Author's Note: I cannot begin to describe how much trouble this chapter has given me. Months! But it finally started to develop into something a few weeks ago, and then blossomed into a monster of a chapter that had to be split into two. So all's well and all that, I suppose. During this (months-long) time of writer's block for this ONE chapter I was able to keep working on the others to follow so double bonus on that. The chapters to follow have really shaped up and (ideally) everything should now be posted more regularly/smoothly. Now, without further ado - enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Three
Bittersweet Symphony

Mal blinked at the slammed door in her face, the echoes of it still ringing in her ears. "You're welcome," she scowled before turning and marching down the concrete steps in agitation. "This is what I get for trying to do something for other people," Mal muttered. "Ignorant Humans."

She had volunteered to head to the Wells house to explain that Addison was, in fact, alive, and in need of some serious help, but the Guard Chief and his plastic, blonde wife had been less than pleased to receive the news let alone have it delivered to them by an Enchanted. Accusations had been thrown back in Mal's face about lies and "intruding upon grief" or some other such nonsense. More like the couple were horrified that their foster daughter was an Enchanted herself.

The sound of car brakes sounded behind her as Mal hit the sidewalk but didn't bother to look. All the houses and front lawns and vehicles on this street looked the same anyways. One just as interchangeable as the next.

Was it any small wonder that Addison had latched onto the kids from the Other Side? If only to get a little variety in her life?

"Hey!" A familiar voice called out. "Wait!"

Mal paused to throw a bewildered look over her shoulder as the cheerleading captain himself came stumbling after her as he all but tripped out of his bright pink van with his face plastered all over it. She wasn't sure some days if the absurd vehicle was more amusing or embarrassing in its sheer vanity.

Turning with her arms folded over her chest Mal waited until Bucky came to a stop in front of her. She raised a brow at him as he studied her face.

"Is it Addison?" He asked without preamble. "Did something happen?"

Mal's brow rose into her hairline at the harried yet almost excruciatingly hopeful expression on his face. "Yeah, you could say that."

Bucky chanced a glance over at his aunt and uncle's house before facing Mal again with a determined set to his jaw. "What is it? Tell me everything."

"Everything, huh?" Mal shrugged as nonchalantly as possible. "If you insist."

And so Mal explained to Bucky not only what had happened at the docks yesterday, but everything since the chaos at the cheer competition – the last time Bucky had ever seen his cousin. When she had finished, her tone was just as steady but perhaps not quite as accusatory, remembering in her telling that, of all Addison's family, Bucky had been at the crumbled Center with them and helped in every search since. And as Bucky's face grew paler and more pinched with every minute that passed Mal felt her anger ease into sympathy.

She shifted her stance at the conclusion of her reiteration, waiting in the silence of the unremarkable neighborhood as the sun began to dip below the horizon. At last, Bucky sighed and ran his hands through his short, curly hair. "What're we going to do?"

Mal's brow rose. "We?"

He glanced toward his aunt and uncle's with a tight expression. "She's my little cousin," he stated with a firmness that surprised Mal.

"Actually…we don't really know –"

"She's my cousin," Bucky reiterated, this time with a gleam in his eye that said he wasn't backing down and Mal found she was impressed despite herself. She took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"We're not giving up," she said at last and Bucky scoffed, as if that were a given. She felt a tug at her lips but forced her face to remain neutral. "We know she's alive. We know she's more or less okay. We know where she is, or at least in general. We'll figure something out."

"I want to help."

Mal studied the usually so arrogant cheerleading captain with a practiced eye, and something she saw had her gentling her tone. "We don't know exactly what we're going to do yet, but," she bit her lip in indecision for a moment before relenting, "we'll keep you informed. We'll let you know if there's anything you can do."

Bucky looked like he was going to argue for a moment before he deflated. "I'd be in the way."

Yes. "Not necessarily," Mal attempted diplomacy. "Like I said, we're still figuring it out. But there is something you can do." Bucky met and held her gaze without flinching – a first. "Keep it quiet for now. At least about Addison's singing and the possibility of," she dropped her voice conspiratorially, "her being a siren. No use getting people all riled up until we know for sure."

