XKaterinaNightingaleX: Thank you! And I will remain eternally grateful! Here is the next chapter! And thanks so much for the kind words. Enjoy :P

ooo a jellybean: Thanks for the welcome back, and thanks for sticking around! Ella didn't actually fully understand what it was that was wrong with this hunt, she just kind of sensed it was a bad idea. Because she couldn't remember the episode, however, she wasn't able to determine whether it was really as bad as she thought or if it was just some weird suspicion. Although werewolves are half human, they are still supernatural creatures, therefore she was cured by it's attack. And just to clarify: the feather isn't actually to go in between worlds, but to travel within the world she's already in. Thanks so much for stopping by! I always appreciate your input and feedback!

Samantha P: Thank you! Unfortunately I have a full time job now, and summer isn't really going to benefit me that much :(

Guest: Hahah! Thank youuu! I appreciate new readers so much! Enjoy the story!

Penguin Mofo: Hah! Thank you so much! It really means a lot to me to hear what people enjoy about the story that I can keep them happy! Thanks again for stopping by, I love the feedback!

You guys are total bros! Thanks for sticking around old readers! And thank you to the new readers for giving this story a chance! Y'all are awesome.

30

Almost like I wasn't even there, she pounced on Dave, making him hit the back of his head against the hardwood floors.

"Hey!" I yelled trying to distract her.

With a quick flash of those unmistakable glassy green eyes, she was out the window, and other than Kurt's mutilated body, it was like she had never been there at all.

Dave got up and touched his head to make sure it wasn't bleeding.

"Are you okay?" I asked tiptoeing to get a look at the back of his head. I wasn't tall enough to get a good view.

"I'm fine. This situation is another story."

"We'll figure it out." I assured him.

"Shit." Dave said rubbing his hands over his face, proceeding to leave a very angry message on Zach's cell phone about his inability to keep an eye on the one thing he had to keep an eye on.

Zach called him back almost immediately, but Dave was still displeased.

"I thought you were dead!" Dave hollered through the phone. He paused. "You had one job, Zachie, and now that crazy chick killed her ex boyfriend." Again he paused and I could hear the slight muffled voice of Zach, trying to explain how it was impossible that she was responsible. "Did you have your eyes on her the entire night?... Then?!" Another pause. "Go take care of it."

He hung up shaking his head, and tucked his phone back.

"How did he not notice she left?" I asked.

"She was behind closed doors." Dave explained. "He needs an hour before we come storming in."

We gave him much less. In fact, we gave him closer to about a half an hour than a full hour, but by the time we got there, Madison was tied up and in the other room.

"I've got silver bullets in the car." Dave explained. "I'm going to run and get them, so try to make sure she doesn't turn into a man-eating monster?"

"Dave wait." Zach stopped him. "I don't think she knows what she's doing. When I was tying her up she thought I was crazy."

"Congratulations, Zachie. You, like most men on this earth, have been fooled by a pretty lady. Get over it."

Zach only rolled his eyes.

"No, honestly," He said. "It kind of makes sense. There's some animal instinct that probably registered Nate and Kurt as threats."

"What about the deaths from the years before?" Dave wondered.

"That's what I thought, but then I remembered that she told me that she'd been mugged."

Dave gave him a dubious look.

"Just come talk to her?" Zach pleaded. "She's tied up."

"Kinky." Dave muttered walking through the double doors. "Hey," He started. "My head feels fantastic by the way. Thanks a lot for that."

I was surprised that she overlooked Dave's sarcasm, immediately diverting her attention to me.

"Who's this?" Madison asked. "Another person you've coerced into your freakish cult?"

"How about none of your goddamned business?" Dave asked stooping to her level.

"Relax," I advised. "I'm a friend." I told her.

"And you know about their strange beliefs in werewolves?"

"I do." I replied.

She laughed bitterly.

"You guys are messed up." She said, starting to lose that defiance she had when we first walked in. Her face was in panic mode. "Please," She begged. "I'm not a werewolf. I can't believe I'm arguing this! Don't you know that they don't exist?! Are you all crazy?!"

"Hey, listen to me." Zach said snapping her out of it. "It's very important that you tell me right now, when you were mugged."

"Sometime a month ago." She answered. "Why?"

