Walden didn't have much trouble adjusting to his new, nocturnal life – he'd always kept odd hours, thanks to his job – but for the fact that he couldn't speak to anyone except Antonin. It wasn't that he felt the need of other people's presence, but he wanted to discuss with someone from the Order, anyone, to figure out exactly what they were doing about the Evey situation.

She'd been taken a month ago now. She could be dead, Walden knew, but he hoped that Greyback might keep her alive when he realised that she'd survived him once already. He might be intrigued, and thus decide not to kill her. The werewolf was a rough man, but he wasn't stupid. He would see that she could prove valuable.

Unfortunately, that might lead him to let Voldemort know about Evey. Walden couldn't decide which alternative was the worst: that Evey was already dead, that Greyback might be torturing her, or worse, that the werewolf might have turned her in to the Dark Lord… Gods. Walden tried really hard not to think about any of that, instead keeping busy at night and focusing on finding clues as to where Evey could be, and how to rescue her, but sometimes his mind wandered, sending flashes of all the possible things that Evey might be suffering right this moment.

His only consolation these days was Nana, who clearly understood that something was wrong and kept close to him at all times. The Newfoundland had been puzzled at first, when she'd first seen Walden after he emerged from his transformation. His scent must have been altered after he became a vampire. Nana had been hesitant, almost frightened by him, but she'd come around eventually, to Walden's deepest relief.

He wasn't afraid of accidentally stepping into a patch of sunlight during the day. He felt himself starting to doze off the moment the sky began to clear, and he didn't stir at all until it was pitch black outside. He slept – literally – like the dead. Nothing short of someone ripping away the curtains would disturb his rest. Being in direct contact with the sun would mean certain death – true death – unless Tony managed to get him out in time, which was unlikely, as regular vampires burned like kindling fuelled by gasoline.

Drinking blood was not quite as terrible as he'd imagined. When the blood was at room temperature, it was drinkable, though Walden still made sure to eat some regular food at the same time, to wash the metallic taste out of his mouth. All he had to do was avoid garlic. It wasn't lethal to him, but it made him itch uncontrollably. Molly and the others made certain that there were always sufficient quantities of blood at the vampires' disposal – unlike his brother, Walden needed to feed every day, and the Order still believed that Antonin fed off the animal blood that they provided. Despite his brother's claim that there was nothing to be worried about, Walden feared that the lack of human blood would soon become problematic. Tony hadn't fed since the battle at the Ministry – even for an Ancient, a month without blood was a long time, and Tony starkly refused to consider Molly or anyone else as a source of nourishment. The official reason was that it would mean revealing why he needed human blood, but Walden suspected that he simply couldn't stand the thought of asking such a horrible favour of the Weasley family, after everything he'd already done to them. If Walden didn't watch it, his brother might let himself starve rather than do what was necessary – and that would be a hundred times more harmful than refusing to feed. Vampires went feral when they got hungry - thirsty? - and Tony was no mere vampire.

Still, as long as Tony behaved normally, Walden was willing to put the matter aside. There were more pressing issues.

He had requested a meeting with the remaining members of the Order – Emmeline Vance had been murdered the week before, and Sirius was gone – but they were clearly stalling. The person he really wanted to see was Remus Lupin, but the werewolf had apparently been sent on a specific mission and would be unavailable for some time. The kids were back from school, although at present only Ron and Ginny were at the Burrow, as well as Molly's eldest son, Bill, and his fiancée, Fleur Delacour. Walden had yet to meet her, but Tony had declared that she was the most beautiful woman on earth – before finding out that she was actually part Veela, so she was cheating, he'd amended. Arthur was busy at the Ministry, and so were other members of the Order, like Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt, who'd been appointed to the new Prime Minister's office staff. Hermione Granger and Harry Potter should be here in a few days, according to Tony. Maybe Dumbledore would deign to show himself at some point.

Well, if no one was going to accede to his request, Walden would have to make himself heard – and the only way to achieve that was to act through Antonin. He made his brother ask Molly to remain downstairs until Walden woke up.

When he walked into the kitchen that night, Molly was sitting at the dining table with her future daughter-in-law, who was chattering with a heavy French accent that reminded Walden of Jeanne's. Molly looked stricken, but Walden knew that she was too polite to interrupt the girl. Tony claimed that Molly and her daughter weren't particularly fond of Bill's wife-to-be. Tony himself thought that she was quite nice, but he'd always had a weak spot for beautiful women, no matter their personalities.

She was beautiful, Walden noted idly, though blondes had never much appealed to him. Fleur started slightly when she noticed him, and Molly seemed almost relieved by the interruption.

