Eleven.

Emma couldn't believe her eyes. He looked thinner, and messy, but still definitely him, Neal. He was staring at her. What was he doing at the mall? She didn't know what to do. He didn't look like he wanted to approach Emma, just stood glaring at her. She ran back into the café in a panic.

"Ruby, Blue, Neal is here!"

Within a second, both sisters were on their feet and followed Emma out to the hall, but Neal was no where in sight anymore. She ran to the corner she spotted him in, but there was nothing. Where did he go now? She looked down to Ruby.

"Did you pick up his scent?"

"She's not sure. There are too many different smells, it's a public place after all... Emma, are you sure it was him?"

"One hundred percent sure. He was standing right there, and he saw me, too. He was watching me."

"Do you think he was the one watching you earlier?"

Emma couldn't be to sure about it. The feeling was... different. She shuck her head, looking at Ruby who was still inspecting every inch of the floor. Blue asked her how he was dressed, and picked up her phone to give out orders. She was sending people out to look for Neal, but Emma couldn't help but feel nervous. She kept looking around, hoping to spot him somewhere among the crowd. She really didn't like the way he was looking at her, so full of hatred. Even worse than before. She shivered, but it had nothing to do with the temperature. Ruby noticed it, and came to lean against her. Emma's wolf told her that Ruby meant it was okay, and not to worry. Why did she feel so nervous all of a sudden? She did not like the situation. Something was off.

"Emma? You okay?" Blue came to put a hand on Emma's shoulder, but she shuck her head.

"I want to go home, now." Emma said while staring at the place Neal was stood not even minutes ago.

"Okay. Let's get back to the parking lot, then."

She didn't say a word through the whole trip back. She knew Blue kept glancing at her, but she ignored it. She just felt anxious for some reason, and she couldn't shake the weird feeling off. Emma really wished Killian was with her. She nervously played with her phone, but she couldn't bring herself to call him. She knew he was busy, and didn't want to bother him for something so trivial. Maybe it was just Emma being paranoid.

Once they arrived back at the apartment, Ruby was stuck to her. Emma knew she was trying to reassure her, and she was thankful for it. For a second, she wondered what to do, but decided to go change into one of her gym outfits and grab her boxing gloves from her room.

Without asking Blue, she just headed up the stairs towards the gym, with Ruby following her, as usual. She didn't like how she was feeling. She tried to punch it off on the sandbags, irritated. What was Neal planning? She never knew where to stand with her ex. Neal had treat her so poorly for so long it was incredibly hard to remember when he was actually kind to her. He was the worst when she was still in the Red Moon clan, he showed no remorse for the beatings he gave her. Yet, for some reason, she could never completely resent him. He was the last thing she had to call family, she supposed, and what happened to his family connected them in a way, back when they had first met. Maybe she shouldn't have stuck with him, maybe his fathers death messed him up? Maybe she was blinded by the need to be loved for so long, she never even saw what was actually right in front of her.

She remembered the last time she saw him. He was ready to let Jekyll rape her, and to kill her. She was sure he would have managed if Ruby and Blue hadn't intervened. She throw a couple more punches, with all of her strength. What was wrong with him? Why did he hate her to much? She felt like she was missing something. But she couldn't let it go. She needed to settle things with him for real. For good.

She kept the punches coming and even failed to notice Blue enter the gym. Emma only realised she was there when she started talking.

"I see someone needed to blow off some steam."

"Did you find him?" She asked, panting. Blue shuck her head, and brought Emma a few black and white pictures. Emma took of her gloves to take a look at them while Blue pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"The surveillance cameras caught him at the west entrance of the mall, but that's all we could gather. What do you want to do?"

It was the first time Blue had asked for Emma's decision. She took a while to think, but she already knew what should be done. She handed the photos back to Blue.

"Find him. I need to talk to Neal, seriously. You have his full name, and we know he's still in town. Without a clan, I doubt he would go anywhere on other clans' turfs, and I think he is watching me. He's probably somewhere in the Black Moon clans territory."

