of fear. Emily was as protective of her family as Paige was, so she was ready for any rant thrown her way.

Instead of rant, however, Paige was left watching Emily holding her sides as she laughed, verging on tears.

"It's not funny, Emily. He scares the shit out of me." Paige whines, watching her wipe tears from her eyes.

'God, does she ever look unattractive?' Paige thought, more smitten than envious.

Emily said through giggles, "He's just protective. He's actually just a big softie."

Paige scoffs, asking "Really?"

Emily grins at her and Paige feels something more powerful than a thousand suns. She says, "Really. I bought him a shirt that says, 'This Guy Loves Christmas', and I have one to match."

"So?" Paige asks.

"It's a matching pink set."

After a moment, a simple, "Oh," was all Paige could produce.

"He just likes to act tough in front of all my girlfriends." Emily said this so casually that Paige's heart drops through her rip cage. The fact that Emily could have dated someone while living in Australia had never crossed her mind and now that it did, Paige wishes she didn't say anything.

A thousand thoughts clash in her mind, but achieved the same result: giving Paige copious amounts of anger. Emily may have ended the relationship, but Paige's feelings never changed. And the idea that another woman had her hands on Emily was, well…

"Paige, your eyes!" Emily whispers so harshly that it snaps Paige out of her daze. Looking at the black screen of her laptop, she sees two golden eyes peering back at her.

Paige couldn't believe it: three years of learning to control her lycanthropy and Emily could leave her will in ruins in a matter of seconds. This fact made Paige's chest ache, but she didn't know if it was from anger or angst.

Slowing her breathing down and shutting her eyes, Paige mutters, "Sorry. I lost it for a bit, there."

"Why would…" Emily begins but soon trails off, before quickly saying, "Oh God, no, Paige. You know what I mean."

Paige, after looking at her reflection and seeing black eyes, lets out a sigh of relief. She holds up her hands, saying, "None of my business."

This was the silence that Paige dreaded. It wasn't the silence from heated arguments that scared her, it was the ones that left things unsaid. In this case, there were too many things that Paige could say. "It could be my business," or "It used to be."

But Paige had standards; she wouldn't go crawling back to Emily like some love-sick puppy. She wouldn't trip over herself for the bat of an eyelash. Even if said action would make her swoon.

Paige wanted this to last. She wasn't fifteen and desperate to be loved by her crush. She was a fucking werewolf that deserved to be treated like an equal. So for once, Emily would have to be the one chasing her.

Emily sighed, trying one last time, "Look, my Dad won't even be home tonight; He's catching up with some friends in Rosewood. It'll just be me and my Mum."

Paige thought for a while, pursing her lips, before nodding, "OK, fine. I'll come."

"Yes." Emily looks pretty happy with herself, and Paige can't help the grin that nearly breaks her face.

Paige stops herself, seriously saying, "But if I see you Dad pull up in the driveway, I'm making a run for it."

"Duly noted."

They both laugh and it's like a weight has vanished off of Paige's shoulders.

Emily gets up to leave but before she does, she turns back and says, "Don't forget; 6 o'clock, 43 Serenity Lane."

"I got it." Paige flashes her one last lopsided grin before leaves.

Paige watches as Emily leaves, laughing to herself. As she turns back to her homework, she notices Alison watching her. She's sitting on one of the tables near the bike-rack with her new clique, a group of wannabe Alison's.

Whatever giddiness that Emily left her with had been snatched away by Alison's cold glare. Paige suddenly misses the security of being amongst a pack. As she looks around for an escape, she finds Caleb walking out of school. She shoves all of her books in her bag and rushes over to him, happy to get away from there.

"Caleb!"

He freezes and swivels around, stiffening slightly when he saw Paige.

"Hey, Paige." He says, albeit awkwardly. He stuffs his hands in his pockets as she flanks his side.

"Hey." She replies, catching onto his uneasiness and mirroring it.

There's this pregnant pause in the conversation and Paige wishes that anyone else that been walking by. Still, she wasn't actually there for Caleb. He wasn't the one she cared about.

