Evey was running through the woods, awkwardly stumbling over roots, low branches lashing at her. Blood dripped from a cut on her forehead before the wound closed an instant later. Her muscles ached, her lungs burned. The full moon was like a searching spotlight above her, occasionally showing through the canopy.

She didn't know where she was. She didn't know what she was running toward, or what she was running from.

She only knew that she had to keep going.

She woke up with a start, shaking with fear, drenched in sweat. It took a moment for her brain to adjust before she realised what had awakened her: an alarm blaring, the deafening noise resounding throughout the ancient walls of Macnair manor.

Evey glanced to her left; Walden was fast asleep. The sun would be up for another couple of hours, judging by the clock, and her husband would lie dead until the dark settled. It still unnerved her, to see him like that. So pale, so immobile. His chest never rising.

She nearly fell off the bed as the door banged open. Tony stepped inside, his hair wild, eyes wide with agitation. "V? Are you alright?"

Evey nodded mutely, rearranging the covers when she remembered that she wasn't wearing anything underneath. Tony didn't appear to notice, however. He was now standing near the window and peering outside. "Someone tried to get in," he murmured. "Someone who's not supposed to-"

He cut off abruptly, and Evey saw his face change, a look of pure horror distorting his smooth, youthful features. She stood, hastily pulling the bed sheet around her. She was about to ask what was wrong, but there was no need.

Greyback stood at the edge of the estate, just a foot behind the main gate.

He was too far for Evey to make him out precisely, but she recognised him right away. His stature and height, his bearing…and the fact that he wasn't wearing a jacket, despite the sub-zero temperature.

They remained silent for a minute, Evey holding her breath, expecting the Wolf to somehow bypass the wards and leisurely stroll within the heavily-protected perimeter. Tony had moved forward to place himself in front of her.

"How did he…?" Evey began to say. How did he find us? But it didn't matter how, did it? Greyback had tracked them down. He had come to reclaim Evey. He was right there.

And yet he didn't move. She couldn't make out his eyes, but he was clearly studying what lay ahead of him. How much could he see? How much could he hear, and smell? The Fidelius had no effect on Wolves, so for all Evey knew, Greyback was looking right at them and could make out every word.

"He can see us," Tony whispered. "His gaze shifted when you came to the window. He's spotted you. He knows you're here."

Evey gulped down some saliva, but she did her best to remain pragmatic. "At least we know that the wards are efficient."

"We know that the alarm works, anyway," Tony said uneasily.

The noise had stopped, Evey realised. She'd been so shocked to find Greyback in her front yard that she'd forgotten about it. "If he could get through, he would have, Tony."

"Why is he still there?" Tony wondered. "What is he waiting for?"

"He wants us to know. He wants me to know. The moment I set foot out there…" She didn't even want to think about it. Recapture. More torture. This time, worse than that awaited her. It wouldn't matter that she could turn into a werewolf. She didn't have the element of surprise on her side, not anymore, and she doubted that she was truly stronger than Greyback.

"Sometimes I wonder if Walden is right about him, you know," Tony said in a low voice. "Is it really overconfidence that makes him do the things he does? Because I find it utterly stupid. First he destroys the one place you might have visited, then once he finds out where you live, he makes sure that you see him, as though he doesn't want you to go outside at all."

"Overconfidence makes you do very stupid things," Evey said. "Or maybe he has some other plan. Maybe he wants me to stay safely inside, to make certain I won't get myself hurt or killed in the war. Or maybe he knows how to get through the wards and wants us to wonder how long it will take before he gets in. Fear tactics. That's what he does best." As if on cue – had he heard her? – Greyback waved in their direction, sending a chill down Evey's spine.

"It's possible, I guess," Tony said. "Either way, if he wants you to stay safely inside, he'll be happy to learn that that's exactly what'll happen."