"Were you bitten?"

Her face dropped as she stared at us in disbelief.

"How did you know that?" She asked.

"Where were you bitten?" Dave asked beginning to see that the girl really didn't know what she'd been capable of for the past month.

"On the back of my neck." She answered as Zach quickly peeked over to confirm it.

"Let me, guess." He said. "You were attacked around Hunters Point?"

She simply nodded before we left the room.

"It's obviously the original wolf's hunting grounds." Zach explained. "I'm sure if you get the one that turned her this will be solved."

"Zach…"

"Dave, please."

"What if it doesn't work?" Dave questioned. "I'm not trying to put you down, man, I just think you need to be reminded that this is a myth. There's no record of it actually working. "

"Maybe that's because no one ever gave it a shot."

Dave sighed in resignation.

"And what if while we're out she turns and gets loose?" He asked.

"I'll do it." Zach assured him. "I'll do it, Dave." Zach repeated after receiving a look from his older brother.

Dave turned to me.

"Stay with him." He ordered.

"Uhm."

"Cru," He started.

"Come on, Dave that's not fair!" I cried. "I'm more useful against fighting a werewolf, than I am babysitting one."

"You know it's nothing personal," Dave explained. "It's just better if you stay away from where the party's at tonight." He looked rather serious, and I didn't want to delay him any longer, so I kept quiet as he rushed out to his car and towards Hunter's Point.

"You should nap or something." I advised. "I can keep an eye on her."

"No, I think I want to talk to her about some stuff." He refused. "Privately, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," I told him, taking off my jacket. "But Zach," I said. "Don't get too ahead of yourself…?"

"Ella—"

"I mean it." I said more sternly. "Remember, you're a hunter. Don't get too caught up, or the both of you are going to find yourselves in a mess you wont know how to fix."

"I think I can take care of myself," He said a little curtly, turning to the bedroom and shutting the door behind him once he entered.

I simply collapsed on the sofa, wanting to sink into a cozy nap before Dave gave us his update. I found it a little difficult to "sink in" so I simply waited until Dave called.

"Gale," was the only thing he said when I picked up.

"The neighbor, Gale?" I asked.

"The neighbor Gale." He replied. "Tell Zach I'm coming in 20."

"Sure thing." I replied, knocking on the door just before hanging up.

Zach swung the door open.

"It's done." I told him. As I looked around I saw tears smeared across Madison's face, and figured she'd probably been convinced that she was responsible for those deaths.

"He's on his way?" Zach asked.

I nodded. "He'll be here in about 20 minutes."

Zach took a deep breath and lightly nodded. "Okay, so we just stick around throughout the whole night and make sure she doesn't turn, right?"

"Sounds good to me." I agreed with a nonchalant shrug.

I had been hoping that I came off like I thought everything was going to turn out okay. But I was almost certain it wasn't. I still had that feeling that things were, once again, going to disappoint us.

This show wasn't known for it's butterfly-happiness-tra-la-la inducing story line.

But it didn't hurt to have hope right?

Dave showed up in less time than he said he would and immediately sat himself down on the couch beside me.

"Well," He said taking off his jacket and leaning his head back. "It's gonna be a long night." I noticed blood on one whole side of the brown leather, and picked it up gingerly before it could do its damage to Madison's couch. "Might as well get some shut-eye before She-Hulk breaks loose."

"Dave…" Zach defended, clearly not liking his brother's tone.

"Oh right. I forgot you had a giant crush on her." He said chuckling.

"Just because I think you're being insensitive doesn't mean I have a 'giant crush' on her."

"Insensitive? Dude, just listen to yourself, and I mean I don't care. Good for you. I'm just wondering what will happen if this doesn't work, that's all."

Zach simply scoffed shaking his head, and returned to the room that he and Madison were in earlier. I got up to set the jacket on the coffee table, and by the time I had turned around Dave had taken over the entire couch, now laying on it like it belong in his home and not Madison's. I raised my eyebrows and knelt down beside Dave whose closed eyes sprang open when I gently stroked his hair with my fingers.

"It wouldn't hurt to be a little more optimistic." I told him, resting my chin on my folded arms.

