Evey tapped her wand delicately on the radio. "Dumbledore," she whispered. Nothing happened. "Moody. Black. Vance." Nothing. She cursed aloud. She'd talked to Lee about getting Walden and Tony on Potterwatch, but she'd forgotten to ask for the password. She tried first names and nicknames. "Alastor. Mad-Eye. Sirius. Padfoot. Snuffles. Emmeline. Albus. Percival. Brian." Did Dumbledore have other names? She couldn't remember them all. She exhaled sharply in frustration. "Come on, you stupid..."

Then she remembered. "Hedwig!"

"...very special guests tonight," Lee's voice came from the old radio. "Allow me to introduce Lestat and Dracula." There was a short pause. "Not everyone will get the Lestat reference, I guess, but it's not important. Hi, Lestat. Hi, Dracula. Thanks for joining us tonight."

"Evening, River," Tony said. "Thanks for having us. And for making me Lestat rather than Dracula."

Walden had agreed to accompany him, but reluctantly, because it would leave Evey alone at the manor for about two hours.

Or so he thought.

"The youngling is correct. I did not get that…Lestat reference," Malkoran said, looking at Evey.

"Lestat is a fictional vampire," she said dismissively. "From a Muggle book." Except it didn't matter that it was a Muggle book, not to Malkoran. He'd missed nearly a century of literature, among other things, secluded in his monastery in the mountains. Evey had caught him up on a lot of important stuff, like who was currently ruling over Great Britain or the moon landing, but she hadn't had time to fill him in about books. "Now shush, I want to listen."

It was bad enough that Mal was here, though she hadn't had the heart to send him away. He'd come calling because she hadn't taken his phone calls or answered his texts since Walden had returned, and he was worried about her. It was adorable, but Walden wouldn't see it that way. Especially since he had no idea that his wife knew the Wolves' Alpha personally. She would have to send Mal packing quickly after Potterwatch was over.

"You used to know Tom Riddle's cronies fairly well," Lee was saying. "Care to name a few names? Anyone we might have overlooked? Who claims to be a friend but is in fact working for the forces of evil?"

"I think that all Death Eaters are known at this point, River, but there are a few partisans who have managed to avoid detection quite successfully. Nathaniel Bayle, for one."

"Seriously?" Lee exclaimed, sounding genuinely surprised. "The bloke who founded that charity for dragon pox victims?"

"The very one. Bayle has been financing the dark side for decades, using money he gathered through his charity."

"Man, that's diabolical," Lee said.

"There are also foreigners," Tony went on. "The Mongolian Minister for Magic is one of the Dark Lord's most fervent partisans, though he wasn't Minister back in the day, of course. The fact that he is now makes it much worse. Many politicians all around the world have arisen thanks to the influence of British Death Eaters. Lucius Malfoy has many such connections, notably in Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Latvia and even Australia. Augustus Rookwood has an entire network of people devoted to recruiting abroad. Many American senators believe in the Dark Lord's cause."

"I never really considered how far abroad Riddle's influence had spread. This is...concerning."

"We should be concerned, River. If international war broke out, like it did in the forties after Grindelwald rose to power, the Dark Lord would have many powerful allies at his back."

"They won't do a thing until his rule over Great Britain is secured, though," Walden spoke for the first time.

"No, of course," Tony concurred. "But we should keep an eye on things. Just in case."

"I'm sure that the Wizarding Secret Services are already aware of the potential threat," Walden insisted. "We should focus on the very real threat here at home."

"Well, this is interesting," Lee said, probably to cut short the brothers' bickering. "What can you tell us about the Death Eaters we are most familiar with? The Lestranges? Fenrir Greyback?"

Malkoran grimaced at the use of the demon's name, as he always did. There was a short burst of static on the radio.

Evey, Walden and Tony had discussed Greyback the night before, at great length. How much should they reveal? Evey felt that the wizarding community had a right to know who Greyback really was. They had a right to know that fighting him was futile, that magic had no effect on him, that no one could outrun him. That being his target was a death sentence. And yet… She didn't want to betray the Wolves' trust. Well, Ted's and Mal's, in any case. Too many people knew as it was; it was a miracle that the entire wizarding world wasn't aware of the Wolves' existence already. Snape must have told Voldemort, certainly, but perhaps the Dark Lord thought it more profitable to keep that knowledge to himself, at least for the time being. Until he decided how best to use it to his advantage.