Evey glared at him. "No way! We're finally allowed to work for the Order, Tony. I won't-"

"You already agreed to it, V. You promised you'd be careful, at least for a few months. Now that we know that Greyback is out there and knows exactly where to find you, there's no way we're letting you go outside." He placed a hand on her shoulder before she could protest. "Like it or not, Walden, Greyback and I all have a common goal: to keep you alive."

"Did he reappear?" Tony asked Walden as he walked into the kitchen.

Walden shook his head slowly. Evey had told him about their unwelcome visitor the moment he'd awakened, but Greyback had been gone by then. According to Evey, he'd stayed only long enough to signal his presence. "No. Not that I could see, anyway," he amended. For all he knew, the werewolf was going around the property to try to find breaches and weak spots in the wards. Tony had verified the entire perimeter that evening, twice, but Walden still wasn't reassured. "I wonder who told him where to find us."

"Could be someone from his pack," Tony ventured. "Evey might have let slip that you were her fiancé."

"Everyone thinks I'm dead," Walden reminded him. "Greyback saw Rodolphus kill me. He even told Evey about it."

Tony smiled thinly. "Wal, how many werewolves did you interrogate when you were trying to find Evey?"

"They were not part of his pack."

"Don't be naïve. If someone's been asking about him, Greyback will know."

Walden sighed reflexively. "He can see us, you said? He can see through the wards?" Tony nodded. "Is there anything we can do about that?" They couldn't chase the Wolf off the area – not by themselves, not without risking their lives – but if they could at least prevent him from spying on them…

"You know the wards as well as I do, Wal. It's all there, the whole package. Most of them just don't work on Wolves. Be grateful that there's one keeping him out. The best we can do is make certain that V doesn't wander too far, and perhaps have her turn invisible when she's in the woods."

"I'd rather she stayed inside the house at all times," Walden said. "Until Greyback's been dealt with."

"You must be joking," Evey said. Walden flinched; he hadn't realised that she was downstairs. She marched into the kitchen, hands on her hips, eyes blazing. "We were stuck at Grimmauld place for a year, Walden, and it was suffocating. We know that the wards are safe. You can't keep me prisoner in my own house. I won't stop going to the garden or the woods. No way."

Walden tried to think of an argument to change her mind, but he knew that it was useless. She didn't care about his peace of mind, obviously. "We should be thinking of something to get rid of him, instead of devising the best way to keep me in," Evey went on firmly.

"And what do you suggest?" Walden asked. "Throw a stick, hope he gets lost while fetching it?"

He should know better than to be sarcastic when his wife was cross. "Don't be a twat," she snapped. "There is at least one viable option: Wolves and Ancients."

Tony was looking at her, frowning. "Can you…expand on that idea?"

"They can patrol the edge of the wards and take Greyback down when they find him," she explained, as though it was simplicity itself. "Then lock him up until we can sever our connection." She paused briefly. "Then we can dispose of him permanently."

"Wolves can't harm their peers," Tony reminded her. "Even if Ted and Silver have him outnumbered, I don't know if they'll be able to subdue him. As for Ancients… V, they'll never agree to this. You know, when they said we were family, it didn't mean that they would spend their free time helping us with wizarding affairs. It only meant that they wouldn't kill us, really. That's what we told the Order, remember?"

Evey ignored him. "Ideally, we'd need a team including both Wolves and Ancients," she mused. "Wolves to track down Greyback and restrain him, Ancients to incapacitate him. Preferably without killing him," she added, almost as an afterthought.

Walden ran that sentence in his mind a second time, and found that he didn't like it one bit. "What do you mean, preferably?"

Evey carefully avoided looking at him. "I'm just saying…if they can't arrest him without killing him…maybe it would be best for everyone if-"

She was interrupted by a knock on the front door.

Evey gasped softly. She always wanted to look tough and strong – and Merlin knew, she was – but deep down, Walden knew that she was terrified of Greyback. Despite that, he also knew that she'd do anything to end him, to prevent him from hurting anyone else.

