Greetings, my lovelies! We're back with the third and last part of Blake's story. Enjoy!

"Okay," Nora cut in. "Flynt, Neon, can I hug you guys right now?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Flynt muttered.

"Sure!" Neon chirped at the same time, holding out an arm, but not leaving Blake's side. She giggled when Nora immediately knelt down and hugged her, not even caring about her nudity. "I like these humans, Flynt! I can see why Blake wanted to get back to them so badly."

"I wasn't exactly expecting this kind of welcome," Blake reminded her. "Remember, I was still of the mindset that being a werewolf meant being damned. I just wanted to get to them so they could kill me."

Flynt shook his head. "You were probably raised on these beliefs, correct? What a terrible thing to teach children."

"Hey!" Weiss snapped. "We're not all to blame! The werewolf raids don't exactly disprove the Church teachings. And this Adam does a pretty good job of brainwashing his pack."

Flynt glared at her for a moment before his shoulders slumped. "Well, you're not wrong," he sighed.

"I think we can agree that there is prejudice on both sides," Pyrrha said calmly. "Recognizing that is the first step toward making peace."

"If only that was the hardest part," Jaune groaned. "The next step is getting everyone else to recognize it."

Pyrrha touched his shoulder with a comforting smile. "One thing at a time, my friend." She looked back at Blake. "So, what happened next? Adam didn't hurt you, did he?"

"He did," Blake said, looking at her hands. "He didn't force himself on me after trying that one time, but he did hurt me."

"With what you've said about him so far, I'm honestly surprised that he didn't go further," Weiss said, touching Blake's arm. "He sounds like a complete monster."

"He didn't make that choice out of mercy," Blake growled, eyes flashing as she thought back. "He was convinced that he had me trapped and had all the time in the world. He wanted to get me to a point where I went to him and begged him."

Yang gagged a little, her eyes flashing red. "That's it. He's a dead man if I ever see him."

Ren looked carefully at Blake. "Are you sure you're fine to keep telling this story?"

Blake nodded. "Yeah. Might as well finish it, right?"

….

Flynt and Neon didn't leave Blake's side for the rest of the night. They warded off any curious packmates and forced the whelp to eat some meat from the hunt. They guessed, correctly it turned out, that Adam wouldn't be very generous with food when morning came.

When the sun rose and the wolves turned back into their daytime forms, Adam called an impromptu meeting in the denning area. He stood in the center of the area, a coil of old rope at his feet.

"Last night, a new whelp, who was taken into this pack out of pure charity, decided to throw our gift aside." He turned toward Blake, eyes blazing. "This whelp tried to flee to the border, where many of our own wolves were fighting against human Huntsmen. Three of them were lost, and we shall have funeral services for them tonight. Despite the kindness we have shown her, she was ready to throw herself to the Huntsmen and endanger her pack in the process."

There were several glares and growls in Blake's direction. Thankfully, Flynt and Neon remained on either side of her, silently challenging anyone to approach.

Adam looked down at Blake, who refused to meet his gaze. Sneering, he picked up the rope. "The hateful Church of the humans has taught her that we are nothing but animals. Savage dogs that need to be put down. If she is so determined to see werewolves as such, so be it." He walked over and looped the rope around her neck. "Don't forget, my darling," he whispered. "You are as much a savage dog as we are. When you are ready to show some gratitude for the life you have been given, and swear to not flee anymore, this rope will come off." He smiled. "Maybe then, you'll understand the gift I tried offering last night."

"I wouldn't hold your breath," Blake muttered, narrowing her eyes at him as the rope tightened.

Adam's eyes flashed. "Also, don't think of trying to hang yourself with this. I intend to keep you guarded at all hours." He glanced at Flynt and Neon. "And not by these two. I'll speak to you about your insubordination later on."

Flynt and Neon both bowed their heads, saying nothing. There was little they could do with the entire pack watching them.

Blake was silent as she was dragged to the edge of the denning area and tied to a tree. She stared into space as Adam once again reminded her of what she would gain if she simply pushed her pride away and went to him. The only time she spoke was a few hours later, when she asked the guard to take her somewhere else to relieve herself. Thankfully, he untied the rope from the tree and allowed her to go into the woods alone.

She didn't go far, however, knowing that pursuit would be swift if she tried anything. She had to bide her time. She had to wait until one of the guards grew lazy or until something else could happen.