And now Mal was here, listening attentively. Evey bit her lip and prayed to Hades that Tony wouldn't make a blunder.

"The thing you must know about Greyback," Tony began, "is that he is protected against magic. It's not a rumour, it's a fact. Don't ask me how; I have no idea. That's just how it is. My advice to you, River, and to everyone who's listening… Avoid him at all costs. And if you can't, don't be a hero. Don't pick a fight with him. You'll lose. Just…surrender, and hope for the best."

"He has no weakness," Walden went on. "None at all."

"Uh," Lee said. "I was expecting a more…optimistic input, I'll admit."

"We're only being realistic," Tony said. "I can tell you everyone else's weaknesses, but Greyback is simply undefeatable."

"Alright, then. Let's list the other Death Eaters' weaknesses."

"First, just a reminder," Walden cut in, "that Greyback is not a Death Eater. He doesn't have the mark. I know it doesn't make much difference, but still, I thought I'd point it out."

"Moving on," Tony said. "Bellatrix Lestrange is terrifying, clinically insane, utterly unpredictable…but she has a fatal peanut allergy."

Lee chuckled. "You heard it first on Potterwatch, folks: remember to throw peanuts at Bellatrix if she's after you."

Tony didn't sound amused. "Also, she's cunning, but she lacks foresight. She doesn't plan ahead. She often underestimates her enemies, thanks to her overinflated ego."

"That's actually a common issue among Death Eaters," Walden added. "Rabastan is the same, and the Dark Lord himself."

"You'd think he would have learned by now, given how often Harry has thwarted his plans."

"I suppose we can count that as another weakness: he doesn't learn from his mistakes. Bellatrix's husband is different, though. Be warned: Rodolphus Lestrange is a cold-blooded, calculating arsehole. His weakness is that he doesn't believe in the Dark Lord's vision as much as the others do. He doesn't care about anything but himself. When he heard that the Dark Lord had been defeated by a baby, while his wife and brother fought off legions of Aurors at the site, hoping to at least recover their leader's body, Rodolphus tried to run abroad. I wouldn't call him a coward, but he is simply too egotistical to care about anything but his own little person."

"Might be interesting to note that Rabastan and Bellatrix have been having an affair for over twenty years," Walden said.

"She's sleeping with her husband's brother?!" Lee said. "Are you hearing this, folks? Who knew that the Death Eaters' lives were as fascinating as that of the characters of a soap opera?"

Malkoran shot Evey a puzzled look, but she gestured impatiently. Finding out what a soap opera was could wait.

Tony laughed. "To be fair, Rodolphus knows about it, and he doesn't care. He can't stand his brother. Or Bellatrix, for that matter."

"Can't really blame the guy," Lee said. "Was their marriage one of those old-fashioned, arranged ones between Pure-blood families?"

"Absolutely. Druella Black wanted to wed all of her daughters to wealthy, well-born wizards," Walden explained. "She mostly succeeded, with one notorious exception."

Andromeda Tonks, née Black, had rebelled against her mother's will and eloped with the Muggle-born wizard she'd fallen in love with, Ted Tonks, Nymphadora's father. "I take this opportunity to present my condolences to our beloved exception, if she's listening to us," Lee said. Ted had been murdered a few days ago by Snatchers, likely led by Greyback. Scabior had promised not to harm anyone if he could avoid it. "He will be missed, but never forgotten. Actually, let's make Ted our next password. Remember him, folks. His name was Edward Tonks."

"Evey?" Mal said softly. "Are you alright? Did you know this man?"

She wiped the tears out of her eyes, sniffling. "I didn't know him, but his daughter is a friend of mine. And she's pregnant. I'm just… It's sad to think that Ted will never meet his grandkid, you know?" Greyback had struck again, the bloody bastard. Death would be too kind a punishment for him, but he had to be stopped, one way or another. He was causing more damage as a Snatcher than ever before.

Tony went on listing weaknesses, but Evey didn't want to listen anymore. "I just want it all to be over," she whispered. "So many innocent people have died, and I'm guessing there will be more before the end of the war."

Malkoran sighed. "Now you know how I feel, and why I left. What you have endured this past few years, I have had to endure for millennia. Humans will never change. There will always be war, and suffering, and the good and innocent will always be the first to perish. There is no justice in this world. There never has been, and never will be."

Well, that was bleak. "Thanks for cheering me up," Evey said wryly.