Even sacrificing herself, apparently.

Tony cautiously leaned toward the spyhole. In all logic, Greyback wouldn't have used the front door, he repeated to himself for the tenth time since the initial knock – there had been four more after that, each more insistent than the last.

All he could see through the spyhole was a bunch of fiery hair. "Alice?" he called without opening the door.

"Yes, it's me. Open up." She shifted her head so that he could see her face through the tiny hole.

Tony hesitated. It did sound and look like her, but... "What's your favourite blood type?"

He heard a faint chuckle. "B negative, human temperature. Antonin, please. We have to talk."

Well, he didn't have much choice. To his surprise, the door revealed not only Alice, but also Jeanne and…Blackbeard. "What the…?" Tony began. "What is this?" He didn't move to let them pass, not right away. Was it mere coincidence that these three showed up on their doorstep mere hours after Greyback was spotted outside the wards? Tony doubted it.

Jeanne rolled her eyes when he kept blocking the entrance. "There's important business we need to discuss. Let us in."

"It's about Greyback," Alice added.

Definitely not a coincidence, Tony thought. This confirmed his suspicion that Jeanne had him under surveillance, somehow. "Why's Ted here?" he asked, refusing to budge until he was certain that it was safe to let them in. He had no quarrel with Blackbeard, but they didn't know who'd revealed their location to Greyback, and the former pirate was, after all, a Wolf.

"We're working together," Ted said cheerfully.

Jeanne scoffed. "He invited himself along." She clearly didn't approve of his presence.

"Evey's my friend," the Wolf stated. "I have a right to be here."

Tony hesitated a moment longer, but they couldn't stay on the threshold indefinitely. "Fine. Come in."

Evey was seated at the kitchen table when they walked in. She glowered at Jeanne the moment she set foot in the kitchen and ignored Alice, but she got up to hug Blackbeard. "Hey, kiddo," Ted greeted her. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?" she said with a frown. "I live here. I should be asking you that question."

"I assumed that you two lovebirds would be on your honeymoon."

Honeymoon? Merlin. Tony was sure that he'd planned the wedding of the century, but he'd completely forgotten about that. He glanced at Evey sideways, but she just chuckled. "It wasn't exactly a priority, given the circumstances. We'll go on honeymoon after we've defeated Voldemort."

Jeanne cleared her throat. Right. Sensitive subject. She was still cross that she hadn't been invited to the wedding. Though why, Tony didn't know. She obviously hated Evey – a feeling that was reciprocated.

Walden looked beyond embarrassed. "Um, hi. Ted, we have tea and coffee, but I'm afraid we only have animal blood to offer you…" he said to Alice and Jeanne.

"Some coffee would be ni-" Ted began to say.

"You've been one of us for nearly two years, fledgling," Jeanne interrupted him, addressing Tony as though he was the only other person in the room. "Do you intend to ever find a supplier of fresh mortal blood? Please tell me you haven't been feeding off the hybrid," she added with a moue of distaste.

She hadn't waited long before being unpleasant. To be fair, Tony hadn't expected her to. Thankfully, Evey didn't rise to the bait. Instead, she stood and poured some coffee for Ted, who accepted it with a grin and a wink.

"I'm not hungry," Tony said testily. "Why are you here, Jeanne? What do you want?"

Alice made an appeasing gesture. "Antonin, your maker is right. You need to find a proper source of sustenance. In the meantime, here is something to keep you going a few more weeks." She took something out of her coat pocket. A silvery flask, Tony saw when she handed it to him. He removed the cap and took a tiny sip.

Yep, still disgusting. He put the flask on the table and hoped that he wouldn't be hungry for another thousand years.

"We'll discuss suppliers and voluntary donors later," Alice went on. She sat down across from Evey, who'd resumed her seat, then gestured for Jeanne to sit beside her. Ted leaned against the kitchen counter, sipping his coffee.