That night, the pack transformed into their wolf forms. Blake refused.

Adam came to her that night and growled sharply. She knew he was commanding her to accept the moon and turn into a beast. When she only glared silently at him, he lashed out with his claws, leaving three thin, painful scratches on her arm. He huffed before walking away, presumably to lead a hunt.

Her guard left halfway through the night to switch with another. She paid close attention. If they rotated on a schedule, there could be a window for her to get away. Her stomach grumbled, but she paid it no mind.

The following morning, Neon walked by the tree, discreetly slipping Blake a bit of meat. Blake ate it quickly, noticing the guard's nose twitching. If he knew, he didn't say or do anything, for which she was grateful.

Adam walked by the tree once, but Blake refused to look at him. She suspected that she'd suffer for that when night came again.

Finally, around noon, Flynt came over. The guard said nothing.

"He was with my hunting group that night," Flynt explained quietly. "He saw what Adam was trying to do to you."

"I need to leave this place," Blake begged, her ears twitching. A tear trickled down her cheek, the first sign of emotion she had shown since the rope had first been tied. "Why didn't you kill me when I asked you to?"

"I know the Church says bad things about us, but you don't have to die just because you're a werewolf," Flynt insisted. "Neon and I have been thinking of leaving for some time now, ever since we realized how often Adam was using the alpha stare on everyone. You can join us, if you want."

"Alpha stare?"

"It's an ability that alphas have. They can control other people's minds to an extent by looking them in the eye."

Blake paled. So, that's what he did that night! "If you leave, I want to come with you."

After that, she'd decide whether she still wanted the Huntsmen to kill her. If there were more werewolves who were kind and sympathetic like Neon and Flynt, maybe they weren't doomed by the Maidens after all. Though, they aren't the only ones. She looked toward the guard, who could probably hear every word being spoken, but was pretending not to.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Blake asked.

"Just eat whatever you're given, drink when you can, and keep your eyes open," Flynt told her. "We'll figure out the best time to run over the next few days. Don't worry. With luck, we'll be out before the mating season ends."

Blake thought of Adam's crushing weight on her back and shivered. He wouldn't wait forever for her to give in. "I hope you're right."

A few days passed, during which Blake got used to a schedule of staring into space, licking the dew off of leaves, and talking discreetly with Flynt or Neon. Each night, she endured another scratch from Adam when she refused to transform.

Then, four nights after the full moon, news came from the border of another werewolf hunt and the deaths of several wolves at the northern border. Blake wouldn't have thought anything of it, but one of the survivors came back carrying a scrap of cloth in his paw. Several other patrols had similar items. Apparently, the Huntsmen had left them on the border.

None of the wolves knew their meaning, but Blake caught a glimpse of one of them. It took every ounce of self-control she had to keep from smiling or laughing in relief at what she saw: Printed on a dirty, white scrap of cloth was a detailed drawing of a snowflake. It was the symbol Weiss had given herself during those simple, early days.

She didn't dare to hope, but a certain lightness entered her chest anyway. Whether her friends were looking for her or not, these symbols had to be a sign. Maybe she'd get out. Maybe she'd be able to die at the hands of her friends, after all.

No, she reminded herself. You promised Neon and Flynt that you'd try living as a werewolf once you got out. Her ears drooped as she realized that, whether she escaped or not, she wouldn't be able to approach her friends.

She'd never see them again.

…

"Obviously, that wasn't true," Blake finished, leaning back against the withered tree. "There's not much else to tell. Two nights later, you guys made that distraction and Sun and Ren rescued me."

"It's funny that you came when you did," Flynt commented. "Neon and I were just going to Blake to untie her. We figured that leaving during the fight you had started at the border was as good of an idea as any."

"Good thing the guard was one of the lazy ones," Neon added. "I knocked him out easily. He wasn't even standing right by the tree!"

"They tend to get lazier at night," Flynt said with a shrug. "They think their wolf forms will allow them to detect danger without really paying attention. Amateurs. Even betas have to be alert."

Yang eyed Blake's arms, glaring at the multitudinous scratches that were there. "That creep."

Blake hugged Yang, leaning into the comforting warmth of her best friend. "I'm glad that's over, but I'm sure he'll come after me."