Emma's wolf agreed with her, though she wanted to go find him herself. But that would be reckless, and she had promised Killian that she wouldn't do anything dangerous. Somehow, she could feel that Neal was up to no good following her. She just couldn't leave it at that. Blue nodded to her, wearing a wide smile.

"Now that's an Alpha talking!"

Emma rolled her eyes. Since they discovered the whole mystery of Emma's secret birth, Blue and Graham had been going on about her hypothetical alpha genes whenever they got an opportunity. She didn't really want to have to think too deeply about it. The whole matter of her non-recorded existence was already enough of a headache as is. But, as a matter of fact, she also believed her ex partner may be able to enlighten her on that. All the more reason to get ahold of him.

A couple more days pass, but no sight of Neal. It was nerve wracking. She tried to chase her worries away by keeping herself busy, switching between her studies and workout session, but it was no use. They still couldn't confirm his location, and she had no idea what he wanted. Moreover, she wished she could ask him some questions, about her parents, and the mystery surrounding her.

Killian barely had any time to call her at all. It seemed like he really was as busy as Blue said, Emma could only manage to have him on the phone for a few minutes a day. Apparently, they were about to reach an agreement with the Rising Moon clan, but that made the neighbouring packs uneasy, and thus, some conflicts were bound to rise.

"My brother said you had made you decision?" Said Killian

"Yes. I'm not really sure it's a good idea yet, but... maybe it's worth trying. I need to end things once and for all with the Red Moon clan."

She was sitting on the couch, brushing her hair with her fingers while holding up the phone. It was almost midnight, and Ruby was sleeping like a baby against Emma's legs. Killian sounded dead tired, yet he still gave her a call, as promised.

"You can do it, Emma. Put that scum back into his place or I'll come and do it for you."

Emma couldn't help but smile. She'd noticed Killian was less polite when he was tired.

"I'll do my best."

"We're still looking for Neal. He really knows how to stay under the radar. Graham even gave the word to our allies, but no one has spotted him yet."

She had been thinking about the matter a lot. Recently, she had an idea about how to get ahold of Neal, but she wasn't sure it would work.

"Killian, I think I know when we can catch him. But I'm going to need help."

"Tell me."

"I think he will be there, at the duel against Victor. Neal is rancorous. Will and Victor banished him, so I'm sure he will want to be there to see the alpha being demoted. He will definitely find a way to see the fight, and that's when we will have a chance to catch him."

"We can have people watching the grounds. Two days is more than enough to gather them; I'll ask Graham to take care of it."

She left out a sigh. Why did she feel that this would be their last chance to catch her long ago partner? If he had been watching her recently, why was he staying away? Did he already know of her connection to the Black Moon clan? She still hadn't told anyone that it was Neal who had been the one to try and strange her to death that night, and she wasn't sure if she should keep that secret a while longer. Killian would more than likely kill Neal if he found out.

They discussed a while longer about what preparations should be made to be sure to catch Neal, but she still felt uneasy. What if they did catch him?

"Killian, can you promise me something?"

"What is it?"

"When we catch Neal... I want you to promise me you won't attack him."

"Emma, what is this about?"

She knew he suspected something. He probably wondered why she would be worried about him hurting Neal, but she couldn't possibly tell him the truth. However, Emma couldn't be sure that Neal wouldn't talk and spill the beans. Moreover, Neal was always so harsh while talking to her, and Killian was not the most patient person.

"Just promise me, please."

He stayed silent for a while.

"Okay. I promise."

That was one less thing to worry about, at least. She sighed, tired by all the anxiousness. She rested her head on the sofa, closing her eyes for a moment.

"I miss you." She whispered.

"Same here."

"I wish I could see you right now."

"Same here."

She chuckled a bit, he was definitely getting tired.

"Are you just going to keep saying that?"

He stayed silent for a while, and she thought she should hang up and let them both get some well needed sleep, but she heard his voice again before she could speak.

"I want to come all the way over there and kiss you again."

She blushed with embarrassment, and hid her face with her hair even though he couldn't see her.

