I'm not a hyper-sexual person. I know my clothes from years past may have led people- especially guys- to think otherwise. But, in all honesty, I crave romance and a true love more than anything in the world. That's why I can't even believe it myself when I find myself coolly parking on a cliff near the wishing well in the woods of Storybrooke, with every intention of seducing Belle. I can barely hear what she's saying, even though I want to listen because I know she's funny and smart and charming, because all I can think about is how to make the first move. It's not me, it's the wolf. I know, I know more than anything in the world that Belle is not truly fair game. She doesn't have her memories back. In her heart of hearts, she might still love Mister Gold. I can't, in good conscience, lead her astray from making a real choice. But it's not me staring through my eyes right now. The wolf is very much in control.

"So you mentioned regression therapy with Archie. How's that going?" I ask her, watching the way the lace on her collar rises and falls with her breath.

"It's sort of mad." Belle puts the flask up to her lips I brought along in my hastily thrown together "picnic basket"- more like a to-go bag full of day-old brownies. "Archie keeps leading me back to the thing I want most, the thing I miss most, and then this image hits me-" she turns in the seat to face me a little more.

"Of what?" I ask.

"A beast." She lowers her chin and the fear in her voice wakes me. I'm stung. Does she mean…does she mean Mister Gold?

"A beast?" I whisper.

"This- this huge wolf creature." Her eyes look faraway. "It's like a wolf but I've seen wolves and this is much bigger and-" she shudders. "It's terrifying. Glowing red eyes. It's running in the forest but its not chasing me. Its running away from me. But I want it to chase me. I call for it to come back. That's what I keep seeing again and again. Archie wakes me up when I start crying."

My heart almost stops. The wolf's cool, suave hunger is trounced by the revelation, which is making me tremble in my seat. I look out at the woods remembering a similar night Belle and I had had here the last full moon. I push the thoughts away and reach for the shift knob. Before I can start blubbering in front of her like a total idiot I grab for the keys and shift us out of park. "You know what, there's this sort of cool part of the pier we could check out, let's get out of here-"

She looks up at me, suprised. "Do we have to? This is sort of nice."

"Belle-" What can I tell her that won't break her mind in two? She's forgotten everything about fairy tale land. She's forgotten monsters are real, let alone that she went on a few dates with one before Gold messed her life up, again. Before, when we came here almost a month ago, when I changed into a werewolf in front of her and then ran away when she screamed- at least I knew she had some reference point for something that crazy.

"This is really nice." She says, and puts her hand on mine, and leans forward and our lips touch, her hand moving through my hair.

Okay wolf, your turn.

When I drop Belle off at her apartment in the early morning she clings to me and makes me promise to come back in the middle of the day, which I do gladly, unable to keep from grinning like an idiot. I'd park and go up right now and spend the rest of the day listening for her laugh but I promised Granny I'd check in this morning and see if needs any help since she's doing the morning shift alone. Even though I've had no sleep I'm fairly dancing up the steps into Granny's, where I can see a couple customers already at the counter with coffee. And suddenly a cane flies between me and the doorway. I turn to see the hard dark eyes of Mr. Gold.

"Good morning Red." His voice is soft, it's a power thing: he makes the whole room stop talking so people can hear him. Because people always need to hear what he's saying.

"Good morning Gold." There's a strong possibility I have several hickies on my neck.

"I've learned from my talks with Archie that you quite charitably gave Belle a job here at the diner. She's doing well I trust?"

"There was nothing charitable about it. We needed the help and she's a great worker."

"Is it typical for you to drop all your workers off early in the morning?" he cocks his head, his joyless, bloodless smile-that's-not-a-smile fixed on his face.

"Only the ones I'm having sex with." The wolf snaps at him. His eyes flicker and he takes a step back. "That's really cute that you follow Belle around, and not at all something a dirty old man does."

"This 'dirty old man' is paying her hospital bills. Her therapy bills. Her rent. Because she's mine, dearie. My true love. Do you understand? End it. Unless you want to see her out in the street."