"It might." Dave said with a cheeky side smile. "Nah, I'm just kidding. I actually think this might work, and I know that Zach does too. I just don't… want him to." He closed his eyes again and I felt the need (as I always did) to communicate my fear that this hunt was not going as well as they thought it was.

I opened my mouth to say something but stopped myself. Dave's face looked so peaceful especially with his eyes closed.

When I looked at him, most of the time the lines in his face told a story, not of age, but of the lifetime of bereavement, overbearing responsibilities, consequences of someone else's mistakes, and possibly of those days where things maybe weren't as bad as they seemed. Most of all of these lines told the story of the reluctant compromise of the life he could never have. The life that had been so unfairly torn from him, and its brief memory that left such an emptiness behind, it was hard to imagine what could repair it.

Now these lines had been relaxed, disappearing into the rest of his features as though they no longer had any belonging there to begin with.

If I had said anything of my doubts I would have been the one responsible for taking that away. I was there to help the difficulties, not add to them.

As Dave's chest rose and fell heavily, I hesitated before caressing his face with the back of my hand. My forefinger glided over his cheekbone just below his eyes, while the rest of my fingers brushed over his very minimal stubble.

Zach appeared in Madison's doorway, and I pulled my hand back, resting my chin on my arms again. He left her door ajar and took a seat beside me on the ground.

"It's been a long day," He noted. "I thought I should let her sleep a little." He turned away, leaning to the side in order to see inside the room, and turned back. "I don't think she's going to be able to but either way I'm keeping my eye on her."

I smiled because his tone indicated that he was more likely making sure nothing was going to hurt her, rather than making sure she wasn't going to hurt anyone else.

"Dave fell right asleep, huh?" He observed, poking at his older brother's leg.

"Yea," I said glancing back at his face once more.

"Are you guys like… a thing now?" Zach asked.

I chuckled.

"I don't know," I shrugged, now resting my temple on my fist.

"It doesn't bother you that there isn't a clear understanding between you guys?" He wondered.

I scowled.

"I think there's an understanding that we value each other maybe not more than we used to, but just differently." I explained. "Do you think it should bother me?"

"Not at all," Zach said. "It's just that Dave hasn't really made a commitment to anyone except for I don't know…"

"Cassie?" I asked.

"You know about her?" He sounded so surprised.

"Were you guys not listening when I said I've seen almost everything about your lives?"

"Right, well, Cassie." He said. "I mean he wanted so badly to be committed to her, but he couldn't."

"I don't know," I said. "I don't think he wanted it bad enough. I mean you guys do more driving than anyone I've ever even heard of, for crying out loud. Most of the time, you're passing through a number of towns you've already been to, and I'm sure more than once, there was a possibility of a detour to her if he really wanted to, if he finished a hunt early or something…" I laughed and looked back at Dave, who was still sleeping. "Don't get me wrong. Cassie was pretty badass, and I don't doubt his feelings for her. And I'm definitely not trying to say whatever feelings he has for me are so much more than any he's had for someone else. I will say that it is much easier being with me because I'm not going to be left behind in a town or anything. I just think that he gets tired of his usual thing sometimes, and he's so eager to belong to someone or have someone that belongs to him, and he's so much more ready to say he wants to commit to something rather than actually committing to it."

"So you're basically with him, not really knowing if it's going to go anywhere?" Zach looked puzzled.

"I'm with him knowing that he may not want me forever." I said somewhat surprising myself. "And I'm okay with it, because it's obviously not why I'm here. I don't want whatever might happen or might not happen between us to change what's important."

We were silent for a while.

"You are definitely not like other girls." Zach laughed. "Or at least nothing like the girls I know."

I laughed too.

"Those girls aren't wrong, and I'm not better than them or anything. I just have a purpose that drives me enough to focus on gains rather than my losses. I know I still have support in that. I know that I'll still have it from Dave even if I'm not with him."

We were quiet again for a short while.

"You should get some rest." Zach said, abruptly standing up. "I'm going to check on Madison."

"Okay," I said watching him exit the room. I glanced at Dave. The couch was big enough. I pushed him over and as I lay down, he adjusted himself to let me fit, and wrapped an arm me, pulling me close.

Sleep came easy.

I was soon jolted awake, however, surprised to see a normal (untied) Madison, standing before me, as the sun had slowly made its way up.