Bucky nodded a tad reluctantly though there was a firm set to his jaw that quieted the unease in Mal's heart.

"Ben's talking to his parents; they're trying to figure out how much to say and what to do. They've asked us to keep this to ourselves for the moment," she shrugged, "but, the way I figure it, if she were my family I'd want to know."

There was a long stretch of silence in which Mal studied her chipping nails – she needed to get Dizzy to touch them up for her – and Bucky studied the perfect, straight lines on the sidewalk.

"Thanks." The word was such a quiet murmur Mal almost didn't hear it. She looked up in wary surprise only to find Bucky already heading back to his van without another glance back.

"Any time," she said just as quietly and turned on her heel, headed for home, anxious to get out of the creepy neighborhood and back to the dilapidated, shambling area she called home. The lack of dust and dirt was giving her hives. She didn't turn when she heard Bucky get in his car and drive away in the opposite direction. She didn't need to.

She'd been reluctant to talk to Addison's would-be family. In fact, she was still angry about the Wells' reaction to the news about Addison, but her chance meeting with Bucky had been…oddly welcome.

"Guess that just goes to show that everyone's not what you always think they are," she mused to herself, hands in her pockets as she watched the sky edge toward a brilliant pink and orange. "Everyone's got secrets and hidden sides to themselves… I wonder if you can ever truly know someone." She thought about the Wells family. About Audrey and her grandmother, Ben, her friends, the Zombie trio, Willa's pack, her father, her mother, herself…

Breathing in deep of the cooling air she released it in one slow, careful breath, feeling for that warm center within that brimmed with her concealed heritage. Glancing up at the deepening sky and the first stars beginning to emerge in the dark she did something she hadn't done since she was a little girl and was told such things for someone like her was impossible.

She made a wish.

And feeling a little foolish, a dash hopeful, she held onto it tight.

Doug listened indulgently as Evie waxed poetic about ribbons, lace and beading as they made their way down the wide pedestrian boulevard near the sea. Despite everything, Evie was over the moon about Cotillion, which had finally been officially announced just the day before, and all the designs she had bursting at her fingertips.

"You know," Doug said in a lull as he pushed his glasses further up his nose. "With all the commissions you're getting, by the time Cotillion is over you'll have enough to put a down payment on your own castle." He was rewarded by a delighted gasp of excitement.

"You think so?"

"Know so," he said with a smile and Evie all but squealed in joy. Her eyes danced around the seafront with a dreamy gaze, imagining the place in her mind's eye. She was pulled from her musings by several delighted gasps and scattered applause. Looking further down the walkway she spotted a gathering of people.

"Is somebody putting on a show?" Evie became all grins and excitement, and began to drag Doug over to the growing crowd. She paused at the edge to study the figure performing in the center. "He looks vaguely familiar."

"Oh no."

"What? What is it?" Evie asked. She glanced over at Doug who had come to a complete halt. He tugged at his red paisley bowtie.

"Remember that cousin I mentioned? The one who isn't like my uncle?"

Evie thought for a moment. "The one with the bit of a dark side?"

Doug nodded toward the other boy. "That'd be him – Harold." They both watched as said cousin performed a pirouette on the lawn. "I, uh, didn't know he could dance like that, I'll admit."

"Is it commonplace for him to dance so…exuberantly in public?" Evie asked as delicately as she could.

"That would be a big no, absolutely not. He keeps to himself, scowls a lot, is always muttering underneath his breath about –" Doug clamped his mouth shut before he could finish the sentence, a faint flush of shame on his cheeks though he didn't dare look at Evie to see if she noticed. He felt soft skin and buttery leather slip into his free hand. Evie gave it a squeeze.

"No family is perfect, Doug."

"Harold would be, uh," he rubbed a brisk hand across the back of his neck, "well, I imagine your friend's parents would get along with him rather well."

"My friend?" Evie's face was a color of confusion for a minute before she gasped, her head snapping toward Harold as he executed a series of demi-pliés as the crowd around him continued to grow. "Addison," she breathed, her gaze darting every which way. "She's here. She has to be. No one else could –" she bit her lip to keep from saying more as the crowd drew closer to her and Doug as it swelled with more onlookers.