"Ah, there you are," she said briskly. "Fleur, dear, if you don't mind, Walden and I must speak privately for a moment." She sounded cordial enough, but her tone was quite firm and brooked no argument. The French woman gave Walden a keen, blue-eyed look before moving up the stairs and he heard her gasp a second later when she must have almost run into Antonin.

His brother was grinning widely when he sat down at the table a moment later. "Alright, you got your meeting," he told Walden. "Best not to keep Molly waiting."

Walden sat across from the Weasley matriarch. "Molly, I really need to know that the Order is doing everything it can to find Evey." He hesitated, but there was no reason to conceal their relationship at this point. "She's more important to me than you know," he went on softly.

Molly surprised him by patting his hand. "I do know, dear. Antonin told me that you were engaged when they brought you back here after that awful business at the Ministry. He explained that it was why he turned you, even though he knew that you would disapprove."

Walden stared at her in astonishment, then turned briefly to his brother, who avoided his gaze. That wasn't the explanation he'd received. And Molly had known for a month? Why did she look so understanding? Walden had assumed that she would be on the warpath when she found out, given their age difference. Perhaps Molly's obvious distaste toward Bill's fiancée had something to do with this unexpected reaction. Walden cleared his throat, gathering his thoughts. "I…well, in any case, Tony wasn't very clear on the measures deployed to search for Evey," he said, trying to get the conversation back on tracks.

Molly gave him a rueful smile. "I'm afraid everyone has their hands full at the moment, but Remus is still hoping to pick up some clues as he infiltrates the werewolves' network."

Walden blinked in shock. They sent Lupin to infiltrate the network? Granted, he was a werewolf, but no one would ever take him seriously, Greyback least of all. Fenrir could sniff out a lie a mile away, and he knew precisely who Lupin was besides. Molly seemed so earnest, however, that Walden tried his best to mask his consternation. "And um…any luck? Which pack has he joined? Have you heard from him recently?" Walden prompted her. There was no way that Lupin would have made it into Greyback's pack, but perhaps if he managed to get into one of the other, smaller ones… Well, it was a long shot. Greyback had no allies outside of his own pack. He didn't need any; his pack was the largest in the kingdom, and possibly in all of Europe.

Molly shook her head. "Not since he left, no, and I have no idea where he is, or what he's doing. I'm sorry, Walden. I wish I could tell you that we're going to find Evey soon, but I can't. Believe me, I want her back at least as much as you do." Of anyone else, he wouldn't have thought it possible, but this was Molly. She had a tendency to care – and worry, often as not – about everyone close to her, family or not. That had always been her weakness – or her strength, arguably.

"Is Arthur back from the Ministry yet?" Walden asked. "He might have heard something from Tonks or Shacklebolt."

"He's still at the office. He works very late, these days. He shouldn't exhaust himself like that," Molly went on anxiously. "He's not as young as he seems to think."

"Do you have any idea when Dumbledore will come by?" he said, feeling almost desperate.

"He said he would bring Harry here at the end of the month, if everything went according to plan," Molly replied. "But I doubt he'll stay very long."

"If he comes during the day, will you please tell him to either wait for me to wake up, or to get in touch at night sometime? We really need to search for her more actively. Aren't there any other werewolves working for the Order, or allies who are willing to help? Do you think Dumbledore would allow us to go outside to–"

"Walden, dear, I have no idea. I don't know as much as you seem to think, and I haven't seen Albus since we relocated the Headquarters here at the Burrow. You will have to be patient, I'm afraid."

"Patient?" he repeated incredulously. "Molly, Evey could be dead already! Hell, she probably is. But I won't rest until I find out, you mark my words."

Tony put a hand on his shoulder. "Alright mate, calm down. It's not her fault. I'm sure everyone is doing what they can. And Evey is not the frail little girl Greyback would expect her to be. I wouldn't be surprised if he's regretting kidnapping her already," he said in an obvious attempt to clear the air.

"Antonin is right," Molly said. For a moment, she seemed taken aback that she'd agreed with his brother, but she recovered quickly. "Evey is quite capable. She can take care of herself. I'm sure she will be alright, until we can rescue her. And we will," she added firmly.

Despite Molly's reassuring words, Walden decided that he would sneak out, starting that very night, and search for Evey himself. He had learned nothing relevant tonight and, as far as he could tell, no one was entirely focused on finding his fiancée. Aware of Lupin's reluctance to mingle with his own kind in the past, Walden figured that he was probably more knowledgeable about packs' dynamics than the werewolf, and he knew many Alphas personally. He wasn't sure if they'd agree to talk to him, given his new…condition, but it was worth a try.

Walden couldn't stay idle any longer. He couldn't wait for other people to do for him what he should have been doing from the beginning.