Paige huffs and scowls at him, saying, "Look, I'll get right to it; I'm not going to pretend to like you for Lucas."

"Good. I was getting tired of being all buddy-buddy with you." Caleb flashes her a grin but it's not the least bit friendly.

Paige sizes him up, scowling as she says, "We aren't friends, Caleb, that's clear. I interrogated you; you nearly ripped the soul out of my body in retaliation. But I saved your life, so I call it even."

Caleb scoffs and says, "You didn't; Mona did."

An almost sinister grin grows on Paige's face, "True, but don't forget that I'm apparently the only one who can keep the spirits away."

He freezes and Paige knows she has him. She wouldn't go through with the threat; she knows the Caleb would suffer if she did. But giving the boy something to fear about her was beyond satisfying.

He swallows thickly, scowling, and asks, "What do you want, Paige? Are you threatening me with more supernatural bullshit?"

Paige laughs mirthlessly, "No, dumbass, I'm here to talk."

It's Caleb's turn to grin, "And what makes you think I want to hear anything you say?"

"Because of Lucas."

Only three words, but Paige knows she has him in the bag. Caleb scoffs and crosses his arms over his chest, obviously playing dumb.

"You may have a problem with him now; I mean he did use you rather sadistically." Paige couldn't help the proud grin she wore, so Caleb saw it and glowered at her, "But you still care about him. You wouldn't still be staying at his house if you didn't."

Caleb ran his fingers through his already messy hair, saying, "I just don't have anywhere else to go."

"Oh really? Because according to Mona, she already offered you to come stay at her house, free of charge." A McCullers never went into battle without backup, it seems.

Caleb clicks his tongue but says nothing.

"So I'm offering a truce." Paige says.

"A truce?"

She sighs, "Look, we don't like each other, that's for sure. But so long as Lucas is around, we have to be civil. The kid's already harbouring a demon in his body, I doubt he needs anymore stress."

This isn't the only reason that Paige is doing this. Once upon a time, she and Lucas were friends. She was the scary, chubby girl that had a bad temper. He was the awkward boy-next-door that wanted to be left alone. Even as they grew older — and apart — Paige has something of a soft spot for the boy.

So of course she wants him to know that she's making an effort for his sake.

Caleb thinks for a moment, before nodding briskly. He holds his hand out to Paige, who stares at warily. The memory of nearly having her soul ripped out is still fresh in her memory.

"What? I'm not gonna kill you." Caleb says, as he pulls out his totem from his giant hoodie, "I have control now."

Still, Paige just eyes his hand, "Yeah, over your siphon skills, not your temptation for revenge."

"Paige." Caleb groans, his hand flexing with impatience.

Paige groans but obliges, slapping her hand into his. To her surprise, his hand is actually quite warm, not like what she imagined; in her mind it was frozen like his heart. He hisses as soon as she touches him, startling her.

"Jeez!" He drops her hand before nursing his own, "Do all werewolves feel like death?"

Paige glowers murderously at him, "Civility isn't a strong suit of yours, is it?"

"I didn't mean it like that; you're ice cold." Caleb says, rubbing his hands together.

"Oh, that." Paige chuckles, "Yeah, no, that's a constant thing."

"Whatever, I gotta go." The boy turns and takes his leave, leaving her at the front of the school.

Just before he's out of earshot, Paige calls after him, "Tell the spirits I said 'Hello'!"

Caleb flips her off.


"You are not a better swimmer, McCullers!" Emily is drifting between playful and enraged.

They are laying on Emily's bed, homework completely forgotten as they banter back and forth. They'd talked about local gossip, Emily's time in Australia and finally, swimming. However, being the competitive girls they were, they ended up in an actual argument.

"Yes, I am." Paige says this so matter-of-fact that Emily has stopped being coy. She sits up, resting her back on the bed-head next to Paige who is laying on her back, hands behind her head.

"We are literally the same speed, how could you be better?" Emily crosses her arms over her chest and her lips are pouting in a way that makes Paige want to hug her senseless.