Doug froze though his eyes raked over the crowd. He dropped his voice to a murmur. "You think she's here?"

"You said this isn't normal for your cousin," she pointed out as Harold sunk it a decidedly graceful stretch before moving to glide across the walkway and ending it with a rather spectacular leaping pirouette. She paused as cheers rang out from the crowd. "I don't hear any singing but," she bit her lip, taking careful inventory of the crowd. "How else can you explain Harold's actions now other than," she dropped her voice to a mere breath of sound, "magic."

"You have a point." Doug's brows scrunched in concern as the audience pulled out their phones to record the performance. He heaved a heavy sigh. "Oh no," he groaned. "Harold is going to be….less than pleased about this later." He started as Evie's grip found his arm and squeezed. He looked over at her to see her staring fixedly at one spot, her eyes widening. Ever so carefully Doug shifted to follow Evie's gaze and saw her.

She wasn't too hard to spot with her white hair and pale, glowing eyes though she stood to the back and was rather swamped by the crowd. Doug doubted that anyone could even hear her singing over the cheers and encouragement of the crowd.

For her part, Addison's eyes were alight with magic but it was obvious that she wasn't entirely there, her gaze unfocused even as she smiled like she hadn't a care in the world. Doug felt a shiver trail up his spine. It was unnerving.

"What should we do?" Doug whispered to Evie who in turn pierced her lips in contemplation.

"You go to the left," she murmured. "I'll go to the right. Hopefully we can reach her before she notices." Doug nodded that he understood and made to move but paused as Evie gave his arm a squeeze once again. He turned to look at her and blinked in surprise at the intensity in her dark brown gaze. "Don't startle her," Evie urged. "She's…Mal says she's not stable. And after what happened with Zed and the Center." She bit her lip, worry etched across her face.

Doug smiled to reassure her before placing a chaste, soft kiss upon Evie's cheek. His smile grew at the flush dusting her fair skin. "I'll be careful," he promised her. His fingers brushed gently over the band she wore across her wrist and his smile faltered for a moment as concern grew inside his chest. "You be careful too. You don't have yours…"

Evie's soft smile grew and she flipped her long blue locks nonchalantly over her shoulder. "I always have several weapons at my disposal." She gave him a flirtatious wink before slipping through the crowd to the right. Doug's blush grew as he stood blinking at the spot in which she had stood, knowing the grin on his face could only be described as, well, decidedly dopey.

He moved through the gaps in the captivated audience to his left as stealthily as possible, trying to keep an eye on the crowd, Harold, Evie, and Addison all at the same time while reassuring himself that as Mal's best friend, Evie would most certainly know how to hold her own.

With his unobtrusive stature and nature, Doug was able to slide more easily through the gathered onlookers – students, shoppers, and families alike as they paused on the busy boulevard to watch the entertainment. Evie, with her infamous beauty, never seemed to pass anywhere unnoticed and so had to move slower and more carefully through the crowd. When his cousin performed an ambitious fouette – spinning while passing his working leg in front of his body, a move his cousin had never shown the slightest aptitude for before – Evie made a quick dart through the crowd as they all gasped in delight.

Despite it, Doug was able to slide in near Addison without the white-haired girl noticing long before Evie. He paused, sidling closer as stealthily as possible until he could hear quiet singing under her breath, her eyes riveted on the entertainment though she continued to seem to be staring at the middle, empty space before her, her eyes not tracking Harold's movements.

It gave Doug pause to wonder if she even knew entirely what she was doing. Harold had never taken ballet lessons, but Doug would bet every jewel and gem in his family's mine that Addison had. And he wondered if she was living the memory, somehow, through Harold. He hesitated for a long few seconds before he leaned close and remarked, "You dance beautifully."

He was rewarded by a softening of her expression before she turned to him, her eyes a brilliant blue and her smile sweet. "I love to dance," she answered him, almost dreamily.

"I noticed."

"Do you like to dance?"

"I do, actually." He heard the crowd around them pleading their entertainment to continue but didn't dare to turn and look. "I'm looking forward to dancing with my girlfriend at Cotillion," he dared. "Will you be attending?"