He blinked. "I apologise. I…forget that you're human, sometimes. I consider you as one of our own. We are generally much more blasé about the unfairness of it all."

"You consider me as a Wolf?" she said. "Just because I can turn into a giant furry beast at will means I'm-"

"An immortal being," Malkoran corrected her. "It is quite clear that you are neither Wolf nor Ancient, but rather a unique hybrid specimen, an entirely new species, in truth."

"I am not immortal," Evey snapped. "There is no concrete evidence to support this."

"You regenerate as we do," Mal pointed out. "And the two men who bit you and transcended you are both immortal."

"That doesn't prove anything," she insisted. "And 'transcended' is a bit of an overstatement."

Mal shook his head. "I never liked the term when it was applied to me, but you are different. You have gained our best traits, all the while retaining your humanity. I pray that it can be preserved throughout the ages to come."

Evey massaged her temples. It was pointless arguing with him. He could be incredibly stubborn. If he was convinced that she was immortal, only her untimely death would prove him wrong, and Evey wasn't that invested in doing that. "Did you hear anything from…the Bloodmother?" Try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to call her by name. It felt…disrespectful, somehow, though she had no such issue with Malkoran.

"Not since I first met you. Ellessin refuses to talk to me until I do something about Greyback."

"Does she know that we're still in touch?" Evey wondered.

"No more than your husband does, I surmise."

Touché. "Look, don't take it personally. I just know that you two won't get along. Walden always feels threatened by pretty men, though I've never given him a reason to be jealous." None that she knew of, anyway.

Mal frowned. What part of that simple sentence could possibly give him trouble? "'Pretty'?" he repeated slowly. "You think that I am…pretty?"

Evey rolled her eyes. Were all men blind to their own attractiveness? Walden was exactly the same. "Is it the word itself that you're struggling with, or the fact that you're pretty? Is 'pretty' not manly enough, perhaps? Do you prefer 'handsome'? 'Suave'?"

Hesitantly, Mal pointed to his left cheek, which was marred by four laceration marks, given to him by the Bloodmother.

Evey laughed out loud. "Obviously, you haven't met Walden. And hopefully you never will," she added more seriously. Just imagining the scene was making her nervous. And a bit guilty, admittedly. After all, she'd promised Walden that there would be no more secrets between them. The fact that she'd thought him dead for months should not change that.

And yet.

"I wonder if Elle still thinks that I'm…good-looking," Mal said absently.

Gods, but he was smitten. He hadn't seen her in millennia, but clearly she had never left his mind. Evey wasn't sure if it was romantic or creepy.

Would she still love Walden thousands of years from now, long after he passed?

Well, that was a dumb question, she chided herself. She wouldn't be alive to know the answer. She was not immortal. In fact, as a true vampire, Walden was much more likely to outlive her.

"What exactly are you after?" she asked Malkoran. "I mean… It's been so fucking long, mate. Is it forgiveness you want? Does it really matter at this point? Most people would have moved on by now, you know. Even immortal people, I'd wager."

"And yet Elle still resents me. She loathes me, even after such a…fucking long time."

Evey couldn't help but smile. He was so cute when he tried to cuss. Then again, it was possible that he was not aware of it being an expletive, and a bad one at that. She had no idea when fuck had become so popular.

"It means that she cares about me, deep down, does it not?" Mal went on. "That there is indeed a way for me to obtain her forgiveness, and then reconquer her heart."

"Well, sure, but… Why is it so important to you? I know that immortal ladies don't exactly grow on trees, but obsessing over the Bloodmother is…unhealthy, to say the least. You could have any woman you want, Mal."

"I do not want any woman. Ellessin is my soulmate. She is, and always has been, my one and only. I could not possibly be with anyone else."

It took Evey's brain a while to process this, and what it implied. Her eyes widened. "You… Um, Mal, you haven't actually been…abstinent for the past six or so millennia, have you?" Give or take a couple of centuries. Mal himself had no idea when he'd been born. Calendars didn't exist, back then.

"Evidently I have. My lust is what caused me to lose my beloved, what led to my doom. I had to resist my primal urges, in the hope that I might someday regain my place at Elle's side. There has been no one else." Every time he mentioned the Bloodmother, Malkoran became incredibly intense – more so than usual, that was. His silvery eyes glittered with passion.