"Looks like it did the trick," Dave said standing over me with a smile.

I sat up immediately.

"Really?" I asked. I felt a huge wave of relief.

"Thank you all so much." Madison said, sounding like she was going cry from sheer joy of no longer being a werewolf. But it seemed most of her thankfulness was directed at Zach.

"Aw, don't mention it." Dave said with a slight chuckle. I tried to hit his arm without anyone noticing, but as soon as I did, he flinched and moved an inch or two away. "Right," He said after the long and awkward pause. "I'm going to go now. Maybe watch some Pay-Per-View or something."

I folded my arms, and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh just kidding." He muttered. He turned back to Madison and Zach and smiled. "We're leaving now."

He and I turned around trying to compose ourselves as we left the room, but Dave had to throw his fist up in the air like something out of The Breakfast Club. I simply rolled my eyes.

"Great," I said. "Now they definitely wont know you're hoping your little brother gets laid."

"No one needs your sarcasm, Cru." Dave said. "Today is a happy day."

He was right, and I had to let him have his fun just this one day. I for one, had thought this whole thing would've turned disastrous, and could've used some celebrating. Things had finally gotten back on track, which was something we hadn't really experienced since the night of the robbery, possibly even since Ava had disappeared. Zach's mind could finally move on from everything that had taken over his life from the past month and a half and breathe a little. Now my biggest concern wasn't whether or not someone he deeply cared about was capable of eating him, but if they were capable of sustaining a relationship with him traveling, which was surprisingly a relief compared to the alternative.

When we'd arrived at the motel the first thing I wanted to do was sleep so I kicked off my boots, and threw off my jacket and collapsed into the empty bed. This was nice.

"Wow," Dave said. I peeked from underneath the cushion to see he had both hands on his hips. "You're turning right into us. You didn't brush your teeth, your didn't brush your hair, hell, you didn't even change your clothes."

I grumbled and buried my head back underneath the pillows.

"Oh dear God," I cried. "I am turning into you guys."

Dave laughed and grabbed me gently by the arm, hoisting me up to my feet.

"Come on," He said gently pushing my hair back. "We need to check out that 'bite' of yours anyway, so you can't sleep."

"Why? It's obviously cleared up. I don't feel any pain at all." I told him.

"Yea, but rather be safe than sorry, am I right?" He kissed my forehead before nodding in the direction of the bathroom. "Go on."

I sighed, and grabbed my bedclothes shorts. As I was changing into them, I panicked quite a bit because the bandage that Dave had wrapped around my thigh was pretty bloodied so I rushed out, exclaiming how I was going to turn into a werewolf and die.

"Whoa, whoa, would you calm down, Cru?" Dave said sitting me down on his bed. "Bandages are thin, they'll get a little sloppy, and you probably didn't notice because you weren't in pain, because…you were healed."

"A-are you sure?" I wondered lifting my leg up so that he could examine it.

"Well," He said taking a deep breath and snipping away at the gauze. "Here's to finding out."

My eyes widened and immediately shut not wanting to see my possibly mutilated leg.

"See?" Dave said as the air washed over my previously wrapped. "No wound."

I opened my eyes relieved to see that he was telling the truth.

"Oh thank God." I gasped.

"Yea, well there's still some blood smeared all over the place so I'm just gonna clean it right up." He leaned over for some supplies, using a soaked towel to get rid of the blood.

"I'm sure I could manage myself." I said lending my hand out, but he didn't respond.

"I just want to ask you something." He said pausing for a bit.

"Sure." I replied with a shrug. He continued wiping away the blood.

"So you think that I like you because you're easier to be with?"

My face turned red hot and did everything I could to avoid eye contact.

"You heard?" I asked sheepishly.

"Yea, pretty much everything." Dave replied.

"I thought you were sleeping!"

"I wasn't asleep! The whole point was to stay awake and make sure the woman wouldn't turn into a werewolf, how was I supposed to go to sleep?" He argued.

"Well you could've had the decency to at least say something."

"And miss out on your interesting conversation about me? No way."

I rolled my eyes.

"I should've known."

"You should answer my question."

"I don't think you like me because it's easier to be with me." I said. "I just think that it is easier to be with me so…"

"So…?"