Her brows furrowed and she tilted her head to the side in question. "Cotillion?"

"For Prince Ben's King-in-Waiting Ceremony," he explained. "Everyone's invited. There will be dancing and a party after the ceremony. It's a pretty fancy gig so you'll need to dress formal." He glanced at her clothes, almost certain they were the same ones she'd disappeared in in their now rather shabby and wrinkled state. "My girlfriend is a whiz at fashion and design," he continued to buy more time, noting a head of dark blue hair approaching at the edge of his vision. "I'm sure she'd love to make something for you. Should we ask her?"

"You have a girlfriend?" Addison beamed. "That's so nice. She is very lucky to have a sweet boyfriend like you." Something flit across her eyes and she blinked, her soft smile fading for a moment. She shook her head like she was shaking off water.

"Everything okay?" Doug ventured, catching Evie's eye as she approached on near-silent footsteps behind Addison.

"I…" Addison's mouth opened and closed several times when a gasp of outrage sounded from the crowd, and they all turned to see a livid Harold gaping at someone's phone screen. Doug felt his shoulders tense knowing his cousin was watching a video of his own performance. Addison giggled as Harold's face turned red and he started demanding answers to the confusion of the crowd. "He seems rather upset."

Doug cleared his throat, tugging on his bowtie. "He's, uh, having a rather upsetting day, I think."

"Perhaps a song will cheer him up." As she opened her mouth to inhale a breath of air Doug reached out without thinking and laid a hand on her wrist. He flinched at the jolt of electricity that raced from his fingers to his shoulder at the contact. With a hiss he let go.

"Doug?" Evie's voice sounded in concern as she moved into place next to Addison. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"It's nothing," Doug reassured her, massaging his arm though the feeling had left the moment he'd let go. He glanced at Addison's arm and noted the M-band sitting snug around the other girl's wrist and felt his brows furrow in confusion.

"Is this your girlfriend?" Addison's delighted voice asked as the crowd milled about around them, most moving on to return to their intended routines, some chuckling at the enraged young man in the center of the clearing. "She is very beautiful."

"Addie," Evie looked at her friend in growing concern. She reached out to touch the younger girl but yanked her hand back after a quick glance at Doug still rubbing his arm at the phantom feeling.

Bright blue eyes blinked slowly. "Addie?" She questioned as if it were a foreign word she was trying to attribute meaning to. She turned to Doug. "Are you Addie?"

"Uh, no, I'm Doug," he told her, reeling at the bizarre moment. "And this is Evie." He wondered if this was how Evie had felt in the hospital with Zed after he'd awoken.

"Your girlfriend with the magic dresses." She beamed.

Evie blinked, flushed, looked to Doug who blushed in return. They hadn't defined their relationship yet.

"Will you go to Cotillion?" Addison asked and Evie's gaze snapped back to her.

"You know about Cotillion?"

"I like to dance," Addison answered. She looked between the blushing couple. "You two will dance beautifully together." Evie and Doug exchanged nervous glances, both holding their hands up in front of them as if to ward off any ideas Addison might get into her head, but Addison only clasped her hands together and turned toward the sea with a wistful expression. "I wish to dance with someone. I have never danced with anyone."

"But Addie, you have," Evie said, her tone as soft as she could make it. "You've danced with Z–"

"No." Addison's eyes flashed and without warning a gust of air off the sea kicked up sending hair and sand flying as everyone in the vicinity covered their faces. When the wind vanished a minute later everyone looked about them in confusion, dusting off their clothes and commenting about mini whirlwinds coming off Auradon Bay. They laughed and continued on their way, but one person in their midst was standing rooted to the spot, his glare full of loathing as he stared at his cousin and the dark haired beauty beside him.

Doug cleared his throat anxiously before daring to look at the space next to him, but to his relief it was full of nothing but air. He met Evie's concerned eyes before he looked back at his cousin with his clenched jaw and burning gaze.

"What should we say?" Doug asked in a low murmur as his cousin stalked toward him.

"Nothing more than we have to," Evie answered while placing a warm smile across her lips, linking her arm through Doug's and stepping forward to meet Doug's irate cousin.