"Greyback knows you're here," Jeanne said without preamble.

Tony smirked. "Thanks, we hadn't noticed."

"Don't interrupt me," she said menacingly. "You can't stay here, Antonin. It's too dangerous."

As though he was the one in danger. "He's after Evey, not me. Do you know a safer place for her? Greyback can't get past our wards, Jeanne. How do you even know-"

Jeanne gave Evey a one-eyed glance, as if she'd only noticed her. "You're all in danger," she agreed with bad grace. "Greyback wants the girl, but he won't hesitate to kill you to get her. Both of you. We are here to prevent that."

"It's funny, we were just talking about-" Walden began.

"It's not funny," Jeanne said. Walden's mouth clicked shut. "Look, I don't care what happens to the girl, but I need to know that you are safe." Again, addressing Tony as though no one else was around. "And if it means killing Greyback, so be it. "

"You can't kill him, Jeanne," Tony said angrily, before even Walden could protest. "We talked about this. He's-"

Jeanne's head swivelled toward Evey, so fast that a mere mortal would have cracked their neck in the process. "Tu ne voudrais pas nous faire une faveur et te donner la mort, pour qu'on puisse passer à autre chose?"

Tony narrowed his eyes at her. He had no idea what she'd just said, but given the look of pure horror on Walden's face, it was bad. Evey, being as monolingual as Tony, appeared confused, though she must have guessed that, whatever Jeanne had said, it wasn't a compliment. Alice, oddly, gave her progeny a reproachful glare.

It was Blackbeard who broke the awkward silence. Unfortunately, he replied in Jeanne's native language. "Si vous touchez à un seul de ses cheveux, vous aurez affaire à moi." He smiled good-naturedly as he spoke, so it was impossible to guess the meaning behind the words, but Walden nodded fiercely and muttered something that sounded like even more French.

"Would everyone mind speaking English?" Evey huffed.

"Aw, don't worry about it, love," Ted said, holding Jeanne's gaze. "The mean lady is just teasing, I'm sure."

The "mean lady" opened her mouth, presumably to chew him off, but Alice forestalled her. "This was never an option. Jeanne, that was out of line. Stick to the plan, please."

"Out of line?!" Walden repeated. "She just suggested…!"

"Suggested what?" Evey asked.

Tony would have liked to know, too, but Walden groaned and avoided his wife's scrutinising eyes, instead turning to Jeanne. "If you ever speak of this again where I can hear you, I will-"

"You will what?" Jeanne said with a crooked smile. "Please. Do tell."

"Alright, enough!" Tony exclaimed. "Jeanne, shut up. Don't give me that look," he warned her. "It's either that, or I'll rescind your invitation."

"You wouldn't dare!" she hissed.

He raised an eyebrow, challenging her to say another word. Technically, he couldn't do it himself, but Jeanne didn't know that. She kept her mouth shut, but Tony knew it wouldn't last.

"You know what?" Evey spoke into the brief silence. "Let's pretend that nothing happened. You're going to tell us why you're here, then you're going to leave. Except you, Ted, of course. You're always welcome." She scowled. "Where's Silver, anyway?"

"Oh, he's moved to another flat. Marrakesh, I think. Was tired of me. It happens." He shrugged.

"You broke up?" Walden asked.

"Um…" Ted looked at Evey questioningly, which was not a very subtle thing to do. "Well, we, er… We're taking a break, or something…"

"They're not a couple, Wal," Evey admitted.

Tony didn't think that Walden's face could go any paler, but somehow it did. "To be fair, no one ever said that they were," Evey added quickly. "You just assumed."

"And you were quite happy to let me assume," Walden grumbled. Evey's cheeks coloured, and she bit her lip.

"Nobody cares about the pirate's love life," Jeanne said in a bored voice. "Can we get to the point?"

Evey smirked. "Yes, please do. Anything to make you go away."

