A peaceful woodland morning drifted through the open windows of the cabin as four sleepy eyed Ozians tromped down the staircase. Breakfast was set on the table, a heaping plate of warm ham and syrupy pancakes, but none of the morose werewolves bothered to touch it. Something was wrong. "What happened?" Fiyero asked.

"It's Embry," Jared replied in a blank monotone. "He's gonna change later today?"

"How do you know?" Elphaba asked, her voice uncharacteristically soft.

"You can just tell," Paul replied harshly. "Something about the way they look, the way they smell. It's impossible to miss." A deep sigh emanated from three coppery chests at the same time.

"So what's the plan for today?" the green witch wondered, unsure what protocol was for such occurrences.

"Jared and Paul will keep patrolling for Victoria," Sam decided. "But I just want you scaring her off, do not try and take her down without me."

"Yes your Majesty," Paul hissed, marching to the bathroom in a fit of surly anger.

"Elphaba and I will spend the day keeping an eye on Embry," the alpha continued, undaunted by Paul's temper.

"And the rest of us will wander around La Push," Galinda concluded with a deep sigh of boredom.

"Well if you want to help you could always brainstorm," Sam told the frustrated blonde. "You and Elphaba know more about Victoria than anyone else. Try to figure out what she's after."

"How the heck am I supposed to get inside the head of some sadistic vampire?" Galinda squeaked.

"She's an attractive female," Elphaba pointed out. "You may have more in common than you think."

***

"Cast that finding spell," Sam commanded as he dashed behind a nearby tree. Elphaba turned away, giving him privacy, as she began to chant. Moments later a huge black wolf was slavering anxiously over her shoulder. As the last syllables of a lost language trembled off the green girl's tongue a ball of greenish light appeared, jerking further into the woods.

"That will lead you to Embry," Elphaba told Sam. He turned; ready to follow the orb of illumination. "Wait!" the witch exclaimed. "The spell will wear off after awhile. Let me come with you." With an impatient growl the wolf bowed his head, inviting her to climb on. "Thanks."

Elphaba barely had time to knot her hands into Sam's fur before he was rocketing through the forest. Flying on a broomstick was wonderful in its own way but this speed was indescribable. Her hair was blown back into a river of onyx tangles. In no time at all the frightened sounds of a tortured animal reached them. Embry was howling himself into hoarseness, trying to escape the nightmare that had become real. Sam rolled his massive shoulders, dumping Elphaba onto the soft foliage. "What was that for?" she demanded, glaring. In response the enormous wolf cast her a look that clearly said 'stay here and be quiet'. Slowly he moved towards the sound of Embry's caterwauling.

Never having been one to take directions the witch stealthily followed, keeping a distance from Sam's retreating form. She knew he could smell her, and probably hear her too, but if the alpha detected her presence he didn't show it. Maybe Sam wanted her to see this firsthand, but from a distance. However before the green girl could set eyes on Embry she stopped. An odd, powerful energy seemed to hum through the woods, radiating from the direction of the newly changed werewolf. It felt very much like the magic that sang through her veins when she was emotional. Were werewolves just some kind of sorcery, some ancient spell gone awry? Maybe the ancient Quileutes possessed some sort of power that allowed the first werewolves to come into being.

This though of werewolves being linked with magic made Elphaba's head spin. It felt as if a great idea were teetering on the edge of her awareness; if she just reached out the brilliant thought would be hers. Leaning against the trunk of a tree the green girl puzzled over what her head had just considered. Powerful magic, werewolves, an ancient spell. Another of Embry's tortured cries reached her, accompanied by Sam's soothing whimpers. Elphaba groaned in frustration; wishing she could help. Like a bolt of lightning everything fit together. The green witch's face curled into a smile; the sort of smile that only resulted from a pleasing idea that also happened to be totally insane.

***

"Elphie this is suicidal," Galinda told her friend as she bounced anxiously on the edge of her bed. "Your magic is totally unpredictable; you could mutilate yourself beyond recondition. You could die!"

"I'm not going to die," the green girl snorted, still poring through her spellbook. "This will take a lot of careful calculating but it's definitely possible."

"What's going on?" Fiyero demanded. "Paul and Jared were laughing hysterically downstairs. They said you were going to blow yourself up trying to be tougher."

"Some people just can't comprehend exactly how powerful my magic is," Elphaba muttered, clearly irritated by the response of the two boys.

"Elphie is going to turn herself into a werewolf," Galinda harrumphed. "Or at least, she's going to try."

"I'm going to succeed!" Elphaba exclaimed indignantly. "And, to correct your earlier statement, I'm not going to turn myself into a werewolf. I'm going to perform a series of spells that should give me the same abilities as the rest of the pack. However, it will be easy reverse such a spell."

"Fiyero maybe you can talk some sense into her," Galinda pouted, marching out with her arms crossed.

"Fae…"

"Don't try to stop me Yero," the green girl snapped. "I've made up my mind."

"You can't stand the idea of someone else being more powerful than you," the Winkie sighed, flopping onto the bed beside her.

"Maybe."

"Well I'm not gonna try and stop you," Fiyero continued. She looked up at him in surprise. "I know you wouldn't ever risk hurting yourself because you know it would hurt me too." The Winkie's gaze smoldered into Elphaba's, reminding her how much he cared. For the first time in their relationship she lowered her eyes from his. That was the thing about Fiyero. One minute he was irritating the heck out of her with his idiotic behavior and the next he was wrecking her with the deep sensitivity his carefree words tried so hard to mask.

"I promise to be careful," Elphaba vowed, rolling over and pressing her lips against his.

***

"Miss Galinda?" Boq called quietly upon seeing the blonde sitting on the window bench, her shoulders hunched with sadness. "What's wrong?"

"Hasn't our relationship progressed past honorifics?" the blonde responded, her voice thick with tears. It was the first time the munchkin had ever seen Galinda hide her emotions; it was the first time he'd heard bitterness in her words. She sounded like Elphaba.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "What's wrong Galinda?" It felt so nice to say her name like that.

"Elphie doesn't listen to me," the blonde replied, sounding more like herself. "She thinks that, just because I'm a little silly sometimes, I can't be mature at all. I swear she treats me like a child; she acts like my concerns mean nothing. I'm worried about her and she just won't listen." Her words spiked with anger at the end.

"Tell her," Boq pressed, taking a seat behind the girl of his dreams. The pale sunlight of the forest dappled itself across her dazzling golden curls. "Elphaba's your best friend; just talk to her about it."

"How do I know she'll listen?"

"She'd be a fool not to listen to someone as intelligent as you."

"You really think I'm smart?"

"Absolutely."

Sorry that was kinda slow but the next chapter will probably come out sooner since I've finished writing 'Goodness'…