Zed glanced at the clusters of students gossiping in the hall, tensions higher than the usual hormone and bantering-laced ones usually found in high schools. He didn't have to hear to know they were all talking about the rumors of the 'rogue Enchanted' racing across Auradon. King Adam and Queen Belle had made a televised announcement that more or less confirmed the rumors, though they'd kept details sparse and had simply asked everyone to remain vigilant as they sought out the culprit.

Knowing (sorta) who the possible suspect was left Zed with an added layer of guilt to the ones he already seemed to be carrying around. At least, he reassured himself, if anyone asked for details about the rogue he could honestly say he had no memories of said person himself.

Score one for amnesia, Zed thought with a shade of moroseness. The amnesia thing really, honestly…sucked. He was trying to stay positive – he was alive and back in school, after all – but everything from the academics he couldn't recall to the classmates he didn't remember was a mounting ball of frustration.

Eliza kept telling him to chill out and let the memories come back on their own, but Zed felt ready to get a shovel and start digging through his brain in order to unearth all he had forgotten. Forgetting you had an exam on Thursday was one thing, being unable to recall months of coursework was another entirely.

The most maddening thing was how often he felt like the answers were right on the tips of his fingers, and if he just reached far enough or long enough he could grasp ahold of them.

He sighed and reminded himself that little things were coming back – even if it was taking forever – and perhaps…Zed paused, catching a whiff of something. Something vaguely familiar.

It was a warm scent – daisies, honeysuckle, fresh lemons and sunshine. It was a scent that soothed, a scent that reminded him of innocence, joy and gentle strength. Like the first buds of spring when snow was still on the ground.

It made his heart race.

"Zed!" A terrified voice screamed.

He spun around at the sound, but there was no one there.

"Zed?" A different voiced asked and Zed glanced at his sandy-blond haired teammate.

"What?"

"You look a little pale," Ben's eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Like you've seen a ghost or something."

"Or something," Zed muttered under his breath too low for Ben to hear but the prince raised a brow as if he had anyways. Zed shook his head. "It's nothing…I think. Just…thought I heard something. It's nothing."

Ben hesitated but decided not to push. "Alright." A figure down the hall caught his eye. "Hey, isn't that Wynter?"

"Who?"

"You know, Wyatt's friend." He nodded his head toward the girl with her bi-colored hair and purple top further down the hall. She was staring at the trophy case with a singular focus, ignoring the students milling around her. "Must be interested in the tourney trophies." Ben grinned and slapped Zed on the shoulder in comradery. "We're going to come out on top this year. I can feel it."

Zed sent him a grin. "Because we've got an amazing team."

"You, Jay and Carlos were exactly who we needed to nab it this year," Ben agreed. He glanced at Wynter who hadn't moved but to tilt her head slightly as if examining something behind the glass window. "Hey, do you think –" Ben jolted as Wynter's leg came up in one swift move and smashed through the glass sending students and pieces of the window scattering. Shrieks of surprise sounded around them as students scattered further down the hall.

"Wynter!" Ben called in alarm, racing down the hall with Zed hot on his heels. "What– no, Wynter! Don't touch that!" Ben's hand shot out with all his tourney reflexes to knock Wynter's hands away before she could touch the silver cup that sat prominently on its shelf before her reaching hands.

Zed grabbed her wrists after she made a swipe at Ben who gave a quiet hiss of pain, cradling his wrist. The young werewolf struggled in Zed's grasp, growling so low that Zed could feel the vibrations in his own chest. In a surprise move, Wynter turned and snapped her fangs at Zed though the move didn't do much with her teeth being shorter than normal due to her M-band. Still, Zed jerked back, startled.

It was then that he got a good look at her face and her unfocused expression, her pupils blown. He shot Ben a concerned look. "Are you okay?" he huffed, trying to hang onto Wynter. She was small but strong.

The sound of feet running toward them drew their attention.

"What's going – Wynter?" Bree gasped as she Wynter began to howl, kicking out her legs in an attempt to break free.

"Bree – get Willa," Ben told her through grit teeth, still holding his wrist. "Or Wyatt. Bonzo, can you move the trophies?"

"Rogurlin?" Bonzo asked, clearly puzzled and a bit alarmed.