Bloody hell. He couldn't be serious! Evey opened her mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say. She closed her mouth and thought it over for a moment. "So…" she said eventually, "the Bloodmother is the only woman you've ever, um…." She felt her cheeks heat up. What word to use? Did he know that fuck could be used to mean… Merlin, why was she even asking?

"Not exactly," Mal said. Evey was grateful that she didn't have to spell it out for him, but she was already regretting bringing it up. "Before I knew Elle, I had numerous sex slaves to satisfy my needs." That delivered in a perfectly even tone. "But I never used them again after Elle joined our team. I didn't need to."

Sex slaves.

I never used them again after…

Evey realised that she was gaping, but couldn't quite stop.

Until then, Mal's old-fashioned manners and way of thinking had been rather endearing, but Evey was beginning to understand that 'old-fashioned' was not the right word. He was backward. He was practically a caveman, in some ways.

"It was a different time," Mal said defensively when he caught her staring. "Everyone had slaves, back then," he muttered. "Everyone who mattered, anyway. The word 'slave' had not even been invented yet. No one thought about them as such. They were just…there. Always had been. Just like the sky and the earth."

"Okay, okay, no need to write an essay about it. I get it. It was another age." She still felt uncomfortable knowing that this man, whom she considered as a friend, had actually owned slaves and raped them, but… Well. There was no excuse, but hopefully he understood how dreadful it was and he felt incredibly guilty about it. "Let's just…never mention this again." Better change the subject. "When you apologised to the Bloodmother, are you quite sure that you did it properly?"

"Apologised?"

Evey chortled, then realised that he wasn't joking. To be fair, he rarely was. Humour wasn't exactly part of the Malkoran package. "I mean, you did apologise for cheating on her…right?" Mal remained silent. Worse, he looked vaguely confused, as though he couldn't quite make sense of the words coming out of her mouth. "Mal. You said you wanted her forgiveness. How in Hades can you hope to be forgiven, if you didn't even bother to apologise? What even happened, after she caught you in bed with that tramp?"

Actually, that wasn't fair. For all Evey knew, the poor girl had been yet another sex slave, and therefore even more of a victim in this situation than the Bloodmother.

Mal didn't comment on her choice of word, though. "I tried to explain… Elle would not let me talk. And then we discovered that she could hurt me, and it was quite a shock to both of us, and…and then she flew away. I never saw her again until she came looking for me last year."

"You tried to explain?" Evey repeated forcefully. "What the fuck was there to explain? You screwed up. Period." She took a deep breath. Why was she getting mad at him? Female solidarity? Projecting her own (totally unwarranted) insecurities? She had no idea. But honestly… "Did you even say 'sorry' at any point?"

Malkoran was obviously taken aback by her outburst. "I… You know, back then…"

"Oh, pish posh! Look, I can accept that you had slaves – though I don't condone it, mind – but are you seriously going to tell me that apologising wasn't a thing back then?" She smirked. "That you didn't have a word for it?"

It dawned on Evey that, until then, she had more or less sided with Malkoran regarding his one-time fling. It had happened ages ago, he must have tried very hard to express his remorse and atone for his stupidity, and he obviously worshipped the ground the Bloodmother walked on, but the Bloodmother was simply too prideful and stubborn to listen to reason. That had been her reasoning. Now, however… "Now I get why she hates your guts." Mal scowled at the expression, but Evey assumed that he got the gist of it. "I can't believe that you never did anything about it! You've had literal ages to come up with a plan to smooth things over and win her back. Or a thousand plans! What the hell were you waiting for? How is she supposed to know that you care about her, if you never demonstrated it in any way?"

She didn't understand how he could be so dense about it; he'd proved time and again that he was far from stupid.

And yet.

"What were you so afraid of? Without her in it, your life is not worth living, you said so yourself. But it's entirely your fault that she's not a part of it. It's like…it's like you want to be miserable. Like you're punishing yourself, relentlessly, continuously, for no damn reason. It's…" Evey gestured helplessly and almost knocked over her cup of tea. She was so focused on her words that she could barely coordinate her movements. "It's pathetic. It's no wonder she despises you, Mal. All she remembers is the tosser who broke her heart. You have done nothing to make her see the real you. The barbarian she fell in love with, but who hopefully evolved somewhat over the years, gaining in maturity and humility and…" She paused to catch her breath, then exhaled a wry chuckle. "You pose as a victim, but can you even imagine how she must feel?" She didn't wait for a response. "And yet you're right. Somehow, she still loves you. It's clear from the way she behaves around you – like she wants to smack you and kiss you at the same time."