"So you'd let your True Love sleep in the street?" I laugh, putting my hand on my hip. "She'll always have a place with me. Like she did before she lost her memory, remember?"

"Oh, I remember." his eyes glitter and he squeezes his hand into a fist. In the very center of my bones, I feel magic seize me and hold me. My throat constricts, my guts are in the palm of his hand. I can feel the heat of my body drop and my muscles seize. It's a powerless feeling. It's a terrifying feeling. I stare at him through the pain, willing myself not to cry out. "I alone remember all the past and I alone see the future and I see I'll be wearing a wolfskin coat next week if you don't stay the hell away from her."

His hand drops to his side and all the pain vanishes. I'm left clutching the banister and watching him limp down the stairs to the sidewalk. I want to call some last jeer at him but I can't, my throat is still closed. I stagger into Granny's and Granny gives me a look.

"Are you okay? Red- what's the matter?"

"I'm fine-" I manage. "Let me just sit for a sec?"

"Is it because of the full moon?" she whispers. Please, everybody, stop asking me that. I shake my head and she brings me over a cup of tea as I lean into the booth at the window. Which gives me the perfect perspective to see Snow marching up the street, her hands in fists, her expression dark. This day just keeps getting better.

"Gran, I'm going to go up to my room. Call me down if you need anything." I say, heading for the back exit. She gives me a wave. "I've got it under control sweetie, just get some sleep." She calls after me.

I don't get to my room before the knock at the door. Stupidly, I must have left it unlocked because I hear Snow call up the stairs: "Red!? Red!"

No rest for the wicked. I turn on the stairs and tip toe down. Snow's face is puffy like she's been crying.

"How long have you known?" she asks when I stand across from her in the early morning light that filters through Granny's front window.

"Snow…"

"How long have you been keeping this from me?" Snow's eyes are filling with tears. When I don't answer she continues, her voice getting shrill like it does when she's really hurt. The sound of it wounds me."Emma needs protecting. Regina is out there trying to get into her head and turn her against me for whatever scheme she has cooked up next and you think Emma needs to just handle that on her own?! How could you Red? How could you not tell me?!"

"Tell you what?" I say flatly. "That they're having drinks together at the diner? It didn't look like Regina was using any of her magic powers to make Emma seek her out night after night after night." Stop it wolf. This is not the person to be mean to. I feel suddenly awful as Snow covers her face with her hands. "Look I wanted Emma to tell you at her own pace, in her own way. I thought she deserved that much."

"I wish you had the same respect for what I confide in you, Red. Emma took off this morning when I refused to tell her about the beanstalks. She's taken Henry and gone over to Regina's house."

"Why don't you just tell her?!" I feel like I'm about to pull my own hair out.

"Because she wouldn't agree to it! You know she wouldn't agree to it. She thinks of this hellhole as her land, not the place she was born. She'd rather stay here and play house with a sociopath—" Snow dashes tears from her eyes.

"It sounds like the Enchanted Forest is the hellhole." I snap. "Emma told me last night the ogres are back? Is that true?"

Snow looks up at me, her chin quivering but set. I feel myself getting angrier and continue, my voice shaking. "If those ogres are back the first thing you should have done was call a town meeting and tell everyone we cannot go home. If those ogres are back, I'll personally burn those beanstalks right now myself because I am not going to go through another ogre war, Snow. There's no one here who would."

"Why do I have no credibility with you anymore?" Snow whispers. "We used to be a team. You would have faced down anything for me. Now you're going to give up our land because you don't have the courage to fight?"

There goes control. "It's not our land anymore!" I scream. "This is our land. This place has no magic. Do you realize how incredible that is? How freeing that is!? Do you understand what it really means when no one gets to have magic? It means you can't be bullied, or coerced or controlled or killed by the people who do. We shouldn't be fighting to get back to the Enchanted Forest. We should be fighting to get the last bit of magic out of Storybrooke so we can all be who we really are. Without the Blue Fairy playing god- or Mr. Gold playing with us all like chess pieces!"

Snow looks at me for a long, long time. I can see my hickey is registering with her.

"This is about Belle, isn't it?"