"Why the trophies?" Bree seconded, just as confused.

"Wynter keeps trying to grab them, but they're silver – she can't touch them or they'll burn her."

Bree gasped once before turning on her heel and dashing back up the hall without another word. Bonzo too moved to place himself between the aggravated werewolf and the trophy case.

"Zedka, gre ga nik?"

"I'm fine, buddy," Zed assured his friend. "I've got her on this end. You stay there in case she," he jerked back as Wynter snarled and made another attempt to bite him. "Breaks free," Zed gasped. He glanced at Bonzo and then Ben. "I hope Bree's quick."

Zed gasped in pain as the heel of one of Wynter's boots caught him in the knee and his grip loosened. With a yip of triumph, Wynter dashed forward, only to be caught in Bonzo's larger, stronger embrace.

"Zed?" Ben asked.

"Fine." Zed winced. "Gonna be one hell of a bruise later though. She's got a wicked low kick." He jolted. Something about the words tugging at somewhere inside, too distracted to notice when Wynter managed to get one of her hands free and scratched Bonzo across the back of his hand making the Zombie teen drop her with a cry of surprise.

"Zed!" Ben's voice called and Zed was jerked back to the moment to see Wynter coming at him fast, her hands raised like she was ready to claw through everyone in her way. Zed braced himself for impact when a new voice rang out through the hall.

"Wynter! Stop that this instant!" Willa's voice cracked through the halls and Wynter stopped so fast she pitched forward and would have tumbled face first into the ground if Bonzo hadn't caught her by the scruff of her fur-trimmed vest. Wynter gasped, flailing her arms before her to stop her momentum, confused when she felt her body being yanked backward instead. Bonzo set her on her feet where she stood for all of three seconds before her legs gave out and she plopped down right in the middle of the hallway with a bewildered expression.

She was panting just as hard as Ben, Zed, and Bonzo, gazing about in such utter shock to find herself both on the ground and the center of attention that it would have been funny in other circumstances.

"What?" She asked. "What is it? Why is everyone staring at me like that?" She tensed as Willa sank down to a crouch in front of her and eyed her steadily for a long, silent moment, visibly relaxing when Willa reached out to lay a warm hand on Wynter's shoulder.

"You're alright." Willa murmured and Wynter nodded though she felt the absurd need to be upset without knowing why. Both girls glanced down the hallway as more footsteps ricocheted off the walls and Wyatt came tearing around the corner, Bree close behind him. Wyatt slid to a stop beside his sister.

"What happened?" He took in the sight of the shattered glass on the floor, Bonzo's stance in front of the trophy case and the boys' defensive postures that were easing with each passing moment. "Again?" He asked of no one in particular, his mouth thinning in displeasure.

"Possibly," Willa acknowledged as she kept a steadying hand on Wynter's shoulder. "Wynter, what happened?" Her tone was firm but gentle.

"What do you mean?" Wynter asked, dazed. She winced and looked down at the palms of her hands to see streaks of blood. Eyes widening she looked around at the scattered glass, some of it clinging to her hands. She made to wipe her palms on her pants to remove the pieces but Willa's long, tan fingers caught her wrists.

"You don't want to push the pieces in further," Willa chided gently. She helped her friend to stand, carefully brushing off Wynter's pants to dislodge any pieces there with a small towel Bree unearthed from her gym bag. "I need to get her cleaned up," Willa said to no one in particular.

"I'll take her," Ben volunteered. He glanced at Bonzo who was trying to hide the deep scratches on his hand. He shifted uneasily at Willa's hard stare. "She didn't mean it," Ben soothed, noting how Willa had bristled at the injury and the hint of blood on Wynter's nails. He pulled unobtrusively at his sleeve and nodded for Wynter and Bonzo to follow him. "Come on, I'll show you where the nurse's office is."

Wynter nodded, still a bit shaky, but began moving with a sedate pace once Willa gave her a nod to go ahead. As Bonzo and Wynter began to walk down the hall, a nervous few feet of space between them, Ben paused beside Willa. "I'll explain this to Principal Lee and Vice Principal Fairy Godmother."