"That's exactly the opposite of what I intend to do," Jeanne said sweetly. "If Antonin refuses to leave, then I'm staying here, because only Alice and I can truly protect him from Greyback."

"For the last time," Tony said with unconcealed irritation, "Greyback is after Evey, not me, and he cannot get past our wards. And you can't harm him, let alone kill him."

"Not to mention that we don't want you here," Walden remarked. "Not after that 'suggestion' of yours. If I can't trust you, you're not welcome here, Ancient or not, family or not."

"Don't be foolish, child," Alice said. "You need us."

"Is anyone even listening to me?" Tony complained. "We don't need you. We're safe here. Greyback gave us a fright, yes, but as long as we stay within the warded area, he can't reach us."

"I could stay," Blackbeard offered. "Just me. If it comes to a fight with the cub, I can probably take him, or at least keep him busy long enough for you to escape. He can't harm me, and I can't damage him – nobody gets hurt. It's a win-win arrangement. Especially if it means that I get to live here," he added with an appreciative smile. "I really do love this place of yours, Macnairs."

"Yeah, well, don't get too comfortable, because you're not staying here," Walden growled. "None of you are."

"What did I do?" Alice protested.

"Walden, Ted does have a point," Evey said. "We're probably safe, but if worst came to worst…"

"You know I'm an Ancient too, right?" Tony said. "I can handle Greyback, if he-"

Jeanne's mirthless laugh interrupted him. "You're deluding yourself, fledgling. Alice and I would be hard-pressed to defeat the Wolf, and we have experience and strength on our side. You have nothing. No combat skill. You can barely use your powers without injuring yourself. Greyback will skin you alive and pick his teeth with your bones."

"Yeah, sorry mate, but she's right," Ted said with an apologetic shrug. "I don't know if it's because he's a wizard, but the cub's bloody strong, stronger than he has any right to be, considering his relative youth."

"Then Alice can stay," Walden conceded, "but that's it. She can train Tony, and together they can-"

Evey sighed heavily. "Oh, for Merlin's sake. Walden, don't be jealous-"

"How can I not be? You purposefully let me believe that he was gay!"

"Mate, calm down. I'm not after your woman," Ted said soothingly.

"I don't need your input on this matter, mate," Walden snapped.

Tony observed the scene mutely. He wasn't sure what to think. He'd never imagined Walden to be the jealous type – but then again, he'd never known Walden with a proper girlfriend, let alone with a wife. In Tony's opinion, though, Evey shouldn't have lied – or omitted the truth, same difference. He wasn't about to say that out loud, however. It wasn't his business. In fact, it wasn't anyone's business but theirs, and they shouldn't be arguing in front of the others. "Um, guys… Maybe talk about it later?" He cocked his head toward Jeanne, who seemed to be enjoying all the drama.

Thankfully, everyone shut up for a moment. "How about this?" Tony went on. "Ted can patrol the area whenever he feels like it, because he's more likely to pick up on Greyback if he returns, and Alice can stay for a few days and show me how to fight without magic. And maybe they can both teach Evey more about her own powers." He paused, knowing what would come next.

"And what about me?" Jeanne said with a pout.

"You obviously already have some way to spy on us," Tony replied flatly. "Just keep doing that. If something happens, you'll know, and you can choose to help if you want."

"And by the time I get here, it'll be too late!" she countered. Tony noted that she didn't deny his accusation. "I should be the one training you. No offence to Alice, but I'm the superior fighter."

"No offence taken," Alice said with the merest trace of sarcasm. "It's true, but I'm the better teacher. I have this thing called patience – surely you must know the word, spelled likewise in French, dearest daughter, even if you've never experienced it yourself."