Instead, she opts to banter, "Because while you were off in Australia, sunbathing under a red sun, I was working on these guns!"

Paige sits up and proceeds to flex her impressive arm muscles, rather smugly. Emily kicks her leg but it's through laughter.

"That doesn't even count; you got that from phasing!" Emily says, as if Paige was cheating.

"Nuh-uh. I got these from extensive dieting, weight-lifting and exercising for three years. Don't be mad 'cause I pull more water than you."

Emily looked even more frustrated now, saying, "I'm faster than you! I pierce through the water faster than you can pull water or flip."

"No, you can't." Paige said, absolutely serious. In her mind, there was no way that Emily could beat her. Hopefully, she wouldn't be proven wrong.

"Is that a challenge, McCullers?" Emily raises her eyebrow and squints at her, however there's a coy look in her eyes.

Paige crossed her legs and leaned forward, saying, "You're damn right it is. This Friday, come to my place and we'll see just who is better."

"I hope I don't bruise your ego too badly." Emily flips her hair over her shoulder and Paige reminds herself to ask Emily about her hair products.

Paige laughs as she lifts her arm to the top of her head, "You have to be this tall to bruise my ego."

Emily laughs at her, making Paige frown in confusion. When Emily saw this, she stopped laughing and asked, "Paige, you know I'm taller than you, right?"

Paige was absolutely horrified, saying, "No you're not."

Emily couldn't stop the smile that graced her face, "Yeah, I am."

Paige was having none of that. She pulled Emily off the bed and the two stood in front of each other. Just before Paige could raises her hand to measure, she noticed just how close they were standing. If she had leaned over just a few inches, she would be able to kiss Emily until she couldn't remember her own name.

Biting down on her lip, she shook those thoughts from her head. She quickly measured their heights and was horrified to find that Emily was about an inch taller than her.

"What the fuck?" Paige says this so softly and honestly horrified that Emily can't stop laughing.

She falls into a heap on the bed, saying through her laughter, "Even with the inches you gained from phasing, you're still short."

"I'm not short!" Paige yells back, red-faced and pouting.

Emily waves her off, saying, "Alright, short-stack, whatever you say."

Paige, giving up on life, flops onto the bed and groans into a nearby pillow. Emily giggles at her defeated form, probably feeling pretty victorious. Her giggles began to trail off and Paige had noticed.

Completely out of the blue, Emily asks, "So where do werewolves come from?"

Paige stiffens from where she was lying down, before sitting up on the bed, asking, "What?"

Emily groans and pushes back against the bed-head, saying, "It's just — Whenever I ask my Dad about this, he just says that the less I know about them the better. I'm not a little kid anymore; I can handle stories about the big, bad wolf."

Paige raised an eyebrow, "Really? You wanna hear all the gruesome details?"

"Seriously? You'll tell me?" With the face that Emily was making — like a child finding out that Christmas came early — Paige couldn't help but cave in.

"I can't see why not. I know how the Hunters formed — in retaliation to rogue werewolves — so you might as well know about us."

Emily fist bumps and hugs a pillow to her chest, eagerly waiting for Paige to tell the story. Paige had no idea what to say or where to start.

To start, she asked, "Well, what do you know already about us?"

Emily hums softly, saying, "Most of the stories we're told say that werewolves were cursed. That they caused harm to someone important and they cursed them and their children with lycanthropy. Is that true?"

Paige gives a mirthless laugh, "You guys got the gist of it: we've cursed. My family follows the Greek origin, which is probably the worst one."

Emily's eyebrows come together in confusion as she asks, "What do you mean?"

Paige frowns at the girl in front of her. "Don't you know the story of Zeus and King Lycaon?"

Emily shakes her head, "No, I told you: my Dad never wanted me to take pity on something I'd have to kill so the less I knew, the better."

Paige sighs and leans forward, letting her boot clad feet dangle off the edge. The entire room smelled like Emily and it was beginning to make Paige's head swing. Hopefully concentrating on the story would help her anchor herself.