"So, I don't know, what's the big deal, anyway?"

"The big deal is that you make it seem like we're doing business, not that we… you know."

"What do you mean?" I wondered.

"Oh come on you used words like, 'value', and 'commitment' and 'we have an understanding'. Like, what does that even mean?"

"I guess it sounds a bit colder when you put it like that…"

"Lil bit yea," He said using a dry towel to clean up whatever was left behind. Then he shrugged. "Maybe it's not gonna last forever I dunno, but…Gosh this is going to sound stupid… I just think that you and me are gonna be just fine."

He tossed the towel aside and stared down at his hands. Before he could get up and leave I leaned in to give him a kiss.

"It's really early in the morning and I want to go to sleep, but I also think that we'll be just fine." I said.

"Yea, I'm exhausted." Dave yawned. "Are you going to take advantage of Zach not being here?" He asked indicating to the empty bed.

I looked at the set bed, whose pillows looked more fluffed than normal for a cheap motel, with bed sheets that looked more comfortable than normal for a cheap motel, and a heavy blanket that looked more snug than normal for a cheap motel. I guess I had been looking at the vacant bed for so long because by the time I had turned back Dave was taking off his shirt getting ready to jump under the covers.

"Alright," He said. "Well I'm beat." He climbed in and switched off the lights. He then mumbled something that sounded a bit like "G'night Cru."

I looked back at the bed and all of a sudden it didn't look so welcoming. Now with the dark blue that lit the room from the rising sun outside, the bed looked so lonely. I had looked at Dave who was breathing slowly and heavily, but I was unsure if he'd fallen asleep. Based on the last time I observed his breathing, I clearly couldn't trust him on that.

I didn't want Zach or Bobby getting any wrong ideas when Dave and I had started something else, so I decided to always resort to the pullout couches, or the spare rooms, and going to sleep on my own was something I'd grown accustomed to. The bed should've been a blessing.

I decided to give it a chance and climbed in, dozing off myself. I didn't like my dream, because it was more of a nightmare, consisting of the fire and distant screams that had made their appearance in my earlier dreams. I had jerked awake, and the sun was slowly adding a bit more light into the room.

Without thinking I got out from under the covers and walked over to Dave's bed, and sat beside him. He turned over, somewhat startled by my presence.

"Is everything okay?" He asked. "What happened?"

"No, nothing…" I said before realizing how I sounded. "I mean yea, everything's fine." I pushed my hair off my shoulder and accidentally dropped my hand on Dave's chest, and just before I could move it he grabbed it holding it tightly.

"You sound kinda upset." He said. "You could tell me."

"It's nothing," I said trying to indiscreetly take back my hand. "I just had a bad dream that's all."

He only held my hand tighter.

"You stayed here the whole time right?" He asked. "You didn't do any feather mojo or anything?"

I shook my head and uncomfortably pulled my hand out of his grip. He looked sheepish and avoided my gaze, and I realized how much I'd embarrassed him. I was so good at embarrassing guys that liked me.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"About what?" He asked sounding like he had no idea what I was referring to.

Hesitantly, I placed my hand on his chest with my palm flat and fingers spread, and I climbed in next to him and lay my head on his shoulder. He turned to face me, moved my hand to his neck, and gave me a quick kiss on the lips.

"You've got the weight of the world on your shoulders sometimes." He said. "Every time I look at you the expression on your face is like you're waiting for the next worst thing to happen."

"I know." I closed my eyes and rested my head against his jaw. This was so much less lonely. "I don't know why, I just have that feeling in the pit of my stomach that something bad is going to happen, and I wont be able to remember in time, or I won't save the day."

"You're not the only one who has to save the day. In fact, I'm pretty sure your only job is to help us save the day." He joked. "Well you can relax now, Ella." He said beginning to run his fingers back and forth on my arm. "For once everything worked out."

So I closed my eyes, finally finding some peace, being able to drift off into a sleep that didn't involve gunfire or explosions, only to be awoken by a loud banging on the door.

Dave and I sprang up as he rushed to the door, swinging it open, finding Zach looking more distraught than I've ever seen him.

"Dave," He said gasping for breath. Clearly he had run here.

"What's wrong Zachie?"

"She turned. She turned into a werewolf."