Oh, great. Were these two going to fight, too? "Jeanne, I appreciate your concern for me," he said softly. "I really do." His maker was a piece of work, but deep down, he didn't think that Jeanne was a bad person, and she genuinely cared for him, that much was certain, although Tony would prefer it if she cared for Walden and Evey, too. "I know that you're trying to help, even if it's not immediately obvious to a casual observer. But you have to trust me: we've got this situation well in hand. I wasn't joking about the spying – surveillance, whatever you call it." He'd always been good at rubbing people up the right way. Jeanne should be no different. "I don't approve, make no mistake, but I suppose that, given the circumstances, it might come in handy. You have my phone number, right? If you come across anything suspicious, give me a call, and I'll come to pick you up right away. Deal?" She made no reply. "Jeanne, I'm really trying to be accommodating here…"

"Accommodating?" she scoffed. "Flattery and half-hearted apologies will get you nowhere, boy." Apologies? He hadn't apologised. Hell, he had nothing to apologise for. She really was trying his patience. Maybe Alice could lend him some. "You want to pretend that you're not way in over your head, that you can handle that Wolfish monster on your own?" That was the opposite of what he'd said. He would gratefully accept any help from them. But Jeanne only heard what she wanted to hear, didn't she? "If it weren't for me, Greyback might have already recaptured the girl and killed you. If I hadn't burned down her place-"

"Whoa, wait a second," Walden cut in. "You did what?" Evey was gaping at Jeanne, struck speechless.

"Greyback had barely realised that she was gone that he already had her old house under constant watch!" Jeanne shouted. "He was waiting for you."

"And you think we'd be stupid enough to visit the one place Greyback knew where to find her? That we'd blithely walk into an obvious trap?" Tony shouted right back. "Did it even occur to you to give us a heads up before…" He trailed off. This was surreal. She was fucking insane. "What did you say, earlier? In French?"

She stubbornly glowered at him, arms crossed over her chest.

"She wanted Evey to commit suicide, hoping that Greyback would die in the process," Alice said quietly when no one else offered to translate. Jeanne threw her a look that seemed to convey both betrayal and annoyance. Evey exhaled slowly, but she didn't look surprised, as though she'd expected nothing less.

It was exactly what Evey had been trying to imply, before they were interrupted, and Tony would not tolerate it. It wasn't up for discussion, and it never would be. "Get out," Tony murmured. Jeanne scowled darkly, turning her one eye on him, but she didn't move. When she didn't comply, Tony addressed Evey. "Make her go away. This is your house. You know how." Walden would likely have done it already, if he could – but he was dead, and the dead, for some magical, unfathomable reason, didn't own anything. This was the Macnairs' ancestral home, but Evey was now its sole living owner, thanks to their marriage contract.

"Don't you fucking dare-!" Jeanne exclaimed.

Evey gave Walden a hesitant glance, and he nodded, their earlier quarrel apparently dismissed, at least for the time being. "Jeanne," she enunciated with care, doing her best to pronounce the name correctly, "I rescind your invitation into this house. You are no longer welcome here." It wouldn't get her out of the property, but at least she'd be unable to get inside the house.

"Espèce de sale garce!" That's all Jeanne had time to yell before she was pulled away from the kitchen table and into the corridor, dragged by an invisible force. The door banged close a moment later, with Jeanne still cursing.

"You shouldn't have done that," Alice said.

"Don't tell me that you agree with her!" Tony said harshly. "I don't want to banish you, too, Al."

She shook her head. "I don't agree, and I don't approve of what she did to Evey's childhood home. She didn't discuss it with me beforehand. But we should have talked this through, instead of-"

"She's beyond reasoning, Alice," Tony said. "She crossed a line – no, several lines today. I don't want her in my life. She's toxic. She's trying to ruin everything, and I won't allow that."

Alice opened her mouth, perhaps thinking that she could still somehow make excuses for Jeanne's horrible behaviour, but Tony spoke over her. "You have to stop coddling her. You're not doing her any favour. I know that she's your progeny, that you care for her, but she needs to vastly improve her attitude, before she sets everyone against her." Jeanne could probably still hear him, but knowing her, she wouldn't heed his warning – not before it was too late.