She begins, "My dad told me this story when I was much younger, so I thought it was probably a fairytale he used to put me to sleep. In hindsight, I probably should have figured out what was going on with Mona by then."

All the signs, now blatant and glaring to Paige, flashed in her mind. She felt stupid for not seeing it, even though there was no way she could've known.

She continues, "Anyway, in Ancient Greece, the King of Arcadia was Lycaon. He was an arrogant man who was pampered all his life. He had about fifty sons to his name. One of them, Nyctimus, was his least favoured son. He comes in later in the story.

"So, Lycaon was angry with his people for favouring the Olympian Gods and the Titan Prometheus, over him. He devised a plan to challenge their godhood. He thought if he served them human flesh and they didn't notice, he could prove they weren't true gods."

Emily shakes her head lazily, saying, "So the king of Arcadia was an idiot. Good to know."

Paige shrugs and looks back at Emily, saying, "Not so much an idiot as he was arrogant. He wanted to be treated like a god, but he spited the real ones. Either way, he sent the gods an invitation to a royal banquet in his home. As for the human flesh he was going to serve, Nyctimus had always gotten on his nerves…"

Paige swore she saw some colour leave Emily's face before she says, "Oh my god, Paige. Stop."

She laughs — she can't help it — and reassures her, "It's a big part of the story, Em. Just roll with it."

"OK, but I think I'm gonna be sick." Emily pauses for moment, a hand gently covering her stomach, before asking, "You said your Dad told you this story when you were young."

"About eight or nine, why?"

Emily chuckles and says, "No offence but your Dad is a horrible story-teller. I would have had nightmares for days."

Paige started stretching, flexing the muscles in her arms as she said, "McCullers are made of sturdier stuff, I guess."

Emily shoves her with her foot, saying, "Yeah, yeah, just finish the story."

"Where was I up to? Oh, right! So when the Olympian Gods attended the banquet and everyone dug into their meals, Lycaon was watching on. He suddenly realised that if the Gods did realise what he had done, they'd probably kill him."

"No shit, Sherlock." Emily deadpanned.

"Em." Paige shot her a warning look, although a hint of a smile grew on her face.

"Sorry." She murmured.

Paige continued, "So, Zeus, who had eaten first, quickly realised what had happened. In a fit of rage, he asked Lycaon why had he tampered with the food. When he didn't say anything, Zeus looked around and found that all of his sons were seated at the banquet. All except Nyctimus.

"Zeus cursed him for his barbarism by turning him into a monster: half-man and half-wolf. This form would better suit his nature. And he cursed the rest of his sons too, for not stopping their father.

"And that's the Greek legend. Lycaon was the father of lycanthropy and his sons spread the curse through their children, who spread it to their children, and y'know the rest."

By the end, Paige had watched Emily connected the morbid dots together. This probably wasn't what she was expecting — and not enough to completely satisfy her curiosity with lycanthropy — but it would have to do for now.

"So," Emily began slowly, "because one man cut up his son and served it to the Gods, there are thousands of werewolves around the world?"

"Especially in Greece, yeah." Paige shrugged, toying with the edges of her pillow.

"Wow." Emily breathed and leaned further back into the bed-head.

Paige scoffed, saying, "I don't really believe it."

"Seriously? I know it's a bit far-fetched, what with all the Greek gods and cannibalism. But you don't think there is some truth to it?" There's this hopeful look in Emily's eyes that makes Paige want to swoon.

"I do believe that Lycaon is the father of all werewolves and that his sons spread the infections. I don't believe that anything divine had to do with it. He must have meddled in some supernatural bullshit and got himself cursed by a powerful spirit."

Emily smiled softly, saying, "I'm still trying to wrap my head around all this: the werewolves, the spirits, everything."

"Don't worry; you've got your whole life to get it." The moment that Paige said this, she realised how it sounded. Emily could either brush it off or make something of it. Paige didn't know which one she wanted to happen.

Emily grinned cheekily, saying, "Careful, Paige. Someone might think you're making an offer."

Paige still didn't have her answer, but she didn't really care. So long as Emily kept smiling at like that, she didn't want anything more.