"Not if I can help it!" Pyrrha declared. "You're a friend and packmate. Not only will I defend you, but so will Cinder and the others." She pushed aside thoughts of how reluctant Cinder had been to take Blake in. Instead of dwelling on her worries, she turned to Flynt, Neon, and Perry. "So, what will the three of you do?"

"We've decided to stay here for the time being," Flynt said. "We'll scout around and see about finding a new territory elsewhere. Maybe another pack will take us in. We should probably leave the Vale area, though. Cinder likely won't want three of Adam's wolves in her ranks, and Adam will kill us if he finds us."

"Even me," Perry said mournfully. "Even though I didn't do anything wrong. Why didn't I see how horrible he was?"

"Mental conditioning, and the alpha stare," Flynt said. "Don't worry, though. You're free now."

"Just promise to say goodbye before you leave," Blake said with a slight smile. "We've been through a lot, after all."

Neon squeezed Blake's arm, her cat tail twitching happily. "Don't worry, Blake. We won't leave without letting you know."

"Also, do you mind if I leave the books with you? Cinder will probably ask questions if she sees them."

"Sure!"

Jaune watched Blake and the others for a moment before turning to Pyrrha, who was already looking at him. "So, are things okay in the pack? You mentioned that Cinder's been a bit more pushy with Ruby."

Pyrrha sighed. "Yes. I know that she wants all of the alphas in the pack to be on her side, but I can't help but feel that she's isolating me. She was never like this when it was confirmed that I was an alpha."

"Do you think it's because of that whole 'pack leader destiny' thing?"

"I don't want to think so," Pyrrha said. "I want to think that Cinder is above worrying about such things, but I honestly don't know."

"At least you have Blake to look after, now," Jaune pointed out, hoping to cheer her up.

Pyrrha shook her head. "Because Blake was with Adam's pack, Cinder has been keeping a very close eye on her. I was lucky to get her out here today." She looked sadly at Jaune. "Honestly, I don't know if we'll be able to continue meeting every day."

"Well, we probably couldn't have kept meeting every day regardless," Ren said, sitting down on Jaune's other side. "It's impractical. We could meet every few days, though. We just need to figure out a good place to leave notes."

At this, Pyrrha shifted uncomfortably. "I wouldn't be able to do that. I never learned how to read." In response to the shocked looks directed at her, she bristled. "I was born a werewolf. Human writing was never something I had to know."

Jaune's face flushed. "You're right. Sorry. I guess we take it for granted."

"No need to apologize," Pyrrha said quickly, not liking the guilty expression on Jaune's face. "I understand."

"Ruby and Blake can read any notes we leave," Ren said. "And, if you're the one at the drop area, you can just make marks on a stone or leaf to show how many days away we can meet, and whether it's during the day or night. Unless we're told otherwise, we'll assume that we meet here by the tree. That's easy enough."

The group continued to talk for a while longer, but was forced to end their meeting as the sun started to sink lower. Pyrrha retrieved some rabbits for the humans to take back.

"One of these days, I'll get you a deer or something," Jaune promised. "I'm starting to feel like a moocher here."

Pyrrha laughed. "Sadly, Cinder would detect your human scent on it immediately. I honestly don't mind helping."

"Well, thanks again. Hopefully, we can see you tomorrow and talk more about where we can exchange notes."

"You take care of yourself, Blake," Yang said, hugging her friend one more time. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"I'll keep that in mind," Blake said dryly, rolling her eyes as she hugged back. "Don't do anything reckless."

After everyone had said goodbye, the humans and werewolves parted ways once again. They weren't sure what was going to come next, but after what they had gone through rescuing Blake, it would probably be nothing they couldn't handle!

So, Volume 4 starts in less than a month. I'm both excited and apprehensive. On one hand, I really want to know what happens to my babies next. On the other, Volume 4 means leaving denial-land and being reminded every week that Pyrrha is freaking dead! Thank Dust for AUs, right? Seeing more canon stuff will also probably give more fuel to my predictions, so you'll likely see more updates to "The Fate of Remnant." On another note, how about that new released artwork, huh? It's nice to see Yang wearing her gauntlet and looking badass. I'm also glad that she doesn't seem to have a robot arm yet. I really want to see her work through her handicap. It'll be good for her character.

Until next Friday, praise Monty and peace out!