"Same..." She whispered.

The next day was the last one before the duel against Victor. Emma wasn't half as worried about the duel as she was about Neal's matter. It felt like her ex held all the answers she was looking for, or he could hold none of them, and she was worried they might miss him again. Even the siblings felt Emma's anxiety and stayed next to her all day. Blue even trained her for a few hours, though it didn't help Emma blow off all the steam.

However, when they got back to the apartment, to her surprise, Graham and Peter were there. As elegant as ever, Graham was simply standing still in the kitchen while discussing with his younger brother. Peter, however, was lazily lying on the couch and just sat up as Emma entered the room. He casually waved at her.

"Hello, Princess." Said Graham.

"What are you both doing here?" Emma asked, worried. The two of them coming to the apartment didn't seem like a simple, friendly visit. She knew she couldn't trust Graham's smiling face. Peter rolled his eyes and leaned on the couch, leaving the explanation to his older brother.

"We just wanted to come and see you before the duel. How do you feel?"

"I'm fine." She answered honestly. It was true. Since she'd been living away from her clan for a whole month, Victor didn't seem as threatening as he once was. She was not exactly overconfident in her fighting abilities, given that she'd only shape shifted a couple of times before, but she didn't intend to hold back and act scared either. It was just wishing for that matter to be settled for good.

"Good! Well, Peter and I will be there tomorrow, as well. Killian wants to make sure his princess doesn't run into some... unnecessary trouble."

He meant if the Red Moon clan attacked her. They could try to hurt her before the duel, or even find someone else to challenge her if she won over Victor. Also, during a fight for the alpha position, the clan is usually weakened, making it easier for for Rogues and other packs to launch an attack. However, none of the local packs would dare to do such a thing if the Black Moon pack was there. And with Graham and Peter present, the Red Moon clan would have no choice but to acknowledge whatever the duels results would be.

"Thank you. Did you talk to Killian?"

She was sure the two of them would have already discussed the matter of Neal. Graham nodded with a smile.

"Yes, don't worry. We will prepare accordingly to be sure to catch him."

"Just focus on your duel, Emma. Trust me, my hunters won't miss him." Peter added. She felt better knowing the Black brothers would be there. As expected, Killian most likely would not be able to attend, but she knew she could trust the two. Even if no one from the Red Moon clan was on her side, they would be.

"What about Dr Jekyll?" She asked. That was a matter that no one dared to bring back on the table for a while, but she needed to ask. She was sure Graham was on it, but she needed to know if there was a chance he would show up, too. But Graham just shuck his head.

"Still no trace, sorry princess. We are still looking into it."

If Emma had stabbed him, he couldn't have gotten very far without help. She remembered how much blood there was, it was no light wound.

No, she thought. For now she had to focus on the upcoming duel with Victor. While she went to sit on the couch next to Peter, Graham kept talking.

"Your birth matter is still a blur. Your parents were indeed part of the Gold Moon clan, both of them. It's not a pack we are on good terms with, but I still managed to get some information. Apparently, the Redwoods got married in their mid-twenties, and moved in together to start their family. I assume nearly two years after you would have been born, due to the dates. It seemed they estranged themselves from their clans matters after that, but more importantly, no one remembers seeing your mother while pregnant."

Honestly, she couldn't remember much of living among the clan, before living as a rogue til the Red Moon pack took her in. But it was not totally uncommon for young couples to detach themselves from the matter of their pack to focus on their family. Especially those with young pups.

"What happened to them, then?" Suddenly Peter asked. All eyes converged to Emma. Of course. She bet Graham already knew, if he was looking into her families past. He'd probably already told Killian of his findings, too. But now Peter was asking her, and with the siblings present, she couldn't really hide it anymore. She didn't really want to say much, though she couldn't forget a single detail of that day. She thought maybe she should keep it to what was told on the police report, but she knew much more than that. Emma took a deep breath, and answered with all the composure she could gather.

"They died. Soon to be 14 years ago. When I was seven, my mother killed my father, before taking her own life, and my little brothers."