Willa tried not to snarl in agitation. "Explain what?"

Ben sighed, raking his hand through his hair and Willa noticed a red mark on the prince's forearm when his jacket sleeve slid up. Her eyes narrowed at it. "I don't really understand it myself, but it wasn't her fault."

"Obviously," Willa spat out, bristling in irritation.

Ben winced. He glanced at Zed who nodded. "I'll explain. You go with them." Ben murmured his thanks as Zed turned to the irate pair of werewolves in front of him and told them everything. The more he explained the deeper the furrows became on Willa's face.

At his conclusion, Willa glanced over at her brother. "It sounds a bit like when I found you." Willa growled in frustration. "That's now two members of my pack that Enchanted has bespelled. This is getting old very quickly."

"To be fair, I was never used to do anything." Wyatt looked a bit sheepish though they all knew this already. "I just stood in a field staring at nothing for a few minutes. No harm, no foul." He tried to give his sister a weary grin at her glare.

"I don't think it was Addie." A timid voice piped up and they turned to stare at the forgotten bespectacled girl beside them. Bree tensed at the attention but pushed forward. "N-no one else was spelled," she pointed out. "There wasn't any singing." She glanced at Zed for confirmation.

He nodded. "We didn't hear anything. I'm sure Bonzo and Ben'll say the same."

"Yes, the prince's hearing is quite acute." Willa stated with a narrowing of her eyes, but she didn't contradict Zed.

"If there was no singing, then it's likely not Addie." Bree spoke quietly, aware that there were students wandering carefully back into the hallway now that the commotion was over. "Addie doesn't know any spells." She shrugged. "When Evie and Doug ran into her last week, Evie said it was more like Addie was running on instinct. That it was just her siren's song coming to the front. And once she stops singing the entrancement stops. Just like it did for Jane and Doug and everyone with the school incident."

Bree scanned the mess of glass scattered about the hallway and the bloody smears on the ground from Wynter's hands. "Besides, the other incidents never put anyone in harm's way or at least never caused harm deliberately." She looked back at Willa with determination despite her quaking knees. "She knows werewolves can't touch silver. She wouldn't put one, let alone a friend, in danger like that."

Willa glared at the shorter girl for a long moment before snapping a "whatever" and stalking up the hall, saying she was going to check in on Wynter.

Bree blinked rapidly in Willa's sudden departure, hanging onto her gym bag's strap tighter than usual in her sudden anxiety. She turned when she heard a quiet chuckle beside her.

"Don't worry," Wyatt reassured her. "My sister's stubborn, but your logic is sound. That's why she's irritated. Because it means we now have more questions than answers, and Willa wants answers. She wants to defend her pack, and having a possible unknown culprit behind this is going to drive her crazy." He sighed and raked a hand through his dark hair. "That's supposed to be my job, you know?" He grinned at Bree who gave him an uneasy smile back. M-bands or no, his incisors still made a point.

"But, if it's not," Zed glanced around at the milling population as they began to gawk at the mess in the hall and lowered his voice, "you know who. Then…who? And why?"

Wyatt heaved a heavy gust of air. "One problem at a time, Zombie." He slapped a hand on Zed's shoulder. "And you have enough to worry about as it is. You take care of yourself." He sidled past Zed to follow his sister. "Our pack will take care of our pack."

"Wha – but…" Zed sighed as Wyatt slipped easily down the hall. He glanced at Bree who could only give him a shrug in response. "I thought we were sticking together?"

Bree's smile was as sweet as it was weary. "We're trying, Zed. But it's still new after so many decades of…well, you know." He grimaced and she winced. "Everyone just needs a little time. Including yourself." She said, echoing Wyatt. She patted him gently on the arm. "Come on, let's find someone to help clean up this mess."

Zed agreed, following after Bree but felt awkwardness and unease filter through his system. He felt like there was more he could be doing – should be doing, but it was like there was a…wall somewhere inside. One that, when pushed upon sent his heart racing and his adrenaline pumping.

Something that felt a little too much like fear.

And a lot like guilt.

Something that tied his stomach into knots and woke him from a dead sleep at night.

Something that he could almost reach out and touch.

And once he did, there would be no going back.