"But what if she doesn't love me? What if I try my best to make amends, and she still rejects me?"

Rejection. That's what terrified this powerful immortal werewolf? "Well, boohoo. To tell you the truth, I can't think of a reason why she ought to forgive you. You probably don't deserve it. But fear not! You could always find someone else to be a jerk to," Evey added with mock optimism. Sarcasm didn't sit well with the Wolf, but she couldn't help it.

Mal was looking at her with an air of betrayal, and he was obviously shocked by her directness.

Evey was quite shocked as well. She had no idea where all of this came from. She vaguely felt that she ought to feel embarrassed, but oddly, she didn't. At that moment, she felt – for some wild, unexplainable reason – that it was her righteous purpose in life to make Malkoran see just how entitled and wrong he was.

"She swore she would kill me, if she ever saw me again," he said in a low voice. There was no trace of accusation, though he did sound faintly aggravated. "I thought it best to…wait for her to come back of her own volition, after she calmed down. I always believed she would return to me, eventually."

"Well, she didn't, did she?" Evey was right about one thing, at least: the Bloodmother was prideful and stubborn. And rightly so, in this instance. Malkoran should have sought her out and grovelled at her feet in apology. 'After she calmed down', seriously. Like she was some hysterical maniac who'd gone berserk for no reason.

"I'm sorry if I spoke out of turn," Evey said more calmly, "but I'm very confused right now," she admitted. "I just don't follow your reasoning at all. You expect forgiveness from the Bloodmother, but you don't have the balls to do what's necessary to obtain it, do you?"

"Balls?"

Ugh, for real? "The nerve. The courage."

"I don't understand. I have told her several times that I would do anything to have her back, to regain her trust. She wants Greyback, but she won't give me what I want, provided that I can deliver. I will accept either reward: death, or her love. I wish she would just tell me, in no unequivocal manner-"

"I have just told you what she wants!" Evey exclaimed. Merlin, was he deaf? Had he been listening at all? "She wants a bloody apology. She wants you to admit that you were a cheating bastard and it was wrong and you're unworthy of her love, but that you will do anything to earn her trust again. And to be a better man." She sighed. "She wants you to submit to her, you dumb Alpha."

Malkoran was struck speechless. Perhaps they weren't close enough for Evey to talk to him like that, but it was too late. Besides, he'd asked for her opinion. She was only being truthful. Painfully so.

In the silence that followed, Evey suddenly realised that the radio had gone quiet.

Shit. Walden will be here any moment.

Biting her lip anxiously, she stood up. "Mal, you need to leave."

"Are you cross with me?" He rose hesitantly, palms up. "Did I say something to offend-"

"No!" She shepherded him toward the back door, walking quickly. She stopped on the porch. "Look, your love life is none of my business, I'm just trying to open your eyes, okay? Take my advice or leave it, I don't care. I won't think less of you if you choose to ignore my twenty-year-old wisdom. But my husband is coming home soon, and I need you to fucking leave. Now. Please."

"Oh. Yes, of course. I, um, I will attempt to contact Elle and…apologise…" He seemed to struggle with all those syllables.

It was going to be a disaster.

But that wasn't Evey's problem. "Yeah, great. You do that, mate. Good luck. Try not to get mutilated again."

Malkoran blinked.

"I'm kidding, burn you." Well, she was half-kidding. He seemed perfectly capable of unwillingly angering the Bloodmother enough to receive a matching set of scars on the right cheek. Evey could only hope that she would go for the cheek rather than the throat. "Now go. Off with you!"

He turned around, head bowed. If he'd been a dog, his tail would have been tucked between his legs.

Evey felt a sudden twinge of guilt. "Thanks for checking in on me, Mal," she said softly as he took a step toward the woods. "Sorry I had you worried. I promise I'll text you if anything worthwhile happens. Just…don't call me, okay? Unless there's an emergency. Like, a life-or-death sort of emergency, not to ask me what you should tell the Bloodmother to get her heart beating again," she clarified.

Malkoran looked over his shoulder and gave her a wan smile. That was a rare occurrence. In truth, Evey wasn't certain that she'd ever seen him smile before. "Thank you for your…brutal honesty. You may very well turn out to be the one I've been waiting for, just as I hoped when I first met you."

Before Evey could question him about that cryptic remark, he turned into a gigantic brown wolf and took off at a run on all fours.